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Beat Therapy, an interview with the Blend Crafters...
Blend Crafters are a duo composed of DJ Nu-Mark, one
half of Jurassic 5's production team alongside Cut Chemist, and
long time partner and mentor Pomo. This new project sees the two of
them join forces to produce an LP which will have most beat heads salivating,
DJs smiling and MCs rhyming. Simply put Blend Crafters is a compilation
of beats that the duo have been working on in the last year or so and
which have found release through this simple and effective project that
brings it back to all that is good about hip-hop, beats and head-nodding.
I had the chance to catch some words with Nu-Mark and Pomo over the
phone last month and find out a bit more about them, Blend Crafters
and what they are both up to.
Best place to start would
be by letting the readers know a little bit about who you guys are,
where you from etc...?
Numark: Well I've been a DJ for 21 years
now, I started doing house parties when I was younger and then graduated
to doing gigs for people and then met my group, Jurassic 5, which I've
been with ever since really, that was 10 years ago. We've put
out 3 albums in that time and this is just a side project of mine really
to let out instrumentals that I wouldn't normally give to the
guys in J5.
Pomo: I've been working on beats since 87-88 and I used to rhyme
as well. Numark used to give me beats for me to rhyme over. I just love
using drum machines and we both kind of learnt off each other too you
know? Getting feedback and drawing off each other to where we are now.
And so you're both
from the West Coast?
N: Yeah both from round these parts (L.A).
How did you guys meet?
N: It's a funny story, we met back in Junior High, around
85-86. I had just bought this UTFO record and was walking down the road
with my friend Chris, when we bumped into his cousin, who is also called
Chris, and his best friend who was Pomo. He saw the record and was like
"whoa! Can I check it out?" and as he pulled it out of the
bag it fell on the ground and scratched! So I kind of had a grudge with
him and a few years later we became real close friends. That's
how it happened.
P: yeah we're both from the same neighbourhood so we just grew
up together after that.
So how did
Blend Crafters come about?
N: Well I had showed some of the beats to J5
but they didn't really feel them. And then I was talking about
it to Pomo and we talked about doing something with them, as we are
always inspiring each other to do beats, it was kind of like doing some
beat therapy, you know? After years and years of us making beats for
each other and other people, we thought let's just get this out
for ourselves. We never really had the chance to do it before so we
took the opportunity.
P: Yeah I've been locked away in a closet for ages! I've
done some stuff with Youseff in the past but I haven't really
met anyone apart from Nu with whom I really want to work yet. So this
was perfect to get some stuff out.
And how would you describe the production
process on this LP then?
N: Well it's really simple, at the end of the day this
is just a collection of beats really, a collage of instrumentals we've
been lying on. It's a nice, simple, fun project at heart. Like
a zero aim thing. There is no aim to this, like sometimes people do
things with an aim you know? A message or whatever, this is just what
it is, no more, no less.
What about the importance of the MPC? From
seeing you live on stage with J5 a few times I know you favour the MPC
and the LP's really has the whole MPC sound all over it. Is that
still your main tool?
N: For me the MPC 2000 is the one. It's definitely my
tool of choice; I play around with others like the SP and stuff but
always go back to the MPC.
P: Yeah the MPC is the most efficient, the best tool really. SP 1200
is nice, but more of a toy as it's more limited than the MPC.
Thing is my MPC has just broke down on me recently, so it looks like
I need me a new one!
And what would be your favourite track(s)
on this album?
N: For me ‘Melody' and ‘Bad Luck Blues'.
P: Yeah ‘Bad Luck Blues'.
Now there is a track on there, a cover
of ‘Imagine', which will probably surprise a few people.
It fits perfectly with the rest of the LP though; it doesn't feel
like you just threw it in there. How did it come about?
N: Well they were brilliant songwriters so I think that whatever
you do with it it's going to sound good. On top of that it's
a sax rendition of it, which is even more special, and when you hear
it you can't help being like ‘whoa!' I just wanted
to hear what it sounded like, as I'd never heard a sax do the
melody before, and it just worked. It's undeniable that these
guys were great songwriters anyway which makes covering them that bit
easier you know? I mean it's not really my fashion to cover things
like this, I always generally dig for obscure samples in my work, or
chop them beyond immediate recognition, but this was really more for
me to try something I've never done before. Go out of my way to
try something different. I mean we aren't trying to shove it down
people's throats, as this amazing cover or even pushing the album
on the back of it, it just happens to be on it. On top of that DangerMouse
came out with his Grey Album this year but I had done this cover about
a year and a half ago. And the album got held up so now that's
it out after him, I don't want to push it for people to think
I'm jumping on the bandwagon. It's better that they discover
it for themselves.
