questions by nof of EDC tokyo.
answers by gunjack.
deafmosaic authorized interview mexico city, june 2005.
the rumors surrounding you as an artist and as a person are numerous.
this is true. i think these things can not be helped when one speaks or acts in public.
tell the readers how you would explain the rumors of theft of artistic property.
these rumors stem from a misprint by my old distributor a few years back. it was a various artists compilation set to be released the same time as a gunjack record. the manufacturer mistakenly placed the gunjack record's art onto the various artists record. i call my distributor and put a hold on the records until the matter is cleared... but then, to make a long story a bit shorter, the distributor proceeded to sell the records anyway, without my consent. hence, folks say i ripped off my own artists' music and presented it as my own for profit. obviously it's bullshit, i was never even paid a cent for the record and people who know the history of the distributor involved can back me up. stupid industry bullshit.
rumors of "gunjack going house"?
I have made all kinds of music since i was very little. i am finally able to release various styles of music at this point in my life. it is only now that i have the chance to present these works to the public through b-sides and releases designed with other things in mind besides hard, banging techno. deafmosaic will, of course, continue with hard techno, the gunjack collectors series will continue to issue whatever the **** i see fit to release from my own archives and, my new label with event 7 from infecta records in spain, game face, will show a more soulful side of techno. deafmosaic entertainment group will release my new underground hip hop album on CD later this year... so you can see that there is a lot of music going on at the moment, so i think instead of talking shit about "going house" the jockers should go out and look for the releases that suit them. trust me, they are out there. my body of work is growing and this year is the most diverse ever. to be considered a master one has to take control of the arts... and i intend to leave my mark.
rumors of deafmosaic and gunjack series moving?
true.
to where(which ditributor)?
we will let you know when the ink dries.
ok lets start with the beef rumors:
sure.
you have beef with adam beyer?
untrue.
richie hawtin?
to me he is a punk.
why?
that was just the experience i had with him.
next: subhead?
no beef there, just rumors.
regis?
just don't like his style that's all. all the lies and misrepresentation, pissing on his crowd and setting fire to rented equipment. respect his older work as a producer though.
james ruskin?
i only met him once, he seemed over sensitive. i was pretty drunk though. anyway that was years ago.
derrick may?
i think he is obnoxious and arrogant and should at least try to make some new music to back up his attitude.
german hip hop crew AMF (the 7th star and Kwaan)?
we used to work together, we did like two (unreleased) albums together. good music, you know? but these cats were just soft after everything went down. too lazy to get together for the video. to much into big brother like, personal dramas. we were friends but they turned out to be some no shame type of dudes. anyway i left and took my beats with me, but they tried to put out this "faster than a rabbit" beat i did. not cool, man... i made that beat on my own and invited them to rap on it, then they gonna butcher my verse out of the song and try to come up. more industry bullshit, but whatever.
rumors of a finish to the gunjack project?
to be honest i have thought of ending this for a long time. techno is ****ing boring nowadays. but something always happens, every time i lose my hunger, every time i start to hate techno again and want out, life just flips the script on me, puts me into inspiring and difficult situations... i begin to remember the things i can not express with other forms of music. then, usually, my next track seems to happen from nowhere and i am back on for another ride. it has been quite interesting to say the least... to answer your question directly: the project will continue for this year. ask me again in late 2006 and maybe it will be diferent but i have releases scheduled up til' feb. 2006 so far so...
rumors of you being arrested in mexico city for vandalism?
i was detained and forced to pay off the police.
for.... vandalism?
yes.
can you elaborate?
there is a guy around now, doing these graffitti stencils with the words "gun jack" on them. they seem like an anti-facist political thing or something.... i guess these cops thought that was me.
was it?
35 u.s. dollars said it wasn't.
aha, ok, next one - rumor has it you finished working with the spain based distributor, jaxx records, on bad terms.
nothing could be further from the truth. i love those guys like family and wish them all the best. gameface is exclusive with jaxx. i left my position with the distribution to persue other interests.
such as?
travel back in the west, also i felt it was time to see my family and homeland again after years roaming around.
speaking of roaming around, it has been said that you are a..... erm.......... vagdabond?
