HF production masterclass Part 3: James Moss gears up for HHA’s 5th Birthday
Reported by benz
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Submitted 07-10-05 00:09
The artist formally known as Sterling Moss is set to make his return to the London hard dance stage on Saturday 22 October under his own name, ready to show the world why he is one of the most innovative and forward-thinking figures in dance music today. Many of you may not have heard of this colourful character (now known as James Moss), but by golly it really is time that you did.
James is someone who has been in love with and involved with dance music for a long time now. After years of watching the world’s finest DJs do their thing, he finally decided to take up the art for himself, and it soon became an obsession for him. He didn’t want to stop at the normal 2-deck 1-mixer set-up however, and soon began experimenting with a third deck. After a while he realised that this still wasn’t enough for him, and started breaking down the boundaries of traditional DJing by adding all manner of musical hardware to his set-up in an attempt to create a unique and different sound — and most importantly, to keep himself interested. Years of practice have enabled him to perfect his DJing technique (which he calls Dex, FX and Live Sequence Mixing) which encompasses vinyl and CD decks, sequencers, drum machines, samplers, synths, vocoders… and he isn’t stopping there.
A rare breed of DJ with a desire to keep on searching for new sounds and new ways of manipulating and broadcasting them to the dancefloor, he has combined his 21st-century technique with a pumping soundtrack of juicy, energetic, techno-based hard dance that suits his manic and spontaneous style to a tee. A close relationship with live PA masters Lab4 emerged over the years, and it is for their Laboratory/Frantic collaboration at Hard House Academy’s 5th Birthday that he will once again show London his shit-hot routine. We need more people like this in our scene. Fuck the rules, they are there to be broken.
First off, why the change of name? You were previously known as Sterling Moss…
After lengthy discussions with the lovely lady who represents me — Kym Newman from Queen of Clubs — we decided it would be a good time to do the name change to coincide with Laboratory and give it a big intro. Why? Well we thought after all these years it was about time I came clean and revealed who I really am! Perhaps something that needed to be done to get to the core of my sound. As well in a weird way you can hide behind the name and you can reason it isn’t really you… although I’ll still be recording as Sterling Moss as an alter ego, when you come and see me play as James Moss, it’ll be all me…
What made you decide to start DJing? Who were you early influences and heroes?
After years of partying, I had to find a way of keeping myself involved with the music I loved so much, but without damaging myself so much in the process. DJing seemed to be the perfect platform for this, as I couldn’t find anywhere that played exactly the type of music I wanted to hear anymore, so I thought I’d get out and do it myself. The irony of DJing is that you step up to play the type of music you’d want to hear on the floor, yet you can’t be out there having it with everyone else. Kind of a cruel torture is the art of DJing in that respect. On the other hand you get to wrestle with lightning behind the decks, throwing bolts of molten music through the mixer and onto the dancefloor, so the trade-off is most justifiable for the electricity you generate.
I was very fortunate to be working with Glen Hall from 3D BASE some 10 years ago, when we’d done some work with Universe (Tribal Gathering, Final Frontier). I’d say my baptism of fire came from going down to the legendary Final Frontier @ Club UK (RIP) week in and week out, which was quite simply the best club night ever. I was lucky enough to be exposed to the cream of the world’s DJ scene on a regular basis — with residents like: Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Sven Vath, Laurent Garnier and DJ Dag, and guests from Lab4 to Oakenfold to the Chemical Brothers, you knew you were never going to go wrong. This is this first place I heard melodic German trance and Chicago house being mixed up with Detroit techno and tribal grooves and everything in between. I guess you could say this kinda helped forge my sound and definitely opened my mind as to the range of influences that could be dropped in a set, while always retaining the backbone of techno. This was probably my greatest influence.
How long was it after you started spinning that you felt the need to extend your performances to encompass more than the usual DJ set up?
I was always interested in what could be done with DJing if the envelope was pushed.