But like I said I've played ‘Imagine' once in the
club and it works well but for me ‘Melody' is the track
that works best, ‘Imagine' is no biggie, but it's
nice.
This is volume 1, does this mean we can
expect more volumes to come?
N: The original plan was to have guests on this one. So now
we want to try and use the money we'll make from vol.1 to get
people on the next volumes. Maybe even do a vocal version on the next
one, kind of going backwards you know? It would be great to get someone
like Pete Rock on the next one to give one beat he really likes and
never released and then have someone cover one of ours, or something
like that. It's really about getting the funding from vol.1 and
using that to build on it. If we had the income we would love to do
it straight off.
Who would you want guesting
on it?
P: it's too early to say, I don't want to jinx it.
N: Yeah true, if I could I'd love to have Kenny Dope on it, he's
such an underrated and dope producer. All the work he's done using
soul classics and reworking them, and a lot of his projects have been
similar to what we are doing with Blend Crafters. Maybe even get Premo,
Jay Dee, whoever! But no matter what I'd work with Pomo first
and foremost because he's my homie.
Are you planning any more solo work?
N: Well I've also got a CD out now called ‘Hands-On',
and then I'm also looking at working on a solo album in the future,
but really I want get the fourth J5 LP out first. Charlie2na is doing
a solo project too, I'm doing this and ‘Hands-On'
and Cut also has his solo album coming out, so it's a case of
letting every member breathe for a bit and then we'll get the
album out and I can concentrate on finishing this solo album, which
I'm working on very slowly.
And you Pomo, you got any solo stuff planned?
P: Yeah I would like to put out a record with my beats and maybe
like 5 or 6 MCs on it too. It would have to be something that stimulates
me though you know? I wouldn't rush into anything, I never have.
If I do something it has to fulfil me like the Blend Crafters project.
I'd love to get some old school cats on this, like maybe Kane
or KRS, but I'd do stuff with new cats too, so I'm keeping
my ears open. But I haven't really heard anyone that's caught
my ears yet I'm sorry to say!
What about working with
live musicians, is that something that appeals to you guys?
N: Well when you record samples there is a grit element, which
for me generally is missing from working with live musicians, in a broad
sense. I know there are people who are able to get that grit element
in their live recording but until I can find the right people, studio
and equipment to get that out of live music, I think I'll stick
with sampling. On top of that I have so many records I haven't
even been through yet, it'd be stupid for me to let these go to
‘waste'. That's another reason why I love sampling
and digging so much, because no matter what I can always go into a record
shop and see stuff I've never seen before and be amazed that there
is stuff I've never heard or seen. It's so cool to be able
to go into a shop and see a record cover you've never seen and
grab it. It's a never-ending process that I enjoy so much.
P: Yeah I like the idea of working with live musicians, if I could do
it I'd have horn sections and percussions. I'm interested
in always finding new sounds but with live musicians I guess the biggest
element is that it has to be the right environment to get the best out
of it, both for them and for us as producers.
Talking about digging,
do you feel it's something that is getting lost these days in
hip-hop production?
N: I think it's already been lost a lot.
I was playing at this event last week called Rootdown, and as I was
getting my set together I thought of doing a set where I would go from
old, classic breaks to disco, to old school hiphop to the new stuff,
where as I normally maybe go the other way round and start with the
new before going to the older stuff. And as I was preparing the set
I realised that I had to match the textures as well, you know? You can
do it by years too, but you realise that by doing that textures of the
music also have to match. I was listening to the production on a lot
of these, and how the sound of sampling has been lost over the years,
and replaced by stuff like bassline from keyboards and minimal usage
of samples or using them to the point where they really aren't
recognisable because they've been fucked with so much. I like
the sound to expand and new things to be used, I'm not against
using keys and sound modules but I'm a sampling man at heart.
Don't you think that in a way projects like
this and what you've been doing with Cut and Shadow have helped
to reignite interest in digging for a whole new generation?
N: It has triggered a renewed interest in digging for sure,
but in a way we might have bitten the hand that feeds us because now
so many people are digging again that it's getting harder to get
that record you might want. It makes it more challenging to find records.
Which is good and bad in a way.
