Stretch Silvester featuring the beautiful vocals of PJ Higgins…you gotta have ‘Faith’
First Up, Stretch, one of the boys who always brings out a big one…
Hi pal. Been a while. Don’t think we’ve had a drink together since the days of Malibu Stacey at London’s Hanover Grand. Back room shenanigans indeed!
“God has it been that long, those were the days, you probably owe me a few ! A catch up soon?”
Definitely dude. So, an amazing new single with a fabulous vocalist – how did this collaboration happen and are there any future plans with PJ to make sweet sounds?
“Firstly, thanks so much for your support. The vocal collaboration I am so chuffed with happened by a hook up from Shield. I had passed on numerous others including some big names but I loved PJ’s offering from the first play of the rough demo. It just worked. More sweet sounds are in the pipeline for sure.”
‘Faith’ inspired by some heavy American DJ dudes, who were the main ones?
“American and UK really. Stateside would be Larry Levin, Danny Krivit and the likes of Francois Kevorkian and Masters at Work. UK wise, would be the Junior Boys Own crew – Terry Farley, Pete Heller, Xpress2 and also Massive Attack.”
Let’s go back to the beginning, what bands were you into as a kid that got you into this crazy music world?
“Blimey, that’s going back some. That question is just too big to answer. Music is my life and always has been, so we are talking about going back to the 70’s music scene but getting serious in the 80’s. I was really into Depeche Mode and Gary Numan as a kid, Kraftwerk, Visage and all things electronic is where it started at really. Then to Electro street sounds and you can map the tree from there.”
You have made music under many different guises, Stretch & Vern, Coloursound, Sucker DJs and Paradise Soul – what do you think has been your best release – and don’t say ‘the next’!
“Not the next one, the one after that….”
Bugger. What is the best dance music label ever?
“Salsoul…I am still dazzled by old and new discoveries, such quality on that label. It has been sampled so much and still sounds fresh today.”
Who has been the greatest DJ you have ever played with?
“Westbam in Berlin. Watching him for six hours, playing various BPMs seamlessly. He taught me a lot. So versatile a true great – and Vern of course.”
Craziest Ibiza moment you have had?
“It involves me, Vern, Carter, Johnny and the Manumission strippers in the Manumission Motel.”
You have remixed and produced for the likes of U2, Thom Yorke, Kings of Leon, Felix da Housecat, CandiStaton and Sia – what do you site as your best ever work for someone?
“That’s a tough one. Gotta be Thom Yorke’s ‘Eraser’, the Sasha support we got from that and seeing him drop it from all round the world on You Tube makes it all worth it.”
What do you think of the current state of House Music?
“Little support for the UK, seems you have to have an European/International passport to get any recognition these days.”
Best club you have ever DJ’d at?
“Hugh Hefner’s in Miami for the aesthetics and The Berlin Love Parade for 1.5 million bodies bouncing to our set.”
Tell us about ‘Better With You’…
“I enjoyed making this album, it’s not just straight up dance as you’d expect. It crosses the borders with vocals from PJ, Delline Bass, Tom (Cassette Club) and myself. I am really proud of it. It draws on all my musical influences.”
Did any of you get your hands on the actress Jamie Murray who we all know from the TV series Hustle whilst you were filming your 1996 hit ‘I’m Alive’ which she appeared in’?
“Not DURING filming (I’m a professional), let’s just say she didn’t get hired for miming abilities!”
Big 10 tunes in your box at the moment?
1 I Follow You – Leon ft Corinna Joseph – Rebirth
2 Angel (Keith Kemp Western Addiction Rmx) – Carl Craig – Planet E
3 Faith (Shield Back to Love Dub) – Stretch Silvester Ft PJ Higgins – Rebirth
4 Kawa Z Gruntum Ft Pol On – Catz&Dogz – Get Physical
5 Shine On (Motor City Drum Ensemble Rmx) – DJ T – Get Physical
6 Eh Oh Um – Peace Division – Tsuba
7 Chase The Mouse – Jorris Vroom – Rejected
8 Purjante – Nick Curley – Cocoon
9 Elephant Bass (Stretch&VernDeepDownMix)- Essenvee – PO8
10 T Minus 10 Secs – Rob Murmot – iO Music
What is next studio wise from Stretch?
“The Jamie Murray Sessions, ha ha. In all seriousness too much to list, a new Essenvee single on Pieces of Eight called ‘Elephant Bass’ is imminent and the Sucker DJs, Stretch & Vern and Essenvee albums are all being finalised. Watch this space…”
DMC, meet a vocal star to die for…
PJ Higgins
Miss P J Higgins. You lend your wonderful voice to so many different music genres – Electro, Punk, Reggae, Rock, Dancehall – where did this love of music come from as a child – are you from a musical family?
“I guess you could call it an inherent ‘knowing’…I always knew from the age of 7 that I was destined to pursue a musical path. I didn’t choose it, it chose me. My family’s not necessarily musical. With regards to the origins of my eclecticism, I was exposed to a diverse milieu from the word go. Obviously, coming from Jamaican parentage, Reggae was the foundation for everything.
