MR. C
Aug 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Kieran Wyatt
Mr. C is part übertrainspotter, part court jester as he flips through a pile of 50 records in Swag Records. He has more than 20 years of clubland and music history under his belt, but he speaks with the bright-eyed enthusiasm of a recent convert. He riffs at a million miles per hour and tells stories about the underground acid-house parties he threw in the late '80s; about his wild days fronting pop-dance crossover kings The Shamen; and, more recently, about how a hectic DJ schedule means that he hasn't slept for 72 hours.
Most of all, though, Mr. C (Richard West to his mum) talks about his love for “twisted electronic house music.” He's been a standard bearer of the tech-house sound — house with an edge, techno with the funk, music with attitude — since it first emerged from the London warehouse scene in the early '90s. The best place to hear it is, of course, at the London club that he owns, The End. After a string of 12-inch releases on his UK labels Plink Plonk and End Recordings — as well as his critically acclaimed album Change (End, 2002) — Mr. C has just released his first domestic U.S. single, “More Than Just a Dream,” on Matter-Form, a label run by ace New York DJ Francis Harris. Although he loves bootlegs, in the studio, he says, he finds it almost impossible to sample records wholesale.
“I just can't do it, nick other people's tunes,” he says. “I feel guilty, but then I hear other people do it, and they're brilliant records. I just can't do it, no matter if I'm doing a one-off single for the dancefloor or a whole album.”
Today, he's in Swag Records, Croydon, south of London. “It's the best shop for underground tech house,” Mr. C says matter-of-factly. “There's some good shops up the West End [of London], but they haven't got the attitude that Swag's got. This shop's really got it; it's really special. I don't come down here that often, but whenever I do, I always buy stacks of records.” Incidentally, most of the main tech-house players also shop at Swag — DJs such as Terry Francis, Dave Mothersole, Richard Grey and Grant Dell — and the shop has a number of its own record labels, such as LHB, Pirate Radio and Funknose.
Mr. C also stokes his vinyl-junkie habit when he's on the road — “Every weekend, I'm in a different city, so I pick up lots of bits in those towns” — but uses Swag to fill in the gaps. He says he's always changing his sets, replacing the bulk of his record box on a regular basis. You won't hear Mr. C trotting out the same mixes night after night. “I get about 50 promos sent to me each week. A lot of it is good stuff, too, from all over the world. Seventy percent of it I use.”
Toward the end of the session, he picks up a white-label 12-inch that's simply labeled “acid” and “disco” on either side. “What should we play?” he asks. Acid? “Right answer!” he says, beaming before skipping a little dance, head bobbing side to side, lost in his world of beats, bass and twisted electronic house music.
ALLEN & MANOO
“The Good Reason” (Basenotic)
A French label. Good acid lines and electronic pads are always a winner with me. The flip was a version excursion, more on the electro-y, breaky tip. They're breaks but offbeat — proper after hours. The after, after, after hours! The dafter hours!
ARMY OF ONE
“Lion's Roar” (Stupendous)
Jay Tripwire's “Garlic Mayo & Fries” remix is the one! I've been looking for some of this sort of stuff that Jay has been doing. He usually does very tribal, very West Coast tracks, but he's done a few more electronic things lately, and that's one of them. Stupendous is a great label out of Brooklyn.
MARK “BLAKKAT” BELL
“Carri Mi” (Electrik Soul)
What I like about this, in a way, is that there's nothing here that hasn't been done before. He's taken a funky, looped, disco bass line and filtered it and just done it really well. It's the sort of thing that Daft Punk and DJ Sneak have been doing for years, but it's been done so well here that it can't be ignored. It's the sort of thing that would get played by house people, tech-house people, all sorts.
ADAM COLLINS
“Good Times” (Big Chief)
This is the one that samples Cabaret Voltaire: absolutely brilliant, but so out of order! Adam Collins, you are out of order! But we love you for it, you nutter.
RICHARD GREY
“Contemplating Evil” (Rescue)
He's ripped off an Eddie “Flashin'” Fowlkes riff, a track from '93 or '94, which was an absolute classic on the tech-house scene. Richard has taken that riff, modernized it and brought it bang up-to-date.
HARDTRAX
Hardtrax Vol. III (Plus 8)
These are by Richie Hawtin himself, recorded especially for a series of Plus 8 underground Detroit techno parties back in the early 1990s. The trippy acid noises still sound fresh. The sort of thing you really do want to play in the after hours when everyone's tweeked.
HIGH FLY
“Passing By” (Dual)
Nice tech-house groove with a cool bass line and nice chord stabs. Nothing that's not been done before but a very good record, nonetheless. I'm sure the girls will shake their butts to that one. The flip, “Celebrate,” goes offbeat and then comes back to the fours. There's a lot going on in the mix, which is always a good sign. I don't like it when it's too minimal. Very playable.
HIPP-E PRESENTS
“Body Don't You Want Some” (Rique)
The title track is all right, a solid dancefloor thing, but the one that's making me spend my dosh is the “Cloudy Skies” track. It starts off nice and minimal before going into this very electronic groove. More excellent West Coast stuff.
ADAM JAY
Existing Without Consequence (Consigned)
A good techno title for an EP. Nice 135 bpm tech house, like the sort of stuff you would have got a few years ago but with the sounds and production brought right up-to-date. It's nice to hear someone doing that.
LAVISH HABITS
“Brass in Pocket” (Soundproof)
“Brass in Pocket” on the A-side is the one I'll play more often because it's more in line with what I'm doing. The other side, “The Calculator,” is very Kraftwerk-y, very bleepy — the sort of track you could play to the electroclash posse. I'm spinning a bit of stuff like that, not electroclash, per se, because it's shite, but the stuff that's almost there. Sort of tech-house/electroclash hybrids.
MAZI AND LORI
“The Curve” (Brique Rouge)
Mazi never does anything wrong. On his own, as Audio Soul Project, he does the deepest house. He's just brilliant, and this is no exception. This label is from France, one of David Duriez's labels. The A-side is more electronic, but the dub mix from Bobby Peru is just filthy!
VALENTINO
Ear Lotion EP (Select)
This is the second release from Select, a new label out of Dallas, the home of Brett Johnson, who is one of my favorite producers. Anyhow, the original was okay but no cigar. But the Johnny Fiasco and Paul Peredes & Orle Angelo remixes are both very excellent.
PHIL WIGGS
Island's Trip EP (Icon)
He usually records for David Duriez's Brique Rouge label. This is very nice. Four tracks, all very usable. Again, a very electronic and tripped-out sound.
Swag Records; 42 Station Rd., West Croydon, Surrey, UK CR0 2RB; tel. 44-208-681-7735; e-mail info@swagrecords.com; Web www.swagrecords.com
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