Ending up having a chat with DJ Gregory was no doubt for us nothing more than a question of time. And despite his already consistant work so far, the latest has probably never been so right seing him involved on various top class projects. From his contribution to Louie Vega's EOL Extensions album to his reworks for Claude Monnet presents Monica Nogueira's latest "Eu Vou Levar" (our forthcoming Single Of The Week). Not to mention his current position as the master of ceremony for UK label Defected on their In The House compilation series…

So how was the summer for you, mate ?

Quite good I should say. Gotta play here and there including in my native France which hadn't happened for quite a while. I mean, outside Paris speaking, where I have some regular activities .

You didn't look that happy or right on your shoes at the Sunslice Festival though…

Well, It was cool to be there. I mean the spot + the sound-system - and all the ones who've already come there will know what I'm talking about - are incredible, Guess it was rather a matter of affluence which was not that big for an event like this. No doubt, the promotion of this festival looks as if it has been too intimate in regards to such a place but also the line-up which had the potential to gather much much more crowd. Got friends of mine leaving in Marseille which is almost an hour drive by car from there who hadn't heard about it. Then as you've mentioned here, the weather wasn't that good neither with all that wind around…

As a matter of fact, I would feel more energetic when it's crowdy and somehow more reserved when it's not the case, like most of my pals. At least, got the feeling that those who attended my set have had some good time. Well I hope. But the whole thing could have been much better for sure, in regards to what I've been told about this event in the previous years.

Wasn't that neither a question of global lack of people going out all long the summer in this country ?

It well could be, although I gotta play at La Villa La Grange near La Baule and Les Chandelles in Carnac a bit later and both were packed. So it's kinda hard to say. This said, if you don't get people to know about an event, how d'ya want them to come ? Never got myself an e-mail about this festival and people I know said to me that it was kinda hard to have explicit infos on the Sunslice website… Haven't seen neither any advert on the press… So what can I say apart from the fact that it's a shame really !

Right, summer's now over and you've got this In The House comp on Defected label which looks like deeply in love with the French scene…

It's quite simple. There's a CD which is a sort of post-Africanism/Faya Combo thing full of percussions and a few vocals incl. unreleased tracks like Dennis Ferrer ’Hit It Off" which I've been given 2 years ago and  that MAW featuring Vikter Duplaix song ('In The Real World') speaking of which Louie (Vega) said to me that it would be their 100th release. Meanwhile, I've included some tunes that I consider as classics on the second one. For instance that remix of Donna Allen's’Real' which David Morales has done by the mid-90's, Kerri (Chandler) has remixed his own "Get If Off" + a few not to be missed material this year like Larry Heard's remix of 'Deja Vu' and the unreleased remix of 'Movin' by John Ciafone which is exclusive. Then as it's a… DJ Gregory comp, Defected has asked me to get music of mine on this. It was not about getting the latest new things but rather pieces of music that I love.

I've mentioned to Louie (Vega) this conversation which I've had a while ago with the late Barry White and more precisely what he was calling the formula as a signature for an artist. Isn't there a trick somehow, refering to some critics made by people about the Masters At Work while saying that they tend to provide us with the same kind of thing ? A thing which I've also heard about you by the way ?

Africanism is a period which had its influences on tracks like 'Block Party', 'Tourments d'amour' and 'Les enfants du bled' with Julien Jabre. Everybody knows that the rhythm concept of 'Tourments d'amour' has been sampled 4 billion times so far. This said, I'd like you to tell me what are the things to be seen in common with Faya Combo music except the fact that they're mine ? I'm trully interested in understanding the link between 'Tropical Soundclash', 'Cruisin', 'Don't Know Malendro', 'Elle' and the list goes on.

True, I've already heard myself people telling me : whatever you do, there always a sort of imprint, so what ? If you hear something from Kenny Dope of Mood II Swing, you instantly know where it's comin' from, and I should also say that this has a lot to do with the sound treatment… I ain't got a problem with this. I'm doing the things that come to my mind. On the other hand, many people seem like lost seing me going from a thing to another one the way I do. We would have people asking for nothing but 'Tropicaleries', others lookin' for weird things alla 'Cruisin' and the latest awaiting for sophisticated things like 'Elle', etc…

Are those things you're putting out spontaneous or more of prepared ? How long do you spend working on a track ?

Like everybody. These are tunes which would come out instantly like "Tropical Soundclash' which has been done in 2 days and 'Elle' which I've worked on on a 3 year period. Feel free to verify if you wish. I've got something like 8 different versions completely different from each other. I'm simply waiting til I'm happy myself with what I'm doin' and I'll be able to play it my sets.

In other words, like a writer I should say. If it's fluid for you, you're putting it out…

Exactly. These are two ways of doin' music. Either, you're on a traditional step with things that you know people are waiting for and I would say that Joey Negro or the Soulfuric team do it perfectly. Either, you explore new paths.

