Wednesday 29 January 2003

Schneider TM have long been favourites round STARSANDHEROES' way, chiefly due to a splendid gig we caught in London back in 2000 and their spooky rerub of The Smiths' "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (retitled "The Light 3000").

A cursory listening-post listen to 2002 album Zoomer here in sunny Sydney reveals still more treats to come, putting TM mainfella Dirk Dresselhaus firmly in Cornelius/Max Tundra nutspop territory, which can only be a Very Good Thing...maybe somebody nice'll release a non-import copy at a half-decent price soon. Catch 'em at London's not-trendy-at-all-but-y'know Underworld in salubrious Camden this Thursday Jan 30th in a wholly enviable double header with dirrty electropop warriors The Faint, whose own Danse Macabre album is rightly causing a fair old stir the world over.

The usual, then - see them, tell us. Simple!

Tuesday 21 January 2003

It seems that the moment STARSANDHEROES turns its back on the UK, the coolest damned thing ever happens - typical. Sean McClusky, the man behind the long-running and sporadically splendid Sonic Mook Experiment at 333 Old St, would appear to have come up trumpetty-trumps with his new thing, Return To New York, at Liverpool St's Great Eastern Hotel on Feb 22nd 2003.

Just check out this line-up (actual New Yorkers not included, natch): Everyone's fevourite Belgian bootleggers Soulwax/2ManyDJs, a crazy 80s electropopdiscosoundclash courtesy New Order and Pet Shop Boys (DJ set face-off type affair), Arthur Baker, Kurtis Mantronik and Erol flippin' Alkan, and a trailblazing performance from a mysterious band called Feedom apparently comprised of Kitty-Yo superstars Chilly Gonzales, Taylor Savvy & Peaches!

Bloody hell. You won't see that lot in the same room again anytime soon. Doors are at 8pm, it runs til 2am and it's 15 quid in advance to get in. Go there. And then tell us what it was like. Yes.

Friday 10 January 2003

JAY’S A GOOD…

STARSANDHEROES talks to DJ NORMAN JAY

It’s Carnival Time! Well, sort of. Norman Jay, the man routinely described as “the world’s best DJ”, “the DJ’s DJ” and just plain “genius”, has kindly decided it was high time Australia experienced some real Good Times. To this end, he’s bringing his legendary Good Times Sound System to Sydney (among other cities – he’s also causing mass rug-cutting frenzies in Perth, Brisbane, Byron Bay and Melbourne) this coming October – are you ready? Well, are you?

For those of you who’ve been living under a particularly unfunky rock for the past 20-odd years, a little explanation: Norman Jay is one of the most important figures in UK and global dance music. Whatever developments, leaps and bounds the partying globe has experienced, since disco first shook its sequined tailfeather in New York back in the late ‘70s, Jay was there, taking in the atmosphere and planning his campaign for world (ok, club) domination. “It’s the vibe - the attitude,” he explains down an anachronistically crackly phone line from his West London home, “What Good Times is about is showing that an eclectic mix of music can work on one dancefloor.” Amen to that.

From co-founding London’s first dance music station Kiss FM in the 1980s, to co-founding the legendary Talkin’ Loud label (home to the likes of Galliano, Incognito and the Young Disciples) with fellow obsessive Gilles Peterson in the ‘90s, Jay has never stopped working, building on his own foundations to give black music to the music-loving public.

He’s now come so far, in the eyes of the UK “establishment” at least, that he has become the first black UK DJ to be honoured by The Queen with an MBE (technically, one below a knighthood). How does that make him feel? “On top of the world, very, very proud - very honoured that my efforts have been acknowledged by the highest authority in the land – I mean, you can’t get higher than that.”

Did he expect it to happen? “I didn’t even know! I was on tour in Scandanavia and I got a call from home. I haven’t been to see Her Majesty yet – I’m hoping I don’t get the invitation while I’m away. That’s my worst nightmare cos I would really literally have to drop everything and rush straight back…” Happily, that potential disaster has now been averted: Jay posted an announcement on his splendid website www.normanjay.com shortly after our interview, saying, “AT LAST! I’ve finally been summoned. My big day at Buckingham Palace takes place on Tuesday 12th NOVEMBER 2002”. Phew.

And while we’re on the subject of awards, does he think DJs get the recognition they deserve? “Ultimately, if you’re patient, or if you die! I mean I’m the first DJ since [legendary septuagenarian UK radio and TV personality] Jimmy Saville to get an MBE ‘for services to DJing and culture’ – that’s the official title – it’s an absolute first. And what it does, is open the door for others in the field to get theirs too.” So who does he think is next up? “Well, I’m not gonna be drawn on that one obviously!” Spoilsport… “But I’m pleased, cos mine was awarded absolutely on merit, and getting it out of the blue makes it even more sweet.”

Naturally, Jay is full of enthusiasm for his forthcoming trip to Buck House, tea with Liz etc, but happily he’s equally excited about coming to Australia in the meantime. “Australia’s never let me down – I’ve been coming there every year since 1994 and I’ve seen how the music scene’s grown and evolved. There basically isn’t any difference between Australia and England is there?” Apart from the weather? “Well no, we don’t get the weather like Australia!”

He’s played here many times before, of course, most recently accompanying Jamiroquai – the man Jay calls “the funkiest man in the world”, no less – at Vibes On A Summer’s Day back in February of this year. So what can we expect this time round? “More of my own style, really” he emphasises. “When I’m part of a revue, I normally taper it for the shorter sets – at Vibes there were lots of other DJs – but essentially it’s just good times!” There’s that phrase again. What does it mean? “A freestyle range, everything – funky house down to old-school dancefloor jazz, and everything in-between.”

