We are to reopen our interview series this year exactly the way we did last September. With the same people and for the same reasons, but the good thing is that this time it's for real… In other words, Louie Vega looks set to open his credit for 2005 this month with the awaited release of Elements Of Life's Extensions album as an appetizer to a whole bunch of exciting projects. Be the first to know…

So how do you feel Sir ?

Pretty good. The album's coming exactly the way I imagined. A lot of the guys involved did some great remixes. We have 5 new songs and it kinda have a more clubby feel than the original version. Not hardcore club, but more danceable I should say. Yeah, they upgraded a bit the tempos and came up with really nice grooves.

Like the "Sunshine" one which happened to be our Single Of The Week last month…

We've decided to put it out as a limited edition, mailing 1,200 copies to Japan and 600 to Europe and picked up 3 to 4 record shops over there for that. We wanted to have something special, kinda hard to get and also different as compared to the album where it's going to be on 2 separate parts. I mean, you know how long Joe Claussell's songs are…. He came with a 16 min song, man ! It's epic, it's beautiful, it was a great session with Raul (Midon) and Josh (Milan) singing one verse each, coz' they evolve on some similar tones. What happened is that it was originally a little interlude speaking of which Joe said to me : "Louie, why don't you try to write lyrics and turn it into a song ?" I was going to involve the whole group, I mean Anané, Raul and Blaze, but we was already working with Anané on some other stuff which is coming out in February so I said to Raul : you sing the first verse, Josh is going to do the second one and you do the third together.

Quite surprised being the only one having an interview while you being in Paris…

It's cool, man. I mean everything's been settled up within a couple of weeks. Having you is fine. Plus, you'll be the only one to get the news. There is a lot going on that we're workin' on and eventually once it comes out, people will realize as soon as they hear it as opposed to hearing about it.

I still have in mind our June conversation when we've been talking about gathering energies in order to be stronger. One example has been given by Blaze with their Keep Hope Alive project, meanwhile the second one is to me none other than this album of yours… But in the mean time, things have never seemed so difficult in terms of exposure for the music we love as opposed to the usual crap around…

It's unfortunate to see that the really important things don't get the attention they deserve, but what can you do ? I mean when it comes to press, they're just looking for the next thing, the thing of the moment… We would need to pay more attention to projects like Keep Hope Alive. As far as I'm concerned, I really don't care about this type of stuff. I really wanna make good music, I wanna get it out there and if you're interested and believe in it, then it's beautiful. And if you don't, what can I say ?  You can't force things to be done.

Alright, but what about the sense of values ? Look at how things have evolved on a 30 years period time… What is to be reminded so far from this period as opposed to disco, funk and the likes ? I remember Jeff Mills telling me a few months ago that the Stevie Wonder of the electronic period wasn't even born !!!

We can't compare those periods, they're totally different. I mean right now, you have DJ's making music and back in those days, you had musicians and arrangers doin' it. And to me, live music, organic music stands the test of time. You hear Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life, it sounds amazing. Things were made by musicians, by artists. From 85 on or whatever when house music was born, it started being made by DJ's. Not by trained musicians like somebody who would know how to do a string arrangement.

Right, but people could then object that you're also a DJ…

True, but there are some DJ's who also happen to be musicians. And this is how I consider myself. When I DJ, I'm a musician. When I'm playing for people, it's totally different. You look at the dancefloor and you see the whole thing changing. I've done this for so many years and in so many different places that it just comes naturally to me and from here (showing his heart) the way those musicians from back in the days happened to do. I mean I carry on that thing. I've learnt from them, that's where I come from. Once again, music used to be made at the time by musicians and arrangers. A lot of them didn't go to the clubs as opposed to the DJ's starting from 85. And I've got to say that they both bring something.

So what's the next step ?

