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Interview with DJ Sneak by Ollie Brooke

courtesy of InTheMix.com.au

Your style as a producer is often touted as being disco-filtered house, yet in my opinion this is a very narrow-minded view of your production, which is full of salsa and Latin rhythms, and even techno style percussive elements. What do you feel about being pigeon-holed so frequently?

It's kinda frustrating at times because I obviously have much more to offer than just disco filtered house, which is what I was known for when I broke into the scene. It's ok though, it's a point of reference for a lot of people and that's cool but I also know there are a lot of people out there who don't know who DJ Sneak is. So sometimes I may be at a festival where people may not have come specifically to see me but just wander up into my tent and say, "wow, I don't know this music but I like it," and you know hopefully these people will come to appreciate what I have to bring musically rather than just rely on a label that's applied. I sort of take it as something that's part of me being Sneak, it's just a label and if people are more comfortable talking about me with reference to that label that's cool, I still do what I do regardless.

Having grown up in Chicago you have had your part to play on the sound that is Chicago house and you follow in the footsteps of some legends who have laid the foundations. What do you and the current wave of Chicago based producers and DJs bring to the sound?

I actually live in Toronto now even though I grew up for 15 years in Chicago while the sound was growing. Everyone brings their own interpretation to the sound, how to put it. Well you know that show, The Iron Chef? Well compare that to the DJ world, instead of Chefs you have DJs and instead of the ingredients you have the elements of sound and you wanna make something that's gonna make you feel good, taste good, it's the same thing with music. There's a variety of things that influence the way I put things together, radio stations, clubs, DJs and things like that but when I make a track I make it in my way and obviously I'm influenced by what I've been exposed to but it's my recipe! So you sort of grow into it, you think "I can do this" and that's what's always happening in Chicago or anywhere else. Even the next wave will remember people like me, maybe not the people I remember but it's the same deal, it continues the legacy.

So you bring what you bring, regardless of what's expected?

Yeah, I was a DJ first and then I eventually moved into making records from the music I was playing. When I was DJing I was combining different songs into one and I'd think that these two things sound amazing together and that's how I kinda moved into making tracks, knowing how to make a beat or a rhythm just from pulling on all these influences that have shaped what I am. That kinda just opened my mind into creating what I do and it just evolved. But now it's kinda weird, you got all these DJ Academies and DJ Schools and all that kinda shit, whereas for me it's a case of - you either got it or you don't got it. It's weird cos you want people to be creative and you want to influence people and open their minds but why not just make what you're into. A lot of people are really confused as to what it is to do this job, and it is a job, it's a career, for me it started out a hobby but then eventually I realised that people liked what I was doing and respected it and it occurred to me that I can make a job out of this. I treat it as a job, I don't let it go if I'm tired or if I'm sick, I'm on all the time.

Your profile as a DJ is still growing and you have worked, and continue to work, on some large projects. I'd like to ask you specifically about the Ministry Of Sound CD you recently did. The dance community has traditionally shunned many forms of commercialism, yet Ministry is probably the greatest commercial success within the realms of what is still considered roots dance music. What are your thoughts on this topic, commercialism and how does it sit with you to work with people like Ministry?

It's weird because I went to Ministry Of Sound in London when they first opened up and I was one of the first DJs who rolled down there too, but I sort of didn't feel like I fitted in, in terms of being part of the whole image and being commercial and pushing a lot of music that I don't really like. So it took a lot of years, 9 I think, for me to come around but now I feel like the people who are working at Ministry Of Sound now, as opposed to the people who were working there before, understand that DJs like me need to have things out which can bring street cred to them and as long as the deal I got suited me and made me happy and I didn't feel like I was selling out, I felt like we were both helping each other as one business to another. It was strictly business but I still have ethics and morals. People may say negative things about me having a Ministry Of Sound CD, but you know Ministry Of Sound is an established label, it works for me. As long as I can walk away and say I haven't compromised myself and I can be myself, I'm prepared to do stuff like that and work with people who appreciate that I have a sound that may not be the most commercially attractive. It was kinda like walking on egg-shells in initially agreeing to do it, but I feel like I got what I wanted out of it and I'm still happy about the deal as are Ministry Of Sound. I know a lot of people who would not go to Ministry Of Sound, they'll be like "well we'll come and see you play" and I think a lot of people are like that, anti the whole commercial exploitation thing and I think the new Ministry Of Sound people realise that. So while I still maintain that I am not a commercially orientated player, I still have a business to run and as long as the deals suit me and meets my expectations I'm happy. They didn't say to me that I had to put any cheesy songs like other people do. I put it together the way I wanted to and sent it to them and they said "Yeah, we love it, cool," and that was it, first take. They just loved it and wanted it to come across as me. I'm down with playing it low key, but this is a hard time to be in this business so I gotta make what I can out of it. If I can make a good business deal and get my sound out to more people then it works on multiple levels. Making music is what I do, I can't do a 9 to 5 job, I put a lot of work into this and I so I do what I gotta do to be successful.

