“The message is simply to not let life pass you by. Always try to keep things fresh, explore the new, keep moving and above all don’t be held back by fear…”
Interview by Dan Prince
JD73 a huge welcome to DMCWORLD towers – where on planet earth are you today?
Thank you DMCWORLD! Pleasure to be here. Right now I’m in the studio in Leeds working on the 4th JD73 album! Gotta keep moving!
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after rolling out of bed?
Erm…this is pretty sad but it was the theme tune to Paw Patrol that my kids watch!! Not very rock and roll I know. Ideally it would have been D’angelo’s Spanish Joint or a Quincy Jones/Rod Temperton production. I’ll do that tomorrow instead!
Congratulations on your excellent new album ‘Make Your Move’, please talk us through some of your highlight tunes…
Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Well, being the artist, it’s kinda hard to pick highlights but ‘Believe In Love’ is still one of my faves, Fraser’s vocal performance on it is killer and it’s still getting a great response – it’s kinda housey, kinda souly but it’s got a really positive message. ‘What You Got’ is another fave with it’s dirty Moog bass mixed with some tough live drums, funk guitars, huge gospel/RnB vocals, big guitar solo on the end and lots of drama. It has a really positive message about appreciating the things in life we often take for granted. ‘Gimme A Chance’ features a great up and coming singer called Harriet (Soulstress) Chadwick and it’s a bit of a departure for me, having a more intimate, acoustic vibe, but it’s a really Summery track and her voice is amazing, as is Malcolm Strachan’s (The Haggis Horns) trumpet solo on the end. I always like to make a couple of instrumentals and the album has 2 – ‘Marimba Dance’ which is a more electronic 80’s synth vibe (inspired by Wally Badarou’s Chief Inspector) and ‘Tripping Out’ which is a more jazzy vibe. I started off making Jazz-funk instrumentals like this on my first album ‘Zeros and Ones’ and it still feels really natural to make those kinda tracks which are a big part of the JD73 sound. Other highlights for me include the in-your-face title track with the horns tracking the vocal melody, and it’s also got a pretty epic playout at the end with the horns, guitar, Rhodes and Hammond leading things, coupled with some really edgy vocals from Miss (Rachel) Modest. ‘Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling’ Features Pete Simpson, which is currently getting a lot of love on the radio. It’s about someone coming into your life and changing it massively for the better. Finally there’s ‘All Night Long’ Ft Ella May, which is a Chic-inspired disco-ish track about forgetting your 9-5 and letting loose.
What’s the message behind the album?
The message is simply to not let life pass you by. Always try to keep things fresh, explore the new, keep moving and above all don’t be held back by fear. – It’s easy to get stuck or too comfortable in a not-so-great situation and never find the courage to break free from it. This album is to basically encourage people to realise that life doesn’t have to be all about the 9-5 grind, there’s SO much more to live for!
You are essentially a one man band, but have all kinds of great singers and musicians featured on the album, who is involved and how did you go about the writing process?
I guess I’m a bit of a control freak musically so I like to come up with a vision for an album, a main message that runs through the tracks. Tunes sometimes pop into my head in their entirety but sometimes just sections such as a chorus or verse. I record everything into the voice memo’s section on my iPhone, then I trawl through them picking the best ideas and piecing them together. Next, I make demos in the computer with the basic instrumentation (using plugin versions of the real instruments intially), and me singing the melodies and lyrics, which then get passed onto the singers. I envisage on the track- it’s normally clear straight away who has the right vibe for the track and it’s usaully a very organic process. I’m lucky to be surrounded by some great friends/vocalists and musicians up here in Leeds and the N/E. Fraser Jowle is a real heavyweight vocalist, he’s got an amazing ear, he’s very precise and soulful. Rachel Modest has got a very Chaka Khan-esque vibe, very powerful voice, and an amazing ear for harmonies and she works so quickly. Sara Garvey (Ella May/Nightmares On Wax) has a real gritty yet warm and soulful vibe which I love, (she sang ‘Think Twice’ off my last album ‘Pure Gold’, which is still one of my most popular tracks) and she brings a real playful yet mesmerising vibe to ‘All Night Long’ on the new album. Pete Simpson is a legend, having sung on many big house tracks and fronted the Sunburst Band and he brings a sweet yet raw soulful flavour to ‘Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling’. We recorded the vocals in Pete’s front room back in 2011- he’s one of the finest male vocalists around. Finally, Harriet (Soulstress) Chadwick, she’s only in her early twenties, but her voice sounds way more mature than that, she has a very pure yet soulful vibe but can get very gritty too, she definitely sounds a bit like Erykah Badu at times. Rhythm section-wise, every track features my good friends Erroll Rollins on drums, Gordon Kilroy on congas and Johnny Heyes on guitar who know just how to translate my initially programmed drums, percussion and guitar parts into live instrumentation. And to add the final icing there’s horns from The Haggis Horns and Ronnie Christlow and Ed Collins. We all know each other very well and we’ve all played together in various bands over many years. It’s always a good laugh recording together!