It's to perform live, man. I went out and did a 12 city tour in July 2003. with a 14 people group who ended up being like a family. We did the Montreux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival and the likes. I stepped into that brand new universe to me and it's where I feel my future being… We've got amazing responses and it's the next level where I want to bring my music to from now on. So you know, we're planning  many efforts in that direction including a big show in NYC this Jan.19 at a place called Marquee, then we should go to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. So as you see, with this project, I've reached some new horizons. I haven't done this album to play in a club. This is gonna grow into something else, man, I'm telling you. Right now, I'm talking to him (showing a big picture of Jose Feliciano). This is gonna be something really big that is beyond nightlife, club, electronic  or whatever you want to call it.

So, it's going back to real musicianship right ?

Well, to me it's mixing musicianship with what I was brought up with. I mean, I'm a DJ at heart obviously, but I'm also a musical visionnary. That's what I am. If you listen to Nuyorican Soul and Elements Of Life, that's what I am, that's what I do, that's what I love. I just happen to be a good DJ as well. To me, this album is the beginning of something that's gonna last for a very long time. Everybody doin'it loved it, like Blaze. We loved working together and we're gonna do more. Now I'm working on Anané's album with Capeverdian producers (because it's her culture) including someone who's worked with Cesaria Evora and we're gonna add works from Kenny (Dope) Joe (Claussell) and myself… And we're spraying a lot of other things. The percusionnist on the album (Lucito Quintero), we're gonna start doin' an album with him too…

You doing nothing but what should normally be expected from a major…

Oh yeah. Not everybody understands my music at the time. Regarding EOL, it took them 2 years. Now from touring and playing and having people hearing the music and understanding what I'm doing, then seing it live, this takes you to another level. It's not that I've tried to make peak record that you can play at one in the morning in an 8,000 people club, I just tried to make good music. A lot of my music is personal. It reflects my experiences.

I tend to think that it's not music which is the key thing but what it suggests… Emotions, pictures, souvenirs like this BeBe Winans "Thank You" song which I happened to listen to for the very first time having you spinning in NYC at one of the Problem Child parties…

Oh man, that's a loooong time ago. What was the name of that girl by the way ? She didn't work for us but she wanted to. She got there that night and she was some Joann's friend ? That's wonderful seing that my music touches you and others. Actually that's one of the reasons why I make music today.

The same having me transmitting this to our readers, giving them real audio snippets, searching to find the right words when it comes to writing, meet the right people then support the community and try to federate it. I have the feeling that we've got to think differently, act differently and open new paths towards each other…

Sure man. Why do you think Kevin (Hedge) and I have got together doing the Roots ? It's has become an amazing party in NYC. There's just a good feeling in that room because we both have that same goal. We have the same feeling about music. Having my own label has taught me a lot. I had to go on my own and get distribution and now I'm distributed in like 9 countries and I had to fund everything by myself at the beginning and I've started feeling better about everything. Because I have the control, I know what I wanted to do and how I wanna market it. You know, I'm learning along as well. And I would say better me to make the decisions than having someone else who doesn't really understand what I'm doing. And I can swear you that it's gonna be the freak with our next thing.

Everything's not going to be the same thing anyway. I'm looking forward to the future of EOL and my label, but also Masters At Work which is still there. You know we have MAW Records and Kenny and I have a new album coming out which is going to be a little bit more rock influenced and a little more electronic.

Does it mean that you are to have different parties in Miami ?

Yeah. We want to do an MAW party to present the album and a MAW Records 10 Year Anniversary one.

So what about this MAW album ?

We just finished working with Afrika Bambaataa who's gonna be on board as well as La Ley…

Something like Nuyorican Soul conceptwise.

No, because it's gonna be rock influenced. It's a Masters At Work album. MAW has always appealed to younger audiences meanwhile Nuyorican Soul was destined to a more sophisticated crowd. Although both are coming from Kenny and I this explaining why MAW had to seem sophisticated at some time or another. Like "Thank You" to me or "It's Alright I Feel It"… Those are not the usual house songs. They're real songs and they have a lot of meaning.

