:: INTERVIEWS :: JON DOE

Donny Osmond is a wanted man. If you don’t know who Donny Osmond is, ask your mum. If your mum doesn’t know who Donny Osmond is, you’re on the wrong website and should click www.elc.co.uk NOW.

Jon Doe explains - “Donny Osmond has captured one of our dancers (Ned) and will only release him once we release a single that gets to number one in a chart made up by Donny Osmond. Donny Osmond is also forcing us to twin the parallel village of Bathford.com with Donny Osmond’s hair”.

Have a look at www.bathford.com . Headlines on this community notice-board include “Dead Man Found Alive” and a claim that “you’ll never find a better village to store your dead pets”. It’s not dedicated to one group, but is linked to hardcore music terrorists led by a monkey with no arms. Welcome to Jon Doe country where taking yourself too seriously is not allowed. Jon Doe is many things. He is he a hard-core DJ, a hard-dance DJ, a breaks DJ, that bloke of Rapture TV, a talented producer and he is down to earth too. Let’s meet the man that is known as Jon Doe. Sometimes.

Ru: How has 2006 been for you? What have been the highlights of the year?

JD: Odd. I had some cash at the beginning of the year (which is rare in music these days) and so I used it to take time out to make a pilot version of a TV show (Underground) with a friend. We took it to Rapture who agreed a series with us. It took half a year of going to raves and going to see DJs to make it. Its thirteen shows long and repeats this December.

Ru: For those yet to see Underground TV, can you tell us a little more about it?

JD: It’s a series of 13 half hour shows. Each of them showcase the DJs actually out there ding stuff or have previously been big. Each show has a bit of drum and bass, hardcore and hard dance.

Ru: You’ve been into the dance-music scene since 1991, what are the main differences between the scene back then and the scene of today?

JD: I was only 14 then so I was just buying the music. So my scene consisted of washing up in a hotel under age and then going to spend my money in the record shop. So for me its changed dramatically as I no longer work in a hotel. Dance music sprung up out of a technological revolution of being able to make music on synths and sample technology became cheaper, people sequenced on Atari computers and the bedroom studio was born. Now we have seen a new revolution where all you need is a pc- a studio is maybe £400 but alongside that the singles market has all but disappeared. Its kind of balanced itself out to some extent.

Ru: How would you describe the state of current dance-music scene? Any movers and shakers we should keep an eye out for?

JD: Everything goes in cycles. There is always a scene smashing it with compilations, big events and people never believing it will be gone while all the other genres carry on, filed away in the library of dance music. Hiding in the wings will be a new scene, cutting edge, fresh and exciting, not yet ruined by formula or distorted by the money and greed of the mainstream companies. It takes a couple of years to get from the growing one to the big one, then a couple of years for them to drop back off again- 92 hardcore was commercial which lead to a dark revolt of jungle/ drum and bass just as the 1999 Ferry Corsten trance gave way (in commercial terms) to the banging hard house of 2001.

Ru: When you first arrived on the scene as a DJ then subsequently producer did you ever imagine you’d have the success that you’ve enjoyed?

JD: Never, sure I wanted that but never thought it would happen. I have been very lucky in some respects as I have not been stuck to the big companies. This has a few side effects- you never get to be the biggest in your scene but you can do as you please. This for me has meant being able to do deeper more weird music at times which doesn’t sell, but nobody has to care but me, there is no A&R force telling you “its got to be like BK” or “that needs an off beat bassline”, or worse still “now make some country and western”.

Ru: You’re a man of many talents and several aliases, can you tell me a little more about you’re aliases and the difference between them?

JD: In my head I am a music buyer who can make music. I like all sorts of music, Drum and Bass, Breaks, Hard Dance, Hardcore, Rock etc. I am writing this listening to Nerina Pallot yet strangely can’t be bothered to fit my car with a stereo. It would be no good just having one name to follow or picking up one of my tracks would be a lottery. I have a few which I keep secret while most have been listed on discogs.com. the main ones for me right now are Jon Doe under the general ‘Hard Dance’ tag as I work towards fresh material for new Years Day and Peacemaker which is my breaks alias- a hand drawn white board stick man character on an occasional journey through the breaks scene. I am also involved in a Hardcore act called CLSM.

Ru: Which is your favourite alias and why?

JD: CLSM- things are exciting right now as Donny Osmond has captured one of our dancers (Ned) and will only release him once we release a single that gets to number one in a chart made up by Donny Osmond. Donny Osmond is also forcing us to twin the parallel village of Bathford.com with Donny Osmond’s hair.

Ru: With a massive back catalogue of production work, which one track are you most proud of and why?

JD: Well, I think part of the reason I carry on is that my back catalogue gets filed away to the back of my head, written off as pretty useless. I am quite surprised at some releases when I listen back to them.

I think as an overall work the Underground series has to be the biggest achievement as at the start of February me and Andy (who edited everything) had never used Adobe premiere or done any TV work and by the second week in October had finished a series of 13 shows, we also filmed most of the pieces along with our friends. As a piece of music its split between 2 things, either ‘Hardcore material’ (which you can download here for free, just join all the tracks with no gaps www.moas.co.uk/hm) or ‘Not So Hardcore Material’ which is a chill out Album to oppose the hardcore album.