Loads of people said to me during the summer : Hey, you done another 'Elle' ? I said : No. It's just that Grant Nelson has put out a similar thing on Swing City. Everyone has been bluffed in U.K. sayin' : Waow Grant Nelson has done a thing alla Gregory which to me is very flattering at the end of the day.

I've got my own thang, my universe when doin' music and I like to explore, I like it to be colourful and also efficient in the meantime. I like my music to be played by the DJ's and danced on by people and I like this not to be necessarily on the same kind of vein. Could be sort of humouristic like 'Don't Know Malendro' or very deep like 'Elle'. The funny thing about the latest is that I didn't think it would get any echoe although I'd put all my energy on it. I came with a double-pack for Miami without expecting anything particular and everybody would have played it at the time so it was rather cool although not premeditated at all.

Is this finally an advantage for you to live in France knowing that you're far more popular abroad ?

I guess I need to be there so that people can react abroad. It's like Dimitri who's from… Paris ! On top of that, I really do feel good here. There are so many good musicians even though we don't have the parties we'd like to happen here…

We ain't got the nights, we ain't got the medias…

True, but in how many countries is it like this ? Apart from that, you would find places like England, Portugal where things happen…

Would it mean that we're condamned to stay in the underground here when not doin' R&B or hip hop for instance ? Could it be that we would have to wait til the whole thing is comin' back, following that kind of circle like Ultra Naté recently said here ?

Indeed, things seem like going into circles. This said how many tumes like Lil' Louis 'French Kiss' have we had back in the days ? I guess that should you want to have your music on the radio, you just would have to do what's needed (a song and a hook amongst others).

Never done this myself and never wanted so far. Don't be surprised while doing a 12 min. track like 'Elle' if the radios don't play it… On the other hand, when Ultra Naté drops 'Free', it's a worldwide hit !

Isn't  that also the medias work to act as prescriptors ?

Sure but we won't remake the world…

So what do you feel like you have to do in terms of communication ?

Just my own thang here again. I don't release a 12" every 3 weeks. People who'd like to come to me (my music) know what they have to do.

In the meantime, you see more and more people putting out music in order to play in the clubs. Isn't that a sort of pressure at the end of the day ?

It depends on which club. There are still some who'd book you although not releasing music. I mean, to be a DJ and a producer are quite different jobs. Could be a good DJ without being a good producer and vice versa. This said, when a promoter books a DJ who's done well with one of his productions, it's nothing but responding to a potential expectation from the market. Guess I've been lucky somehow as I've never felt this kind of pressure. On the other hand, being booked here or there is also a question of having good relations with the promoters. You get yourself known which sure may take a bit more time nowadays, then you do your job and if you rock the floor, that's it.

This said, good DJ's aren't that numerous and having a look at what we're into, they don't get that much space over there as compared to other types of (trendy) music like electro for instance…

Well, time has gone and we're not living the same period anymore.

Not to mention the fact that DJ's in the meantime have become more specialized into one genre as opposed to 10, 20… 30 years ago ! Could this be another sign of the fragmentation of our societies ?

Could be… I've started when I was 20. 12 years have gone and I realize that I'm not anymore who I was at the time. Spinning at some club means being in front of clubbers who, being in their 20's, haven't got the same culture/view/expectations, simply because they haven't heard the things at the same time than I. So what would this mean to be bitter while seing them reacting not the same way as I when playing what I would consider as an essential track ?

What do you do when outside your studio ?

Nothing…  I go straight to bed !

I guess you go to the cinema…

No !

You read…

Only when travelling.

What ?

What comes close to my hand. I'm currently reading Sting's bio and a book about painting.

What does feed you ?

Painting, enormously… I've studied cinema and painting for years so I'm really into painting and when I say really, it's really. I would buy pieces put my nose into the youngest generation of painters.

What do you talk about when meeting friends like Louie (Vega), Next Evidence or Julien Jabre for instance ?

We talk about cinema, of course music but all kinds of music, sometimes painting but also food and wines.

Your best souvenir ?

One of them then. I was 23 and had just done a test for the TGV nighters for Sylvie Chataignier who, apart from Armand, was looking for another DJ. I then came to play Sueno Latino at something like 04:00am and the crowd (and myself) went litteraly crazy. Something which I couldn't describe had happened at this very moment telling me how happy I was to be there and do what I was doin'… Those little things that give you the excitement to keep on going further as being a DJ is tuff work with its periods of doubts and also hard thinking beacause the amount of creativity that it needs.

The worst one ?

As I said, it's a bloody damned hard work and even more when you're passionated. You figure out that you'd like to play a certain music and you realize that what you have in mind is not necessarily what people have in theirs. I guess that the day I have understood this has been quite hard to live. In the menatime, you realize that you have to be tolerant.

