DJ Pierre v François K

One club.Two legends. A million memories. Egg London get ready

Interview : Rob Chadwick

 

For the first time in clubbing history the mighty DJ Pierre and François K spin back to back.

London you are truly blessed. DMCWORLD gets the world exclusive interview…


Nathan, François welcome back to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you guys today?

DJ Pierre :Glad to be back dawg. Right now I’m in my hotel room at ADE. Getting ready for some interviews and then the Get Physical party later on.”

François: “Hey DMCWORLD! Back in NYC for a few days right after just flying back from ADE and Southport Weekender this past Sunday.”

Saturday November 1st sees a very special night for London town when you spin a very exclusive back to back set together at Familia’s birthday down at Egg. Have you both had a chat and talked about the music for the night or are you just going to see where it goes…?

François : “We have not as of yet, I am sure I will be touching base with him before this, but I am confident that it will go very smooth because I have heard him a number of times and do feel what we do is very compatible and with a similar vibe. After playing Output in Brooklyn a while back, we most recently also shared the same stage in Glastonbury this Summer. Since I read his interview I can tell you I was quite surprised that he picked Floorplan’s track as his big tune of the summer, because it’s been one of mine as well. This is very telling that we’re pretty much in sync with what we’ll be playing on November 1st.”

DJ Pierre : I don’t think we need to talk about the set beforehand. I’ve played with François on the same billing, Glastonbury most recently and also about 2 years ago in NY when they just opened a venue called Output. It’s one of the best venues in the States now. I think our show was the second or maybe first show there. There we go breaking grounds again.”

François, who are some of the producers from around the world you have enjoyed going back to back with in the past? 

“I have been doing such events with many people including Derrick May (as Cosmic Twins), Dimitri From Paris (as Super Disco Experience), Laurent Garnier, Jeff Mills, and of course my two greatest musical friends Joaquin ‘Joe’ Claussell and Danny Krivit when we do Body&SOUL together. I just think there’s something truly special about being able to vibe with someone else you admire and feed off their energy, all the while keeping things a bit unpredictable. All too often these days it feels as if certain shows are ‘phoned in’ as in: pre-planned and with not much room for error. This is a way to get back to the feeling it’s supposed to be, fresh and spontaneous and I think the public appreciates this.”

And Pierre, I think I’m right in saying this is new ground for you?

“You’re absolutely right, this the first time I’ve ever played a true B2B session. Promoters have billed me back to back before but that just meant I came after the other artists or they come after me. Lol. So this will be history for me.  In the past I’ve never accepted requests to do a true B2B because when I get in a zone there is only room for my mind and heart and soul – you know. No interruptions. But I’m older now and more patient and understanding of the creative process overall. So I’m just open to the creative process. I can flow.”

The last twelve months has seen you back on the road with Spanky, more than a decade after you split with Earl Smith Jr. Pierre you admit there was unfinished business for Phuture…what happened at that first conversation last year that recreated one of dance music’s most important bands?

“Well we have always been in contact over the years. I supported him to tour as PHUTURE 303 so he can continue on making a living as well. I was extremely busy with just being DJ Pierre so we had different paths but remained in contact. I helped out with Phuture 303 projects producing and writing tracks for them. So there has always been a sort of “I’m in, but not really in” relationship with Phuture. Over the past few years I’ve been getting a lot of production requests with acid basslines etc. and my gigs they were asking for all acid sets. Acid House has never gone away for me. It’s always been there in the forefront and rightly so. But the strong interest in all things Acid House caused a meeting a meeting of the minds between myself, Spanky and my mgmt. We all acknowledge that if we do not regroup and come back together then someone else will be telling our story. It had to be the Original PHUTURE which was basically myself and Spanky. Herb J was there in the beginning but the heart and soul is the 2 of us. So I decided to commit to that and turned down DJ Pierre a bit and put PHUTURE in the forefront. We, the original group, never really the chance to follow up on what we started. It sorted of ended quickly and Spanky went on to do his version of it-which did not define Phuture truly. So now we are here to tell the story. 20 years later.”

A famous quote from you talking about helping to create the whole acid house explosion…” ‘We didn’t realise at the time we were on the verge of creating a new genre. We knew this was new and different and that it could make a dent, but we didn’t foresee how big that dent was.”  

“That’s true. We knew in our guts that this was different. It’s rare when you come upon different. Its also a very scary place because it’s never been done! So we knew…we just didnt know Acid House would be created from it.”

“Every show is like the first for us that’s what PHUTURE is about. Going where no man has gone before…breaking new ground.” What has it been like on the road together and showing old faces and new what you are all about?

“If you know our show, you know that we include the Start Trek theme as part of it. I’m a Star Trek fan and I put together the start of the show that introduces who we are. That’s our signature. It has PHUTURE written all over it because it’s peaking about what we did. We went  where no man had gone before and we are still breaking new grounds having been away for 20 years and to come back and tour the Sydney Opera House, Berghain, Fabric, Rex Club and other top venues all over the world. That’s a unique situation to be in. Not many can pull it off. But PHUTURE can because we are true…pure. No fancy stuff. Just a raw show. So it’s been really amazing on the road the past year. We have lots to be thankful for. People are always blown away when they hear us. They never expect it and by the time you look around the 1 hour is gone and they refuse to let us go. They get into it so much time flies by. Same for us…we don’t want to stop but the rest of the line up must go on. So it’s perfect man.”

François, can you recall the first time you encountered Phuture’s music all those years ago?

“It was back in the late 80’s, when this sound was obviously blowing everyone’s minds and these records had a futuristic vibe we just couldn’t get enough of.” 