Probably about a year after having started DJing I set up a standard record player with no pitch alongside my Technics, and tried to mix across the three turntables with the normal record player as the starting point. The collage of sound fascinated me, and it wasn’t long before I had three Technics on the go. It’s all about keeping yourself interested when mixing because if you’re bored the masses will feel it! So to keep things spicy I kept adding things once I’d mastered a technique, and also to keep pushing myself in front of a crowd. There’s nothing that bores me more than seeing a DJ go through the motions of a technique he or she learnt years ago, but who seem to forget about the love that made them learn that technique. I feel if I really push myself and lay things on a knife edge, that I re-connect with that early energy and excitement, that unexpected mix that pops into place, that perfect bassline swap, that chord change-over… I want to feel as expectant of the next surge of music as the crowd do, and the extra gear I take out with me allows me to do this.
Have you experimented with any equipment over the years which hasn’t really worked so well for you?
I messed around with an MC-303 quite early on as an addition to the decks for a bit of live programming over the records but it didn’t really do the job for me. When I eventually picked up my first TR-909 there was no looking back, it made the Groovebox look like a toy, which it was at the time. Funnily enough I ended programming for Roland Synthesisers on their latest Groovebox; the beefed up MC-909, so it’s funny how it all comes around!
Do you feel that there is equipment which is much more appropriate for the music that you make than other bits of kit? Or do you think musical juxtaposition can have amazing results like this?
It’s always nice to have some fat analogue beasts around you when you’re producing (synthesisers, not studio pets), for the depth and character of sound, you can’t beat ‘em. Also I like having a few drum machines to play with, although a lot of the drum programming can be done internally in the sequencer through midi, I like to sometimes jam out a groove live before putting it down, to see how it moves and works in a live environment. Obviously drum machines lend themselves well towards loop-based material, as the integral factor in this music is the rhythm. I really do like the welding of live instruments and digital/analogue beats though. This sound really has come into its own in the last few years, and now I am working on a project which incorporates these elements, but it’s under a different name, in a different place, and until we finish it no information is going to be revealed!
Have you been busy producing much recently? The last thing I can recall from your good self was that bit with Anne Savage…
I’ve been in the studio loads recently by myself and with all sorts of other colourful characters — last releases out were on my labels Racetrax and Bodyshock, Racetrax 7 being myself vs Ant and Bodyshock 2 as myself and Lee Wharton as the ‘Broken Heroes’. Bodyshock is the funkier, clubbier side of my techno fetish and Racetrax is the more upfront party tunes. I’ve just finished a remix of Klitzing! for Racetrax — ‘Videos Kill The DJ’, which will be out this month, and in my opinion will be the underground techno anthem of the year — with worldwide support from Yoji Biomehanika of the original, it has already become an anthem in its own right. I’ve also recorded a collaboration with D.A.V.E .The Drummer out recently on his own Apex label, which seems to be doing very well. Tracks in the bag for the future on Racetrax include another collaboration with Paul Janes and a cracking meeting of minds for Sterling Moss vs Lab4.
How would you describe the style of music you play?
Futuristic techno grooves, some call it NRG techno, some call it mindless noise, I call it my sweet little furry animal that I like to play with in the dark.
October 22nd sees the long awaited return of Laboratory, in conjunction with Frantic for Hard House Academy’s 5th Birthday at Brixton Academy. How did you become involved with Lab4 in the first place?
I saw Lab4 play at Final Frontier in Club UK ten years ago, but never actually made contact with them until much later on. I think our first connection might have been made on stage somewhere in Amsterdam at an uber-rave, and after that we had the boys down at Tribal a few times, the event I was involved with through Tribal Tony. I think between that and many crazy nights playing together in Holland we worked out that we kinda vibed, so kept in touch to see what would evolve in the future.
James, Lez Lab4, Yoji Biomehanika, Adam Lab4
What were the other two Laboratory events like?
