DJ Grooverider - Interview part B - 1993

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So you think that the scene has been to exploited to the extent its far too commercial?
No, commercial is the wrong word to use, the reason being if its too big, if a lot of people like something that's not there fault, we didn't ask to be commercial we didn't ask for our records to go in the charts but its popular, its when you start making things specifically for the charts that's when you start talking about commercial and over the last few years that's what a lot of artists have done.

You mean like The Prodigy and N-Joi?
I don't know about N-Joi but The Prodigy, I don't know if they're making music for the charts because at the end of the day there's nothing in the charts that sounds like what they are making, so they have got their own sound that they can take to the charts, there not commercial but there not underground because of there popularity.  There's nothing wrong with being successful, they get slated for it but I think they have done quite well personally,  I used to support The Prodigy and still do in certain respects, if they've got a good tune I'm going to play it.

Would you say your underground?
Underground in the sense I'm not playing the whole of the top ten, but in another sense I'm not - I play what I like weather its commercial underground, I don't care, that's the way to be - you can't just buy a record because its underground you buy it because its good.

At the moment the scene is split between Techno and hardcore jungle, some promoters think they have got the power to help one of these get to the top, its the DJ's who are the ones who can do it because your playing the music?
Yeh.

Do you ever think that Progressive - Garage will end up in the main room and Hardcore / Techno / Jungle will end up in the smaller room?
I don't know, if its the older punter your going to get that but with the younger your not going to, not at the moment.  I'm not saying its not going to happen, the music is supposed to change, I haven't been playing Techno & Jungle all of the time.  Its going to revolve around DJ's using their heads - I want to see a party where a DJ is playing everything in his set, where he's playing house, techno he's playing Jungle. That's the music I want to see, that's what it's meant to because it's all from the same thing, it's all the House music. That's how I'm playing at the moment, that's how I'm going back to playing.   I really don't give a shit about what they say in some magazines that this is in and this is out, I'm a beats man, I want to hear it.

The scene at the moment, it often get a bad image with the police, people being taxed, muggings, drugs as well, what do you think is the main thing that has damaged the scene?
Its a lot of things, there's no money in the country, that's the most detrimental thing.  If people haven't got any money people are going to go out and earn money, there's no work so they turn to some other form of work.   If you've got a place with 15,000 people in it and your that way inclined your going to say 'look there's money here and I'm going to take it' so it has bought a lot of villains onto the circuit, there's villains everywhere.  I don't know how your going to stop it.

What do you feel about the drug scene at the moment, if you had your way would you ban it, some promoters are trying to get gear out all together from their clubs?
Well that's supposed to be done anyway, I personally, and this is no word of a lie, have never taken anything like that, so I don't know what its all about - that way I'm not going to need it - I'm too scarred of that shit, about five years ago I took a bit of acid but nothing since then so I don't know about all the drugs and that.

Don't you ever want to experiment and hear that your music sound like to everyone out there that you playing it to?
No, I'd rather listen to it myself, when it come to DJ'ing I've got a funny mentality - I don't go out there to please people I go out to please myself and if anyone else like it then that's up to them

So you don't really play to the crowd then?
No if they don't like it, tough shit, you carry on your way, I've got to  I want to see if I can do damage to them not they do damage to me.

But when we saw you at Brixton Academy you played a different set tot the night before at Dance Planet.
Yeh, but there is so much music out there, you can't play it in one place.  Put it this way you can't go to Brixton Academy and play Belgian Techno but if you've got a style for that place you play that style, not their hits.  I'm not saying  I won't play a hit but it will be one I like.

A lot of music these days seems to be made by DJ's themselves, how much music are you making?
Well I've got my own studio in the back there, I'm trying to find my own style, there's not a lot of Grooverider records on the circuit - there never has been, I don't want to go out there and rip someone else off.  In between Jungle and Techno I feel there is a medium, so what were saying is there is a song with music, hard music and its got vocals.  I'm looking for a Techno medium as well - I'm saying 'Yeh there's Techno out there but you don't have to have all the drill noise in your hears.'

So what are you doing with the music you make, are you keeping it for yourself?
Yeh I'm keeping it to myself and even playing some of it, aren't you swapping it with other DJ's?  No, well I've given a few little things but I don't think its ready yet, when its ready I'll say Yeh you can hold that, I'm not like a lot of other people who try to put records on the streets to make a few pence, in the long run their not going to earn anything if there not bringing out quality.

So what you saying is, if it pays off, you could change the whole music?
Well I could do yeh.

So that back to what we said before the DJ's are the ones controlling the music?
O'yeh the DJ's control it, there's no ifs or but about that we run the circuit! Promoters put the parties on but at the end of the day who are the people going to see.

Continues......

Links to Fantazia

Check out his mixing on the Fantazia Jungle Collection  as well as Fantazia event sets.

Fantazia One Step Beyond

To buy either of these click here.