You’re somewhat of a keyboard wizard and collector, what’s you’re favourite synth and why?
I’m a proper nerd when it comes to keyboards! In fact it’s an addiction (they call it GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome!). I own about 20 keyboards ranging from the early 70’s through to now and although I certainly collect keyboards, they all get played and used reguarly on sessions and on my JD73 tracks. My favourite synth at the moment (it changes regularly) has got to be the Alesis Andromeda – it’s a super-powerful analogue polysynth with so many options for dialing in just the sound you want which could be a classic Moog-style bass, Oberheim synth brass or a delicate lead. It can do it all- it’s ridiculous what Alesis and the Andromeda team pulled off when you think about it!
If you could collaborate with a Jazz or Soul great (alive or dead) on your next project, who would it be?
Wow, that’s a tough call. I guess it would have to be working with D’angelo, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Betty Davis, The Headhunters, or doing a two-keyboard vibe with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters. Wouldn’t turn down working with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton either!! I can dream anyway!
You’ve worked with many bands over the years, including Morcheeba, tell us a funny story from your days with them.
Wow so many great times- funny stories include tobogganing down from the Great Wall Of China, which was pretty epic! Playing footy with Oasis in a traffic jam in Portugal and table footy with Queens Of The Stone Age, I also remember miming guitar in front of 1000’s in Italy (I dont actually play guitar!), when Morcheeba’s guitarist was ill one time, I just laughed the whole way through it. In fact we all swapped instruments and it went out live! Playing MTV in Lisbon in Air Iberia t-shirts when the airline lost all our luggage, flying on a private jet and spotting loose rivets mid air in the wings.. Actually that wasnt funny at the time! Seriously though, we had some epically fun times though, 4 world tours over 8 years. Brilliant!
The best thing about living in the north east is?
I love it up here, lived here all my life, love the countryside, walking, the coast, the laid-back vibe, there’s some amazing musicians up here…and of course decent fish and chips and a nice cuppa!
Have you any plans to tour live?
Oh yes, big plans! Currently planning some touring with my new 8-piece band, more news on that soon via my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/jd73fanpage
What are your 5 big tunes of the moment?
You know what’s weird, I don’t really listen to new music much when I’m making albums (mainly old stuff), so I’m not really too up on what’s current. But of the newer music I’ve bought recently, I’m really loving D’angelo’s ‘Betray My Heart’, Dego’s ‘We’ve Been Here Before’, Opolopo’s ‘Staying Power’, Lianne La Havas’ ‘Unstoppable’ and I’ll add in my remix of Incognito’s ‘Send Your Love’.
The best thing about Summer is..?
Being able to work outside with my laptop instead of being stuck in a dark studio. Eating and drinking outdoors, spending time with my family and getting a holiday if I’m lucky! And I love playing festivals too.
An up and coming producer to watch out for over the next 12 months?
I’m not really sure who’s up and coming, but some of my favourite producers at the mo are Dego, Opolopo, Maxwell Bidstrup and Simon Grey. Sorry that’s more than one but I’ve got a lot of faves!
List 3 things we don’t know about JD73
JD73 stands for Jazz Doctor 73.
I’m a classically trained pianist and a bassist too.
My first JD73 track ‘Happy People’ came out in 2006 on Nightmares On Wax’s ‘Wax On’ label.
The last GREAT album you listened to?
Herbie Hancock ‘Manchild’
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
Hopefully releasing ‘Make Your Move’ on vinyl, I’m also going to re-release my first album ‘Zeros and Ones’, plus I’m always dropping tracks on the JD73 bandcamp page – tracks that don’t necessarily fit onto my albums. There’ll also be a 4th JD73 album coming too, so I’m working hard on that! Also, getting into the studio soon with my ‘Electrio’, which is a Rhodes-led funk band in a Herbie Hancock Headhunters style. Plus there a few remixes on the agenda…
Thanks for having me DMCWORLD!
JD73 ‘Make Your Move’ will be released on July 31st 2015 worldwide on Splash Music Productions
Preview / https://soundcloud.com/jd73/jd73-make-your-move-album-sampler-release-31715