He’s not wrong. A cursory glance at Jay’s gargantuan 11-hour playlist across the two days of this year’s incomparable Notting Hill Carnival - over which a perma-grinning Jay has presided since 1994 like a beneficent vinyl-wielding spirit – reveals everything from ‘70s disco and soul to classic house, 2-step garage, ‘60s jazz, reggae, drum’n’bass, hip-hop and probably Japanese folk if we look hard enough. A self-confessed entertainer, suffice to say, if it gets you on the dancefloor, Jay’s gonna play it.

Back in Blighty, the classic Good Times format usually involves an open-topped double-decker bus and thousands of screaming, sweating, dancing, “Norman is God” placard-waving fans. How does he hope to translate that to Sydney’s Greenwood Hotel? “Well, this is just a teaser tour - hopefully the fully-fledged thing will take place sometime early next year. This is a whistle-stop goodwill tour to introduce Good Times, really.”

“Notting Hill Carnival is the highlight of my year,” he offers by way of roundabout explanation. “It’s the biggest thing I do, it’s in my home town, it’s my own flock, and it’s free, so that means all my friends – the ones I do know, and the ones I’m gonna make – can all come. Many, many Australians come every year and it’s fantastic, every year we get people in the crowd holding up banners saying “Sydney”, Australian flags and all that.”

I wonder, is he disappointed that Jamiroquai’s shortly to be touring Australia again without him? “Actually, I’ve been getting emails from Australia already, people asking whether we’re doing the tour together! But I’m not disappointed, cos he’s a band and I’m a DJ – this is my thing. I was happy to support him [at Vibes], but this is my concept, Good Times, and we’re hoping to come back and have parties with a double-decker bus, just like I do at Notting Hill – a converted double-decker bus.”

What, so he can become Sydney’s first drive-by DJ? “No,” Jay sighs resignedly, “It’s a static bus, but it makes a change from just a stage or a club – it’s a different approach.” Then he comes up with an absolute peach of an idea: “It’d be great if we could park a double-decker bus on Bondi, you know what I mean? Do the party there - that’d be wild! But that kind of concept is exactly what Good Times is all about.”

Clearly immensely fond of Australia, Jay sums up the mini-tour thus: “This teaser tour is a sort of sampler tour, an awareness exercise to see if people are interested. We’re hoping it’ll be a long-term thing, and we can get some major corporate sponsorship involved, because if that happens we’ll be able to bring over other DJs and artists in conjunction with using a lot of local talent. And I know there’s an abundance of talent in Australia cos I’ve met them and seen them!” Well, you heard the man – let’s get down to it, boppers.

NORMAN JAY’S GOOD TIMES SOUND SYSTEM APPEARS AT THE GREENWOOD HOTEL, SYDNEY ON MONDAY 7TH OCTOBER 2002 11AM-10PM. GOOD TIMES SKANK, AN ALBUM OF CLASSIC REGGAE HAND-PICKED BY NORMAN AND HIS BROTHER JOEY, IS OUT NOW ON TROJAN RECORDS. SURF TO WWW.NORMANJAY.COM FOR DETAILS.

(originally published 30th September 2002 in 3D World)

Wednesday 8 January 2003

For those of you who didn't manage to get in/down/over to Warp's fab-sounding Christmas pool party in London, you'll be happy to know that the ultra-exclusive 2003 Warp sampler CD is available on the label site.

Well, in a manner of speaking anyway: either click here for a RealAudio stream of the whole 18-track album, or go to the Warpmart online shop thingy, spend 50 quid (or international equivalent) on Warp-related goodies, and they'll send you a proper CD copy with your order.

The tracklisting looks a bit like this (they seem a little woolly about some of the song titles):

LFO: millionaire dogs [exclusive. New album in 2003]
beans: roar [taken from from the new album tomorrow right now released 10/3/03]
luke vibert: [tbc warp ‘03]
satanstornade: unlock the mysteries of the sun [ taken from ‘satanstornade’ warp666, out now]
luke vibert: [tbc warp ‘03]
aphex twin: windowlicker (acid edit) [taken from the forthcoming 26 remixes for cashdouble album, released 24/3/03]
dub kult: bells of death [tbc warp ‘03]
louis digital: [tbc warp ‘03]
denis rusnak: working sister [tbc warp ‘03]
brothomstates: rktic rmx [tbc warp ‘03]
mira calix: nunu [extract from a piece created for the “Micro Music” event in Geneva, sept ‘02]
plaid: miamivice [tbc. new album and DVD in ‘03]
nightmares on wax: 70s 80s (acapella) [taken from ‘70s 80s’ single, released 24/2/03]
autechre: naftwa4 [exclusive to this sampler. New Autechre album draft7.30 is released on 7/4/03]
boom bip: the unthinkable (venetian snares remix) [due on lex in 2003. lex014 www.lexrecords.com ]
richard devine: itsuko [from ‘asect:desect’ sch023 schematic.net]
chris clark: rob lee [taken from the forthcoming EP ‘ceramics is the bomb’ due early/mid 2003]
hell interface: the story of xentrix

What're you waiting for?

Tuesday 7 January 2003

Terrible, terrible news. If the untimely deaths of Clash founder Joe Strummer and Stereolab multi-instrumentalist Mary Hansen weren't enough to tell you that 2002 was a horrible year for, er, untimely deaths, it's just come to STARSANDHEROES' attention that Meri Wilson, singer of strange '70s classic "Telephone Man", was hit by a car on December 28th 2002 and sadly died as a result of her injuries.

Our thoughts go to all those left grieving, of course: Meri, this one's for you...