Hi Carl – thank you for talking to the DMC World. You are one of the finest DJs, producers and pioneers we have ever seen. Everyone at DMC worships you.
So… What you up to today, I’m sitting on my bedroom floor in my pyjamas drinking tea and eating a crumpet. What you doing?
“Ha ha. Pyjamas… that’s so funny, but pyjamas are really trendy these days aren’t they Dan? It’s quite fashionable, kinda of a Playboy Hugh Heffner image..”
What was growing up in Detroit like, when you were a teenager? Was the city a safe place? A certain hip hop rapper with white hair didn’t portray it that way in his movie? Looked a rough city…
Well, The Errol Flynns were a criminal organization, or street gang, founded on the East side of Detroit during the 1970s. Reportedly the gang appropriated their name from the Hollywood film star Errol Flynn because they fashioned themselves as flamboyant gangsters in dress and ‘jitting’, or using hand signs to identify themselves publicly. This semiotic use of hand gestures to display gang membership, common to contemporary American street gangs as well as hip hop culture, evolved from dances such as the Errol Flynns’ crew which were in themselves territorial gang symbols. In the 1970s, house parties in Detroit could be identified by gang affiliation through the type of dance party-goers performed, whether or not they were actually in the gang. The Errol Flynns evolved, like other Detroit street gangs such as their Westside Detroit counterparts in the late 70’s the Nasty Flynns (later the NF Bangers) and Black Killers or drug consortiums of the 1980’s such as Young Boys Inc., Pony Down, Best Friends, Black Mafia Family and the Chambers Brothers, out of the racial and economic unrest that transformed Detroit in the late 1960s and 1970s. As people and capital left Detroit for suburban communities, the city’s social and economic infrastructure buckled, leaving the community fractured and impoverished. As the murder rate soared to the highest in the United States and the city became increasingly viewed as dangerous and in perpetual decline, gangs began to seize territories. The Errol Flynns were regarded as perhaps the most notorious group for several reasons. Firstly, they took great pride in their physical appearance and style which attracted many young people to their parties. The poverty and urban decay percolating through Detroit made the gang lifestyle attractive to many. Secondly, Detroit underwent a dramatic demographic shift called white flight in the 1970s. Many of the public housing projects such as Herman Gardens went from a racially diverse community to a homogeneous black residence in a few short years. Thus gangs appealed to racial unity and pride, amidst the racial intolerance and strife afflicting the city. Moreover, The Errol Flynns became a wealthy organization that monopolized many criminal rackets including extortion, robbery, and drug trafficking. Yet they were also linked to several notorious mass robberies, including a hijacking and robbery of concert goers at a rock concert in Cobo Hall in 1977 that drew the Detroit riot police. Accordingly, the gang grew to include almost four hundred members. Yet this prominence brought police, public and political attention and many gang members were eventually jailed. The Errol Flynns gang eventually collapsed in the 1980s, partially because of the rise of crack cocaine, which undermined the Flynns’ heroin trade, as well as the successful prosecution of many gang leaders who remain incarcerated today. One member who made a successful transition from thug to honest citizen was Greg Mathis, a lawyer and retired Michigan judge who has his own television show Judge Mathis. He published a memoir Inner City Miracle in 2002 partially chronicling his time in the gang. The Errol Flynns are recognized as the precursors to every gang that followed. Other notable gangs of substantial size and heavily involved in drug dealing from the 70’s and 80’s and early 90’s are the “Be Like Boys”, “Dexter Boys” – an offshoot of YBI, “Schoolcraft Boys or SCB’s”, “Fenkell Boys”, “7 Mile Boys”, “Linwood Boys”, “Brewster Boys”, “Jeffries Boys” and “8 Mile Boys”. All except the “Be Like Boys” are named after Detroit city streets or housing projects and some still exist as new generations have emerged to take over. There is a new gang from Detroit that is modelled after “The Errol Flynns” called the LVC crew. Inside sources say the gang was founded by some disgruntled call center employees. They are based out the Southwest Detroit/Dearborn areas. Their intentions are unknown at this time.
