ROB CHADWICK chats to Toby Tobias about his new re-edit of a classic Adonis track, his recent Underground Disco compilation, and playing for EQTV in Leeds this month…
March 18 sees EQTV join forces with Leeds party Asylum and Newcastle promoters Jaunt for a special night at the O2 Academy in Leeds. Headlining the night is Toby Tobias, one of the hottest producers around at the moment. We caught up with him for a chat about his current projects and to find out what he’s got planned for our upcoming party…
You’ve recently released your edit of the Adonis track We’re Rockin’ Down The House. How was that for you?
It was fun. I’ve always had a soft spot for the original, but always thought more could be done with the voice. I did the ‘remake’ with Sean from the Hardway brothers. We had fun working together for the first time.
What was the idea around your edit?
Well, originally we just played around and came up with a looped-up disco/house/techno version. Then we felt like we wanted to do a version that was more faithful to the original style of Trax Records. That second version got lost in the post and never made the comp – but it might appear somewhere somehow…
Together with that track, you have also just launched The Underground Disco compilation for Ministry Of Sound. How did that come about?
I was asked to do it by Ministry, and in a fairly short space of time, I managed to secure a lot of cool underground modern discoid records. Not every track I wanted made it on as some licenses were going to take too long sadly, but I managed to represent the leaders of the scene like Golf Channel, Maurice Fulton, I:cube, Todd Terje, Space Dimension Controller, Still Going… I’ve had lots of great compliments on the selection, and I think we’ve given the MOS punters something a bit different.
You’re playing for EQTV this month – what can we expect?
A proper party, and music old and new. Let’s just see where the dancefloor takes us, but deep and raw should sum it up nicely I reckon.
Leeds has a great culture for disco, thanks to the likes of Asylum, Polaroid and Throwback. What do you think makes the city special when it comes to the music industry?
I think there is a big debt to BackToBasics – such a long-running party has definitely etched the Leeds name into legendary clubs. Then there are the labels that run from Leeds, namely 20:20Vision which has been doing well since day one and has always pushed the envelope of house music. At the end of the day though, you’ve got a big contingent of folk who are bang up for a party – and there endeth the lesson!
You’re just come back from a tour of Australia. How was that?
Seeing Harvey play on a roof in Melbourne was good. So was generally being encouraged by the scene over there actually – especially in Melbourne where I played twice. The second gig was on a Tuesday and it was the best gig I played.
This year we she’ll you out in Croatia at The Garden Festival. Why do you think the festival has become so popular?
Well, that’ll be the sun, the lovely warm sea, the amazing local seafood – and the great line-ups!
Finally, what have you got coming up in the near future?
I’m just about to deliver a remix of Phreek Plus One and Mr White on Compost Black. I’m also trying to line up the next two releases on my label Tracky Bottoms – I had a temporary set back with a hard drive fail. Then I’m finishing the Rekids second album, and I’ve got a new EP coming on new label More Music.
Underground Disco is out now on Ministry Of Sound. EQTV.dj present Toby Tobias… in association with Asylum and Jaunt is at the O2 Academy, Leeds, on March 18. Tickets are priced £7 or £8 on the door, and are available from www.o2academyleeds.co.uk/event/25436/toby-tobias-tickets. Visit www.myspace.com/tobytobiasmusic, www.rekids.com, http://clubasylum.net/ and www.myspace.com/jauntevents
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