Spec Boogie – Bed Stuy from Boombaye’ on Vimeo.
okp question time????
by admin, February 18 2010 3 responses
this is an interview with okayplayer board members instigated by Mdcl !!!
(imcvspl)
* List of influences
London pirate radio stations and soundsystem’s in the 80′s.i didnt go to music school(wish i had in hindsight) instead i attended all dayers and blues dances.where reggae was played next to hip hop and house next to funk.so thankyou LWR,Funkadelic,Rock2Rock,Mastermind roadshow etc etc.
my crew Akwasi,Kaidi Tatham and Matt Lord also help me by teaching me music techniques and exercises.
my crew Akwasi,Kaidi Tatham and Matt Lord also help me by teaching me music techniques and exercises.
Football(please do not call it soccer or mistake it for that superbowl tingy).i LOVE it. its a big influence its my escape from the heartache and pressures of the day.probably the only time my mind is clear.
* Equipment list
In NYC im rocking a small set up that includes a minimoog,moog prodigy,korg polysix,roland juno 106 and a super jupiter.Lordamercy custom mic pre amp.apogee duet,Logic 6,8 and 9(dont ask why all three).
In storage in London or in friends possession i have an oberheim obxa,roland jx3p,paraphonic 505,tb303,fender rhodes,arp omni & solina,moog source,polymoog,bass guitar,various efx pedals and percussion.
In storage in London or in friends possession i have an oberheim obxa,roland jx3p,paraphonic 505,tb303,fender rhodes,arp omni & solina,moog source,polymoog,bass guitar,various efx pedals and percussion.
* Impressions on the ‘scene’ in 2010
‘Scene’ what scene?i am not in touch with what is current.everytime i do try to see whats up i just hear folks complaining or get recommended something i end up turning my nose at.the last 2 or 3 years have not had many highlights in general.i have learned to just focus on my own groove and continue with it regardless of if it is hip or not. in fact i rather like being unfashionable.all that said i am eagerly awaiting theo parrish & bill beaver’s ‘cant keep running away’ and luvbugz ‘better’.
–
(bizzz)
What inspires Dego in his writing lyrics?
i moan and whinge about everything.so you probably noticed that 75% of my lyrics is complaining about something or other.i used to drop some peace loving cosmic vibes but my cynical nature usually gets the better of me.
–
(convoe)
1.) If you could work with any mainstream artist and give them a single for their album who would it be? and why?
Sean Paul.why because unlike your modern day rappers he knows how to ride a riddem besides he is a Jamaican brother.Also J-Lo but my motives here would be all wrong.lol…shit ive probably blown any small chance of that gig.
2.) Why was there such a delay for this Silhouette Brown album?
the delays boiled down to 3 main reasons. the label we were signed to folded and i moved to NYC and we all had other projects on the go.then again is this a delay i think we are right on time people might get sick of a new lp every 18months,no? i dont know!you tell me.
3.) What will be the next single off the project?
i am awaiting a remix of ‘We Used to Run Steady’ that will be available for free.not really concentrating on single’s just trying get people into the lp as a whole.
4.) As great as your music is … Why do you think it’s harder for the mainstream audiences to digest your music?
Well this question is not for my music in particular i think it should be directed towards ‘good music’.
when people are fed a diet of beans on toast all their lives,how the hell are they going to digest and appreciate some fine well balanced diet? what i am saying is there is no balance nowadays, growing up the top 30 chart was incredible looking back.straight up bubble gum pop stood next to social commentary from The Specials the way out there sounds of Art of Noise and the groove of D-Train.the shit is so elementary now that its embarrassing. to sell worldwide you have to win ‘pop idol’ ffs. as for all this style over substance…. ok i better stop before i rant.time i go listen to some Underground Resistance,Micachu & MF Doom.
when people are fed a diet of beans on toast all their lives,how the hell are they going to digest and appreciate some fine well balanced diet? what i am saying is there is no balance nowadays, growing up the top 30 chart was incredible looking back.straight up bubble gum pop stood next to social commentary from The Specials the way out there sounds of Art of Noise and the groove of D-Train.the shit is so elementary now that its embarrassing. to sell worldwide you have to win ‘pop idol’ ffs. as for all this style over substance…. ok i better stop before i rant.time i go listen to some Underground Resistance,Micachu & MF Doom.
5.) If you could go back in time and find yourself (a young Dego) knowing what you know now …. what would you say to yourself?
DO NOT ask her out dego she is scraggly come on man look a her.she ugly inside and out…..lol.
No i would say stop hiding behind all these pseudonyms and triple check your quality control.
No i would say stop hiding behind all these pseudonyms and triple check your quality control.
–
(E_Rhythmz)
Who’s your favorite female artist to work with AND will this (Q&A) be on your website? I want to make sure it’s legit, ya mean?