And Pierre, can you recall the first time you encountered François K and his turntable skills? 

“Man. That’s a tough one. I’ve been knowing François for ever man. You forget-I’ve been doing this for 30+ and he’s been doing it about the same almost. So we’ve crossed paths many times. Last time we hooked up was in NY. I’ve always had much respect for him man. He’s always kept it real…truly about the music. His style is just François K. You know it when you hear it. My style…you never know what you will get. So it makes the anticipation that much greater for November 1st at EGG.”

A big favourite event of yours François is Burning Man, this year you DJ’ed in the Disorient Dome in complete surround sound via seven stacks of speakers. What does it feel like to be standing in the middle of that sound?

“Actually, one thing I’d like to dispel (even though you could say it’s merely semantics) but I didn’t DJ in surround sound. I was playing music (as in: no beat-mixing, and a very different selection of music more along the lines of Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Miles Davis and whatever else). The music I was playing was all mixed in discrete, true surround sound formats, which is something few people actually get to ever listen to at all; so it’s always great seeing them discover this 3D experience of the music not only being around them, but of all of these specific instruments and parts coming out of different parts of the room. As if somehow it all got enhanced, which means that standing in the middle of a room in that ‘sweet spot’ can be a very deep experience for those who attended.”

Was tea really served to keep everyone warm as you advertised?

“Of course, we serve gallons of mint tea. The idea came to me because I tend to mostly do this during the very late hours of the night, when the temperature can drop down to near-freezing levels and I wanted to keep people comfortable while immersed in this music. This year’s theme for BM being “Caravansary” it only added to it as it has always been the sort of thing nomads would traditionally do while traveling through the desert.”

Guys, what was the biggest record in your box last weekend?

François : “Makam ‘Girl’s Night’ just can’t get enough of that one, reminds me a bit of Maurizio’s ‘M4’ which is one of my all-time favourite tracks.”

DJ Pierre : “I have to say Osunlade – ‘Idiosyncracy’.”

And what about your favourite DJ show of the summer?

François : “Bit of an unfair question because I played so many different ones and they would be fairly hard if not downright impossible to compare. But there seems to be a consensus among those who were there that the 6-hour beach set I did for Electric Elephant (in Croatia again) was quite special, so I’d go with that one.  Especially because it allowed me to stretch out all the way from reggae dub and timeless gritty soul to more contemporary sounds and I am still getting comments from that night, so it must have been pretty good.”

DJ Pierre : “Glastonbury, Sydney Opera House with PHUTURE I will never forget, Berghain with Phuture, Verboten NY, Glasgow at SW3, and the list goes on man. Had a great year. I’m very happy and humbled that my new ears, the younger peeps know who I am and enjoy coming out. One little spot I have to mention is called the Music Room in Atlanta-Georgia. I do a monthly there. OFF the chain. That was good for me as well. Shouts to Keiran.”

And record of the summer?

François : “To my very own surprise, I’d have to say that it’s hands-down a remix of the classic Robin S song ‘Show Me Love’ that a producer named Joe Black did. First of all, it’s 115 BPM so it doesn’t fit the norm (which in my book is very good) but mostly because it was such a catchy, irresistible track that got everyone singing wherever I played it, dripping with those 80’s electro-soul sounds but in a very updated manner.”

DJ Pierre : “Again, Osunlade’s ‘Idiosyncracy’ has been in rotation all summer. My remix of Farley’s Roach Motel-entitled Wildpitch ‘I Think I Luv You’ has had lots of love. That’s a big one. Wlidpitch is making a big come back as well. I’m playing a Wildpitch set at the Get Physical event tonight. Looking forward to that.”

François, we were in the crowd at Barbarellas at The Garden Festival in Croatia this summer, perhaps the most beautiful setting in the world. Next year’s festival will be it’s finale…what was your highlight this year?

“I just love the idea that we are able to dance in this amazing open-air setting, with such a supportive crowd. I can’t say that there were any particular moment that stood out with this, except that from beginning to end it was amazing for me, so pleasurable to be able to share my music with the crowds there, very friendly and enthusiastic.”

François, New York’s club scene is thankfully jumping again – non more than your Deep Space sessions down at Cielo. Who is coming next guest wise and just how long is your list of potential superstar producers you want to book?

“We are having Theo Parrish return and join me behind the decks next Monday, after that will be a few very interesting and different bookings like an opening set from David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets) as well as a US debut DJ set from Thomas Dolby, which a lot of people seem very excited about. With Deep Space we try and stay very unpredictable, and while there is a tendency for established club nights to only feature tried-and-true performers, it’s often more beneficial to take chances and put together events that everyone will remember because not only were they good, but so refreshingly unexpected. So while we do have a list of people we’d love to have, it’s a bit different from what you’d expect in the sense of them only being ‘marquee names’.”

And finally, what is coming out next from you guys studio wise?

François : “Have this album project with Juan Atkins that will be completed very soon, as well as some other personal things that should hopefully be available in the not-too-distant future.”

DJ Pierre : “Man…get ready because my album project is finally on the move. I had to get out of the home studio. We started on an 1800sqft space and transformed it just so that I can get all this inside of me out in the right environment. I partnered with Halocyan Records out in LA, headed by Dimitri Fergadis. He’s my partner in this project. He’s not just a label putting my album out. So new studio…with analog and digital elements. New level of creating. Look out for it.  But for now I have a collab with Doorly, the amazing UK producer and all around nice guy. That’s coming out on Toolroom Records this weekend I believe. Look out for that. Title ‘Gotta Get’. Shouts to Seamus Haji and the crew. I also have one of my classics being revamped and coming out on Get Physical this year as well. So stay on the look out for that as well.”