Following on from our Blendcrafters interview last summer, we caught up with one half of the outfit, Numark, to find out what’s new with the project and with the man in general. The Blendcrafters are Numark and Pomo, a project that saw them release a fully instrumental album last year that was well received both by the public and critics, even if it caused a few raised browswhen they covered the classic ‘Imagine’. Since then Numark has been as busy as ever, finishing work on the new Jurassic 5 album (of which he is one half of the production team), releasing the new Blendcrafters single with rapper-that-gets-about-like-cholera MF Doom and doing a large UK solo tour. We caught the man on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Cargo in London, and in between talks of Atkins Diet, why bread is evil and what’s nice on the restaurant’s menu we managed to get words from Uncle Nu on sampling, the Keepintime project, the new single, Carol Kaye and the new J5 LP.

Well the first thing I wanted to ask you was about your name... why DJ Numark?

(laughs from the entourage)
N: Well they're laughing for a reason, the name came about in a corny way. I was DJing in high school with a group of guys called Bum Rush productions, we used to do a lot of house parties, and I was mixing at the time and practicing in my bedroom. One night I just asked my boy Amani, I was like 'I need a name man', and my name's Mark, and he was like 'It's probably underneath your nose, you're just not thinking about it', and so I looked down and there was a Numark mixer there... so... It's that cheesy you know?

I had a feeling that would be the answer... And how long have been touring now, this is the third date?

N: No, second date.

Going good so far?

N: Yeah it's great. I normally travel quite extensively with J5 anyway, so I'm used to a heavy schedule. But this is actually my first real solo tour. All I've ever done up to now is a load of one off shows, in the States, Germany, come out here for one show, but for the most part this is the first time I've ever done a run all the way through the country so I'm having a lot of fun. And not having to hear anybody else burp or fart is cool too!

You've got a new single out, from your Blendcrafters project, the 'Melody remix' featuring MF Doom. How did you hook up with Doom then? He gets about a lot these days.

N: I just made a cold call to his management really, saying I really liked his work and the feeling was mutual. We both listen to each other's work and dug each other's stuff so it worked out good. He blessed the track and helped bring it to another level you know?

Had he heard of the Blendcrafters project before hand then?

N: No, I approached him relatively early on. And a lot of people haven't heard of Blendcrafters, it's kind of a low-key thing overall and mainly some home grown stuff for cats that want to rock instrumentals. So I had to explain the concept to him and tell him that I was doing everything reversed from what the norm is in the industry. Instead of having an album full of vocals and then my single having the instrumental, I wanted to do the album full of instrumentals and the singles with the vocalists. That's what I was trying to do and I explained that to him and he was down with it. He really liked the track so it all worked out.

And what about the other remix you've got on there, on the flip, the Eddie Harris track?

N: Yeah that was really cool!

How did that happen?

N: Basically, long story short on that one, I was planned to do something for this remix project album on Atlantic records, and things didn't work out for my remix, they couldn't offer me what they wanted because of the amount of people involved on the project so I asked if I could have the rights to put it out on my own, and they honored it. So there it is, on the flip of this single.

And how did you get Carol Kaye and Derf Reklaw on there? Did they both come through the connections with the Keepintime project?

N: Well Carol I looked her up on her website actually because I tried going through the Keepintime channels and it didn't really work that way, because she isn't down with any kind of hip hop. She feels that it degrades women, and she actually denied an interview for Wax Poetics, she denied being on stage for Keepintime with all those famous drummers and musicians, because there was some integration of rap into it. So I just kinda cold called her and said 'Look I'm doing a project for Atlantic records, I'm remixing Eddie Harris' and she said she'd never got the chance to work with him as he passed away in 96, and so it meant something to her. And I told her it'd mean the world to me if she came in and played on it, but I didn't mention that I was in Jurassic 5, didn't mention that I sampled her on 'Day at the Races', didn't mention any of that. She doesn't even know I like hip hop music, she just thinks I have a lot of records! But she's a beautiful lady, very sweet and extremely professional as you can imagine. She knocked it all out with a pick on a bass. And she's on the cover too, which is really cute, she looks amazing on there, I just wanna hug her, she feels like family to me.

