5 Questions with Rags #34 - JFB

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The first time I saw JFB was a few years ago in Fractal Forest at my first Shambhala Music Festival (2013). I didn’t know anything about electronic music or DJ culture outside of hip-hop. While my friends were talking amongst themselves, trying to decide where to go dance next, my eyes were directed to the large screens surrounding the stage. I was instantly mesmerized watching the hands of JFB work magic on the turntables. It didn’t hurt that he was crushing the tasty hip-hop vibes I needed. I asked my buddy who I was watching and BAM, named locked in. He was the first DJ I paid to go see outside of Shambhala. (I met him at that show, but being overly shy I couldn’t bring myself to start an actual conversation.) Since then JFB has become one of my go-to DJs when I don’t know what to put on. Dude’s output is so damned prolific with a constant stream of routines, tracks and mixes (Including those bloody rad BattleJam mixes he lays down). This is a long-winded way of saying JFB was a huge catalyst of my journey into electronic music and if you’re not listening to him, you’re making a huge mistake. Don’t keep making the same mistakes: Listen to JFB.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with you own money?

1st album I bought was with my own money, but that money was given to me by my mum. It was 10p = 5 cents (Canadian) Anyway was at a car boot sale. A 'Readers Digest' Vinyl compilation of film soundtracks themed 'The Musical', 'The Western', 'The Drama' & 'The Action.' So we are talking Orchestral soundtracks of big films, but like re-runs/ variated versions of the main themes, almost like remixes...

I was only 6 or 7 years old and forgot about it quite quickly, Can't remember if I was allowed to play with my parent’s record player back then or not. Just remember finding it, 2 or 3 years into DJing when I 1st started scratching and sampling... probably made a few tracks out of it... can't remember the favourite track, but probably one of the Westerns. Still got it somewhere, might pull it out!!

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5 Questions with Rags #33 - DOUBLE BILL w/ MARTEN HØRGER & Funkanomics!

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People often say that I’m lucky, but it’s really just a matter of trying. I’ve been trying to hook this up with Marten Horger for awhile now, and as luck would have it he’s on the road in my wonderful home country of Canada and he’s touring with another favourite of mine, the appropriately and greatly monikered Funkanomics. And because they’re both apparently very rad people, we got answers from both for this very special edition of the 5 Questions!

Both of these cats bring the funky goodness but both feed different needs in my bass diet. My nights dancing in my girlfriend’s laundry room start with the lighter, groovy Funkanomics aesthetic and when it gets late Marten Horger is there to bring that slightly more menacing Punks music aesthetic. Guy is a straight up killer. His Beats. Vol.3 Mix was one of my most played mixes of 2015 and the Funkanomics Chillax mixes rank among my most played mixes of all-time.

Go catch them on their Canadian tour if you get a chance. The good homeys in SkiiTour are also helping them out on this. If you like dancing, this is not a show to be missed.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?
Marten Horger: Yes, it was Michael Jackson – Dangerous. It was #1 in Germany at the time. That cover was so damn good and the riff of “Black or White” was just epic.

FxFarmer aka Dan of Funkanmoics: My first album was AC/DC Flick of the Switch on Vinyl, yes I still own this record and I listend to it over 1000 times!!

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5 Questions with Rags #32 - Neon Steve

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I’ve written about Neon Steve extensively over the last couple of years (Basically, since my first Shambhala – an inspiration we share) because the guy just keeps hitting home runs. In a world of clones, ol’ Neon Steve has carved out his own unique place in the thriving West Coast electronic scene. His taste is impeccable, his scratching ability is evident and his production is top-notch. While dude can rock the party like few can, it’s not all balls-to-the-wall action. His Pleasensations mixes are goldmines of groovy relaxitude that work chilling in the bath, getting through a shift at work or getting down in the sheets with whoever you’re into that with. (Try other activities while listening to these mixes and come up with your own winning combination!) I’ve been hoping to get my fellow Victoria on here for awhile and I caught up with him during some rare downtime to talk about the terror of space travel, getting inspired in Fractal Forest and one of the best places to play on Vancouver Island. (Hint: It’s the Waverley, in Cumberland.)

And, for your listening pleasure, as chosen by the man himself, the first of two Neon Steve essentials.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?

Yeah, I do. It was Eminem’s album, one of the first ones, Slimy Shady LP. I tricked my parents into buying it on their Columbia House account. They found out what it was after they gave it to me and took it away.

Did you ever get it back?

No, I don’t think so. I was super young at the time so it was a no-go.

