with recent releases on deep soul music and the legendary good looking records, edj thought it would be a good time to have a little q&a with the disgustingly multi-talented dj/producer/designer/snowboarder, eveson. he talks on his plans for an lp, the importance of good design, banksy, and a penchant for pouting porn stars....
edj: How important do you think the design/artwork/packaging is for vinyl releases - do you think it can have a positive impact on sales?
Yeah, these days I think a well-packaged record can definitely have a positive impact on sales. The fact that digital djing is becoming more and more popular, buyers can often choose to go for the cheaper, quicker, digital option if the alternative doesn't offer much more than a slice of wax with a label stuck in the middle...make it interesting and beautiful enough, and the physical record becomes a way more desirable option, as you're essentially losing out on half the product by going the digital route. It was quite a risk for me, as an up and coming producer to kick off a label with no expense spared, full colour, 3mm spine sleeve, matte finish, inner disco bag etc... Luckily it seems people are into the whole idea, sales have exceeded my expectations..
edj: You started your own label pretty early in your d&b career - why so?
It made more sense to me than any other option. I have the ability to write the music, present the music and market the music in the exact way I want, whilst having total control of my output and offering something a little different to the norm. It was always the plan; I just had to wait for the right time to kick things off. The profile boost the shogun ltd and creative source 12s gave me, coupled with the widespread dj support my music's been receiving and the 'gimmick' aspect of the art concept was the kind of push I needed to start the label off with a bang.
edj: You say Channel 82 is a concept based around the fusion of art, music and creative thinking - can you give us a bit more of an insight into the idea and concept behind it? What do you hope to achieve with it?
Well the 'record label' aspect of channel 82 only makes up a part of where I want to go with the brand. I get inspired by so much in terms of music, art and fashion and when I get hit by that inspiration, I can't just sit back and appreciate as a spectator, I get an insatiable urge to do it myself. It’s an itch that I have to scratch but I’m also fully aware of the dangers of spreading myself too thinly.
An example of this was my obsession with 'urban' and 'extreme' sports throughout my teens and early twenties. I wasn't like most kids that could just be a skater or a bmxer and be content with that, I had to do everything, skateboarding, bmx, downhill mountain biking, rollerblading, snowboarding, etc....by spreading myself so thinly though, whilst I had a respectable amount of talent or ability in most of these activities (not skateboarding though, I’ve always been a shit skateboarder), I never had the single minded devotion which was what's needed to take that talent to the next level and turn it into total awesomeness!
This brings me onto my musical and artistic pursuits...I write music, make art, design clothing prints, but to try and build a record label, a name as a visual artist, and a clothing brand independently, is pretty much an impossible feat, as the time, money and effort it takes to do just one of these things properly is a full time job in itself. By bringing it all under one roof I can channel my efforts (no pun intended) into one outlet that encompasses everything I want to do, with music selling the art, the art selling the music, the clothing introducing people to the label...you get the idea...each record I put out will also have a piece of corresponding merchandise based on the sleeve art. The first three are 24" x 24" art prints, the next three are going to be ltd edition tee shirts etc...It helps me achieve the focus I need to do all these things properly, as I can concentrate on each release one by one, slowly building a vibrant catalogue of records, art prints, clothing and whatever else captures my imagination in the future!
edj: 2009, so far at least, seems to be the year for LP's - any plans for one of your own?
I’ve had offers yeah but aside from sketching out a few ideas I’m yet to properly start. I’ve got about 80 finished tunes from the last 3 or so years so filling a cd with 10 fairly decent bits of d&b would be no problem at all but it wouldn't even be close to my idea of what makes a decent 'album'. To be honest, apart from checking new tunes, mixes, radio shows etc, I never really listen to d&b at home, and for me, engaging d&b albums this side of the millennium are few and far between. To make an album I’d feel one hundred percent happy with, means straying slightly from and experimenting with the way I go about writing music at the moment, so I’m going to spend a little more time playing around before embarking on the project properly.
edj: A lot of d&b producers have started to dabble in making dubstep recently - do you experiment in any other styles yourself?