(laughs) it's true! i dont own a house or an apartment anywhere! i suppose one of these days my feet will get planted, but not soon unless i decide to find a steady job....
tokyo, madrid, detroit, mexico city, l.a., where the hell are you really from?!
born in l.a., lived in all those other places except detroit - i think some EU promotor started that rumor.
why all the travel, what are you running from?
myself i suppose. i mean i guess you could say i am greedy. greedy like a ****ing addict. (laughs) ... addicted to hearing and learning foreign languages, munching exotic foods and walking through the poverty of the world.
addicted to poverty???
yea i know it sounds funny, but i just mean that i like to go out on the street with everybody else. i don't really go to nightclubs unless i am playing. you can find me in night markets eating local foods, out on the street doing my a&r thing, or recording with the guys from whatever spot i am in. i like the feeling of being around musicians and artists, drinking and eating on the street and getting my hands dirty once in a while. street life, you know?
so you are a man of vices?
(laughs) the bird (ceo jaxx records) used to call me "b. vice", so i guess you could say that. i am comfortable with my humanity.
rumors saying you are a junkie?
man, i will admit to being a daily pot smoker and drinking alot of beer, but those people out there, saying i am strung out, are just looking for the new black sheep. to be honest, i couldn't ingest substances the way i used to even i wanted to!
getting old?
it feels that way sometimes.
rumors of forthcoming gunjack "schranz" releases.?
not again... this is the shit that makes me feel old. ok look i have been doing some really hard techno, along with the many other things i mentioned. recently even harder. these particular songs caught the attention of a friend who runs a german label. a release is in the works. you do the math. i can tell you this though: schranz has nothing to do with what we have been doing for more than a decade now. those schranz white labels going around at the moment are some of the worst examples of sheep gone genre mad. techno is techno.
and what is that?
pushing the boundries of intensity in audio, walking that fine line between artistic integrity and agressive sonic mayhem.
speaking of mayhem:
(interupts) oh c'mon man....
yes. should i explain for the reader?
no let me:
...this record came out just after the madrid terrorist bombing of a commuter train. it was called "mayhem in madrid" and had images of trains in the art. this was purely a coincidence and in no way an attempt to cash in on this heinous tragedy. the art was done five months before and unfortunately by the time the incident happened the record had been shipped and was about to hit stores. later on jaxx records and some artists (including myself) created a four disc, benefit compilation for the victims. i thought it was a horrible thing that happened that day. i used to live two blocks from the detonation site. what political agenda was at work... why kill immigrants, workers and students? it just never added up. somehow the socialists were swept into office as a result. strange days.
rumors of gunjack goes pop?
well... i have been making beats for hip hop and r&b artists etc. and plan to expand further into that field as well.
so how can we define your sound? your projects? what is the underlying theme? where would they put your anthology in a record shop?
the thing is, i want my shit up in all the cool sections of a record shop, my deafmo or gjs joints in the harder wax slot, a freejazz record up in that section, some dub shit or some freaky asian joint in the world music section, you know, i got to be up in the hip hop spot on cd too.... just invading all the genres and defying fools to put me in a box.
one could argue that with all these projects, you are spreading yourself very thin and run the risk of sacrificing the quality of your work, had you focused harder on one specific genre of music.
one could argue that i suppose, but then one would be wrong! this year has seen some of the best tracks i have ever done and the whole genre issue in general is a joke to me. all music is the same shit, it's either good or it is very bad and that is usually a question of taste, but more often than not it is a matter of access to information and music from all walks of life.
what is next for you?
heading back to the usa for a few months, then... i dunno.... holland...? could be anywhere really. if i can get me some of the programs and hardware i really want this year, maybe you might have to look for me in the jungle, up in cambodia or something. i get hungry for asia every few months and if i was writing music there, you might not get me to leave. but on the release tip there are so many things coming up, i will just say - keep your ears open for new releases and don't pay attention to the jockers out there spreading gossip. oh yea, and if you see me on the street or at the show, don't be afraid to come up and buy a cd from me. the resin. album is for sale wherever i am at.
anything else?
...a couple shouts out... my adopted brother arthur henry fork, thanks for all the support, inspiration and encouragement. props to tony lugo, much love. uge, juan and the bird at jaxx records, game face 2005 baby... bas and marco at triple, jeroen at audio assault, amok the supreme headbanger and last but not least i want to thank all my friends and peers back home in the americas for looking out for me on my return from globe crawlin'.
spam us! :
Gunjack - Powderburn - TBA summer 2005
RESIN. CD album on sale now in the street and through selected retailers, inquire for mail order through deafmosaic@gmail.com (shipping late july/august).
ARMS06 on sale now.
DM07 on sale now.
Gunjack Collectors Series vol. 4 COMING SOON.