Why do you produce under the name Track Assassin as well as Sneak?

Sometimes these things are just quick aliases I use cos all my friends started making fun of me, they started calling me "Sneak a Week", because I always had a new record out every week. I started using different names so as not to flood the market too much. But people will always know, just from my sound, so I just do it to keep it kinda fresh, there's no major difference it's just used to keep it fresh!

Your label Magnetic focuses on house and the "ongoing struggle to be acknowledged as the sound of tomorrow." Can you elaborate on why this is so important to you?

I feel like I need to do my part to continue this industry, it's dying, believe it or not. Selling a piece of vinyl is becoming a thing of the past. So many labels and pressing plants are shutting down, so how are we supposed to keep this shit alive when all these pressing plants keep shutting down? What I'm doing with the label is trying to keep the scene and house music alive, trying to bring the people who are in the same vibe as myself together, trying to bring these people closer together. I'm starting the label as a source of promotion, as a way of getting the message out.

One thing that may cement it as the sound of tomorrow is the current digital revolution being experienced by both DJs and producers, where do you think this can take the sound?

I respect that whole thing, anything that can get the music out there more is good, but not everyone has the brains to know how to use a computer and not everyone knows how to burn a CD and not everyone plays CDs, so at the moment that's just a small thing, though it's growing, but not as fast as the vinyl market is shrinking! At one point I'd move 8,000 copies as DJ Sneak on Magnetic Records, but now I'll move maybe 3,000. I know people who are only moving 1,000, but I'm always putting back so because I do this people will support me. With digital a lot of companies are jumping on the bandwagon, so there are offers all over the place, but ultimately they're looking at taking up to 70% of the sale just to do the work. Until now I tried a few different ones and it just hasn't worked so I've decided to create my own and I will sell MP3s and I will be keeping that percentage. There's nothing wrong with having your stuff out on digital but I'd rather invest that money in my own website. I'll put my back catalogue on first, which a lot of people want and will come to the site to buy, and then I'll look into putting the newer stuff up there once the market is established. But you know, anyone can do it and spend $5,000 on a site to do it so I'd prefer to do it myself rather than hand over 70% of my worth to someone else. If I have to give 10% or 15% to just get it going it's better than giving it out to someone else and maybe only get 10 cents for a track!

Arguably, house in general all sounds similar, what is it about house that accommodates fairly minor differences making such a huge change in the feel of an overall track?

For me it's being creative over the same beat. Everyone uses the 4 to the floor, kick, hat, beat and clap, it's always the same base, but for me I like using the whole thing and being creative on top of that. Being creative over a house beat is what it's all about for me, because you're using the same base I find it more powerful when people can be so much more creative within those constraints. Now, because of technology and all these things, there's a lot of stuff coming my way everywhere I go and I try to listen to it all. As long as it's got a good feel and sound I don't care what label it's got or who it's by, the next time I go to that town I'll play it so they know I'm supporting what they're doing. Then they're like "Sneak's playing my shit" and so it works back for them and the same as it does when they play my shit. That's the thing I respect most about house music is that it's this creative thing and that's all it needs to be to work, you don't have to worry about labels and companies to get yourself out there, you just gotta be creative. If I'm listening to straight radio or whatever I'm always thinking about putting a house beat behind something and that's what's cool about it.

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