And the connection with Derf came through Keepintime?

N: Yeah for sure.

Was it good to be able to work with him again after being on stage for the project? Did you work together in the studio?

N: Yeah it was great. I had an 8 bar part that I wanted him to fill in, and he'd already heard some of the breaks that were percussion related and so he understood where I was going with it. You know I always wanted to work with Derf, and he's worked with Eddie before and so the whole project seemed to come together nicely.

And since last year how has the Blendcrafters project been received, from people you've spoke to etc...?

N: Good, the LP was talked about but not a whole load happened, it was kind of a cool thing that came out, but the single more than anything else has been talked about, so that's good because it lets me know that the vision I had to do the singles featuring vocalists is something I should stick to. The next volume I want to do the same concept except that time round I want to have a featured producer. You know, something like 'tonight's special guest is... DJ Premier, or Jay Dee', so that someone comes in and actually contributes to the album. And then still do singles with vocalists after that.

You got any plans to do another vocal single from the first LP?

N: Probably not. I want to move on to the next thing. I got to finish up the J5 record, that's the main thing. And if Pomo still wants to be on the next Blendcrafters project then that'll be great.

Actually I wanted to talk to you about the toys you've brought with you on this tour. Anyone who's seen you live with J5 and Cut Chemist will know that you guys usually come out with some interesting showcases during the shows, using all sorts of toys and other things alongside the turntables and samplers. I was just wondering what was it that originally made you want to use these contraptions in a musical way? I can't really think of anyone else doing that type of thing to the level you are.

N: Well Cut and I used to do a few, I don't want to call them showcases, but we used to DJ at parties and there'd be Roc Raida there, X-Ecutioners, Skratch Piklz and Beat Junkies and all these really talented DJs that could cut superb, the best, and for me personally, I can't speak for Cut Chemist, I wanted to separate myself by using the turntable differently. I still cut, practiced it, and still do, practiced my doubles, but I wanted to look at the turntables in the same way I looked at my drum set, as a percussive instrument essentially. Through that idea came things like me using a rubber band, tapping the needles, and then the duslay, tapping the duslay to make a bass drum. Then I started getting into instruments on stage with J5, as we wanted to do little segways like copying Jeru's 'Come Clean' break and bringing up different drums, thumb pianos, and so from there it brought me to toys and rewiring toys.
I kind of feel like the DJ at times looks a little stiff, no matter how dope that DJ is. He could be the best in the world, it still looks like a stiff scenario because they're standing straight and all you're seeing is their hands and shoulders moving a little. The most visual you get is them pulling out a record, and that's if they're not using Serato (laughs). So I wanted to do something people could see, and with J5 we'd come to the front of the stage to do our solos. That's what I tried to do...

Making it more interactive for the audience?

N: Yeah it was also years of people going 'You're so in the back, people don't give you and Cut enough respect' and bla, bla, bla so we thought why don't we come to the front when we do our solos.

And what would be the craziest toy you've ever used or found?

N: It's gotta be music blocks, the one you'll see tonight. It's out of this world. Basically there are five cubes, with different shapes on each side, and each shape represents a bar of music from a different part of a band. So a star would be pianos, a square would be vocals, a circle would be basslines, and so on and so forth. So you press it and it plays a bar of music, and people would always go 'did you program all those sounds' and I'm like 'no I'm not that dope' (laughs) It's that simple you know? I just search out toys that I really like and I rewire them. That's all I do.

I read this interview you did with Oliver Wang in Wax Poetics a while back, in which you said you liked taking pieces of music, like hi hats or kicks, different drums, and piecing them together. Putting things together that weren't meant to be put together. And so I was wondering if you'd see yourself making music any other way?

