Instamatic
Just for the record, why 'Instamatic'?
Photography is my other love apart from music - I've been taking photographs since I was 8, have around 10,000 photographs & my first camera was an Instamatic 126, so when I was thinking of a name it made sense to combine both worlds.
What are you up to these days?
I'm running around getting sorted for San Francisco where I'm playing Bootie on September 11th - looks like such a good party 'off the hook' as they say! I want to make it as special (& as exclusive) as possible...several new tracks; exclusives such as a Boot In 60 Seconds preview (which is still going - it's on its 23rd track but it's sounding very good - it'll be well worth the wait!).
What music are you currently listening to?
I'm listening to a lot of boots of course - Frenchbloke's mixes have always been a favourite for the last 3 years, but recently Party Ben's Sixx Mixx too. Other music I'm listening to are punk-funk (new & old: Radio 4's new LP, Gang Of Four, Pop Group) which I do from time to time, Kid Carpet, Dolly Parton, Prince, Adam Sky, Richard Cheese, a real mixture!
What album, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite?
Well considering I'm a major Pulp & New Order fan - the only two bands I've bought albums without question on the first day of release - it would be either His N' Hers, or if I can have a compilation for New Order: Substance - ironically the compilation of their 12 Inches is probably better than any of their proper albums they've done.
When was the last time you bought a record that was shite? Where did you buy it?
I tend not to buy many albums or singles as I have too many as it is, & most of 'em nowadays are shite. So not many recently - I bought the Daft Punk Live album which was pretty pants; I wish I hasn't bought any Bogdan Racynzki. Someone gave me Fat Of The Land (sorry Prodigy fans but it doesn't even come close to the previous two) & Elektroids & I've never really played them.
Can you recall the most embarrassing & bizarre thing that has ever happened to you?
Embarrassing: Umm...there's too many. I'm a bad one for 'stage whispers' when drunk thinking the other person can't hear me. I was at Faceparty last year with a mate & we kept annoying Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles by going "Oh is that Chris Moyles?" & then blanking him / walking off giggling when he saw us. Several times. Evil, slightly embarrassing, but oh-so-fun.
Bizarre: The most bizarre things that happen to me are what me & a mate call the 'Irony magnet' - stuff just seems to gain critical mass sometimes & weirdness upon weirdness happens. The most weird so far was coming out to said best mate of 6 years, who immediately came out to me (I had no idea), spookily we liked similar men & he eventually got together with the first guy I met - all within the space of a month. That was pretty weird...
The First of Instamatic:
First album you ever bought = Eek! That would be the Spitting Image album, sadly...followed by Santa Claus Is On The Dole. A-Ha & Genesis singles. Music in 86 was shite, generally. So was my taste in music *cringe* I still stand by the Kate Bush from that time tho...
First movie you watched that you cried = Umm that would actually be a cartoon when I was very small, about a cricket abandoned in a city or something I saw on TV. I can be a soppy old sod at the movies - Baghdad Cafe really touched me, & I thought Spiderman 2 actually had some genuinely moving moments.
First book or mag you read that gave you wood = Umm...I always thought Lady Chatterley's Lover was very erotic & is good literature, but at 13 I didn't understand that! Strangely my partner did his English degree on Lawrence. Spooky.
First concert you went that was utter bollocks = Daisy Chainsaw at the Leadmill, Sheffield, 1993. Awful feedback childish noisey crap. My first gig actually....probably put me off them for a long time!
First mash-up you ever heard = "A Stroke of Genie-us", on Audiogalaxy 2001...I wish I knew what I was searching for, can't remember...followed the Boom Selection link, et voila!
What is the most irritating thing that bugs you about GYBO?
That inevitably all outsider groups eventually form cliques or groups; & become the establishment. I've always been more interested in the up-and-coming talent - the new thing cos I always want to hear something new. I'm not interested so much in reputation or past glories. Personally, I find I have had to watch what I say because my tongue-on-cheek humour & politics don't translate well on GYBO - I can say the same things in the flesh (& do) & people don't have a problem, I think you lose a lot without body language & tone.
Which bootlegger, do you think, should call it a day? Why?
Anyone who's heart isn't in it, have lost sight of the fun aspect or are not doing it for the love of music (e.g. raising their industry 'profile' etc).
On the other hand, which bootlegger deserves the greatest applause & why?
