I-F @ Kennedys - Sat Oct 7th - Interview

electric city

I-F Interview by Niall Connolly [http://www.discopia.com]

How’s it going?

Well, yeah. CBS is rocking really hard, lots of gigs. No complaints, no complaints whatsoever, because I’m busy! Haha!

You played Glasgow a few weeks ago, how did it go?

Yeah it was great, Glasgow really rocked, I hope to be back there soon, absolutely. Glasgow rocks, London rocks, the UK is doing really ok now for us, absolutely.

Where else have you been playing?

Around Europe. Everywhere basically and it’s going well. And I like to stay in Europe because I don’t have the time to sit 8 hours in a plane or longer. And also because I am sort of tired of customs and terrorist paranoia, I always get stopped at the border. I don’t know if it’s because of my beard or whatever… So I like to stay in Europe for the time being!

How are the labels going?

I am not releasing records. I haven’t released records in a couple of months. Also due to the holidays, in a way it shuts everything down. It takes like 3 months to get everything going again. And there is now Castro Boy is coming out, and there is a new Freak Electrique is coming. And some represses. Panama 02 Laser Dance, and TL(?) 008 will be officially out

How did you come to set up Viewlexx?

I started my labels because I was pissed off with the music that came out and the music I wanted to play. It goes back to ‘93. I set up my first record label in ‘93, Reference Records. We did a lot of Acid Planet parties and stuff, we were crazy about acid. But it dried up, yeah, you get all these counterfeit, crappy… whatever, you know? We were crazy about Chicago stuff. I basically started it to be able to play the music I wanted to play on the dancefloor. Or in the clubs. That was the main reason to start the record label. The same with Viewlexx, then the style changed and got a bit more like the way we wanted to make music. In the beginning it was just putting out and seeing what happened. And then you learn more about music, you get some equipment, and there’s progress in sound, you know, new label, new things…

So what are your main influences?

That’s everything basically from the past. I am a big sucker for disco, for Italo disco, electro’s always big, Chicago, I love the Chicago sound. Detroit influences, a bit less, but still I always loved the Detroit attitude, the do it yourself attitude. That inspired us for our DIY attitude and everything, together, the way we live, that’s our sound.

How did you dome to set up Cybernetic Broadcasting System?

That was something I really wanted to do. In 1990 I started my company, that was Hotmix Electronics, because we wanted to start a satellite radio station, only we were half a million Euros short of starting it! So it started with records themselves. Importing records because I was always buying records. I was a music freak, and those arrogant freaks in the record shops never gave you the good records. They were never there, they were always behind the counter. And I went to Chicago and brought it all in and started my record shop, and all the records were just on the wall, like big, 20 copies of each, you want it just grab it. I don’t like this secret, elite bull**** for good music. “I have a good record and I am not gonna tell you what it is”… I hate that. It’s bull****! So I think we broke the circle by doing that.

What else do you hate about mainstream music culture?

I’m a bit… I am super happy with how things go, so it’s like far from my depth so, whatever... I don’t have TV at home. I totally ignore it. We don’t need it, cos we got our own planet now. Really. It’s working really well because of the CBS and the record labels and there is so much freaks for good music around the planet, and thanks to the internet it is all coming together now. So I am really “**** this commercial bull****”. It’s not bothering me. Not any more.

And dance culture?

Well, you know… modern dance music – it totally sucks basically. The commercial stuff, it is still horrible! If you compare it with like the 80’s and the 70’s, there were super good records in the top 40. You know, really good stuff, stuff you wanted to hear, stuff you wanted to buy… And it’s not anymore. It’s this artificial… like McDonalds hamburger… I dunno. It’s terrible! But for me it’s ok, because of that we can do our own thing. We can have our counter culture and still grow, so, yeah.

What’s the scene like in Rotterdam?

Pretty good at the moment. Rotterdam is really booming, it really is the place to be. The Hague, for a good while, was the place for acid, you know in the old acid days that all came together in the Hague, and with what we are doing know Rotterdam is the place to be. Amsterdam is as dead as dead can be and the Hague, yeah this year there is some stuff going on, but nothing special. It’s really Rotterdam now. I live in Delf, in between Rotterdam and the Hague.

There has been a lot of interest in Dutch electro in last few years, even so much that it has been labeled a scene. How do you feel about that?

I’m fine with that, it’s ok, its like a Domino effect. When there is an outlet for something, not everyone has the energy or the will for this outlet, or to start off a movement or whatever. But once it’s there it’s much easier to access it and to, you know, not be bothered by all the stuff around it, to just make music or start a label or whatever, and the outlet takes care of the rest. You know what I mean? It makes it much more accessible, and I think that’s what’s going on right now. The scene is really strong and the productions coming out are really good, everybody is getting better and better with producing records… So far so good!

How do you find records to put out?

Ehm, via internet, people send stuff to the CBS, eh… Via internet, internet is the main source at the moment, the internet is the main supply.

Is there any good commercial radio in Holland?