Could it be then that a house song is not a real song ?

No, although many of them have something missing. But on the other hand, there are also great songs coming from the underground by artists like Barbara Tucker, Dawn Tallman, Kenny Bobien. MAW album is going to be totally different. I'm very excited because we've never been able to put our influences like The Clash and all these groups that we like from back in the days. But now, we're gonna do it. We wrote with lead singer called Beto Cuevas of a group called La Ley. They were a huge rock group in Spanish although they sing English as well.And we produced a song called "Loud" which is a totally different sound for Masters At Work. A lot of people won't even recognise it as a Masters At Work which is kinda cool and I love that. So I think that the next Masters At Work album is gonna be cool, coz' it's like a little reinvention of Masters At Work in the same time. We just came out of the studio working with Thievery Corporation featuring David Byrne of Talking Heads. We did a song for him and also worked with Stephanie Mills. It could be a commercial record having us working with Jennifer Lopez as well. I mean we're working with a lot of different artists. It's a very good time and I think everything will come out this year.It's gonna be very healthy for our music industry.

With music able to be instantly identified…

You've got it.

That's the real lack right now.

Yes and now. I mean house music has to go back and forth to the underground so the whole stuff can mix up again having the new things coming out of it. I meran it needs to be underground to me. I don't even see Masters At Work being being everything but underground. I don't see us as being a commercial outfit coz' we've never had a commercial pop hit. We've had "To Be In Love" and all these beautiful records which have been great and people know but they've never reached a top 5 status…

Okay, but they're still around.

Yes and it's great. But nothing compared to Daft Punk who've managed to take underground music to that level and I think it's wonderful. I don't know if they're going to do it again, but to me house music music is underground again now. Course, there might be a couple of bubblings things but there are also all those hybrids with this electro thing on. It's still 4 on the floor but they have these electronic sounds. There's a lot of experimentation around and I think that something's going to happen out of it sooner or later.

Ultra Naté said to me that there's gonna be a revolution one day or another with the reestablishment of real music.

I think that's happening now with certain people going to that direction.

2004 was pretty much a good year in terms of quality music, which is a bit ironical considering the current state of the record industry and its sales…

Well I think that people create at all times, it doesn't matter. You'll always have some creating minds.

True but you also have to have at least a minimum amount of money to put your work out…

It's unfortunate but like I said the music is underground so the only way you gonna make it happen is by you makin' it happen. The only way I can make Elements Of Life happen is by me makin' it happen. I paid for the whole project by myself. I put that whole project together with my musicians, , singers, everybody I know. I founded this project because this was the only way I could make it happen.

 As Joe (Claussell) currently putting the final touches to his own project or ourselves here doing this website… I remember telling him recently how I happen to feel like an orphan at some time and he said to me : if you don't like it, leave it. But this is your goal, so do it !

He's absolutely right. The problem with a lot of people in this business is that all they do is complaining. Forget about complaining, do something about it, do something that you wanna do. You may not get all the money in the world but you can still do something and make it different. You have to reach out for something if you want it. You can't sit around and complain about it and say : oooooh house music is not commercial or whatever ; it's whatever what you want it to be. Make good music (work), that's it. We come from this scene, we're growing and we're doing things and other scenes as well. You gotta look a tour music saying : right it's underground but there's also a lot of experimentation that can happen with it. I mean we, Masters At Work have done everything with house music putting African, latin, soul, jazz, funk influences on it. Now, we're making records, we still keep the house thing the way we like and we also reach out new levels and maybe we're gonna do a bossa nova album. And there's still our flavour in there, but that's the way we were brought up in NYC.

And I should even add for what concerns us that doing this indamix thing wasn't only a reference to the sole art of mixing the beats but also the atmospheres and, subsequently, the crowds, then the cultures…

The young people today need to have more knowledge about music ; they need to be educated.

ELEMENTS OF LIFE Extensions LP (awaited mid January on Vega Records)

More info : mawrecords.com