Chatting with Jon K

Unfortunately, as I kind of expected, I wasn't able to get an interview with one of the key players in the early days of Warp Records. However through mine and my friends work as promoters in my home city of Sheffield, I was able to to have a very interesting and highly relevant discussion with a DJ called Jon K who is infamous for his incredibly deep and varied musical knowledge.

http://www.factmag.com/2013/01/07/fact-mix-364-jon-k/

Given the context in which I was speaking to him it wasn't a formal interview as such but the main points gathered from our discussions were as follows:

- The importance of organic growth in music centred around certain scenes, particularly those centred around certain communities such as the birth of house and techno in Chicago and Detroit.

-How the transferral of this from one place to somewhere else leads to new, often innovative reinterpretations ie in the case of Bleep Techno in the North of England,

-Carrying on directly from this how having a melting pot of cultures, as is the case with the British music scene as a whole, results in highly innovative and often bizarre translations of more traditional sounds.

-On the reverse of the communal aspect, the importance of individuals reacting against current trends, established traditions is essential to more risk orientated and often highly original music. German groups such as Liassone Dangerouse, Die Partie in Germany, the various individuals associated with  Yellow Magic Orchestra from Japan as well as Arthur Russell in New York can be seen as examples of this.

-What was particularly interesting was the links he was able to draw between various artists we both shared a love of such as Shit'n'Shine and Golden Teacher (both highly recommended). In particular he emphasized the connection between Golden Teacher and Arthur Russells more experimental branches of work.

-This then got us talking about the role of 'misfit' artists and producers who defy and reject scenes to pursue there own path. This seems particularly true of Manuel Gonzales from Detroit who, despite being at the epicentre of modern dance culture as he lives in Detroit and has been part of the highly influential Underground Resistance group, shies away from current methods of production and promotion that has come with both the digital and internet age.

( some playful and eye catching posters designed by Jon K )

On a side a note, as it happens, he is also involved to a lesser extent in the visual arts having  studied Fine Art at university and produced various posters and records sleeves during his time at (the former )Fat City records in Manchester. This led to some interesting anecdotes that further emphasised the importance of collectives and communities as well as  individuals taking and defying trends being key factors in innovating any creative feel despite the juxtaposition that seems to exist between the two.