N: I've already started. I've already started in the conventional manner, looking through stock sounds, different modules and things like that. I'm still a firm believer in less is more and that sometimes the best stuff is right underneath your nose, like my name, and sometimes it's easy to make things tougher then they really have to be. I'm the king of that... really I am. You see my setup and I've got too much shit up there, way too much. And at the same time the part of my brain that fights with that on stage is the part that says 'keep it simple man, don't lug all this equipment around'. You can be dope and have something simple. So I'm struggling with those two schools of thought.

Are you looking at working with live musicians then?

N: Not so much no, though the new J5 record features the Dap Kings. That should be cool, it's called 'Red Hot' by the way. They sound like they're from 58, and we managed to capture that sound.

I did want to ask what it was about making music in that piecing together manner that appealed to you?

N: I think it's probably for the same reason that I like making music really late at night, it’s because no one knows you're really doing it. There's nobody looking over your shoulders, and it's, I don't want to say unexpected because people have been doing it for years, it's in a traditional sense unconventional.

I wanted to have a quick word about the Keepintime project as well. Wondering what was it like to be able to be a part of that for you? The way the project helped bridge generations, between the great drummers and musicians of the last half a century and the new generation of DJs and producers who have taken their work as a basis for their own stuff, is great.

N: I just think it's an honour you know. For the drummers to be that open-minded, for Earl Palmer to be that open minded to work with young DJs who are just cutting up doubles of Earl Palmer, that says a lot about that person, you know? But then if you think about it James Brown’s career was revitalised by people sampling him, cutting him up, and the same thing with George Clinton so... Some musicians understand that and others don't. And for me it really warmed my heart to see them open their arms to us. When I get that old and I'm doing what I'm doing then I'll have to open my arms to the younger kids because they did it to me.

And I can't remember if you were also involved with the follow up, Brazilintime?

N: No! That was the one that hurt. I really wanted to go but I was in a J5 tour and so I couldn't. That was the place I wanted to go to more then any other place in the world...

You’ve still not been able to go then?

N: No, but one day I will. I'll send you a postcard when I get there (laughs)

As you mentioned the new J5 single, I take it that's from the forthcoming new album? I thought there were meant to be some solo outings before from some of the MCs?

N: Yeah Charly is working on a solo album, which might drop after the J5 one, or vice versa, we'll see what happens.

The waitress drops Numark's food on the table... Earlier on before the interview, Numark and his manager were discussing the finer points of Atkins diet.

N: (to his manager) Atkins diet eh? I'm feeling it! Ah you see there's some bread in there too, that's the devil's work right there! (laughs) And I'm rockin doubles of the food too!

Well I'll let you get stuck in, I've only got one more question. Have you had much chance to dig over here, or are you planning to?

N: Not so much on this tour. I'm trying not to mainly because your pound is so strong right now. It's astronomical, honestly I don't get it. I understand that you guys have been avoiding the Euro but my lord, it's blown me up, I'm broke out here, it's no joke!

And you're on a tight schedule for this tour as well aren't you?

N: Yeah town to town each day pretty much. So not much spare time. I've got the private dealers I normally check when I'm in town, but this time I'm trying not to call anyone. My hands are sweating just touching the phone, like a drug fiend, with my knuckles turning all white and shit. It's like my smack!

N: Neurosmith, and the other two don't even have a name on them! But I’ll say Carwash toys and… Fisher Price. I'll throw them a bone.

Three records you'd never part with?

N: My NFL library record, my Niagara record and my first UTFO record because that's what got me into hip hop.

And three records you'd never thought you'd use but ended up using?

N: 3 Dog Night, Pink Floyd and Prince.

Many thanks to Numark for his time and to Isabel at PIAS for the hook up. You can check a review of the latest Blendcrafters single, ‘Melody’ featuring MF Doom, right here. For more information on Numark check jurassic5.com and look out for an interview this September with the other half of the J5 production team and long time partner of Numark, Cut Chemist. You can check our Blendcrafters interview with Numark and Pomo right here.