Alma and Bembe are my favourites for getting the job done and hitting the harmonies 1st take.a new favourite is Obenewa she is on point and a joker in the studio.
i had no plans to put this on my site but to satisfy you i will post it on my blog page.
i had no plans to put this on my site but to satisfy you i will post it on my blog page.
–
(3d1gg4)
what’s the album (not yours of course) you listened to the most in your life ?
i used to listen to johnny hammond ‘shifting gears’ lp religously.i will not have a bad word said against that lp or the Mizell brothers. i will fight anyone to the death if they dare question this.do you hear me?TO THE DEATH i said
–(kayru99)
any plans to put together a live band to perform in the States?
Silhouette Brown will tour this April in the states.so far its nyc,d.c,chicago,atlanta and san fran. im really more comfortable as a producer in the studio controlling all the elements thats why there have not been too many live occassions.
Do either you or Marc Mac plan on releasing anymore “beat tapes”?
Beat tapes?!what beat tapes?….by the way www.btsradio.com
–
(Leroy Bumpkin)
What happened to Deborah Jordan? Was it a matter of y’all just in different directions musically? With the first SB being such a success, I was surprised she wasn’t a part of TWO.
Deborah Jordan is doing her thing she put out her solo lp in 2008 i think. it was not a matter of different musical directions as the music goes in our(K&D) direction.full stop.I moved to nyc and i didnt have the time to be flying back an forth to record vocals.plus i wanted a richer sounding voice on ‘two’.What’s up w/ the hip hop album you’re doing? I want to know more about that.
well i used to have a lot of requests to do a follow up to ‘simply’ but i got fed up of the producer led thing so i found a rapper and got to work.Some folks just dont have the same work ethics as me so it got shelved.i wanted to find a new rapper but im too fussy with flows and as a producer i like to give pointers because ‘i gotta kick something that means something’ but some rappers dont wanna be questioned or wish to experiment.so fuck em..lol……having said all that Spec Boogie and i have some shit bubbling.
–
(E_Rhythmz)
Like who’s that young woman on Simple Sacrifice?
that would be Nadine Charles she is one of the many gems in London waiting to be unleashed.she is online, links are at my site under ‘about’.
–
(Howisya)
1. I noticed that you and Marc Mac don’t share a single writing credit on the whole of the Play With The Changes album. Was this album recorded separately and released together as a group a la Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below? If not, what is your collaborative process like? (This last question is polite bullshit as it’s pretty obvious to even a sometimey 4hero fan that they don’t work together anymore, but it’d be nice to get an official answer to this first question.)
Mark and i have not produced together since ‘two pages’.although i did play keys on a couple things but not lp stuff. it is not consciously done just turned out like this.even Jacobs Optical Stairway and most of Tom & Jerry were separate.we was meant to do something on the last lp but he lives outside London and i dont drive a car and you know how lazy musicians can get.lol…..you know it’s a little like a marriage where the kids have grown up & left home, suddenly you realise that she wants to time travel to the 7th dimension and you just wants to stay home & make model train sets. And while you would like her to be oven ready with a nice cassoulet,she would like to leave all the cookbooks on the kitchen table with a note with ‘Have a nice life. See you at Sheila’s (daughter) wedding’
2. Did you make a conscious decision to move away from the earlier (4hero) sound into a more neo-soul, R&B, mellow jazz direction?
excuse me.i dont make mellow jazz thankyou.well 4hero after getting signed to mercury/talkin loud knew it needed songs as it quickly became apparent that the label was not gonna have us as a priority.besides it was a challenge for us and great to learn how to produce the way of people we had followed all our lives.so whilst we made ‘cooking up your brain’ we went home and listened to clifford coulter ‘loves to hot to hide’…you get me?–
(dillinjah)
Jacob’s Optical Stairway: talk about it. Specifically, what went into making that record?
Outta their (4hero) discography to date, I think that record is the one that is most criminally slept on.Playing that 15 years later, it still sounds ahead of the times.
aah man that was a long time ago.i will try to remember what i can.firstly we loved detroit techno and was fortunate to become friends with a lot of the artists,carl craig,mad mike,kevin saunderson,claude young,juan atkins(who is on the lp) etc .now R&S records approached us to do it and we felt it would be great to be the first D&B artist on the roster alongside the techno greats.
we wanted to to make techno,slighty cinematic drum & bass. it was made pretty fast because it was an enjoyable process. it was my first time using a vocoder and rocking a minimoog.we used a fostex 16track which helped with the sound.you cant beat the sound of tape.there was a fair bit of jd 800 going on too.hold on lemme find the lp so i can refresh my memory.brb….ok right then, madness.lol.i love the fact it was made free of any chains.
we used to do weekends of lab coat sessions.processing sounds retreating drum breaks.made our shit distinctive.i should get back into that.
ok thanks for the questions,and a big NO thanks to mashi.i dont really do this stuff but it was cool.
support good music when ever and where ever possible.
easy
d e g o