Yeah I make loads of different stuff, and am finding 140 a great speed to work with, which is something I’m going to be pushing more in the future...it's not dubstep though, I’m not really sure what it is, kind of a mix between downtempo and jungle/d&b...uptempo!? You can hear what I mean if you listen to one of my tunes on the current liquid v 'club sessions' compilation (released this month), it's called 'body and soul' and is a pretty good reflection as to the direction I’d like to take an artist album...aside from the 140 soul stuff, I’ve made a few straight up dubstep versions of some forthcoming channel 82 music and have also been working on a few more typical 'downtempo' bits in the vein of aim or bonobo.
Due to stretching my time across d&b production, djing, art, design (and a sorry excuse of a social life) I can't fully delve into these other styles enough to build a proper catalogue of consistent work, but until I find the right time to devote myself to proper side project, I’ll be releasing some of the more successful experiments digitally.
edj: Bristol has been known for a long time as d&b’s spiritual home, yet with artists such as appleblim, pinch, peverelist etc its becoming increasingly known as the home of dubstep too – How much of a shift have you seen a shift toward the 140bpm styles?
It's in vogue here right now, very 'trendy as fuck'. There are loads of true heads but it's also the music people say they like when they want appear cool, and it's riding on that same wave (deservedly so) d&b was riding in the mid 90s when it was blowing up hard, meaning the club scene is totally kicking off. Bristol suits the sound, it's always been a big place for bassline flavoured, soul and dub music (my dad used to rave it up at the reggae sound systems in st pauls when he lived here in the 70s), with smith and mighty, massive attack and full cycle, so it's only natural it was embraced so readily by the Bristol scene. A lot of d&b nights are incorporating dubstep into the line up which in my opinion is awesome, I’m all about cross pollination of scenes, it makes the nights so much more interesting.
edj: What do you think it is about Bristol that makes it such a musical city? Was this reputation a factor in your decision to base yourself there, and do you think it has helped more than if you were somewhere else?
Bristol is to a creative mind, as a light bulb is to a moth....if you're into music, urban art, skating etc and you're from the southwest, then moving to Bristol is pretty much a no brainer. I think it's partly down to a few of the aforementioned influential pioneers that gave Bristol it's 'sound' in the tail end of the 80s and throughout the 90s that have in turn inspired others and attracted the right kind of people that just want to be involved in a rich, musical and artistic environment.... I can't deny the general vibe of the place. It’s such a laid back, lazy city that has always got shit going on and embraces urban culture wholeheartedly making it such a pleasant and interesting place to live. I grew up 30 miles away in Glastonbury and was always coming up as a kid to see family, as a teenager to skate and go to clubs, and I always knew I’d end up living here. I’m not sure how much it's helped in terms of progression within the scene, as a large majority of the tunes I’ve written and signed were made when I was living in the French alps whilst snowboarding, and I’ve always been more of an insular type than a networked...it's definitely given me allot in terms of drawing inspiration over the years though and it's wicked to feel part of a place like this.
edj: Do you see yourself as a designer or musician first? Do you prefer one more than the other?
That’s a difficult one. Firstly though, I don't really consider myself a designer anymore, it's something I dabbled with and studied for some years but I no longer have much passion for it...I just see any design skills I picked up as another weapon in an arsenal of skills I can apply to being an artist in a purer sense. In retrospect I should have done illustration at uni (I studied graphic design for about 18 months before quitting to write tunes and go snowboarding), as I much prefer drawing, doodling and colouring to farting around with typography, vectors and layouts for hours on end. I think if I wasn't doing anything with music, I’d be pursuing a career in illustration and pushing the art/gallery thing as much as possible on the side.... doing graphic design for money, really dampened my passion for making art as it became a job and the more something feels like work, the less fun it becomes which made it difficult to find the energy to produce my own art in the time I had spare. I still love doing art for myself though, which is why as I earn more from music, I can wean myself off of taking design work purely for need of money. I’m at the point now where I’m just doing stuff for the odd client I want to work for which gives me more time to spend re-igniting the passion for my personal art (which channel 82 is the outlet for) and working on beats.