I was a black kid growing up in a white area, so at school, I had the sound of The Smiths and The Cure in my face, anything of a non urban nature and then I’d go to church on a Saturday and be regularly updated by my cousins as to what what was hot in the world of Reggae, Soul, Rap. So I had the best of both worlds and I’m eternally grateful for that.”
Which artists had you dancing around your bedroom with a hairbrush in your hand growing up that influenced you into our world of music?
“Now you’re asking me to did deep into my archives. Well, without naming the year! (lol)..Salt and Peppa, Mary Jane Girls, Super Cat, Frankie Paul, Tapper Zukie, Sanchez, Motown, James Brown, Boogie Down Productions, Roxanne Shante, Full Force, Jungle Brothers, Tribe Called Quest, Gangstar, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, Joyce Simms, Sybil, Teena Marie, Slick Rick, Cameo, Adeva etc etc…”
What do you love about the diversity of bouncing between so many different musical boundaries?
“I’m a boundless being, not defined by genre, why should I be? When I’m handed a track be it Punk, House, Reggae or R&B, I only hear music – I don’t perceive it in terms of generic classification. My job is to create the most fitting melodic accompaniment and that’s exactly what I do. Diversities are essential. You can’t grow without experimentation.. You can’t evolve if you insist on remaining within the expected cultural confounds.. You have to mix and blend your ingredients. By adding, ‘a drop of this’ and ‘a little of that’, that’s when you enter the zone of creating something truly unique. A fashion designer would never dream of conjuring the same collection season after season.. So why should a musician make the same repetitive sounds again and again. Music’s a creative outlet, it’s not about stagnation.”
Best and worst thing about living in London?
“The best thing about living in London is that it’s a multi cultural melting pot, it’s vibrant, it’s exciting. You can walk inconspicuously. Nobody cares. Essentially you’re ‘free’. Something I really appreciate after spending a year living in a foreign country. Being stared at like an alien got a bit tedious after a while! The worst thing about London though, is the expense. Unless you have the money to afford the lifestyle that it can offer, it becomes oppressive – and most people can only attain the lifestyle with the aid of credit cards, pretending that they’re doing OK. So, it’s a false existence.”
So Princess Julianna, what are your favourite tunes out there on the dancefloor right now?
“This is where I have to bow my head in shame! I’ve spent the last four months buried in my laptop, recording, I’ve barely seen sunlight. I’m a bit oblivious to what’s out there at the moment. So I promise to be more up to speed with what’s happening the next time you ask me!”
Is there any form of music you dislike?
“Hmmm…I don’t really cope so well with Soca.”
Tell us about the new single ‘FAITH’, how did this collaboration come about?
“I was living in Italy and hustling for work. I sent mail outs to a few of the labels out there, seeing if they were looking for vocalists – Rebirth Records being one of them. I started corresponding with Shield from the label and he sent me the backing track for ‘Faith’ a few weeks later. I recorded the vocal for it. Stretch and Shield loved it (allegedly) – and the rest as they say is history!”
What five people, dead or alive would you invite to your dinner party?
“James Redfield for helping to put me on a spiritual path, Jose Silva – the author of the Silva Mind Control Method to help make me super human, Michael McIntrye because I think he’s a great comedian – I love his humour, Oprah Winfrey so she can tell me how the hell she does it and EarthaKitt so she can teach me how to prrrrrr.”
What is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
“To keep your plans quiet. There’s a lot of hate out there. Sometimes people don’t want to see you progress. You have to protect your dreams, your aspirations. The moment you start talking too loudly, there’s usually somebody with a hum of resentment, whether they are conscious of it or not..That negativity can squash whatever you’re doing.”
How does it feel being compared to EarthaKitt?
“Delighted of course. Eartha was Beautiful, Sexy, Revolutionary, A Rebel, Sophisticated…I couldn’t think of a better analogy.”
You have recorded with some great artists as well as your own songwriting, working with ‘Temple of Sound’ and Egyptian diva Natacha Atlas amongst others – what do you rate as your best ever release?
“The best is yet to come. Watch this space.”
If we came back to yours after a night’s clubbing what music would be blaring out if we wanted to chill out?
“My chill out music at home is usually old school Reggae, Studio 1 style, around the mid 1970’s mark.That’s where my heart is..?
What’s next from the P J studio?
I’ve certainly been blessed this year.Hooking up with some great people, making some great sounds. I guess my most immediate offering will be, ‘A Secret Life’ – a Post Punk collaboration with Dub Gabriel www.myspace.com/asecretelife
That should hit the streets early 2010. I’ve also been collaborating with Matthias Heilbronn in New York and making some great Ragga with LipkaniRiddims in Denmark. Everything due to drop early 2010..
Stretch Silvester Feat. PJ Higgins ‘Faith’ is out on Rebirth in November 2009 with mixes from Faze Action, Shield and Ribside.