CHRIS COCO Q&As
May 13th, 2005 by soyo
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Chris Coco. I’m a DJ, broadcaster, producer,
loafer.
I have a few questions to ask some serious some silly, some from the purple people of the big chill forum, some of my own, ready?
Ready
[b]Your excellent new album “Heavy Mellow” sounds unashamedly chill out. Many artists of the genre from a few years back are now moving towards bands, and are making proper songs with verses and choruses.
Did you make an effort to not do that, or are you just doing what comes
naturally?[/b]
Um, it was a conscious decision to make a modern ‘ambient’ album, the proverbial journey type thing that takes you on a one hour musical trip. I felt like it was time I tried to compete with the classics of the genre like KLF’s Chillout, but make it relevant for 2005. I actually wrote a lot of songs then decided that there were loads of bands doing the ‘band thing’ better that I could ever hope to do so decided to do something that was more ‘me’.
What most influences you when you sit down to create music?
Everything. It’s a distillation of all the music you’ve ever heard and all the experiences you’ve ever had.
What is it like being a DJ on Radio 1?
Absolutely brilliant. It’s such a privilege to work for what I consider to be the best music station in the world. The specialist night time output is really all about music. There are no pressures to play anything particular, because it’s the BBC there are no commercials and no advertisers dictating the playlist. The interaction with people around the UK is great fun and with the listen-again feature it means we have a
global audience.
Do you have a big chill festival story to share?
I have a few stories, but like so many people, they are not to be shared with everyone.
Some Big Chill Forum questions now:
Do you and Rob Da Bank ever strongly disagree over a tune? (chillinrev)
Yes, all the time. We tend to strongly disagree or strongly agree and then completely change our minds.
Do you go to bed before the blue room or do you stay up all night?
It depends what’s happening. If you don’t get any sleep it can be a bit, um, strange.
And, were you sober on New Years Eve as there was a lot of giggling? (Peachy)
Well, it was New Year’s Eve…
Are all the exciting tunes coming from the leftfield/indie rather than the dance scene? (chillinrev)
Exciting tunes come from all over the place. Indie, leftfield and dance are so mixed up now it’s often hard to define what is what, which is great.
[b]Do you prefer remixing dance bands or guitar bands?
(King Rob)[/b]
I think guitar bands because you can take the tune further away from the original. There’s also usually more of a song there to play with.
What do you think of the music industry? (mono)
Two separate words. The art of survival is to spend as much time as possible with the music and as little time as possible with the industry.
[b]How long do you tend to spend on tunes/remixes?
(Peepshow Paddy)[/b]
It really varies, it’s all about being inspired.
Is there anything in Ibiza still worth bothering with? (Gemma Rascal)
Loads. I still love Ibiza. It is a hedonist’s paradise and the variety of pleasures to be had there is unparalelled. Sure there are some dodgy clubs, but so what, you don’t have to go to them.
What advice would you give your son if he announced that he was going to be a superstar DJ in Ibiza? (Sunflower Kate)
Well, I’d hopefully know that he was already passionate about music, if he wasn’t I’d tell him to try a different job. You can’t decide to become a
superstar anything.
Why did you sample Donny Osmond on your first record? (Mixmaster Morris)
Er, because we had the record? Because it was a funny idea that happened to work? Because, Helene, my girlfriend at the time, wanted to meet him? I can’t really remember.
When you hear DJs playing Ian Van Dahl or DJ Otzi do you ever want to strangle them with there own headphones, like I do? (Mixmaster Morris)
Not really, I try not to go to places where that happens.
How did Remasterpiece come about and when is it going to appear? (A few Big Chillers asked this)
It started as a mix album and turned into a live show. It came out of much noodling about with my musical partner Sacha Puttnam. We were searching for a new way of playing classical music, though we didn’t
realise it at the time.
Was it intimidating working with someone who has had so much classical training, have you had any? (Rui)
The first time I had to work with Sacha I was terrified. I’m not really a musician and I was afraid he would suss me out really quick, think I was a useless fake and chuck me out. In fact he was inspired by my simple tunes and my punk rock attitude.
What is the fastest land animal in the world? (Rui)
The Cheetah is the fastest running land animal in the world, closely followed by the Pronghorn. Of course the fastest animal in the world is a human being travelling in a jet plane or a space ship.
Sherbet Fountain or Curly Wurly?
Sherbet fountain, messy but ultimately more satisfying.
The Social or the Big Chill bar? (King Rob)
Youch, I’ll have to go with the Social because I do a night there once a month.
Coronation St. or Eastenders? (IGUN)
Football.
Who’d win in a knife fight between you and Gilles Peterson? (Sketchy)
Me, definitely. Of course, I would only fight if I was attacked, as in most cases I prefer techniques of peaceful negotiation to actual extreme violence.
Finish this sentence “Happiness is………………” (Kimberly Clark)
I could say, listening to Chris Coco’s new album ‘Heavy Mellow’, or watching the DVD that comes free with the first run of the album. But, as you are, I am sure, aware, I have, along with much of the rest of
the population of the planet, spent my entire life trying to answer that question. I am hoping that I will find out the answer the moment before I die in a revalatory burst of white light. What’s the next question? What is love?