Ok then before we move on what is the best
place you've been to for digging?
N: I don't know it's hard, but I'd have to
say Shibuya in Japan. From a DJ perspective, there are 20 shops on each
streets, each filled with tons of stuff. It's different to anywhere
else in the world as well because it's such a cultural shock,
a cultural difference to go to Japan then it is to go to most places
in Europe or America. You really feel like you are out of town, where
as there isn't such a cultural shock with Europe. But Japan is
the craziest place and the music shops are dope.
P: For me it'd have to be Berlin. People were really warm there
and I guess I wasn't really expecting it to be like this, maybe
I had preconceptions, but these were gone as soon as I got there and
I had a great time. I liked it a lot.
Are you guys planning any
London gigs following the release of the album?
N: Well I'm coming over with J5 in the
summer and I'll probably branch off and do a few solo gigs to
promote the album.
P: I might but it's not been decided yet, I'd like to.
What would you do if you came together
to do a show?
N: I don't know, to support it it'd really be cool
to do something later on, maybe after the 2nd or 3rd volume. Have drum
machines on stage and give it more of a live angle where we would make
beats live and add to it as well.
P: Yeah we haven't really thought about it but if we were to do
it we would sit down and think of something that would fit the sound
of the album(s).
N: exactly, this is a fun project first and foremost, it's a release
for us from the other things we do. It's something fun for DJs
to have a blast with, or MCs to rhyme over, whatever.
P: It's at its essence kind of like lounge hip-hop, sit down and
listen to it. It's a fun thing. My mom liked it, and she doesn't
really like the stuff I do so I take that as a good sign! (Laughs) It's
a good barometer!
Any last words?
N: If anyone cops Blend Crafters and likes it, then grab ‘Hands-On'
too, if you like mixing and good music from around the world, old and
new.
P: Look forward to any future projects and anyone who likes what they
read or hear go grab it you won't be disappointed.
Review
Not content to be
a prolific producer within Jurassic 5, a world reknowned turntable artist
on his own and with partners in crime Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow, DJ
Nu-mark is also busy working on a whole load of solo projects this year
including his solo mixtape ‘Hands-On', a solo album and
the Blend Crafters project with long time friend and mentor Pomo.
Blend Crafters is a project close to Nu-mark's heart as it gives
him the occasion to showcase a lot of his work on his own and away from
the more conscious and at times happy vibes of J5's concrete schoolyards.
Alongside Pomo, who Nu-mark acknowledges as the man responsible for
getting him into hiphop and mentoring him for years, as they would exchange
beats back and forth from 1989 till now, Nu-mark delivers a lesson in
beat crafting and melody making. Not an album as such, clocking at 30
minutes, it's more like a demo or an insight into the mind of
a producer. With no vocals what you get is half an hour of productions
that will leave you gagging for more, from the catchy vibes of the opening
track ‘Melody', laced with the classic sample "What
good is melody, what good is music if it ain't possessing something
sweet?" to the dusty kicks and snares of ‘Pow' via
the supped up funk of ‘Lola'. They even manage a nod to
J5's now classic ‘Jayou' in the shape of ‘Flute
Fidelity', which will have your head bopping in no time with its
funky woodwinds, twisted up sax and dishevelled organ.
But like most talented artists, Pomo and Numark have kept the best for
the end, a cover version of John Lennon's ‘Imagine'.
And no they didn't cover it for an easy attempt at airplay or
cross over success (though if it happens I'm sure they won't
complain), they did it because as Nu-Mark explains "it just sounded
too good to leave out, and when you play it out people all look at you
like ‘what is this?'" And trust me he couldn't
be anymore right, their cover blows many previous attempts to pieces
and will leave you wondering why someone hasn't done this before.
The sax on there is just so damn good, you will jump on your CD player
to press replay over and over... This is going to be one summer
tune you will want to go back to time and time again.
So morale of the story is if you like good beats, if you like good hiphop
and more importantly if you like good music then go and buy this when
it hits stores because it will make your life better. Well maybe not
but it will make you smile for sure.
The album is out now on Genuine, both
on vinyl and CD, with the first single out on 7". Look out for
Numark touring the UK in August and hitting the main festivals. Check
out www.jurassic5.com for more
info on Numark and also check out www.rhythm-incursions.com
where you can hear tracks from the album in July's shows. Many
thanks to both Numark and Pomo for their time and to Isabel at PIAS
for all her help!
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