Ru: Is there anyone you’ve not worked with yet that you’d like to?

JD: I think working with some of the people that I think are amazing would probably spoil that image I have of them. Also I don’t feel quite ready to work with them thinking about it.

Ru: What projects are you currently working on?

JD: A few tracks for a hardcore album with Billy Bunter, one with Junior, another with Lisa Abbott, another with Faye Hendry and a forth with an amazing previously unheard talent who we shall call for the moment crazy Hannah. I am also working on two Peacemaker tracks and an album track with drummer Jimmy Copley (he will bring up some interesting Google results).

Ru: A lot of your material is available via download, but do you prefer DJing with vinyl or digital? Do you think there is a future for vinyl?

JD: If I could choose I would use vinyl but the job of a DJ is to play the best selection of tunes, most of the ones I want to play don’t make it to vinyl- musical freedom verses format… as most people cant see the decks in the crowd the decision is a no brainer.

Ru: If you had to make a decision between either DJing or producing, which would you choose and why?

JD: Production- there is nothing like making a track you end up liking or getting through the struggle to make one work which you are not liking.

Ru: Are we likely to see more Jon Doe on TV?

JD: No, I am a rubbish presenter but I was the only one who was available for free at no moments notice. It was a practical and quick way to get it done, if you watch again look how quickly it cuts away and gets on with the things on the show. We would have used a monkey puppet for the show but it took too long to make the voice over and get the mouth in time. On the repeats we are showing the monkey version of the first show.

Ru: You’ve played at small intimate venues to massive festivals, do you prefer playing at the big events or the small clubs?

JD: I recently played a gig in Norwich called who’s hardcore where everyone was really close to the decks and that has to go down as one of the best gigs ever, or the freeformation I played at, took me 10 mins to get comfortable with set up but after that I was flying along. Big events seem like the most glorious things ever but never quite live up to the expectation.

Ru: Is there an event or venue you’d describe as “coming home” when you’re booked to play there?

JD: Probably just playing around the Southampton area as that’s where I used to play on a regular basis.

Ru: In terms of venues (regardless of event), which would be in your top five from a DJ point of view?

JD: Air in Birmingham was early to have the most up to date pioneer cdjs and good monitors both sides. I won’t do a top 5 or I will regret it later.

Ru: You’re back with us for another Weekender, this time at Blackpool, what sort of set can we look forward to hear from you?

JD: Lee James is scratching, he really is great. I plan on making a different live set up where you can see what is going on more- I have always felt it is a shame in dance music overall when the crowd cant see how hard you are having to work or not. We used to run solely off midi- nobody noticed, now we are on Ableton. This will be done in one of two ways- either I will build some really stupid set up with big buttons or get a couple of cameras in to put up on the video screens. I will have mostly previously unheard tracks, I want to make it really fresh. I speak to a few of the big labels in hard dance and they feel quite negative and down about hard dance, to be quite honest I want to come in and smash it up- whether I can or not is a different matter!

Ru: The Weekenders mean different things to different people, what do Weekenders mean to you?

JD: Long drives, wondering if everything is packed for a PA, Henry Hoovers and friendly ravers.

Ru: How would you describe a Tidy Weekender to anyone who does not understand hard-dance?

JD: Its on a holiday camp. Me and Lee were outside eating burgers and along came some people we hadn’t seen for ages. Its great to be able to hang round, have loads of rooms to check out etc. Then you can wander into the venue and it’s a full on club. The best things about tidy is there are lots of tidy staff around and its properly organised, the sound systems are great. Stage management stick your PA on a massive stage trolley and wheel you into place 2 mins before going on, proper monitors so we can hear what we are doing, huge video screens. For the punters they get in a big range of DJs from the obvious headliners right down to the people that nerds like me want to see like Kai Tracid.

Ru: If you could change any aspect of the hard-dance scene, what would it be?

JD: Its not for me to change, best to let it evolve naturally, if something’s good it usually finds its way forward.

Ru: Do you have any views on back-2-back DJing? What are the pros and cons of one-off pairings of DJs for back-2-back sets?

JD: Hmm, it stops you from changing direction and speed at our own pace and if you don’t work with the other person then there would be huge jumps in music style.

Ru: If you weren’t a DJ/Producer, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

JD: Building things with sticks in the woods.

Ru: What was the last album you bought?

JD: Probably this one mentioned nearer the start.

Ru: Where will you be spending Christmas this year?

JD: At home with my wife and a log fire.

Ru: Do you have anything specific on your Christmas wish-list?

JD: Family Guy DVDs, all the bugs fixed on Cubase 4 (you complete bunch of arse Steinberg)

Ru: Do you have any words of wisdom?

JD: Don’t be selfish, being greedy makes you empty. For example, taking an E at the weekend seemed like a good idea but on Tuesday you want to kill yourself- now what? Just find some good friends to go with. Doubting what I say? I have stood in raves for a while.

Ru: Finally, please tell us a joke.

JD: George Double ya Bush. Lets take a look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqLvBUSJucg