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Way Out West's Jody Wisternoff get's Tranzfused

Author: Azztek @ TranZfusion
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
Way Out West might sound like a country pop band, however this couldn't be any further from the truth. The progressive house masters Jody Wisterrnoff and Nick Warren, between them have over 25 years production experience. Their formidable DJing skills and timeless remixes have made them one of the hottest dance acts in the UK and have produced material for such artists as Roni Size, Paul Van Dyke, Faithless, B.B.E, Hybrid, Orbital and The Orb. Jody Wisterrnoff took time out on his busy Australian Tour to have a chat with us about the new album 'Intensify' and Way Out West's new live set.

It was only a few days ago Jody landed in Melbourne for the start of the Australian Gatecrasher tour, this time leaving behind his record box and partner in crime Nick Warren. "Nick is in America at the moment I think… he was never scheduled to play here as he was down only a few months ago... I really enjoy playing with Nick… (having him here) makes it easier and don't have so much to do… I can do all the same things with without him, it just makes it a little easier that is all…"

One half might be missing, however Way Out West is one and a half times strong. Samplers, keyboards, live Vocalist and lighting technician are the new additions for the Australian tour. Jody sure came prepared. Is playing live a new thing for the duo- "Yeah it sort of is… we did a few gigs about 3 years ago, we have just recently got back into the live thing... I love doing it live... playing live gives it that human touch… DJing is great but there's only so much you can do playing records. Being able to do it both ways I believe gives us more creditability and a more professional image".

November 11 saw the Australian release of their long awaited album 'Intensify'. This album had actually been finished over a year ago, so what actually delayed the release- "We were signed with the label Deconstruction who were run by BMG, they were dropped and we were left with BMG... We didn't like the way they operated as they are not a dance music label more of a la la boy band label" Jody laughs. "So we left them last year before I went to tour Australia… when we got back we ended signing up with Distinctive... so basically the album has been ready for one year… that seems like such a long time ago now".

"It looks good in print, its a strong intense name", Jody tells us as he speaks about 'Intensify' the title track for the album, "We wanted something strong and dark… When you get a little older you tend to be more serious about things". Intensify comes in two parts on the album. The 2nd part is the original, while the 1st part was inspired by a club in Northern Ireland- "Lush". "We had just finished a set and decided to go back to the studio to produce some material for the album… we ended up playing around with Intensify and it ended up sounding like a totally different track…. You could probably call it the club mix".

At 15 years old Jody had already put together his first home-made hip hop album under the name 'Tru Funk Posse'. "As a kid I had always loved playing with the sampler and making big beats" he tells us. This is where his love and passion for break beat began.

So who is Jody's current influential breaks acts-, why none other than Melbourne's own Nu-breed of course. "I love their work… They actually gave me a CD sampler when I was down in Melbourne... I really love the stuff they are doing... it's really cutting edge… I also like some of the work Adam Freeland is doing".

WOW has even compiled remix for our very own Natalie Imbruglia "Smoke". "I was really keen to work with her... something I really wanted to do… We actually wanted to get her in the studio to re-do the vocals… we basically just wanted to check her out (he laughs)… she didn't have enough time… that remix was a little tricky to do as we had to speed the track up from 94 bmp to 120 bmp.".

So have you guys got any new projects in the pipeline- "Yeah we have, when I get back<
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