Addison Groove Interview

N: On a more technical note, how could you describe your method of creation?

AG: Sometimes a track will come together in 3 hours. If I start a track in a 3 hour time and it’s something I can finish, I will probably finish it within the next hour so I can have a track finished in a day. Or I can be working on something for 3 hours and if it’s something I’m not feeling then I’ll just delete it. My stuff mix really fast. I have a good understanding of the signs I use. I use the drum machine, right, the 808, so already the signs I use are good and I don’t really need to search for them. I do use a lot of samples so I spend a little bit of time looking for samples but generally the drums, which is one of the most important things, is already kind of ready so I can make a drum track in about 20 minutes. If it’s cool, I will look for some vocal or I will look for some piano or similar and will make that work with the drum beat. I am really into Bongos, Conga drums and I lay it on top. Then if it’s kind of groovy, I start to rearrange it so I have a little vocal, and a little piano sample, the 808 and some Congas, all these elements going together. Then I take this, make a copy of it, then start from scratch again and build up using these signs I got so I can make something new. Every time I make a track it’s an evolution, like a process.

N: What would happen to your music if the 808 machine becomes illegal or stops existing?

AG: The samples are easy to find online. They always remain within the cyberspace I’m afraid. Yes, the answer to that is quite easy. But I’d also be really rich cause my 808 beat is worth lots of money. I have an illegal 808. Yes, that’s an expensive piece of machinery. Carrying it around is quite difficult because obviously I have to take it to shows with me. You don’t really see it but every day I had to go through airport security where they were always checking it and asking what it was. But sometimes when I came to few airport securities in America, some of the airport security staff knew what it is. Usually older black guys cause they were probably into hip-hop when they were younger and knew what the machine was. It’s kind of cool when people recognise it.

N: So your last album Transistor Rhythm came out last march, how would you compare it to works such as your 12 inch It’s Got Me?

AG: I could have done some more 12 inches but I though why when I have so many tracks in my computer that I want them released kind of fast. With 12 inches you can hold on to the release a little bit cause with an individual 12, a track has to be big. In an album I didn’t really put big tracks because I knew they were tracks which would only work within an album and wouldn’t really work as 12 inches. It was just me having a bunch of tracks in my computer, played them out together and it worked.

N: It’s interesting how It’s Got Me has a funkier vibe and sound, whereas the tracks in Transistor Rhythm are more technical, juke oriented…

AG: See, that was a 12 inch and worked as a 12 inch. Same as the release on Swamp 81 and Tectonic is. They are good tracks for a club but the album; you can put it in your iPod in your car and kind of understand it more easily. Whereas the 12 inch is very much designed for a club so it’s nice to have this piece of work that you can play all the way through. I enjoyed making the album and will make another one probably.

N: What kind of music are you listening to and what inspires you?

AG: In a subconscious way, my biggest influence is probably Jungle and everything around it. Everything that is drum & bass, techno, house, old funk music, old African and Brazilian folk music. I don’t necessarily take ideas from there but it’s always nice to listen to something completely removed from what you’re making. Then when you go to make a track you’re not inspired by someone else who just released a 12 inch one. I don’t want to be like that. I try not to sound like anyone else. For everyone who uses the 808 machine it’s easy to sound the same as someone using the 808. I try to do it another way, process my beats a little bit more, making extra noises with the sounds, and I do have a certain way of mixing down my songs so they sound different to anyone else’s. That’s why it works, that is why I’m lucky enough. I have a vision of trying my hardest to be different. For example, there is a track in my album called Rude Boy, it’s one of my favorite tracks. It is very weird, very minimal and I’ve never heard anything like it. I though “This is crazy” and I loved that track, it became my favorite one. Some people would probably go like “This is shit, nothing to compare to” but that is why I like it, there is nothing similar to it. I never play it in clubs because it is very difficult to mix, but play it in your car is nice.

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