Those of you lucky enough to get your hands on the super limited edition EP video will have read this one already! For those of you who haven't here it is.

JS: First of all, a lot has been written about Detroit, your home town, and what the city was going through when you started making music, talk to us a bit about what the city is like today and how it’s changed in that time.

DM: Well, Detroit has changed on an economic level, the city is going through severely tough times. It’s probably easy for you to imagine if you come from Dublin or if you come from the Belfast area, (we guess he means the bad old days!) you truly can understand what I’m talking about when I say that the city is experiencing unemployment of up in the high twenties percentage wise. It’s losing people by what might seem a small number, but 2 or 300 people per week, who are leaving the city. Six years ago there was one million people in the city of Detroit, thirty five years ago there was three million people, today it’s less than 800,000.

JS: So still tough times then.

DM: Yeah it’s very bad times there right now. The city has gone through so much to the point where it’s incredible to actually be a part of a situation like that, to see a city die. Musically speaking it hurts when you lose a lot of the young talent, you lose your core club audience, you lose the next level of creators. That’s the unfortunate reality of that as far as I’m concerned. I spend a lot of time in Detroit still, my business and my office are there, but I’m on the road every week. But I do try and keep something going n Detroit because it is where it all started.

JS: In terms of the music and the young producers who are working there at the moment, who would you tip to be the next big talent? Is there anybody left?!

DM: That’s a good question and I think the obvious answer would be Stacey Pullen. He’s already there, he just hasn’t decided to really take the bull by the horns and just run with it completely. Carl Craig is doing wonderful things, he always has.

JS: Carl is very big over here.

DM: Yeah Carl is big everywhere. He’s a true, respected artist on all levels. Rolando is doing well, he’s moved to Scotland since and there’s Omar S who is another big talent coming from the city, so we’ve got a couple of guys still doing great things.

JS: Hypothetical question. Say you had been born in a different city, do you still think you would be making the kind of music you make, did the city bring that music out of you?

DM: If you weren’t born in Ireland, would you still be Irish??!!

JS: Ok, that fairly answers that question!!

There you go, that’s it! I am a product of my environment, 100% there is no other explanation for that, there is no definition other than what I just said.

JS: Simple as that then! You have been involved in the development of a lot of pretty important careers, so what have you got from that personally, working with new producers and new musicians?

DM: When I think back, and I’m thinking back right now, to my first days as a cocky asshole kid making music right? And I didn’t want to listen to anybody. I remember one of the first days I walked into the studio, I worked with a guy named Steve Hillage and we did a project called System 7. And I had never really collaborated with anybody, I’d done a few remixes and some things here and there, but I never really sat down and collaborated with a real musician. And it was probably the first time I ever really shared, probably the first time I ever really understood what it was to truly share ideas and work in a very open minded atmosphere - not just push forward, do my thing and get out of there, but really work with somebody and create. I think when you collaborate with somebody it just brings out another level of who you are, it’s a different extension.

DM: Next question! (he grabs my notebook from me and decides the tables are going to be turned in this interview) I’m asking you questions now!

JS: Ok, you ask me some questions!

DM: Look how nice she’s written that, can you see that?! Your penmanship is excellent. Nobody writes anymore.

JS: I know, this is true!

Nobody uses pen and paper, so what made you use pen and paper?!

JS: Honestly, my printer ran out of ink, so I had to just stick with my treasured bible of notes.

DM: But you’ve written it so well, you obviously write all the time?

JS: I do!

DM: There you go, not just a journalist, but a writer as well!

JS: Ok, next question! Dance music production has gone almost completely digital. Do you think it’s missing out on something in the sense that the majority of producers don’t play “timeless” instruments anymore, if that makes sense!?

DM: Digital production takes something away from the music, I think. The quality of the music is changing all the time, like it or not, and what digital production does is, it opens up another door of random music that can’t be controlled. All of dance music is displaced right now and particularly music in the digital form. Rap music, pop music, alternative music is not as displaced because there’s still a level of unity within the business that keeps it solidified, keeps it moving forward – marketing, some form of campaigning is behind it. Dance music doesn’t have that. Dance music has a few small outlets like beatport and other download opportunities, but other than that a lot of this music is just random. Maybe you find some good tracks from some kid from Myspace or Facebook or somebody passes out an email blitz of their records, or whatever, but speaking in the dance music arena right now I think that this type of production is hurting it. And as far as musicians are concerned, musicians who play instruments, it doesn’t really affect them so much, because I think they were already affected fifteen years ago. When techno music came along twenty years ago, it had a huge affect on acoustic musicians. Acoustic musicians have already prepared for the future, they won’t be left out. Now it’s a different level of threat to music, but not to them.

JS: Who do you feel is really trying to push things forward as opposed to looking back for inspiration in their music, is it something producers aren’t doing enough of?

DM: Who’s pushing forward right now? I think a lot of guys want to believe they are, but they tend to be quite self absorbed. A true sacrifice to develop a movement takes almost everything you have and you know that you may gain nothing from it. But if you go into it to be a profiteer, then you haven’t done it for the right reasons. There’s another reason for you doing it, and if it doesn’t work, guess what? You’re on the next wagon doing whatever the next scene is doing. You can see how there’s a lack of sincerity with a lot of music today. So I can’t really answer that question. There’s nobody really standing tall and strong, everybody is really fending for themselves just hoping that they can survive in this business today.

JS: Do you think that will change?

DM: It will change. There are bubbles in the industry for instance; Berlin. Berlin has a tremendous bubble going right now, I wouldn’t call it a scene, I’d call it a bubble, but it’s going to burst because it’s way too much. It’s beautiful but it’s too much and what will happen is the bubble will burst and when the dust settles the guys and the music that are really standing tall will be the ones who continue to grow and keep the scene going. But right now, everybody’s doing everything to try and be a part of that and that’s just people jumping on the train. You’ll see those same people in another city or another scene if it doesn’t work out for them. So I can’t say for instance if the minimal scene is a powerful movement because so many people are simply in it to win it, not really in it for the true meaning and purpose of it. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

JS: Finally, when you’ve hung up your headphones for the last time, what do you hope your legacy will be? What do you hope you’ve left behind?

I think it’s pretty simple for me, just that he always put it out, Derrick never held back. He was the best at what he did and he never tried to run a game on anybody with what he was doing. He was true. This is who I am, it is what it is!

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interstellar_fugitive @ 5 Jan 2008 5:37

Nice interview. Thought it strange at first that he would say Pullen is one to watch (seeing as hes been round since early 90's), but then he has been bringing him on the High Tek Soul tour a bit!