If you didnt catch them last year make sure not to miss them again...We got to interview them last year check out the interview at jaxlore.com/contacts.html
or keep reading
ELECTRIC SKY CHURCH INTERVIEW 3/03
It's crazy how the years go by so fast. It was only a few years ago around '96/'97 at a party called Fusion where Electric Sky Church was on stage in Orlando doing a sound check as me and my friends listened in awe. Then a few hours later in the midst of their performance the police walked in an said its 2am time to shut it down. Many years later James Lumb aka Electric Sky Church had took a little siesta and then in 2001 he emerged with a new LP, Sonic Diary. This year they have put the music to the stage and will be performing at several Florida dates including the Ultra festival in Miami. I had the pleasure of getting to ask James Lumb a few questions before their upcoming tour.
Doc: James, being involved early on in the rave scene and performing legendary live sets in the desert, what does it mean to you to perform live as an electronic musician?
James (ESC): Well, I've always performed live as a musician. I bought my Juno 106 in 1984 when I was sixteen and started jamming on top of electro tracks in my basement for friends. Then I began playing bass onstage in punk and funk bands when I was nineteen. In the late 80's I went to college in Athens, Georgia -- there was a great band scene there, and I got used to being on the stage. By the time I was 21 I had played about 100 shows. Although I was playing bass guitar onstage, I had synthesizers and drum machines at home so it seemed natural to haul it all out to the 40 Watt Club and use it in a show. Slowly I morphed into an electronic musician, one machine at a time, as I started making acid house tracks in 1987 and 1988. At that time I always played more material onstage than I ever bothered to record. Pretty soon I was playing complex live material with sequencers and samplers. Over the years I got more comfortable with having nothing but machines and a vocal microphone onstage. Its been a natural progression. I've never had the DJ attitude, where you make tracks in the studio and spin them in clubs. I've always been an onstage musician.
Doc: I've noticed a lot of producers /musicians doing dj gigs instead of performing live, what's your perspective on that?
James (ESC): Well, its a lot easier. I have a lot of respect for people who do it that way. If sharing your music with people is the ultimate goal, then I would have to say that playing tracks as a DJ live is a great way to do it. Keep in mind that the best DJ's I Know have experience with many different types of music, not just their own stuff. Generally, DJ's specialize in presenting music to an audience, whether or not they wrote the tracks. Actually, I find it very hard to make a good DJ set out my own stuff because I'm so used to playing live - working with my studio recordings onstage feels limiting. Its much easier to spin other peoples stuff, that way you have millions of tracks to choose from,and not just a few of your own.
Doc: Do you think that the hype of big name superstar djs takes away from what it means to perform live in this genre of music?
James (ESC): Not really. Electric Sky Church is always sandwiched, at large events, between Superstar DJ's. Its just easier that way,because having more than one electronic band is a technical nightmare! The cool thing is that, between DJ's, we always standout! In fact, we get called onto the stage to break up the DJ energy and make it happen "in the now." A lot of my close friends are "Superstar" DJ's, and I Know its a tough world to be in. Its very competitive, and the audience is fickle. With so much competition and so many wannabees its hard for DJ's to make themselves stand out. The"Superstar" DJ's just happen to be the ones that play well and work very hard to market themselves. Kinda like a one-person, live onstage, radio station. And you know that radio in the United States has become so nostalgic - so saturated with pop music from the past - that we depend on these people to find new music for us.
Doc: Why did it take so long for the release of Sonic Diaries?
James (ESC): Sonic Diary is a compilation of my best solo ambient material,the stuff I make at home, in private, in response to the things that happen to me on a personal level. It isn't like anything I play live at big concerts. For years I held onto the "Sonic Diary" music because I was just too close to it, it was too personal, and has so many autobiographical elements. I'm really glad I released it when I did because the response has been so overwhelmingly positive. I was blown away by how many people really love it. It's not a pop record. I have had two people tell me that a child was conceived while the record was playing! How cool! I'm glad that people use it as a date record. That is the best
Doc: Sonic Diaries seemed to be of a very personal nature and more of a solo journey. I read that you are now focusing on putting out a more dance oriented album and working with producer Clif Brigden? Why the change and whats instore for the future?
James (ESC):Clif is awesome. He was Thomas Dolby's drummer for years,and has produced some of the finest house and acid tracks out there. He brings all of his experience to the table, and I enjoy the collaboration. The new record represents what I've developed onstage, on big sound systems, in the past few years. Clif is helping me cram all of that psychic information onto a record. In the past 4 years the live sound of the band has become much harder musically, and more physically present in the moment, with more traditional vocal arrangements, and a much more sophisticated approach to audio recording. While Sonic Diary is personal and intimate, the new record is energetic and communal. Both records have a strong narrative element - they tell stories.
Doc: You're also known to be a bit of a gearhead, so for all the tehcies out there what is your favorite piece of gear?
James (ESC): Roland Juno-106, Roland TB-303, Roland TR-606!!! My Holy Trinity of Japanese gear!
Doc: Electronic Dance music has been around for more then a decade now, what do you see in its future?
James (ESC): Only a decade!!! Jeez!!! I distinctly remember the electronic music of the 60's and 70's!!!! It's all music, and it will all become part of our culture and history just like rock, jazz,hip hop, and classical.
Doc: and last but not least....
why does ice cream have no bones?
James (ESC): Perhaps a haiku will help to explain:
slippery cold cream
flows like vanilla water
flexible bone white
Cheers!
James
Be sure to catch Electric Sky Church at Ultra Miami For more Electric Sky Church mp3s and information checkout http://www.skychurch.com
Electric Skychurch @ Ultra
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dr.strangelove
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