King Unique’s Matt Thomas chats to Nic Fanciulli, Gui Boratto, Paolo Mojo, Fergie and Sennh about their new remixes of classic KU tracks – plus a new King Unique MP3 broadcast…
Between 2001 and 2006, King Unique released a number of legendary vinyls on the equally legendary house label Junior. Now they’re at it again on their own Curfew imprint – Matt Thomas and Matthew Roberts are bringing some of their classic tracks back to the future.
“After eight years of remixing everybody else’s records, we decided to let a few of our favourite producers take a shot at one of ours,” says Matt Thomas. “And then the idea just sort of snowballed…” From an initial idea of a simple Sugarhigh remix package, the plan has grown to encompass a complete online release of all KU’s pre-digital offerings recorded on Junior, plus three new tracks, and three remix packages of the back catalogue.
Lending their considerable talents to the back catalogue remix project are minimal genius Gui Boratto, old Junior label-mate turned superstar DJ Nic Fanciulli, and rising new talent Sennh. They deliver three wildly diverse techno-flavoured remakes of KU’s 2002 monster Sugarhigh. Then the classic Dirty has been treated to remixes by Paolo Mojo and Fergie.
With such a highly talented gang of remixers involved in the current King Unique back catalogue release project, Matt Thomas caught up with the studio stars to quiz them about their take on the tunes, and to get them to give out some production/remix tips…
Did you know the track from it’s original release or did you hear it for the first time when you remixed it?
Nic: Yeah Sugarhigh was a track that I played a while back when it first came out on Junior. It was a huge record at the time.
Gui: No, the first time I’ve heard it was when Matt sent it over.
Paolo: I knew it vaguely, but I have to confess it wasn't one of the songs I was too familiar with. Possibly an advantage as I understand it got rinsed a lot when it was originally released.
Fergie: Which track are you talking about? I’ve been lucky enough to mix [new track] Hinode and Dirty, but Dirty is the track that sticks out in my mind most. When I used to play harder edge music and do longer sets, it was nice that I was able to play stuff like this.
Sennh: I didn't know the original track since I've been introduced to the whole techno/progressive/house/minimal producing not so long ago. So I heard the track for the first time when you guys asked me.
How quickly did you get a vibe on your remix?
Gui: Right on the first time. I loved the melody line and decided to do it.
Sennh: Pretty fast. I listened to the original over and over again until I got this particular feeling about the track. I tried to capture the sound and iconic status of the original and translate it into a techier cover. It was difficult coming to a point were I thought it was finished. I often doubted the freshness of my remix, because it refers so much to the sound of the past. But in the end it was the beauty of the melody that gave me the confidence of sending it in. I thought I found the right balance between the old vs the new, the beauty/esoteric vs the party-orientated.
Nic: I did about five versions of the mix. But then I think I finally nailed the vibe I wanted to get.
Paolo: Originally I took one of your samples and went for a basic sort of French Kiss, chuggy loop business sort of thing. That came very quickly and you can still hear the remnants of it in the final mix. However, getting from that point to the final mix – the thing I was finally happy with – took a lot of time. I play tested the various versions over a period of about four weeks and this was the most useful part of the process for me, in terms of finding what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to discard. I tend to find that remixes are hard work, to be honest. I don’t take a lot of them on.
Fergie: The Hinode remix came together quicker for me and Dave [Robertson, production collaborator], but the Dirty mix needed a number of takes and a few roadtests which ended in us going back into the studio and totally re-writing the whole thing. We just wanted to try and get it right for the KU massive.
When you work on a remix do you prefer to include the original parts or are you happy to re-write the whole track?
Paolo: Most of my Dirty remix is original material, just with the vocal over the top in certain places. That's fine because the vocal is so iconic that it gives you an easy reference point to the original. I turn down almost every remix I'm offered because they don't give you that strong reference point. I know that to make it work for me I'll have to reconstruct the whole tune and take more time than its worth… financially and energy wise, it's usually time better spent on an original track.
Gui: I really prefer to use the original synth. Even when you recreate it, using the same synth, it never sounds the same. I want people to recognise the original inside the remix.
Sennh: It depends on the track you're remixing. Sometimes you just need that particular sound that defines the original. Without it, it just won't be the same. Re-writing the whole track can be liberating as well though, and it's great when you're looking for a different kind of vibe instead of staying close to the original.
Nic: I find that when I do a mix it’s normally a new record with a few of the parts, because sometimes I want to try and create a new vibe. I was quite lucky with this as I managed to get the main riff from the original as the main groove.
Fergie: I think it’s good to get a whole new groove going. But if it’s a track with a massive hook then I like to keep that in there in some way as there’s normally a lot of memories attached to tracks for people. It’s good to keep that vibe alive.
Any advice for people remixing the same tune as yourself?
Fergie: I think you should probably ask the other guys that question as I’m quite new to all the remixing carry on.
Nic: Just make sure you put your own spin on it. It’s also really important that you play it. I hear so many people go: “I did this mix but I wouldn't play it”.
Gui: Not at all. Each one absorbs the music in a different way.
