John Askew

Urban bug Interviews John Askew Mar09

1. Today many kids dream about having the title of "DJ" in their names on the flyer, but have no idea from where to start. As you have proved yourself as a DJ, as a producer and as remixer, could you help them with your own example to find their way. What was your way to the top like? What was the first you did - DJ-ing or producing? How much time did you practice? And how many times did you redo already finished song (if you did)?

It’s tough to get to the top in this industry and so the best advise I can give to anyone wanting to make it is just believe in yourself and put 110% into everything you can to make yourself stand out. Try to make music nobody else is making. Try to create a unique sound that becomes your signature. When I started I was djing first, but then I began making music because there were no records being released with the exact sound I wanted to play in my dj sets.

2. Some DJs/producers create their own labels so they could publish their materials because they often can't reach an agreement with other publishers. This is not the case with you - with so many very successful songs such as Vellum, The Door, New Dimension, Chime - you could choose where you would publish you material, still you chose to create you own label Discover, and sublabel Discover Dark. Why? Who are the producers/authors under your label? Are they some old friends or some new talents?

I originally started Discover records to have somewhere to release my own material. Back then there were only a small handful of labels making that style of trance so the options were more limited than they are today, but I just wanted to set up my own thing so I had complete control over every aspect of my music. From there the labels have grown and have given birth to loads of great talents like John O’Callaghan, Sean Tyas and Tom Colontonio. Today we are working hard on some new faces that will in my view be the next big thing – they are Activa, Gary Maguire, Sly One vs Jurrane, Spencer – these guys will be the new headliners of Discover.

3. When did you start your radio show? Whose initiative or suggestion was it? Your show Discover is aired on a number of stations, but how do you 'make' it?

I’ve always been involved in Radio – I have a radio production and syndication company called The Radio Department and I used to have shows in Ministry of Sound Radio and Kiss in London. I now do a monthly show for Digitally Imported and Slinky Radio.

4. You have a series of published live albums. Do you feel a bit pressured when you know you are doing a party on which your set is going to be recorded and published? Making a mix in studio, where you can correct your mistakes, is different from publishing a live set... Did you feel nervous, at least the first time, when recording a live set, like - not to make a mistake in the mix or not to have problem with the players, which the listeners would later consider to be your mistake, and not technical problem?

Of course I feel nervous – but I think that’s a good thing – it makes you concentrate a little harder. We live in an era of perfect mix albums put together on Ableton and so I think there is something quite charming about listening to a live mix album where you can really hear the dj mixing live. You can hear the raw honesty – especially when the cd skips or there is a mistake. We never edit out any of these mistakes if they happen. The whole point of the series is that each album is a 100% authentic archive of exactly what happened on the night that the recording took place. No editing. No corrections. No bullshit.

5. Two labels, DJ performances all over the world, new albums, resident in two famous London clubs, The Ministry Of Sound and The Gallery, and a radio show! You're never at home! How does you wife put up with you? :-)))

Well I try my best to be a good partner to my girlfriend and father to my son. If I am touring for 2 weeks then I try to make sure I take 3 or 4 days off when I get back. It’s tough, but it could be a lot worse – like if I was in a touring rock band who do 25 gigs a month and are away for 3 or 4 months at a time. My girlfriend is really cool and she understands that I have to do what I have to do. If I don’t then the bills won’t get paid – and that would piss her off!

6. We mustn't fail to mention Drum Cult? What is it? Who are the members of the band? What are live performances like? What kind of music is the band's base? Is this the reminding of the old days when you played in rock bands (which instrument you played)?

Drum Cult is a band I have with Zak Frost and various other session musicians. We are working on material, but unfortunately because we are all so busy with our individual music careers it’s damn near impossible to get quality time to write together. Still – our plan is to get out on the road some time soon – with a live drummer and guitars. The music will be hard acidic breaks and techno.

7. When Bristol mentioned, the first thing most of the clubbers think of is the strong/powerful d'n'b scene. Were you, at some time, anyhow interested in this kind of music?

Sure. I listen to lots of Drum n Bass – in the car and in the gym. I love Andy C and Randall. They are amazing djs.

8. What was the rave party at Cornwall like, when you (first heard?) definitely fell in love with electronic music? Tell us more about those rave parties, please!

The early raves were really cool. There was always an incredible energy because they were illegal and so everyone partied as hard as possible – because they knew the police could shut the party down at any moment. Before those parties my whole life was rock music so they had a big influence on my life because they made me change my whole outlook on everything. I found a load of old photos from some of those raves about 2 weeks ago. It was amazing to look back and to remember those times that I had pretty much forgotten. They were some of the best nights of my life.

9. For some time, at least in my country, trance was discriminated, better to say dispraised by the most of techno DJs, although on their "real tachno parties" very often stars of the party, like Mark EG, Dave Angelo, Charles Siegling, etc., would include trance/techno in their sets (they confirmed this in the interviews!). On the other side, you could be said, from the very begining, to be someone who likes trance melody and is for techno base (I refer to the time with Nasty, Angels...). Am I right?

I love techno and I’m totally comfortable playing to a crowd that only wants to hear techno all night long, but for me I prefer to play to a crowd that is a little more open minded and willing to allow the dj to expose them to a wider variety of sounds and styles. A lot of techno artists, techno djs and promoters of techno parties speak badly about other styles of music – especially trance. They feel their music is more superior than anything else. I think that view is a little bit sad to be honest. You only have one life so why would you want to shut out the possibility of being exposed to all styles of music. When I play I like to include a bit of everything. If it’s god music then I’ll play it and I don’t care if it’s house, techno, trance, breaks, progressive, rock or whatever.

10. Back in 96/97, your style was said to "sound like Jeff Mill playing Van Dyk's records", however at SEEME Festival in Sofia 2 or 3 years ago, you sounded completely different from the sets we have the oportunity to hear on the internet. That was real, fast, raging trance/techno! What would you say influences the most your set - the crowd, the organisation, or your mood at that moment? Do you usually prepare your set in advance, meaning that you know exactly in which order you're going to play the music?

I never prepare my set. It’s impossible to do that because when you get to a club or festival and see the crowd you’ll immediately know just looking at the crowd that some records will work and some wont. What I play depends on everything you said in your question – my mood, the mood of the crowd, the vibe and energy of the party.

11. What is it that you are working on right now? What can we expect in till the end of 2009? (if there are plans for Drum Cult's tour, tell us about that too, that's very important...EXIT festival is the best venue for DC and guys from organisation would read this interview in Urban Bug:)

Right now I have had a crazy few months doing loads of remixes. I have just done a remix for Paul van Dyk – of his single “The Other Side” and I have also remixed Gary Maguire’s new single “One Way”, Dj jack’s new single “Da Bomb” and Hampshire and Bissen’s massive track “The Vault”. So now I am next week going to put the finishing touches to my new single – which is called “Fucking Caps Lock” and I will also be doing a studio mix album later in the Summer.