So how did you get into the music world?
“It was kinda hard, you had to work it. I started in a small radio station, supporting small artists pushing them, I had the same problems that the UK has with the PPL with our Canadian version. I was involved with our Grammys and the Performance Awards – both had different views. A very difficult time.”
What artists were you listening to back in those days, I understand jazz and soul were an inspiration to you?
“So many people with a voice. Stuff that Berry Gordy put out. The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davies. The radio was a huge help, put it that way. Music for the soul Dan…”
A great set of Summer gigs coming up, Portugal, The Netherlands, Austria, Japan, Spain – but Get Loaded In The Park in London reforming the Innerzone Orchestra for an exclusive performance with a brand new line-up of musicians and a 10 piece string orchestra. Re-scoring the entire Innerzone catalogue and introducing new additional instruments, this has never been seen or done before anywhere in the world. And then Orbital coming on. Excited?
“How can I describe it? This set up is so close to my heart. It’s a wonderful thing… Being near to Orbital who have such a similar vibe as myself… incredible. We want to try and change how festivals could work…
How do you feel to be quoted as the most important figure that shaped the world of Techno, second time around?
“I have heard this quote before, I have too many figureheads above me and also don’t want to be categorised, music and DJs has to progress…”
Who are your big Detroit buddies these days – which DJs do you swig a beer with or play a game with pool with?
“Ha. Derrick May is such great friend, he came to my daughter’s first birthday last weekend. All of Detroit are in my crew.”
You have released many amazing albums under a large number of aliases such as BFC, Psyche, Paperclip People, 69, Designer Music and Innerzone Orchestra. The track from your outfit Innerzone Orchestra ‘ Bug In The Bassbin’ probably part of the evolving sound of Drum N’Bass – what do you think has been your best ever release?
“You are asking such difficult questions, perhaps ‘Poor People Must Work’.
You created your own label Planet E label where along with your own work, you released records with the likes of Kevin Saunderson, Alton Miller and Moodyman. Who do you think had the best talent you put out with that label?
“Dan – a loaded question dude. Each artist has so much talent. Kevin Saunderson has such an ear for music, all over the board. The others know dance music inside out and that’s what they do best. Everybody brings something to the table….”
Who is the best Techno DJ ever?
“Derrick May – no question.”
What is the best club you have ever played at?
“Another easy answer, Yellow in Tokyo”
My sister is a Gemini, like yourself, have you a split personality like her?
“Brilliant question. Why do you think I have so many different monikers that I produce under?”
You have just had a birthday, how did you celebrate it?
“At my house with all my friends – a double celebration with the release of my CD Box set…”
What are the biggest tunes you are playing right now?
“I still love spinning my remix of Faze Action’s ‘In The Trees’ a dark, string-led anthem of UK house music. Love it.
Sickest record ever made?
E2 E4 Manuel by Gottsching. Think hypnotic, obscure electronic music – unusual to say the least. He recorded it 25 years ago, it languished on tape until 1984 – it has a real trance like beauty as melody shifts. In 1989 it became the backbone of the hit Sueno Latino – not so much a record itself, more a remix of the original – and one of the first truly classic Balearic records. The people who had first come across Gottsching’s epic included the likes of Derrick May and DFC – the Italian production team behind Sueno. Listening to this record now, its influence seems to reach right across the dance music map. Considering when it was recorded, it sounds light years ahead of its time and it has been described as the record that invented Techno. It’s because of this it has been name checked many times. Somewhat difficult to obtain alongside ‘Planet Rock’, ‘Trans Europe Express’, “‘Strings Of Life’, and ‘I Feel Love’.
What is the best and worst thing about living in Detroit?
“It’s cheap. Both ways round”
Thank you Carl, a real pleasure…
“And you Dan”.
