teshno

if you know, you know. bristol based but part dutch, part turkish (i think!) producer and label boss dj october is a no nonsense craftsman of raw but emotional music, be it house, techno or ambient (with ewan pearson, for kompakt, as bhutan tiger rescue). until recently, he also ran his own caravan records – something of a relic from his time as a dubstep dude way back when – and now runs tanstaafl with john osborn.  having recently released on new brizzle label smorgasboard, his next outing will be on the mighty skudge’s label and there’s something to come on apple pips, too.  what will undoubtably unite all these records is a non compromising use of analogue machinery in alluring and alarming ways, as it does his esteemed back catalogue to date.

what first drew me to investigate the man known as julian raymond smith was the roughness of his caravan released recession mix back in 2009.  it snorted and ripped its way through battered machine noises with real balls where so much of the minimal i was hearing at the time was smooth, digital… polite.  i’m a big fan anyway, so am delighted to be able to bring you this in-depth interview which chats technicals; scene politics; collaborating and, candidly once you make it to the end, about smoking pot…

last time we spoke you’d just done the recession mix… i wonder what’s changed for you musically or otherwise since then? have there been any epiphanies or big ‘fuck me’ moments?

not really to be honest – i’ve always done the same thing in my head. what i’m doing now might sound more jackin’ and musical than what appeared on the recession mix but essentially it’s still from a similar viewpoint. i guess my sound changes, and it always will due to factors like, a bit new gear, collaborating, dj gigs / travelling and most of all life in general.

so…. why wrap up caravan?

because it seemed like the best thing to do at the time. the label was doing great but i wanted to do something new and i didn’t want caravan to just fade away – it was my first label so it was my baby. one day i might bring it back but for now, i feel need to concentrate on something new, and more focused toward raw house and techno music for the floor.

will tanstaafl be consciously different in anyway? or will you do things any differently as a result of things you learnt with caravan or…?

yes most definitely. i mean we are still releasing house and techno, but focusing on smaller ltd edition runs of floor orientated marbled vinyl. we won’t be looking to put out albums either… plus i have been gigging abroad a hell of a lot more over the last couple of years so you could say what i put out on tanstaafl reflects what happens on the floor when i play.

what sort of thing and who will you aim to release, then? what will tie it all together, if anything?

most of the output will be created by a close circle of artists all working in my studio, either with me on controls or collaborations. john osborn is of course one of them but expect work from artist’s such as; ripperton, kowton, jilt van moorst, borai and of course myself.

how important is the package overall, artwork, format etc? is that something you’re concerned with the intrinsic artistic value of a music release?

very important to us. simple yet effective is the vibe for this label. we want to focus on marbled / heavyweight vinyl with a basic graphic template where each artist can choose their own artwork and colour of wax for their 12. at the same time we don’t want to go too overboard with fancy artwork as the music should be the focal point yet we still want it to be special. all the records with have an ‘audiograph’ cut into the inside of the wax with a little message from the artist. this technique has never been done before, ever; so buy a copy and check it out…

and do you think there is any one thing that ties all your own stuff together? if i had to, i’d say ‘analogue gear’… but you may always have a certain aesthetic in mind?

i would have to agree with you about the analogue gear thing… i don’t really think about my music’ aesthetic content so it’s kinda hard for me to answer objectively. i feel that’s the journalists job hehe… i just kinda do it and it happens to come out a certain way. however, i do follow a certain set of my own rules. for instance, i never use the computer as a audio generating device. (i still use a shitty pc that was given to me in 2004 to this day – all i need is logic 5+.) the computer is more of an audio storage device to me – i use it like a big fancy tape machine. all the gear i use is outboard and mostly consists of cheap analogue and digital synths, drum machines and drum modules. i do have some very tasty bits of gear of course too but it’s what’s between the ears that really counts. i’m also massively inspired by the nyc, detroit and chi-town vibe as well as cosmic german music, dub and noise stuff. everything really as long as it’s raw and comes from the soul.

can you explain the name for those (like me) who didn’t work it out themselves?

it’s an acronym for a phrase coined by hard sci-fi author; robert a. heinlein. it stands for: there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

is it a specific dig at anyone/anything/any specific incident or underhand culture? if not, what’s the thinking behind it?

this is in no way meant in a negative way or is a dig at some one, as some people have thought. this question has come up before so i feel the need to clear this up now. it’s more of a reference to life, a statement. if you want to do something, do it. you can’t just sit around and wait for things to happen. life is too short so you gotta go out there and live it. the whole thing just fits our whole diy way of doing things; but it also has a double meaning in a way. for instance, tans, means dance in german and taafl kind of looks like a dutch word, taafel, meaning, table. so in europe, people put the two together and think it means dancetable, and i like that…

you often seem to work with someone, be it ewan, john, laurie and recently will – is that a preference or just how it works out or…? what is it you like about collabs?

well i never used to like collaborating – i’m not 100% sure on what has changed but it’s partly due to me having more confidence in the studio. ewan was quite instrumental getting me into collaborating – he kinda forced me to fly to berlin and stay with him for about 2 weeks and lock ourselves away in his studio. together we are, bhutan tiger rescue and did that thing on kompakt earlier this year. there will be more on the way but it’s quality over quantity. now i just really enjoy making music with my friends. it’s a joy working with everyone you just mentioned. i get different amazing vibes from all of them and each lend a different quality and sometimes i feel like a fan boy who’s won a competition and get to hang out with his dj heroes. so i feel real lucky to be able to work with, osborn, pearson, appleblim and the saul daddy but most of all, these cats are my friends and i like working with my techno buddies.