I have to say I’m really proud and honoured to have been asked to be part of the whole Laboratory concept from the start, and I think anyone who was at either of these events knows the little bit of magic that was captured at these parties. Lab4 really stuck their necks out getting the sound they wanted right at the events, and you truly found an exciting build up of music evolving throughout the nights, rather than DJs just banging it out from start to finish. Lab4’s live sets are always something special, but you could tell at these parties there was a connection like when a football team plays at home — the group were there with all their supporters — absolutely brilliant sets from Adam and Lez and the crowd were there with them every step of the way.
The production at Shepherd’s Bush Empire last year was also out of this world, and such a gruelling task as Adam, Lez and Kym took everything into their own hands for this project, and really showed the depth of love they had for Laboratory, working relentlessly for months setting the perfect atmosphere for a gathering that people still talk about today. Rejoining Frantic for the third Laboratory, this time at Brixton Academy, is such an exciting prospect as it’s really a great stage to play so everyone is pulling out all the stops to ensure it will be history in the making. The main thing is that it feels to me like family when we all get together, and when you are that comfortable with the people around you, I think you really excel and can push yourself as you’ve got a really good energy around you. I’ve always believed that these are the best parties as when you’ve got that energy and love at the core, it radiates straight onto the dancefloor.
Lab4 specially selected the line-up for the main room to reflect who they think are the most exciting performers around. Who else will you be checking out on the night?
Well I am particularly looking forward to the Lab4 show on this night at it’s the ‘Live Extreme’ set, and I’m sure it’s gonna take the roof off the Academy! Will be watching Yoji toy with the crowd and whip ‘em up into a frenzy, and very interested to see what Hellraiser gets up to as we’re both looked after by Kym @ Queen Of Clubs, yet I’ve never checked the dude out as this will be his UK debut, so will be keeping my eyes peeled!
So what makes up your live shows these days? What can we expect?
Primarily three Technics, two CDJs, multiple FX units, TR-909 drum machine, vocoder, lots of specially prepared loops and one off edits for the evening and maybe a Boeing 747, cheese toaster, hacksaw, multipurpose drill, couple of fez wearing monkey grinders, and a small Lebanese goat.
Noice. Is there any kit that you haven’t got your hands on yet that you have been dreaming about? What do you think are the most impressive bits of software and hardware around at the moment?
Hmm the only bit of kit I’ve been dreaming about is one of those jet packs from James Bond, so I could hover and swoop over old people in the street to scare them. As far as software goes, I think Ableton is obviously one of the most exciting developments in recent years. Logic is the daddy when it comes to sequencers, but Ableton Live is very exciting in the potential for live music sculpture on the fly. I am looking to integrate this into my setup but really don’t want to use it just as a mixing tool as many do, so want to make sure the amount of work I put in to strip all my music down to its integral parts as building blocks, is done right to make the sound as unique as I can keep it. As well as this I’m also looking for the right combination of controllers, and until I find exactly what I need, I’m holding back. For hardware, you can’t beat the good old TR-909 for studio and live work — it is the most solid and reliable bit of kit and has a sound that stands the test of time as it’s still the backbone of modern dance music.
I’ve also borrowed a Doepfer 16 step analogue sequencer off DAVE The Drummer recently that has got me pretty excited, to get some patterns off the synths in a more hands on way and break the monotony that you can sometimes get when you’re staring at a screen doing midi programming, or the rigidity of following a chord sequence when you’re sat behind a keyboard.
Have any of your live sets ever gone horribly wrong? Do you feel confident when you are performing or do you worry about potential mishaps?
I’ve had the electricity go off, tracks skipping etc. but you just weather the storm. I never stop to think about it really because I’m usually so busy behind the gear I don’t have time to do anything else! It’s really on a knife-edge sometimes and if one beat drops, everything could go wrong, but I like it that way — makes me work hard and hopefully keeps things exciting for the crowd while I’m juggling with fire.
