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| quote: | Dear friends and fans,
There have been some major changes around here.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this might be one of single biggest changes in my life to date. As some of you might already know, I’ve left my band of 14 years, Deepsky, to pursue my solo project Summer Channel. What you don’t know, is that Summer Channel is no longer a solo project. As of 2007, Summer Channel officially consists of two other members besides myself. Patrick Scott, who sang on “Soulmate in Every City,” will be the official front man/lead singer, and Cameron Morgan, who has played guitar on every song thus far, the full time guitarist. Why?
About 6 months ago, I was at a Basement Jaxx concert at the Hollywood Bowl here in Los Angeles. What I saw changed my outlook on electronic music forever. They had a barrage of singers, dancers, drummers, guitarists… you name it. It was a REAL show. It wasn’t just some guy with a pair of headphones spinning other people’s records, or even two guys behind keyboards playing their own music. It was a collection of characters and personalities interacting with their crowd, creating something more than I’ve ever seen in a club. I realized right there and then that’s what I wanted to do with the rest of my career. To help take electronic music out of the clubs and into the stadiums. That being said, I still love to DJ, and I will continue to do that as well, because it still brings me joy to do so.
Unfortunately, it seems the collective audio consciousness has never had the ability to truly connect with a faceless electronic act (though there are a few exceptions). Generally speaking, we tend to have more of an acceptance for bands with a lead singer, or front man… at least here in America, and let’s face it, that’s where we live. Even The Prodigy didn’t blow up in America to the level they’re at now until Mr. Firestarter took the lead, and by most accounts, it took their live shows to a whole new level.
Another reason for my choice is that I finally got sick of making records that made other DJs more famous. For example, one of Deepsky’s biggest songs was called ‘Stargazer’. That song was written in 1996, and came out on an American dance label called Fragrant Music. It wasn’t until John Digweed put it on his ‘Sydney’ Global Underground compilation in 1997 that people even noticed it more than a year after it’s original domestic release. This type of scenario has improved over the years for American dance artists, but it always seemed like America needed to have it’s own homegrown productions sold back to us by the Europeans before they were taken seriously enough to be considered floor worthy in our own country. I could give you other examples of this, but my intention isn’t to make this a bitch fest. In fact, I’m EXTREMELY grateful for all the support DJ’s like John Digweed, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, Nick Warren, etc. gave us over the years. The fact of the matter is, I’m ready to be the one filling the stadiums with my own screaming fans, instead of hearing my records played at their DJ gigs.
When I was growing up in the late 80’s and early 90’s, bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, Tears For Fears, & Pet Shop Boys shaped my musical foundation. Obviously the most intriguing thing to me about these bands was the electronic element of their music, but the biggest thing that made their songs memorable to me, even today, was the fact that I could sing along to them. Although there are some pretty hooky electronic synth riffs out there, the songs that most of us remember (again generally speaking) are the ones with the vocal. Some of you will notice that most of Deepsky’s latest releases had vocals on them. Songs like “Ghost” and “Talk Like A Stranger.” Personally, I was inspired to make more vocal based music because it was easier for me to express what I was feeling with a vocal instead of just beats and synths. Let me make it perfectly clear though… THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE. There are amazing artists out there that aren’t doing vocal based music that are some of MY FAVORITES. I’m just not personally inspired to make that kind of music entirely anymore.
I am not abandoning electronic music. In fact, I feel like I’ve made major contributions to it over the years. This isn’t the end of my contribution; it’s just the next evolutionary step towards it. When we were teenagers starting our first electronic band (before we even used a computer to make electronic music) I remember saying things like “Even if Madonna offered us a million dollars to work with her, I’d never sell out and do it.” We were underground renegades making electronic music in a time when it wasn’t as cool or as accepted as it is in this day and age. But here I am 15 years later with two Madonna remixes under my belt. Did I sell out? I don’t think so. I never made any music I didn’t absolutely love making. To me selling out is making music people expect you to make when you’re not fulfilled doing it. This is why I’m changing. So I don’t sell out and do what’s expected of me just because it’s easy. That and I have more to say than just “Boom Boom Boom….” ☺
J. Scott G. |
Interesting read.
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