Looking Ahead at 2011 . . . Judge Jules
“As someone who was a student during the poll tax riots 20 years ago (albeit not being a rioter myself) I empathise with what the students are fighting for.”
Chatting about the riots and protests that have erupted in Athens, Rome and London in recent months, Radio 1 superstar DJ Judge Jules admits he’s more than happy to align himself with the student protestors challenging tuition fee rises and austerity drive cuts.
“I passionately believe in the importance of social mobility,” he explains.
“I feel it's the moral responsibility of any society in the developed world to ensure as equal a start in life as possible for all citizens.”
Studying law at traditionally radical university the London School Of Economics in the 80s, he rejected a mainstream business career and instead threw himself instead into acid house, rapidly becoming one of London’s best-known warehouse party promoters and DJs.
20 years on, he remains of the world’s most popular DJs, and though more than lucratively rewarded for his Stakhanovite work ethic is sensitive to the students’ plight.
“Putting tuition fees up to a level where students will end up saddled with debt for ten years or more of their working lives will undoubtedly be a disincentive to students from poorer backgrounds without a family culture of university attendance. They will likely shy away from the perceived debts of university education – that’s a crushing blow to social mobility,” he notes.
“However, the student demonstrations seem to have been gatecrashed by rent-a-mob anarchists who threaten to take this issue out of the mainstream of British politics. If the tuition fees issue loses the hearts and minds of the mainstream voter, the battle will be lost,” he cautions.
Street fighting matters aside, Jules admits he’s otherwise upbeat about the prospects for 2011 . . .
Skrufff: What kind of year are you expecting in 2011: how optimistic/ pessimistic do you feel?
Judge Jules: “Clubland (in the UK anyway) tends to be fairly seasonal. The spell from October through to Easter has always generated bigger numbers than the summer period. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: festivals, the cost of summer holidays, and (in the case of students, who are a very big part of the clubbing fraternity) exams, make the summer spell a little less club-focused. We're now in the midst of the busier time of the year in the clubs, which has been very buoyant compared to the same period last year.
I'm full of confidence.
Oh, and of course there's the music . . . Dance music is in a good place in just about every genre. The cross pollination between different styles, which has kept things fresh for 25 years and counting, is still there big-time.”
Skrufff: What musical trends do you expect to be big for next year? How much, if at all, have you been excited by dubstep?
Judge Jules: “Although I don't see dubstep completely entering the mainstream (with the exception of flagship acts like Magnetic Man), I've noticed its influence permeating through just about every area of dance music. The creeping-in of dubstep style breakdowns and keyboard sounds in other areas of dance will no doubt grow and grow. I see the 'dubstep influence' being a big theme in 2011.”
Skrufff: What’s your position on the rise of David Guetta and the Black Eyed Peas: a good thing for club culture?
Judge Jules: “I guess, to be objective, the Black Eyed Peas/Guetta sound has both pluses and minuses. On the plus side, Guetta's fusion of urban vocals with commercial house has opened the doors to dance music in America like no producer has done, probably since C&C Music Factory in the early nineties. That's a massive achievement. Up until 18 months ago, the soundtrack to every commercial nightclub across America was hip-hop. Now it's the Guetta sound, which probably opens U.S. ears to other styles of dance music for the first time. That can only be a good thing. On the minus side, I'm not a huge fan of some of the tracks, but who am I to be judgemental, when the record sales speak volumes?”
Skrufff: How much of your time and energy is taken up by web 2.0 stuff now; on Myspace and on Facebook?
Judge Jules: “Although I would never neglect my Soundcloud, Myspace and personal website, there is no doubt (and this will surprise no-one) that Facebook has become the most important tool for artist promotion, particularly if you're very interactive, as I am. Facebook is no longer confined to social interaction, it's a crucial tool in artist branding as well.”
Skrufff: How important is it in 2011 for DJs/ artists to have an online ‘persona’: eg on Twitter: What are the dos and don’ts of Twitter that you follow? what winds you up about what others do/ say on Twitter?
Judge Jules: “Whilst I use Twitter when I've got something important to say or an interesting location or situation to talk about, I find it a little scary andsad how some artists post countless times a day, saying absolutely nothing. It reaches the level of pretty much telling you when they're going to the toilet and what colour the toilet paper is.
It's become a bit of a 'pissing competition'. It seems like the more you post (regardless of whether you've anything of interest to say) the more followers you acquire. Interaction with the folk who follow you is essential and totally what I'm about, but I'd like to think I get the balance right between communication, and not providing so much banal detail as to verge on sounding desperate (which some definitely do.)
Having said that, there are one or two very frequent Twitters who manage to be both prolific and consistently interesting. Calvin Harris and Gareth Emery are good examples.”
Skrufff: What changes do you anticipate in clubs in terms of CDJs/ turntables and laptops?
Judge Jules: “DJ-land is divided down the middle between those who play CDs and those who have gone down the laptop route. I haven't seen the ratio between the two change dramatically over the past year, and new products continue to emerge for both camps. The Pioneer DJM 2000 mixer and CDJ2000 turntable are the most significant new bits of kit for the CD fraternity. However, it's a shame that Pioneer pitched them both so expensively priced that the laptop option may make more sense for new-entrant DJs.”
Skrufff: How many vinyl records do you now own these days?
Judge Jules: “I've never counted the amount of records I own, having been more concerned with the amount of a wall space they occupied (a substantial amount of square metres in London equates to a lot of real estate money.) I learnt ages ago to be quite ruthless with which vinyl I kept long-term, only retaining stuff they'd I'd played more than twice on the radio or for 2-3 weeks in the clubs. This has left me with a just-about manageable situation, where over the past 5 years I've slowly been transferring my vinyl over to hard disk (or, to tell the truth, someone has been doing the job for me.”
Skrufff: What are you key musical goals for 2011?
Judge Jules: “To release at least five singles. My focus over the past few years was all about putting out artist albums, but these take ages to finish, and by the time you've got them into the marketplace your head has moved on to new musical pastures. With singles, one is always able to have something out that's a current representation (and calling card) of your sound.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wkd4 (Judge Jules on Radio 1)
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
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