AJ
April 5th, 2002 by freddie96
Name?
‘aj.’
‘Job’?
‘Professional – Head Of Contemporary Music, Arts Council of England. Vocational – DJ in the area.’
Habitat?
‘Ikea surely?… seriously now, peripatetic in London with occasional provincial touchdowns by a lake in Worcestershire. I’m at my best surrounded by rows of books and records with some useful technology at hand. At worst, a suitcase is not a good habitat.’
Hobbies / Passions?
‘Collecting and listening to music, DJ stuff, live performance, books, film, countryside and grubbing around in junk shops looking for Beswick vases.’
Favourite food?
‘Grilled fish, mushrooms, parsnips, sprouts, pasta, sushi, salads, twiglets, chips, white bread toast at breakfast, Ravello’s croissants and latte, decent chocolate and Jony and Pippa’s crunchy bits.’
Drink?
‘Yes please, sun’s over the yardarm.’
Ideal evening chilling at home?
‘Involving close friends (if available), favourite music, tasty food, fine wines, a good read (if alone), and a black and white film to close.’
Ideal evening chilling out?
‘Woodfire, the Bothy, owls, summer evenings, something on the barbie, night walk, full moon, country cider, and getting happy with music and friends.’
Favourite places?
‘Home, Brum, Stourbridge, the Bothy, St Kenelm’s Churchyard, Malvern, Barton St, Rollright, Ludlow, Fournier St, Llanthony, Bill Kubezcko’s Minnesotan backyard, Larmer Tree, Barcelona, Paris, Tromso snowfields, Bristol docks and Greece.’
What are you reading these days?
‘The Imagined Village – Georgina Boyes
The Rotter’s Club- Jonathan Coe
Llandor’s Tower – Iain Sinclair
Music magazines by the tonne.’
Are you a political animal?
‘Knee-jerk lefty trying to calm down.’
What gets the goosebumps rising for you musically at the moment?
‘The Bays, The Necks, Mr Scruff mix CDs, Nick Philip Mix CDs, Susumu Yokhota, Jony Easterby, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Ed Motta, Deep Water, Shirley Collins, Biggabush, Bugge Wesseltoft, Shine, Boards Of Canada, Yam Yam, the Different Drummer label, Lal Waterson, Taraf De Hadouks, the Robinson Crusoe TV soundtrack, Fila Brazillia’s ‘Soft Music Under The Stars’, Nobukazu Takemura and Cornelius.’
Top ten influences of all time (musical or otherwise)?
‘The parents, David Exeter (who showed me how to promote events when I became Social Secretary at College), Mark Ryan (Eng. Teacher), The Drummers of Burundi, Jony Easterby, Thomas Brooman at WOMAD, Pete Lawrence, the Wild Bunch, Gopal Shankar Misra, John Peel and Special K, (okay so it’s eleven – one louder innit?).’
What are you working on at present?
‘Professional: National tours, end of year budget stuff, working up the potential for a mad English folk song project with Simon Emmerson, major music commissions, research into festival audiences, Indian classical music training programmes and a speech for a conference.
‘Vocational: Audio stuff for the Jony and AJ set and an AJ mix CD to give away this summer.’
What would you most like to achieve over the next five years?
‘Permanent accommodation, excellent work, learn more about music, worry less about money, have fun DJing, feel part of a family, be happy.’
What would you like to see change most in the world over the next five years?
‘A tempering of political and religious extremism but it’s not gonna happen.’
Highlight of your life?
‘So many: hearing Sandy Denny sing when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, on tour with the Smiths in Eire, Big Chill Black Mountain Gala, the first ever WOMAD, promoting Joy Division, Scritti Pollitti, The Go Betweens, This Heat, The Cabs and ACR etc. in ‘post punk’ London (hi Morris!), having a radio show in Bristol, warehouse raves with Neneh Cherry and Sean Oliver, DJing to 15000 loco locals in Spain, watching John Leckie and Gopal at work… but I’ll go for… jumping for joy on stage with The Drummers of Burundi and The Clash in Brixton 1982.’
Top Big Chill moment?
‘Jony and AJ debut set at Naxos 2001. We’d worked together before, on art events with me as Producer and Jony as Director but this was a magical, spontaneous video/audio spar. So we teamed up and it continues…
‘Plus, in the same set I played some Indian classical music by an artist I managed called Gopal Shankar Misra. So many people responded to it with fascination and interest, I was really touched and encouraged by that. Gopal passed away recently; I wish he could have felt the Big Chill’s broad-mindedness.’
Describe the essence of The Big Chill in a few words…
‘Uniquely supportive and satisfying environments to live, work and play in.’
April 2002
