TIM HEALEY - interview du 12/06/12
1 - Can you tell us a Tell us little about your background? Where did you grow up, and where are you based now?
I love in Brighton but grew up living in many different countries around the world.
2 - How did you get started DJing and making music?
I started Djing in the 80s, ran my first club in 1990. I have always made music – playing various instruments - but I didn’t start producing until 1993.
3 - What do you think stands out the most about your sound?
The fact that I have embraced all kinds of music since I was a child. I love the moment where underground goes mainstream – where indie becomes commercial. I also have a massive music collection.
4 - When did you first feel that you had finally discovered your own specific sound?
Probably in about 1999, when I began releasing music under the name Electric Tease, and then formed a band called Coburn, where we mashed up house and rock and were one of the acts that pretty much kick-started the electro-house scene.
5 - Do you know know what kind of track you want to write before you sit down to make it, or is it more a matter of experimenting and just seeing what happens?
I always know what kind of track I want to write, otherwise you waste a lot of time messing around with nonsense. Focus on the idea and quality of the work is key in the studio
6 - When you do sample, how do you approach it? Where do you source your samples from?
I work closely with Loopmasters who make spectacular sample collections, so I generally look to their collections for inspiration. I have done my share of bootlegs in the past, but I tend never to sample anything obvious for legal reasons. There’s nothing worse than having your tune short-listed for a movie soundtrack, only to discover that the fact that you sampled the Beatles means you earn no money at all, and they take all of it – or worse – they forbid you to use their music in this way…
7 - What time of day do you work best?
When I wake up. Late night working is a false economy. To always achieve your best first thing when your brain is freshest.
8 - Do you currently have a favorite piece of gear or software?
I have valve compressors, transistor channel strips, moogs, roland syntha and a nord g3, a shed-load of soft-processing and soft-synths – I can’t really decide. Maybe its my 1989 Rickenbacker guitar… it’s a beaut.
9 - If you only had time to save one of your own musical relics or pieces of vinyl from imminent danger, which would it be?
If I lost my music collection I would be gutted.
10 - What are you doing when you’re not DJing?
Managing acts, running my label (Surfer Rosa Records), and most recently working closely with Google on their new exhibition which you will be able to visit at the Science Museum, London, and online via a drop-down tab on the main google search page. I can’t tell you about the details, as I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement. But trust me – it is going to be mental – and is the first simultaneous live exhibition that you can view in real-time or online.
11 - When you’re playing out, what DJ setup do you prefer? CDJs? Turntables? Ableton? …
CDJs – I used to be a vinyl purist, but needs must, and CDJs have been part of my life for the last 10 years.
12 - What was the best party/gig/festival you’ve ever played, and why?
Probably Burning Man on the Opulent Rig – or was it playing to 1million in Rio. To be honest, if the club or event is pumping, then I give it my best, and to choose just one event after I have been lucky enough to have a career as long as mine is insane.
13 - What records are obliterating your dancefloors at the moment?
I am loving the output from Dirtyloud, Dada Life, Moguai, Balck Spark, Ralfstar and Fatso.
14 - If you was not musician, what would you be doing with your life?
I would be a chef.
15 - Where do you think you will be musically in the next few years?
Building interactive instruments to encourage collaboration between children around the globe. Its my next project.
16 - What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
I have a great collection of Mexican wrestling masks – Viva Luca Libre.
17 - A last word…
Amen.