[Brent Kalmer runs
beautiful|invincible
, a U.S.-based electronic music blog]
For legions of house aficionados, the appearance of King Britt’s name on a music project is among the surest signs of quality. But to call King an icon of house is an incomplete description of the man’s music and career. The Philadelphia native has had a hand in a dizzying number of groundbreaking musical projects through the years: following his 1990 debut on the legendary label Strictly Rhythm, he went on to DJ with the Grammy-winning Digable Planets, cofound Ovum Recordings with Josh Wink, and establish his own media empire, FiveSixMedia. Through it all, he has produced a body of house music rarely matched in terms of creativity, diversity, and quality.
King’s forthcoming album, The Intricate Beauty (due out from Nervous Records on April 20th 2010), has been called the last “conventional” dance album he will produce. But—as one would expect from such a musician—there is really nothing conventional about it: The Intricate Beauty is not a series of tracks, much less a DJ mix, but a genre-defying mosaic of sounds and textures that form a single, coherent piece of deep, dancefloor magic.
It’s been said that Intricate Beauty will be your last “conventional” dance music record. But, really, it’s not conventional at all. It’s as if—instead of tracks—you’re DJing with vocals, basslines, keys, etc. Would you consider this method a result of the natural evolution of your DJing and producing?
Ah, yes. Well, the foundation of the album was created with sounds sampled from various sources. Taking those samples, I created songs around them, had the singers add vocals, and then mixed it as a mix CD. I just didn’t want to do a simple mix CD haha. But now, my idea is to take [this production method] a step further in my sets, using all the elements that I use daily in the studio for all my projects to create a live/DJ environment. I feel that by the summer I will be doing more of this create on the fly. Very exciting.
I do an amazing project with my fiancée, Rucyl, where we curate musicians in an improvisational environment and just go for it. It’s really phenomenal. This same method can be applied to DJing.
It seems like this style of production has allowed you to make connections between musical elements that wouldn’t be made in a “traditional” production setup. For example, in Now you introduce a mid-frequency drone that combines with Astrid Suryanto’s vocals to produce a beautiful, haunting texture. Were you surprised by how some of these pieces fit together?
Wow, you really are checking the sonics...my kind of interview! So yes, there are many drones on this album. I believe that “sound” was a half-bar loop or something so micro you would never think to make it the foundation for a song. There you go. This method and process really help create ideas that I never would have chosen!
One of the things that jumps out of The Intricate Beauty is the way that the basslines seem to drift in out of the mix in subtle and unexpected ways. Was this intentional?
No, it’s just the way everything breathes. As I did each song, I started to create the other songs with mixing them all in mind; so yet another process. . . .
Another immediately noticeable feature is the fullness of the drum sounds. The kicks, snares, and—especially—the hats have a dimension and fullness not normally heard in dance music. Are these hits sampled from your record collection?
They are a combination of sampled and analog sounds. I think working in both Logic and Ableton helped add the sonic punch!
The album becomes darker as it progresses. On Blackhand Side you introduce a squelchy bass that would make a dubstep producer smile ear-to-ear. On hearing this the first time, your fans might not guess it is one of your productions. Is this a side of your music we can hope to hear more of in the future?
Oh, absolutely. I mean I have done this sound under the moniker The Nova Dream Sequence. Deep techno and distorting. I love dubstep and just edgy things, so I felt those elements could be put in a housey context.
Your music “breathes” in a way most dance music does not. Have you made a conscious effort to avoid the ultra-compressed sound that dominates today?
For house, yes I have avoided loads of compression, but for my hip-hop, I say bring it on haha…but I feel that house music has to breathe!
Your work as curator of the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia and the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn is partly about bringing attention to black electronic artists who haven’t received recognition, at least within the academic music community. Can you tell us about any up-and-coming black artists that you are watching?
My fiancé and I definitely make a conscious effort to showcase these artists. Ras G is our favorite of the moment, and [we like] Xaphrin follicle too; both are very avant garde but funky!
Your multimedia project with Rucyl, Saturn Never Sleeps, blurs the lines between visual art—at least as it is traditionally understood—and music. Do you think it is primarily the influence of Sun Ra on your musical formation that makes this a natural step for you?
It is the influence of Sun Ra and all the rest of the free jazz movement. There is freedom in electronics, you just have to break away from traditional styles!
Is it fair to say that - even aside from Sister Gertrude Morgan - your music has always had a spiritual component?
I feel that all music made really is spiritual in some respect. It is the universal language and a combination of frequencies that are given to us from the heavens - thus it is spiritual! Even the cookie-cutter pop stuff started from someone's heart.
Some musicians find that their travels impact their way of making and thinking about music. Have you experienced that with your own music?
Oh, hell yes—each experience adds to the very essence of the creative process. Traveling is absolutely a key ingredient!