Paolo: Yeah. Don’t fucking bother. If I hear that vocal one more time I might commit a minor crime against humanity. Of course my ears are unfairly biased and no doubt it will continue to be an air puncher for a whole new generation of clenched jawed lunatics this summer.
If you could remix any tune at all what would it be?
Gui: Sweetest Perfection by Depeche Mode.
Fergie: I’d love a stab at New Order’s True Faith or Depeche Mode’s Enjoy The Silence – two massive tracks...
Paolo: It would have to be something iconic and recognisable and probably not a dance tune. But I'm not going to suggest something because no doubt I'll forget, someone will read this and do it and then I'll kick myself.
Sennh: I guess I'd like to remix something almost impossible to remix. A classic piece by Eric Satie or a 60s hit like America's Horse With No Name.
Nic: I can’t answer that as there are too many. But then again if I hear a great record I think it’s best to leave it alone.
Are you a producer who DJs or a DJ who produces? Or to put it another way, if you had to give one up which would it be?
Paolo: I was DJing in clubs before I was producing music, so I guess I was an instinctive DJ before I was a producer. But I couldn't really separate the two, they are interdependent, and I love the process of each. It all feeds into the same thing for me. Besides, I would just sit around watching DVDs and masturbating if I didn't make music.
Sennh: I'm a producer who does live acts and I definitely won't give up either of them. Creating music is one of the most beautiful things in life – and seeing a lot of people going mad on your creations. I wouldn't want to miss out on one of them.
Gui: I’m a producer that produces. I don’t DJ.
Nic: I enjoy travelling and playing so much, but then I also like sitting in the studio or on my laptop on a plane. But I couldn’t live without DJing.
Fergie: For the last few years I’ve been concentrating on building a backbone in the studio and I’m just loving it. So for me at this moment in time I would give the DJing a miss.
Gui, you’re well known for using the latest audio controllers (like the Jazz Mutant Lemur and Monome) when you play live – do you use them in the studio too?
Gui: I’ve used the Monome in the studio, but not these days. The Lemur is my baby. I love it. In the studio or live. In both situations you can do unbelievable things.
Ferg, this year you’ve effortlessly shrugged off the old hard-house Fergie image and re-invented yourself as a techno production genius, numbering Sasha, Digweed, Dubfire and Stephan Bodzin among your fans. How did that happen?
Fergie: Well, I've been getting the head down instead of getting the beer down – to be honest, it all stems from there. I just really wanted to move myself forward, get stuck into the music and get my sound out. It's great to have these DJs supporting me as over the years I have played or just listened to their music.
Sennh, there's a distinctive lush melodic sound to tracks like Two Week Holiday and your Sugarhigh remix, very densely layered interwoven chords and drones. Do you ever get lost in all these elements when you're working on a track or do you always have the final sound in mind?
Sennh: I try to go into the studio as blank as possible when it comes to writing melodies. The melodies come naturally after playing and trying out some loops on a keyboard. They get shaped by repeating the same set of tones over and over again until I'm satisfied with the chords/melodies. After that I need to find the right sound that fits the melody. This can take all day, all week or sometimes a whole month, but it can just as easily take four minutes. It depends on the mood I'm in and how confident I am about the sound of the track as a whole.
Paolo, your Dirty remix and the recent releases on Oosh have gone for a very restricted palette – beats, bass and maybe one or two synth lines. Do you find it easy to discipline yourself to keep it that simple or are we hearing the result of lots of weeding?
Paolo: I think simplicity is the key to vitality, you just have to make sure the parts you do use are very strong – and you have studio skills to make them sound 'big'. It’s almost a cliche, but really with dance music, you need to use your ears and 'feel' it to understand if it sounds good or not. In your remix, unlike everything else I have produced lately, it was a fairly involved, complicated track that went through several movements and had a lot going on. As I played it out in clubs it worked, but it wasn't working well enough for me…
Dirty Remixes is out now on Curfew. Visit www.kingunique.com and www.myspace.com/kinguniqueuk
TRACKLISTING
Monomusique – Fog’s Light (MFA Remix) [Precinct]
Booka Shade – Charlotte (Dubfire Remix) [Get Physical]
Maglight featuring Stimming & Einmusik – Magdalena (King Unique Mashup) [Diynamic]
Apparat – Limelight [Shitkatapult]
Aviation – xxx [xxx]
Underworld – Holding The Moth (Audiojack Dub) [Underworld Live]
Solomun & Stimming – Eiszauber (Lawrence Remix) [Diynamic]
Rodriguez Jr – Elderaek [Imprimé Records]
John Dahlbäck – World Of Love (Pig & Dan Remix) [Pickadoll]
Robert Babicz – Dark Flower (Joris Voorn Magnolia Mix) [Audiomatique]
King Unique – Sugarhigh (KU 2008 Mix) [Curfew]
IDE Automaton (King Unique Mashup) featuring Nic Fanciulli & Zoo Brazil – World Of Love (Tiger Stripes Remix) [Renaissance]
E.R.P – Vox Automaton [Frustrated Funk]
Laurent Garnier – Panoramix [Innervisions]
