When Jamie Jones and Lee Foss take someone under their wing, you know he’s going to be money. Emerging talent Robert James is currently riding high with the immaculate Malibu
alongside established deep 'n' tech house bod Burnski, and is receiving praise from the likes of Pete Tong for his sumptuous, groovy, euphoric take on deeper house music. He fits in perfectly with the Hot Creations ethos, basically.
With a remix of Jamie Jones' anthem Summertime in the bag (alongside Jones himself) too, his rep is riding high on a quality not quantity basis, and deservedly so. 2011 looks pretty darn rosy for this Leeds resident.
How and when were you first
infected by electronic / dance music?
I got
into dance music while I was in the Army stationed in Iraq in 2004. I was going
to the gym a lot as there wasn’t much else to do and some of the lads down
there played house music all the time. When I got back I bought some decks from
my mate. I started getting more and more into dance music and decided to leave the
Army. It wasn't until I went to watch Andrew Weatherall at Sankeys in 2005 that
I decided I wanted to do this properly and make a career out of it.
When did you start making music /
producing, and how long was it before you started making tracks that you were
really happy with?
I started messing around with
Ableton after I got back from doing the season in Ibiza in 2007. It wasn't until
after another season in 2008 I really started getting into properly. It took me
about a year until I had something that I thought could maybe get signed.
I was back doing another season in 2009 and played Jamie Jones my track, Connected and he signed it straight
away.
What have been your personal
favourite tracks / productions so far?
I’d have to say probably Malibu with Burnski and my remix of Summertime that Jamie and I did. After
finishing both of them I was really pleased and the reaction playing them out
in clubs to people says it all really. I’d say the music I’m making now by
myself and with other producers is the best I’ve done so far, as I’m always
learning every time I get in the studio. So you will have to wait and see!
Where does your name come from?
My Mum and Dad! No only messing…Robert
James is my first and middle name (just like Lee Curtiss in fact).
Who would you most like to work
with?
There are loads of people I’d
like to work with, definitely too many to name in one place. If I had to pick a
couple it would one of the old Chicago house producers or Herbie Hancock.
What have you got in store for
the coming months?
There's quite a lot of stuff
coming up, which I’m really looking forward to. In a couple of weeks the next
Hot Creations EP is out by Pterodactyl Disco, which is Jamie Jones, Lee Foss,
FB Julian and myself. Then the next one after that is these guys called
Clockwork, where Art Department, Lee Foss and myself have remixed one of their
tracks together. I’ve also got quite a few DJ gigs to look forward to as well.
What can we expect from one of
your DJ sets or live sets?
A lot of tracks with groove and
tracks you can dance to, I like to play tracks from house and disco to tech house.
So usually, something a bit different every time.
If you weren’t a
DJ/producer/artist, what would you be?
I’d
probably still be in the Army getting shot at up a mountain in Afgahnistan! Only
joking, my days in camo are defiantly over. I’m really into films so probably something
to do with films and TV, maybe on the sound production side.
Which other producers and DJs and
artists do you really rate?
To name a few, Jamie Jones, Lee
Foss, Dyed Soundorom, Soul Clap, Art Department, Burnski, Richie Ahmed, Subb-an
and Adam Shelton aka S.A.S, Russ Yallop, Alex Arnout, Death on the Balcony, the
list goes on and on….
Burnski & Robert James ‘Malibu’ is out now on Hot
Creations (include link to Beatport if possible)