John 00 Fleming
Author: Jonty Skrufff
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
According to the press release accompanying the Ministry Of Sound release, his new CD respects the 'fiercely underground' nature of the scene and includes two mixes and an artist album 'specifically inspired by and for the scene'. It's also apparently 'the first time in history an artist album has been linked together with a mix compilation,' though Fleming immediately brushes off suggestions he's worried his artist album won't sell on its own merits.
'It's not that I'm not confident rather that I'm a realistic person in this new world of technology,' he stresses.
'We can't hide the fact that illegal file-sharing has delivered a huge impact, not only on the dance market, but on the industry as a whole. So the concept of having an artist album packaged with a mix comp is about value for money, providing two in one. Already people are very excited about it,' he insists.
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): What is it about psy-trance that inspires you so much to dedicate a triple CD to it-
I like it because it stays true to its form. They tend not to over commercialize a good thing, and they have a history of taking things more underground when things start to get a little too commercial.
The press release points out that the psy-trance scene is pretty underground: do you have any concerns that you may alienate some of the purists by releasing it on Ministry-
There's a total misunderstanding about the Psy scene, from the outside people think it's a world full of hippies running around in a field. That's far from the truth; it's actually one of the most mature, serious scenes out there. Psy Trance is a kinda' filter word to disassociate itself away from the regular club trance world. In this regular trance world I feel things have gone a little too commercial and generic. Many people are tired of this scene and are lost of where to go for good music. I'm showcasing this album to show them there is another take on Trance music and its not all at 150 Mph with naked hippies.
I associate the scene with outdoor parties, festivals, warehouses: how much do you play at those kind of events these days- How separate is it from the Ibiza global superclub world-
See I told you! Yes there is also an outdoor culture, but Global Gathering is also outdoors too. The key difference is that all the people at Psy festivals go there for the same reason; the music.
How much do you consider DJs like Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk as your peers-
I don't really look up to anyone, I do my own thing with my own sound. I think it's important to try and be an innovator than follow the rest. Both Paul and Tijs (Tiesto) do this with their own sounds.
What is the secret of Tiesto's success- How much is success about talent- How much marketing-
I think Tijs is a very smart guy with a great team of people around him. He made great decisions at the right time and good on him. Many people slate others that get to the top, but I think Tijs is doing a grand job of exposing the masses to electronic dance music. Once people are hooked they start to explore other aspects of dance music and that's where I (or others) may benefit as they might find us.
the pys-trance scene was born in Goa: how important is Goa to you as a place- How much time have you spent there- And in India in general-
Just recently I've been going to India loads. Another misconception about Goa Trance is that it was mainly Indians behind it. The British notoriously head to Spain for holidays, whereas the Israelis used to head for India, mainly Goa. They took their music with them and held huge parties. Soo Tags