- Could you share the thoughts and ideas behind this mix?
For this mix, I wanted to share the wide-ranging sonic spectrum of Jamaican music from 1960s Ska to the present day. Given the confines of an hour-long mix, I hoped to impress how this tiny, rather poverty-stricken island in the Caribbean created a sonic language that was both influenced by and influenced all the major musical trends (jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, electronica) of the past sixty years.
- Can you tell us about your approach to creating mixes?
To me, DJing is story-telling. Sometimes, I will create a mix that focuses on an idea or concept or even emotion; sometimes, I will create a mix that focuses on a specific genre within Jamaican music (gun tunes, harmony, 80s digital roots, etc.). Regardless, what I want in a mix is for the records to speak to each other; to create a conversation between each piece of music that becomes relavatory to the listener. Music is a living artifact of the times in which it was created, and by linking themes and moods in a mix, I believe it heightens the revolutionary potential of music.
-Do you have a particular preference for playing original pressings when you DJ?
Hmmm....Yes and no! I love the physicality of records. I love that old records have been handled by sound men and women who left their imprints on each piece of vinyl from the oils from their fingertips to a drop of sweat from their brow; a bit of pitchy-patchy noise does not bother me in the least; a name of some old sound system written on a label makes me happy. That said, I am not precious. Some original press records sound far better than any reissue; but the opposite can be true and I am happy to play a reissue if it sounds right.
-Before moving to Japan, you were a co-founder of the legendary New York record shop Dreadly Dragon Sound, and you’re still a prominent figure in the reggae scene as a selector. Now that you’ve relocated to Japan, what are your thoughts on the reggae scene here?
Well, Deadly Dragon started as a sound system in Chicago with me and a guy named Rik Shaw in 1995; when I moved back to my hometown of New York in 1998, I brought the sound system with me. In 2005 I wanted to open the record store as a brick and mortar space (I had been selling records from my apartment and website before then) and asked Jason DeBeck to start it with me (he still runs the online shop now in NYC). When I used to visit Japan before I moved here, I was super impressed at the ways in which older Jamaican music remained vital to both older and younger Japanese people. When I moved here 8 years ago, I got a sense that the reggae scene had dissipated a bit. I think the love and energy and knowledge of Jamaican music in Japan is still profound, but the amount of people interested in it has diminished. I hope in coming years that more young people will gain appreciation of the music and revitalize the scene.
-As a reggae selector, what do you think is most important? We’d love to hear your thoughts both from a technical perspective and a mental/spiritual one.
I first started DJing some 40 plus years ago. At some point, I wanted my mixes to be super-clean; my beat matching so on-point and flawless that I expected people to gasp in awe!! "Look at that Scratch Famous," I wanted people to say, "he is so smooth and so clean we have no idea of how many records he has played!" I was trying in essence to play Jamaican music as House Music or hip hop. It was, I realized, trying to subdue the music to service my ego. It took a long time to realize that what I liked about the best selectors was the sense of chaos that occured when they played -- tempos shifted, tunes were played back to fit the energy of the crowd, sound effects tore thru the song itself; there was always someone on the mic yelling, talking, warning some patron that their car was about to be towed. It was all deeply human and deeply tied to the precise environment that the records were being played in. So, for me what began to be most important was the very material sense of what I was doing when selecting -- I felt that energy, the very tension of looking for a record to fit the mood, the knowledge of what was being said on a record was paramount to any so-called technical mixing skill. I would much rather hear someone select tunes with love in their heart and love of the music who may make mistakes, than someone so skilled in beat-mixing that they don't actually need an audience. Mistakes are human; a computer helping flawless mixing is data processing.
- What methods do you prefer when searching for new music? Do you still enjoy browsing for music in record stores, or have you come to prefer online purchases?
If I have a song that I already know and already want, I don't really care where I buy it. But new music is different. I am not a person who grew up online so it is still alien to me in some ways, I get bored on a computer. A record store, though, still fills me with excitement. I love flipping through boxes of 45s, seeing some weird label that I never saw before. i like the smell of old paper and the mustiness of records that were kept in a closet for decades. I trust that I have a certain intuition that will guide me to records I will like,
You often shop at ELLA RECORDS — are there any other record stores you frequently visit?
I wish I had more time to go record shopping these days! But, when I can I like to check out Coco Isle and Reggae Shop NAT.
- Besides DJing, what stimulates your creativity?
Everything! Moving from New York, which was a city I spent basically my whole life in, to Tokyo was like an adrenaline shot. Everything was new, nothing was affected by memory and it has been invigorating just to discover a new city. But, on a more specific level, I find owning our restaurant Freeman Shokudo to be as creatively stimulating as DJing ever was. The same conversations and stories that I wanted to tell with music, I am now telling with food; and the community we have built with the restaurant reminds me of all that I wanted to build with music.
- Do you have any advice for those looking to start a career as a DJ?
My first piece of advice would be to not think of DJing as a career. DJing should be something you love to do and thoughts of money and career should be secondary. That said, my first piece of advice to anyone starting as a DJ is to know the music you are playing -- really listen to what is being said on a record, where the breaks are, how things change within the scope of one song; also, know the history of the music you love, know what was happening in the world to create the very tune you love. All art comes from a specific historical context and it is important to recognize that. Concentrate on the love of the music first and technical skill will follow; reverse that and you will always be empty.
- What plans do you have for 2025 as a DJ?
For the most part I have no real time to DJ anymore. That said, I have my residency at Club Open on the second Monday of every month with Chii Irie. I love playing there because it keeps my records alive to be able to hear them once a month on that glorious sound system.
- Last but not least, as the owner of Freeman Shokudo — the hugely popular BBQ restaurant just a 30-second walk from ELLA RECORDS — you’re also one of our beloved neighbors.
Please feel free to give your restaurant a shout-out!
Thanks!!! We love you too! I own Freeman Shokudo with my wife Maiko Sakamoto. We will have been open for five years in October and it has been an amazing time. We love our customers and try to always improve our food and the experience of coming to eat with us. We also have a big-ass sound system in the restaurant playing serious music for the people! We could have had an extra table where the speakers are, but we think of music as a serious component to the overall vibe of what we do. Come eat with us after buying good music from the good people at Ella Records!