you generally seem like a very busy creative person at the heart of something great in bristol… do you guys feel that, are you aware of it or does it never come up?

it never really comes up. i just do what i do and have been involved with the bristol scene for more than a decade now. house music was never really massively popular in bristol during my time. it was all, jungle, dnb, reggae or dub-step so i was always the lone ranger when it came to releasing house and techno for a while. i just kept doing my thing and now the “hype machine” is shining it’s light on bristol and i just happen to be there. i feel now that house music is getting it’s moment in this town and now it’s everyone’s obligation to keep the scene fresh and alive. we’ve got to do our best to make house and techno a mainstay in this town like it is in berlin and it’s very feasible it could happen – we just have to make sure what we are doing now is not just a fad or flash in the pan… i’ve been involved in the industry long enough to learn to stay clear of the hype if you want longevity in this game.

i wonder if you set yourself goals or ultimate targets. what would they be? or do you just take each day as it comes?

i used to take it as each day comes but i’m just so god damn busy now it’s not even funny. the statement; not enough hours in the day really rings true for me these days. so i have to plan my working week plus gigs force you to have a schedule. as for goals it’s hard to say – i used to have a ton of musical career orientated goals but i reached most of them now or am already on the way to reaching them so my goals have somewhat changed a bit. my main goals now are to surf more and buy a boat! nothing fancy, just a nice aluminium or fiberglas 14 / 15 footer with a 2 to 4 stroke motor so i can cruise up the avon with my mates and a hull full of beer and greens… oh yeah, and a fishing rod.

any firm plans for a full length? if not, why not?!

i don’t know. i really don’t know. i haven’t thought about. i’m not really into house or techno albums apart from dj qu’s gymnastics or what danny ‘legowelt’ wolfers puts out. i’ve always thought of house in the single format so that’s how i go about it. i’m in a band as well and i only ever think of recordings albums with the band. i guess it’s because i want an album to document and represent a period of time for the artist. i feel the making of an album should be the only focus of the artist to ensure the most pure end result.

this i find easier to do in the band format as when your in a band, you tend to tour extensively and then you get loads of time of to focus on new material for the next album. because of my lifestyle i don’t get one continues period to focus on one thing. it’s usually like this…. “ahhhh i need this remix to be done by but i’m away by the time it needs to get done by and only have a certain amount of time now to finish it but i feel like crap because i just had 5 gigs in 1 weekend in 2 countries in 3 cities and i haven’t slept or sat down to a hot meal yet….” so making an album is the last thing on my mind right now…

what else have you got coming up? and or who/what else would you like to big-up?

got loads coming up… next got a remix i did for skudge with laurie appleblim imminent plus a 12 on apple pips i did with my mate borai. i’m also an official skudge recordings artist now and am working on forthcoming material for skudge records. i also have an ep forthcoming on simple which will started up again just for me. it’s backed with a hot remix from chez damier plus i’ve been working with will on a few super hot top secret bits of which i can say more…

i also have a 12 for lick my deck records and of course some october bits on tanstaafl. i really gotta big up pretty much everyone, but we’ll be here all day. but i have to say, will saul, serge and all at clone, ripperton, dj qu, john osborn, laurie appleblim, ewan pearson, oli warwick, borai, kowton, chris ‘idle hands’ farrell, kidkut, pinch, peverelist, al tourettes, fidz, ginz have all been massively influential on my musical path… i’ve also gotta big up marco bernardi for booking me all the time at the timbuk2 club, and the freerotation crew for all the love and the best times ever!

finally, refuse to answer if you want, but i know you like a bong or two, as do i. d:bridge recently said in an ra interview he stopped smoking because he ultimately thought it held him back. what are your thoughts? do you ever worry about things like that? do you think it augments creativity or…?

man this is a real tough question!! i have a lot of thoughts on the subject… here goes. for me, i love skunk, but i’m not like most people and my situation is different. my brain goes at 500 miles an hour and it simply overloads if i don’t smoke and i won’t be able to focus on any one thing. call it: add, dyslexia, dysbraxia, hyperactivity or whatever, but as a kid i just couldn’t take anything in. ironically, it wasn’t until i started smoking that my school grades actually got better. for me, i feel this was because the canaboid receptors in my brain have been able to slow information down so it can travel through my synapses at a normal rate, instead of the massive data pile up that would normally ensue.

of course there’s such a thing as being too high but i make sure i don’t smoke recreationally when i have stuff to do. i have seen the bad effects marijuana can have on people and those individuals just shouldn’t smoke; just like some people shouldn’t drink or do drugs… so of course, its not for everyone. i’m answering this question honestly as i don’t want to promote drugs to anyone. everyone is different and smoking weed can most definitely hold you back in life. personally, i think like anything in life, it’s all about finding a healthy balance that works for you as an individual… also i feel people in this country aren’t educated enough about marijuana so they just abuse it. whereas the countries where it’s legal; less people smoke. in the uk, the main focal point seems to be about the psychological effects it has and all the other bad press that surrounds it. you don’t really get that in california or holland. it just is – just like how we all know, being an alcoholic won’t get you your dream job or let you lead a healthy normal life. same goes for the herb. i lead an as normal life i can being a musician, and do all the same things as everyone else…. i’m just high all of the time…