No, absolutely not. No, it’s really terrible. You cannot listen to it, not for 5 minutes! They play the same **** every hour, no it’s terrible. Really!

When did you start CBS?

Officially 21st December 2002. Yeah. Before that I was a bit experimenting with it, but I got like the official start on that date. Almost 3 years now.

It’s become incredibly popular since then –

Well, it’s not as big as it seems. But it’s still growing, it’s going really well. It costs a lot of money to maintain it, but it’s ok, I get a lot of gigs. That’s how we pay it, with the rates we have got every now and then. It’s no problem, at the moment, it’s ok. It would be a problem if it starts really growing really fast! We have no sponsors, or almost no sponsors, and I’m not really looking to sponsor it, I don’t care so much about it. It would be nice now I think of it, but it’s doing well

What are your future plans?

No plans, just continue the CBS. I wanna do some really fat, eh…. We can never be the biggest radio station, but we can be the fattest! That’s what I wanna do now, to spend a lot of money on it, on equipment. Actually Monday we’re gonna make a big change, we fit our new stuff, and it sounds already like a million bucks, but it can sound even better! So Monday is the switch. I’m getting professional broadcasting stuff, also like software and screens with like screen plug ins and stuff. I’ve bought optimum screen stuff, and I wanna see how far I can take it. Because I really want the sound to be big time, like a really great dance station, really pumping.

How does it work: is there a database, or is someone always there?

No I can leave and it keeps on playing, I can programme it a year ahead or even more I think! But I programme it for a day, and fifty fifty it’s a machine running, the machine is always running, but when I am there I always programme tracks in it, there is always the human factor. It keeps it alive. But if I go out, it keeps on going. But it took a lot of time to get the programming in balance, I think I am pretty much there now.

How did you find the reaction to Mixed Up In The Hague?

Yeah, I was really surprised. Because it was just a demo CD for what I do, for what I play. Because of course I had my acid fans, I played a lot of acid stuff, and there were still some parts in Holland where they think I still play acid, and I didn’t! And that’s why I did like a demo CD with my favourite tunes, like “this is what I do, old, new, whatever, each record is a good record”.And it exploded! I didn’t see that coming! I feel pretty good about it, I love it! Good music is for everybody. I don’t like it, like I said, being kept secret, really. The media is so often lying because they have their own interests, their own publishers behind it pushing stuff. I know how it works now because I had a hit with Space Invaders and I saw how everything works, and I am disgusted by it. Disgusted by it!

Why?

Oh y’know, you just have to kiss a lot of ass and all this bull****, all these IDIOTS at major labels who are sitting at the wrong place. In the past major labels have put out some really good music. EMI had some amazing records in the past, beautiful albums, beautiful artwork. And now it’s all crap, just crap. The wrong guy is at the wrong department, the A&R department for instance. I mean really, it’s insane. And that guy has nothing to do with music! It’s just funny man. I hate that!

Is there any modern pop you enjoy?

(pause) No, basically no! Ha ha! Nothing!

What would be your advice for people who want to start up a record label?

Just believe in yourself you know, do what you do best. Eh, take care of your sounds, don’t try to be popular, don’t try to please anybody but yourself. Just do it, you know, press 300 records or whatever, and then just see what happens. That’s how I started!

There’s now a definite Italo edge to many pop productions –

It means that we have influenced…

And you’re ok with that?

Yeah absolutely. Yeah, like I said, you can’t avoid that. Ok, it’s still crap music, like when I did “Space Invaders” a lot of crap tunes came out like Space invaders after it. And I found it very funny, because Space Invaders was like, what I wanted to do at that time. it was no big news for me. I wanted really to make a song like that, with space invaders and arpeggiators and a vocoder, and that’s what happened. So its good for me, really, what other people do. If its cool I’ll play it on CBS or on the dancefloor, if it’s not I totally ignore it, I’m not bothered by it.

So what modern producers do you most admire?

I like Legowelt a lot, he is getting better and better with his production. Really he has found his own sound he doesn’t care snout what a lot of people think about it. It’s just him and his machines and I like his attitude a lot. There is people with no names making cool records themselves, and that’s a sign of the times, you know. Everybody can start their own label, everybody can make a record because equipment is really affordable There’s a lot of freaks out there, I notice, when I look at CBS it all comes together. And I think the time is coming closer. It’s not a shame anymore to love Italo, it’s ok now to be a raver or whatever. And in my young years, the Italo lovers and the new-wavers, they were the opposite you know, you were guaranteed a fight at a party, and now they’re all together like “let’s have a party!” Finally, because the bottom line is it’s just good music, a good record is a good record no matter if it’s rave Italo or electro. And that’s what I always wanted to see and that’s happening now.

electricity and Lunar Disko present..

// Saturday October 7th // The Underground @ Kennedys.Westland Row.D2

Tickets: e12. Available from Selectah Records

I-f (Viewlexx / CBS / Murder Capital - The Hague)
DJ Simon Conway (electricity)
Barry Donovan (Lunar Disko / Electric City)

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