Hmm...difficult. I respect bootleggers that do it their own way, own terms, for the love of music, & seem to be not beholden to anyone - so Soundhog & Frenchbloke definitely. Also I respect people that help to promote everyone through their nights as well as doing their own thing - so Party Ben, Adrian & Mysterious D for Bootie & Cartel Mike & Jonny for Bastard. People might be thinking "oh he's being arselickey" for saying that, but running a night is tough, & doesn't always make money & sometimes is a thankless task, so I respect that - & don't take it for granted.
Any boots you wished you've done but didn't?
Probably most of Frenchbloke's collection, Loo & Placido ("Safari Love", "DJ Affair") & some of GHP's.
In your opinion, list the greatest top ten boots of ALL time.
Oh here we go, High-Fidelty list moment!
Freelance Hellraiser - "A Stroke of Genie-us" (Still sounds fresh)
Soundhog - "Blue Music" (The man himself said this was done on a 4-track)
Loo & Placido - "Safari Love" (Still chilled)
Jimmi Jammes - "Let A Girl Be" (Best Christina boot apart from ASOG)
blo_up_doll - "Sex On Cocaine" (Electrosexualswearingtastic)
Lionel Vinyl - "Sloo Weee" (Classic)
Conway - "Lisa's Got Hives" (One of the first I heard, still one of the best)
Soulwax - "No Fun / Push It" (Classic album, all good)
Frenchbloke - "Carpe Diem" (Carpenters vs Manny Parrish? I love both)
"Breathe Don't Stop" (Unknown?) (Much copied, love Q-tip & early MJ)
Runners-up:
Frenchbloke & Son - "Sexy Model" (The insanity of Right Said Fred vs Kraftwerk)
Go Home Productions - "You Make Me Feel XTC" (I love new wave, & this is probably the only Sylvester boot that actually works / has the same energy)
Lyd - "SL2 vs Eddy Grant" (Well it's been drilled into my head at countless Bastards, I can't escape...)
Let's play word association. We mention a name & you give us your thoughts...
William Orbit = Madonna, vine leaves.
The Cult = Goths
Skkatter = Mr Skippy
Mojo = Boring magazine for Weller fans.
Jerusalem = ...is not England as Blake said.
Starbucks = Corporate globalisation, crap coffee too.
IDC = Likes Stone Roses. What does it stand for anyway? I heard it was Indie Disco Chancer :-P Richard Ashcroft = Too much floppy hair, too much acid, not enough tunes.
Mo' Wax = For those people who hate music.
Gillette = My dastardly evil enemy ;-)
Which decade do you consider its music the most exciting? Why?
It's predictable but I would say the late 70's & early 80's, & early-mid 1990s. I don't believe music follows decades like that - I think it goes on 10-12 yearly cycles with the low point around the middle - so 1975 music was pretty bad - then it got good again till 85/86 when it was a new low point, then rave / acid house till Britpop explosion 95-96 & collapse in 97..."I said, well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles / The way that Bobby Brown is just a pin like Michael".
What do you remember about the following years:
1984 = Sex crime / silly Apple advert
1989 = H.O.U.S.E.
1992 = University, Pulp
1999 = On the dole.
2002 = A bad year...rats, nasty housemates & Dollis Hill.
What's your favourite Saturday night record?
Hmm this changes regularly - but "Groove Is In The Heart", Blue Monday - "True Faith" or "Love Will Tear Us Apart" are guaranteed to get me dancing.
And your Sunday morning one?
I'm usually sleeping on a Sunday morning - so silence...
Any principles of life you live by?
I live by the pagan-wiccan creed of that you can do what you like, as long as it doesn't harm anyone. Like a zen koan it's amazing that something so simple can be so difficult to live by, but it's good to try as long as you realise you'll never obtain it fully. I also live by the hedonist /ancient greek ideals that pleasure is not bad, & you shouldn't be guilty about enjoying yourself (as long as you're not harming anyone). I'm probably broadly polytheist but don't do rituals.
What are your plans for the future?
Well, getting more DJ gigs, learning more, maybe studying music (I tend to go on feel rather than theory) & developing my website - mutantpop.net - which is at phase 0.0.1 at the moment, it's gonna be much more than a board than at the moment...but the board will be essential part of it, a community. Also maybe doing more compilations & albums...
Do you still see yourself making boots in ten years time?
Yeah - I can see me doing something musical anyhow; don't know if it's going to be bootleg orientated but I know I'll try & keep that fun / punk / pop / cross-genre vibe definitely. Love to be the John Peel of the bootleg world, my ears to never grow old!
You can visit Instamatic's website & download his boots here.
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