Label boss and Trance producer John 00 Fleming is not one to keep quite about his opinions on the EDM scene. As a key proponent of trance music since the genre’s inception at the dawn of the 1990s, John has watched the music go through many changes, but he has never lost sight of the original underground ethos. With the release of his second artist album One Hundred Ten WKO on March 4, 2013, John is about to send out a timely reminder that trance is something you can truly get lost in, at home and on the dance floor.
AFM: When you sit down to write a track, what effect do you want it to have on the listener? How do you want to make them feel?
J00F: I never think of the listener, nor it’s commercial effect otherwise it tarnishes the final outcome. It no longer becomes my track and turns into a marketing tool to keep agents and managers happy. I want the music to represent me, the artist within.
AFM: You’ve said ‘One Hundred Ten W.K.O.’ is an album where you truly expressed yourself as an artist. What is the impression you want your fans to walk away with after listening to this album?
J00F: Albums these days seem to be mass marketing tools, each and every track is made for big room, to get Beatport charts. It’s a tool for the artist to fast-track their careers. I’d hardly say this is an artist album, a place where you hear the true artist within? I’d say singles are for this, and the album gives the artist more musical freedom to express themselves. Thats the stance I’ve taken.
AFM: Do you have any pet peeves? Superstitions?
J00F: Bad warm up DJ’s. They see this set as a chance to break their careers so play a full on peak time set when the doors have only just opened. It ruins the musical experience the for paying customers and pisses off the next DJ who has to reset the night.
AFM: In the past you’ve created film and TV scores. What brought you from producing trance to producing for studios? Any notable projects you’d care to mention?
J00F: I’ve always wanted explore different sides to my production. It’s natural wanting to improve your skills in the studio, working on scores is really testing and takes things to a new level. Due to my love of cars, I’m proud my music has been used on the BBC’s Top gear!
AFM: We read that you’ve sold over 10 million records to date. When you first began did you ever think you would be this successful? What do you credit to this success?
J00F: I had no idea. I was really shocked in the early days when these huge sales figures where given to me because I’ve never been a guy that want commercial success, my music doesn’t reflect this. I don’t make the right music for mass consumption, so these huge sales figures didn’t make sense! I think staying true to my musical roots has helped me sustain such a long career.
AFM: We’ve also heard that you’ve been working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. What was the project that you were commissioned to do?
J00F: This is a very exciting project, we recorded this at the famous Abbey road studios in the same studio where The Beatles recorded all their hits. It was an amazing experience. I can’t give too much away at the moment what it is for.
AFM: EDM is expected to continue growing in 2013. Where would you like to see the genre go?
J00F: Electronic music has always been huge since the 80’s, its only now the commercial side of things has exploded in the USA that a term ‘EDM’ is being coined. If journalists researched more into the musical roots they are writing about, they will see most electronic scenes that we know and love today started off in the USA in the 80’s/90’s. If anything I see the more underground side of things growing as they want to distance themselves away from ‘EDM’.
AFM: What are your thoughts on the recent heat from the U.S. media on EDM’s connection with drug use and overdoses? (see LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-coliseum-rave-deaths-20130203,0,5564847.story?page=1&track=lanowpicks)
J00F: The media should firstly take a look at the amount of problems and death alcohol causes. In the UK, more people died eating peanuts last year than club drug related incidents. Kinda wakes you up reading these stats. By constantly tarnishing club drug use, and pushing it underground where it gets made gangsters, they should take a leaf out of the Dutch books and create safe houses in the clubs where you can get your drugs tested before you take it.
AFM: We saw you will be playing in Miami during WMC. How have your experiences in Miami changed over the years? Will you be attending any of the other shows during that time? If so, which ones?
J00F: WMC has changed since I started going years ago. I don’t feel its a music conference anymore, just a big excuse to party for a week. No business is done. No discussions on what the future holds. No platforms for new producers or DJ’s to break through. All the events are run by the same usual big names and corporate companies getting what they want from it. Its the same thing recycled every year, so how can things move forward? I’ll only play my event then go home, I learnt my lesson from last year.
AFM: If you could see any DJ perform live, who would it be? Any DJs you would suggest our audience to see before they die?
J00F: There’s far to many to mention. I recommend people go and discover the local scenes on their door step and support them. Here you find the best most passionate DJ’s on the planet. You can do this at a fraction of the cost too!
AFM: Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat with us John! We look forward to seeing you in Arizona sometime soon!
JOOF also just released the supporting single from his album titled ‘WKO’ this week. ‘WKO’ showcases his dark pounding beats complimented with rich pads and driving leads. JOOF Recording’s main man, Cosmithex, stepped up for remix duties adding his trademark rolling baselines and sequenced driving melodies. Check out the fan video made for it below.
[youtube id=”JLbCIIT9BCU” width=”620″ height=”360″]You can purchase ‘WKO’ and the Cosmithex remix on Beatport HERE.
Connect:
Website: http://www.
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Twitter: @john00fleming
YouTube: youtube.com/user/