Do you still ever listen to anything off that record?

No, definitely not. <laugh>

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5 Questions with Rags #31 - DJ Roast Beatz

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Ghetto Funk was my way into the vast world of electronic music. A few years in and I’m still sold on the easy grooving sounds that the label/genre has spawned. You can imagine my giddiness when the Ghetto Funk Podcast started showing up on their soundcloud page early last year. In this case, a podcast worked like it was supposed to and I sought out the maker of the ‘cast. Well, the man behind that wonderful funky document is DJ Roast Beatz and man, this guy knows what’s up. Steeped in hip-hop goodness, Roast Beatz’ mixes and tracks reside in that lovely middle-ground that all party-goers can agree on. It’s taken nearly a year for this little chat to see the light of day, but now, I present to you dear friends, DJ ROAST BEATZ.

“The only thing I’d say about any music is just keep it funky, with meaning. That’s what makes us dance, nod our heads, learn things about life, come to terms with things and sing the tune the next day. Whether your using a drum kit or a drum machine, synth or trumpet, if it’s funky people will get down to it.”

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Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money? Fav track? Does it still hold up?

With my own money? Either a Jacko album or 3 Feet High and Rising. They were both on tape. My first vinyl was Fugees’ The Score. Favourite track is a tough one. I haven’t bumped much Jacko lately, would either be “Smooth Criminal” or “Bille Jean.” These days I’m more of a Jackson 5 kind of guy! 3 Feet High and Rising, is too hard to pick. De La had a massive impact on my life, especially De La Soul is Dead. That album got me through some really hard times as a kid. I’ve only just started to grasp the albums importance in my life as I’ve got older and faced a lot of shit from the past. 

Favourite from 3 Feet though? Either “Buddy,” “Change in Speak,” “Eye know” or “Say No Go.” “Buddy” is more for the remix, “Change in Speak” for the Cymande sample. “Eye Know” always reminds me of Daewon songs skate section in World Industries New World order. And “Say No Go” is just an absolute banger! I still play all the De La songs regularly in my sets.

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5 Questions with Rags #30 - DJ Jimi Needles (w/ Exclusive Remix!)

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As I’ve ventured further into the world of electronic music, more pointedly – BASS MUSIC – I’ve noticed an incredible gap between the accessible and the challenging. It seems the entry-level stuff gets discarded quickly in favour of darker, harder-on-the-ear music. The artists that newbies and vets can agree on get further and further away from one another. Sometimes though there are artists, DJs, who dwell in that vast chasm, building tiny bridges so friends on either side of the divide can find each other once again. Jimi Needles is one of these DJs. His mixes and mixtapes are places where people who aren’t familiar with the increasingly large world of bass music can sit comfortably with the ones who need the harder stuff after years of the easy shit. His soundcloud has become an invaluable tool in my life for finding a quick solution as to what to put on when the downtime in a group comes, or even better, when trying to listen to something new with people who have less clue than I and still want their electronic music rooted in the comfortable rhythms and grooves of real life. This is all a long way of saying Jimi Needles makes bass music that everyone can love. If you’re having a party and need to get asses shaking, I promise, you can’t go wrong.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?

Fatboy Slim, You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby. That album was fucking sick and it’s still the sickest thing ever.

What’s your favourite track on there?

One is “Praise You.” I don’t know about you, but you know when you get older and you just want to investigate where the DNA of these songs comes from? For instance, you go onto Who Samples and type in any song and it’ll tell you who and what was sampled. As a 10 year old I had never had anything like that and now it really appeals to me. I was kind of aware of hip-hop at the time because I had a CD I was given around 1996, it had Public Enemy and stuff on it and I was just like, “Whoa, what the fuck is this?” It was a compilation disc and I thought it was completely sick. I could make the correlation that I really liked the funky beats and aggressive lyrics then I heard Fatboy Slim and thought, “Okay, I still like this but it’s not hip-hop.” I didn’t even know what it was called. I mean, it’s breaks, but when I was a kid I didn’t know what the fuck it was. But that album, when you take samples and arrange them, you still can’t make it the same as it is on the album. It’s absolutely mental how someone does that. It takes the most extensive musical mind to pull that off. And Norman Cook, Fatboy Slim, paved the way. There was also scratching on there and scratching was something I was aware of but not being cool or a DJ, I had no fucking idea what it was really was. So, there’s “Praise You” and there’s also a track on there called “Fucking in Heaven,” that I used play really loud. My parents would come upstairs and say, “What the fuck is this?”

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