Who said techno was Lost forever?
Hey Steve, welcome back to DMC towers young man. A truly outstanding night out at Lost beckons for London town on November 24th with Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Kyle Hall and Tevo Howard joining yourself and others. Let’s kick off with the Blue Room and an area concentrating on new talent. Why did you choose these two bad boys…?
“As with all Lost guest, respecting their productions, going to listen to them play, considering if they can fit into the Lost sound, Kyle and Tevo tick all of the above.”
There are murmurs that the party is marking the first chapter in Lost remastering your Cosmic back catalogue. What can you tell us about this exciting news…
“It took a long time for Sheree and I to work out whether to release music digitally as previously with vinyl the label artwork was so much a part of the release…we took it as an opportunity to remaster the whole back catalogue as we always felt the master process from Dat to vinyl lost the spirit and the real sound of the production, you hear lots of producers, DJs etc. saying that digital does not sound as good as vinyl…so the back catalogue will be our interpretation of how the music should sound?”
Who else are you excited about seeing on the big night?
“That’s a funny question, as thinking about it I want to hear and see everyone playing as we have been working with most of the guests for such a long time we know them all so well its always good to catch up; Tevo and Kyle are new to Lost, it will be good hear their thoughts after they have played Lost…”
You started Lost with Sheree because you couldn’t play exactly what you wanted in London clubs. How important was Lost and your philosophy to techno, London and beyond…
“The idea was that nothing should distract from the sound – that was paramount. Lost is what it is, down to the individual to make up their mind. Lost as a whole has been very influential as we were pushing a particular sound when it wasn’t mainstream. There are a number of current producers that come from the Lost dancefloor, the aim was always to give the DJ freedom to experiment and explore…”
What is the current top ten you are spinning…
Juan Atkins – Ohh La La
Jeff Mills – Something In The Sky 10
Emika – Pretend Kyle Hall Remix
Robert Hood – Movement
Granell – Do You?
Paul Du Lac – Access – Tevo Howard Bare Beats
Granell – Be Free
Cyrus – Innervision
Derrick May – Move It
The Evader – Revisited
The first ever Lost party back in 1991 will be remembered for the police closing you down at 2am, partly because of the IRA bombings at the time and partly because er, you didn’t have a license. You had to sit around on your arses waiting for Richie Hawtin to turn up at 4am to tell him the bad news, this was pre-mobile phones! Does he remember that night, do you know what he thought of you all sitting there?
“Remember it well, just Sheree and myself were waiting for Richie to show up. Richie certainly remembers that night and included it in his arkives release. Richie was running around taking photos of the studio saying how cool it was and joined for the next party.”
Electronic music is in a right old state around the world. America buying up here there and everywhere with their casinos offering DJs ten times there normal fees, the UK on it’s knees with a sorry looking clubland…yet dance music is bigger than it has ever been. What are your thoughts on your beloved scene in 2012?
“Well I’m not really part of a scene as you can’t afford to be. You have to stand slightly outside of scenes and create your own. But good to see all forms of electronic music surviving.”
You once said in an interview around ten years ago that “DJs have become lost because they want to play everything new that’s out that week and if it’s a month old, you can’t have it in your box”. Has anything changed?
“For me, no.”
So you’re sitting round the dinner table pissed with your DJ mates, what is your favourite ‘Lost’ story that you always pull out of the bag to retell…?
“Probably the night the power went down at the arches back in the day during one of Derrick’s sets. Ever resourceful, he picked up his records and relocated to the next room, the crowd went with him and continued to party!”
You took a break from putting on the Lost events around 2007, the night needed a break, you needed to take a breather and you felt techno was getting too aggressive. Tell us about those times, I remember you saying you felt you were playing R&B in comparison to other DJs at one big Spanish event…
“Well the true sound, spirit and soul of techno was being Lost with this noise of what people called techno, I could not be a part of that. It wasn’t for me. There’s always room for good soulful techno.”
Huge dance festivals are taking place on every day of the week somewhere around the world. Are there any real differences to say playing at Sonar in 2012 than Tribal Gathering in 1993?
“The rawness is Lost. Everything is so polished now.”
What has been your summer anthem?
“‘Tell Me’ – Granell.”
What has been your proudest moment ever concerning the Lost party?
“I would not say proudest, but at around 5am you know you got through another Lost and all has gone well…that is always a good feeling.”
Who are some of the best guest DJs that have ever graced a Lost deck?
“I can’t answer that we only ever book DJs we believe in.”
Have you ever booked a guest DJ once and once only as they just didn’t fit into your night?
“Not really, we always research the DJs and their sound.”
Who are the young up and coming producers you are excited about at the moment?
“Granell…”
Best club gig of 2012?
“LOST – Saturday 24th November…”
And finally, what are the plans for 2013
“The re-release of Cosmic back catalogue and some great new work in the pipe line – we’ll continue with spacebase and also have a few Lost events lined up, so all in all, looking hectic…”