What would you say to aspiring young DJs who are thinking of incorporating extra technologies into their DJ sets?
There’s plenty of new and exciting ways to play and manipulate music these days, just work hard at perfecting your techniques before you present them to the world. Once you get past that point where you think you have perfected using something, THEN give it some time — you’ll develop a more sublime use of that technique as time goes on so let the subtleties do the talking — sometimes less is more.
And finally, why should we come to Hard House Academy?
Fabulous music, brilliant artists performing, fantastic production, the Fragile record store, great crowds, and that little bit of magic that you can only catch at a Laboratory event. Also if you don’t come I’ll hunt you down and put a bag of flaming poo through your letterbox.
Photos thanks to Kym @ QueenOfClubs and Paul Underhill.
HHA
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On:
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Saturday 22nd October 2005
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At:
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Brixton Academy [map]
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From:
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20:30-06:00
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Cost:
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Limited £14+BF Early Bird Tickets
£17+BF Saver Tickets
£20+BF Standard Tickets
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Website:
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www.franticuk.com
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Ticket Info:
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Frantic HQ 07949 618 035/ amanda@franticuk.com
Ticketweb: 08700 600 100 / www.ticketweb.co.uk
Clubtickets: 0870 246 1840 / www.clubtickets.co.uk
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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HHA is 5!
18 SOLD OUT Events
80,000 Clubbers
200 DJs
10 Live PAs
Funktion One Sound
The Biggest Stage in Hard House!
The Only Dance Event that Always Sells Out the Biggest Club Venue in London!
That was then, this is now! The 5th Birthday will celebrate HHA's legendary HISTORY, but will also embrace the FUTURE of Hard House clubbing…prepare yourself to experience Laboratory - Experiment 3!
After months of secret negotiations Frantic have invited and secured the most innovative brand in Hard Dance to join forces with them and share in taking over the massive Main Arena to help celebrate HHA's 5th Birthday!
Laboratory is the brainchild of the World's No 1 Live Act and only takes place once a year. Each Laboratory Experiment focuses solely on DJs and acts which have been handpicked by Lab4 to create a complete journey of styles throughout the event, and who they believe will rock every single clubber to their foundations! Both Yoji Biomehanika and DJ Proteus became "Best Hard Dance DJ" in consecutive years in the UK after their initial exposure at the first two Laboratory events. Experiment 3 will be no exception. This Laboratory event has more exclusives than even we thought possible:
- Lab4 will play an exclusive 90 minute 'People's Choice' set that has become the focal point for Laboratory events. It will also be one of the most jaw-dropping performances in their 11 year career...LAB4 LIVE EXTREME will also be recorded for the third Lab4 Live double album in the Laboratory series, and marks an exciting new chapter in the Lab4 legacy. So come along and make some noise!
- Japanese sensation Yoji Biomehanika will play his ONLY London gig in 2005!
- James Moss will play his FIRST ever HHA HYBRID SET with decks, effects, and live sequence mixing!
- Rising Australian superstar, Hellraiser will DEBUT at his first ever gig in the UK at Lab4's request!
- One of Laboratory's signature oversized robot friends will reappear from the shadows for the first time at Brixton Academy!
- Cally & Juice will be take on the infamous ONE LOVE performers! Angle grinding is back!
- Mark EG will also be rocking his FIRST ever HHA crowd!
The stage design, sound, lighting and decor will be designed specially by Frantic and Laboratory to give you a next generation, digitalexperience! Laboratory will take place on a purpose built stage the likes of which you have never seen.
Sound quality will be better than ever! For the first time ever we will be using the mighty new Line Array soundsystem, normally found on the outdoor stages at Glastonbury, Reading and other rock festivals. Powerful ain’t the word!
Nowhere rocks like the Academy. This is HHA. This is Laboratory. This is the FUTURE of HARD House!
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Flyer:
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