Because of the fear of being misunderstood?

Not being misunderstood. But simply because people don't live the same thing at the same moment. I remember years ago having a gig in Rennes alongside Cyril (DJ Deep) and Alex (from Tokyo), that was a sort of rave party and there was a DJ out of Bonzai Records who was playing some sort of trance in an unfriendly techno spirit as compared to Detroit techno. I ended up having the feeling that I was speaking like Chinese to the crowd and it was awful.

You then have the feeling that this kind of guy breaks what you're doing…

Well, I simply told myself that I wasn't at the right place. That there was a story at this place which wasn't mine. I mean you not only feel in love with some kind of music, you also feel in love with its history and the souvenirs that you get from it.

Would you say that there's a community in France… in Paris ?

I would honestly tend to say so, judging by the amount of people chatting on forums. Sure, there's a community…

What do we do for it ?

Personaly speaking, I've spent a lot of time – having his radio show for the 11th year on RadioFG (each Sunday at 07:00pm) - supporting this music the best I could with guys like Cyril, Alex at the time and a few others, when so many people pretending that they're a part of it haven't done anything so far…

Why then not thinking about a space (a club) where the DJ's devoted to this music would gather their forces instead of doing their own things on their own ?

I'm not a promoter. This said, I would love to do it as I'm doing it when invited by people like the Cheers' one.

How do you feel the immediate future ?

Not as bad at then end of the day, if we consider that people are ready to listen to a lot of different things. I remember people stirring at us when we was playing disco not so long ago. It's not the case anymore. Couldn't have done this 10 years ago. Alex was doin' it at the time and although it was cool, it sounded somehow weird for a lot of people.

When you see R&B doing so strong nowadays, it allows you to play more vocals even though house music was more of an instrumental thing at the beginning. On the other hand, it's harder to survive coz' new things have happened inbetween like the free downloading, Internet, people buying less vinyls… And we have to deal with that.

In the meantime, it's also supposed to upgrade the level as only the most talented will survive (apart from that major thing)…

Yes and no. There's no guaranty, even for the majors. I myself don't like to bother people with what I'm doing. I mean, either they like or not. I'm not searching for cover stories in the mags, I don't advert on what I'm doing with my label. Once again, either you want to meet me, either you don't.

 I simply feel that there's an affective link with music and also, as you said, something to do with the community. I mean, hip hop and soul are Afro-American concepts dedicated to Afro-American people with those things talkin' to them, related to their daily ways of life…

It's a medium for them…

Which, once again, means that, should you be interested to get into it, you have to make an effort, you've gotta be committed.

And, first of all, that you have to take some time… Look at someone going to a big chain record store with all this stuff around, where do you think he's going to go ? Where he's been sort of told…

Once I've understood that there were independant record shops in 1988, I've gone there.

The only problem today is that they are less and less : at least in France… Why is the French press so fragile as compared with U.K., Germany or even Italy ?

Because we ain't got this culture over there. This said, once again, if interested, you search for and you end up gettin'it, like anything else.

Okay then, let's talk about the promo thang… How come, unlike almost any other kind of music, is it so hard to be properly informed, even though on a (rare) supposedly dedicated medium to house music and the likes ?

A question of labels and subsequently territories… A label, and especially an independant one, would first act on its own country and, if not, on the country/ies where the people are supposed to be the more reactive to the music it's putting out, right ? This meaning, in regards to these foreign countries, that the releases in question will be considered as import and making them more expensive (when available) than the domestic ones. And it's exactly the case speaking about my comp, originally destined to the British market, unless it ends up getting a license here or there thus making it more affordable.

Right, I've got you, although things have also changed promowise, and for the same reasons as those you've mentioned earlier, most notoriously with a tool able to reach a worldwide audience : Internet !

We've come to a point where we can't do any more promo, for the same reasons. You drop a record and 5 hours later you see it on Internet ! Talking about "Don't Know Malendro" for instance, there were something like 4,000 bootlegs in UK before I released it myself, so what can we do ?

People said to me that there were even sites where people come to exchange their promos !!!

Let's have a last word about this Faya Combo comp that you're workin' on for a release next Spring. Tell us all about it !

Nothing's really been recorded so far. I'm still on my way while researching. New textures, new sounds… so I listen to a lot of obscure fusion from disco to jazz. I'm always trying to mix different ideas, not to mention French O.S.T.'s as I also have that project on Wall Of Sound under my Prassay guise. So, as I've said : time to think for me these days. See ya !

V/A : DJ GREGORY IN THE HOUSE LP/CD (Defected) defected.co.uk

CLAUDE MONNET presents MONICA NOGUEIRA Eu Vou Levar – DJ Gregory Main & Dub Mixes 12" (Ssoh Music)