Here as promised is the third Dj interview following my visit to Deep@Poppyred
In Birmingham on New Years Eve.It is with the multi talented DJ IMD !!
Hey IMD
Where and when were you born ?
Hi Colin, I am Birmingham born & bred.
What musical influences featured in your early development ?Artist that influenced me from an early age was definitely, Lonnie Liston Smith, Earth Wind & fire and James Brown, Funkadelic the list could go on.
Did you collect vinyl back in the day and then progress to cd and mp3 ?Yes I have always collected vinyl you could say I was collecting vinyl on all fronts; I collected jazz as well as original B boy break beats from an early age. I used to go all over the country & abroad in search of vinyl. In regards to cd’s I have never really liked cd’s when djing, it felt cold and clinical, since then I now use a laptop running traktor & controller & loving it, who said you can’t teach an old dog tricks.
Who were your favourite artists back in the day ?
My favourite artist back in the day was again Lonnie Liston, Smith, Art Farmer, George Duke, Slave, the list could go on just say anything that was jazzy or funky.
Did you grow up in Birmingham ? Which club nights and dj’s influenced you ?
Yes I did all my early clubbing in Birmingham, I used to go to the Rum Runner, Powerhouse all dayers, the Crown & Cushion, people that I respected back in the day were Shaun Williams, Chris Reed, yourself ( pay me later) Rhythm Doc, Tony De-vit and Shep Pittabone and the latin Rascals, other than that I have always had a sense of what my style was.
Who are your favourite artists and which other dj/remix/producers do you admire ?Right now I am feeling a lot of the Soulful stuff that’s coming out right now, Dj’s & producers like blaze, MAW just seem to get stronger with time. Also Dj Spinna, there are not that many dj producers out there who could have both feet in the soulful house and hip hop camps at the same time .
How many years have you been djing ? I have been djing for about 30 years and at times have thought about giving it up but the quality of the music new and undiscovered oldies keep me going.
Do you guys work together a lot and are you part of Deep Promotions
“0121 Collective” If so talk about this a little and tell us the influence of local Promoter/Dj’s such as “Stretch” and Bruce Q on the Birmingham scene ?
I have been part of the 0121 collective and Deep Promotion’s since it’s conception in Nov 2008. there was definitely a need for this night because certain dj’s, who will remain nameless who were monopolizing and putting across a very distorted and linear face of the broken beat, jazz and boogie scene in Brum. Just recently us as a collective myself Byron, Kwai, Paul Walker and Stretch have turned it around providing a quality night, each dj in the collective having their our own style create a new school meets old school flavor creating that legendary Birmingham vibe. All five of us are the core, but new blood in the form of Dj’s Mc’s, Designers, Musicians, are welcome.
I have known stretch from as far back as his twinkle toe days (convicts, fusion Few) and I have got to respect his passion knowledge of the scene past and present and as the 0121 collective we have a vision of were we want to take Deep in 2010.
Do you have a radio show ? If so tell us about it !
Not at present to busy with family life and back in the studio. Look out for the 0121 Collective stuff 2010.
Where do you think black/dance music is headed in Birmingham in 2010 ?I think the scene in Birmingham has suffered from a type of music apartheid for quite a few years e.g certain people who are supposed to be into jazz, funk and broken beats would come out to see Giles Peterson, but don’t support or attend local club nights such as Deep, A lot of old school dj such as myself E double D are still carrying the torch. A lot of people are disenchanted with the scene at the moment and I believe musically we always go back before we go forward, bringing with it the old vibes, but utilizing new technologies. Our mission I suppose in 2010 is to breakdown these barriers by providing a quality night, quality music for everyone (one nation Under a Groove).
Birmingham has a long time culture of top jazz fusion boogie dancers going back to the late 70’s
When did you come across this ?
I was always in touch with the scene due to an older sister who would go to the Locarno’s, Romeo & Juliet’s, the Rum Runner. She would buy all the latest tunes at the time. I remember going to my first Alldayer in 1980 I was blown away with the dancers, in both the main room and the jazz room.
How important do you think sites like Traxsource have become as a means to access our music ?
Sites like Traxsource have become more important in todays digital age, most of the local record shops and distributers like Goya have now gone, I feel this does not take anything away from being a Dj, you still have to select and be discerning and as long as you are a leader rather than a follower this should not make a difference even though the days of having the exclusives for longer no longer exist.
What are 10 tracks that you feel most influenced your taste from back in the day ?Ten tracks that influenced me back in the day are
Expansions –Lonnie Liston Smith
Glide – pleasure
Planet rock - Afrika bambataa
Jungle Kitten- Manfredo Fest
James brown- Sex machine
James mason - Sweet Power
Spoonie G - New rap language
This feeling - Frank hooker
Donald Byrd – Dominoes
Barry Miles - Magic theatre
Which clubs are happening in Birmingham currently and do you have any residencies in the City ?
At the moment there are quite a few monthly club nights such as the Time Tunnel, Jazzy-Funk catering for the more discerning 25 plus crowds. At the moment my only residency is (Deep) at Poppy red.
Could you list your playlists from New Years Eve and maybe a few future tips ?The last three records I played on NY eve were
Move over - 2000 Black
So natural – Tweek
Angel baby - Down to The Bone (Daz-I Kue remix)
What about your future as a Dj would you like to progress as a remixer/producer ?
Even though the broken beat and soulful house scene as taken a back ward step due to other genres of music in 2009 i think it will make a come back and appeal to a wider audience in 2010. At the moment I am really enjoying djing, previously I became disillusioned with the whole scene, for a lot of people that know me I was one of the first scratch mix dj’s in the midlands back in the early 80’s and have always embraced technology and I am really excited with the new development with digital dj technology.As for production I spent 13 years as a musician and producer being signed to MCA Records in the 90’s and running a Hip Hop label and a song production company and just recently I have just got my mojo back and back in the studio again.
Have you dj’ed on the International circuit ?Yes i have been on several tours in Europe & all over America as Dj & Musician.
What do you do to chill ?To Chill I normally spend time with family watch films, go to the studio.
Favourite Movies /Books/ Video Games ?My favorite book at the moment is 50 Cents, 50th law of power by Robert Greene and the film you got to watch witch I played on the projector @ Deep was Blood & Bone (Wicked film).
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