Exclusive interviews with DJs and electronic music artists.
How was 2019 for you?
Balfa: Intense. Really hard work to release the album and to prepare the crafted synthesizers and machines for the concerts and workshops.
Highlights?
Red Bull premiering the first concert.
Lowlights?
[Working on] just a few hours of sleep.
Song of the year?
I would better choose an album: Come, Deathless by Surachai. Awesome work.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Build a space for BLF Lab activities.
How was 2019 for you?
Chuck Da Fonk: A really great year for FSQ. This was a rebuilding year for us on the DJing front as our brother and FSQ member Sa’d The Hourchild Ali passed away in 2018. On the DJ front, Chas Bronz joined Chuck Da Fonk for appearances as FSQ, proudly carrying the torch for Sa’d Ali. On the production side of FSQ’s activities, we wrapped up recording our full-length album for Soul Clap Records, Reprise Tonight, out in 2020.
Highlights?
Dolette McDonald (of Talking Heads, Sting) joined us for another collaboration. This time we covered the 40-year-old classic by the Talking Heads, “I Zimbra” with Alan Dixon and Soul Clap turning in smashing remixes on that EP.
Lowlights?
A few absolutely smashing productions we turned in wound up on hold for whatever reasons by a few record labels so the slate of FSQ music in 2019 was not as robust as we would have liked it to be. Well, we guess that means more FSQ for 2020!
Song of the year?
For us it has to be Quantic’s “Atlantic Oscillations (Disco Dub).” We wish we made this track! It summarizes what we aim to achieve in our FSQ Caribbean-disco sound.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
To be organized; continue to plug our network and make new contacts to achieve our goals of FSQ music being heard by more people across the globe; more collaborations with larger artists in dance music and beyond, and more DJ and band appearances beyond the U.S.
How was 2019?
Gamble: So glad it’s OVER.
Burke: My daughter recently started preschool so I’ve had so much more time to work on music! Once her younger brother joins her, this stay-at-home dad will be rockin’ 8-3!!!
Highlights?
Gamble: Being mistaken for Daft Punk and played on KCRW!! Our collaboration with TKNIK “Baby You Want” was played on my local radio station KCRW here in Los Angeles, and the internet music heads guessed it was an upcoming Daft Punk song!! Surprise!! It’s Gamble & Burke!
Burke: We collaborated on a song with one of my favorite drag queens. It was the first time I was star struck in the studio. I have to keep it on the DL but you’ll hear about it in 2020!
Lowlights?
Gamble: I have diabetes and celiac so it’s a constant battle between my crazy OCD, 20-hour studio sessions, Cabernet and my health! Luckily a new gym opened up across the street from me!!
Burke. Not visiting Los Angeles this year! As a bi-coastal band we spend hours on Skype but we are the most productive when in the same room. The internet is way overrated.
Song of the year?
Gamble: Daddy Yankee & Wisin y Yandel’s “Si Supieras.” English isn’t my first language so I’ve always been able to easily enjoy songs in any language. But this is a song that my English only friends are able to sing along to even if they don’t speak Spanish.
Burke: Meduza’s “Piece of Your Heart”! Electro-soul for home or club use!!
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
G&B: We are super excited to release some original G&B material. So many good things are about to happen! Not just for us but for you too!
How was 2019 for you?
Alessandro and Mattia: It was definitely a super-hot year for Jazz-o-Tech; things really started to happen at fast pace! Suicide Club, the techno club in Berlin, asked us to organize at their venue our first label showcase where we invited VSK to perform with the sound of Alistair Duncan and his Trombone. Our artists Flat Maze, Paine and Plastik.Soldiers performed at Jazz:Re:found Festival in Italy, and we issued two vinyl releases: White Gardenia Vol 2 and Black Gardenia Vol 1 – Beat Movement, which includes a remix from techno pioneer Sunil Sharpe. They were both featured in many charts and radios around the world like BBC Radio, Boiler Room, Resident Advisor and Radio Bayern.
Overall, we are really pleased on how our innovative project is developing and how the public is responding, there is really strong interest.
Highlights?
Feedback and great reviews apart, seeing people dancing during our techno-jazz live sessions. It’s what we really loved to see this year!! It’s a great payback for all the efforts put in the label so far!
Lowlights?
Well, not everybody understand our ambitious project. It takes time, but we trust our mission. We will continue to evolve and involve great artists in our roster and in our parties.
Song of the year?
How couldn’t we choose our own track? This is the remix made from Sunil Sharpe to Beat Movement. It’s funny to see how the people react when a DJ plays a techno record with jazzy inserts!
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
We want to organize our first party in the U.S., but meanwhile we are continuing to research a certain quality of sound that make this project ambitious and long-lived.