Music, though, is definitely still a 'love affair' for me...art was never anything I really 'thought' about doing, it was something I just 'did' from before I can remember, and was always something I was going to do when I was older. Music however has been my biggest passion from the age of about 10 but it was a mystery, I had no idea how people made the sounds I was in love with and aside from plonking around on keyboards as a kid, making a few things in music 2000 on the playstation, and djing from the age of 17, it took me till the age of 21 before I figured out how to actually produce music properly, and once I did, I practically became obsessed overnight. I’d say I still feel about 50-50 artist/producer, but it's always been about the music. Most of my work has been for d&b and I’ve never tried to venture outside of that for fear a 'proper career' as a designer/illustrator, would just get in the way of my ambitions as a dj/producer. Being young (is 27 still young?) and without responsibility gives me the freedom to make 'stupid choices' like that but I know what makes me happy so I have no qualms about following 'unrealistic' career paths.
edj: Who are your favourite artists and designers - which ones have influenced your style?
Design wise, the designers republic, Jon black and engine design really inspired me to move into graphics and sleeve art (ignorant in the later acquired knowledge that the process of creating such work is far less exciting than the resulting outcome), and on an illustration tip, it was seeing will barras and mr jago's illustrations in knowledge magazine that first presented the graf/comic/doodled style that i spent years plagiarising before I felt comfortable I’d started to find my own thing. Alphonse mucha is probably my largest influence currently. Most of my personal work is a result of me reinterpreting his grace, beauty, and elegance with a modern 'urban' twist.
edj: Where do your draw your inspiration from when designing a piece?
It depends on what I’m doing, for records sleeves; it can be the previous look of a record label and maintaining their image whilst adding my own thing to the mix. It can be clients giving me some direction and taking a cue from there or if it's a more open brief, as I give myself for the channel 82 art, drawing a theme from the track titles, letting the vibe of the music dictate the colours of the sleeve etc. for editorial illustration, it's great as with an interesting article it basically throws the content at you and it's up to you as an artist to draw something visual out of that. As far as my personal style goes, I love drawing girls and often use porn and glamour models for reference. They make the best shapes and pout real good.
edj: Is all your work digital, or do you dabble in physical paint on canvas style pieces too?
The more 'stencil' style work (such as exit, headz and intrigue stuff) is made 'in the box' so to speak, in Photoshop with the pen tool, scanned textures etc, but for my personal work and channel 82 everything is hand drawn first, then scanned and coloured/arranged in the computer. I’ve done a couple of walls recently and been painting canvases again for the first time since I was at college. I’m getting heavily back into physical work and have been commissioned to paint a few boards at Glastonbury festival that'll be in the dance village. I’m going to try and get them either side of the g-stage as I’m playing there on the Sunday afternoon so it'll all tie in nicely.
edj: Goldie is known for being an exhibiting artist as well as dj/producer/label boss - is an exhibition of your work something you would like to do one day? Do you have any plans for this at the moment?
I’ve already dabbled! When I first moved to Bristol, I got involved with a gallery on park st and was exhibiting there and my work was selling pretty well. Unfortunately there was trouble with the landlord not getting on with the boss of the gallery and we got the boot. Since then I’ve been away snowboarding, then too busy with music and design to get round to sorting more work out but I’m going to get into involved in some group shows in Bristol in the coming months and in the future hope to have some kind of 'mobile' gallery I can take with me on dj tours. I’ve got some cool ideas as to how to make that work (which I’m only going to start talking about when it starts happening!).
edj: Seeing as you’re based in Bristol, what are your feelings on Banksy - he seems to divide opinion some what...
I’ve always loved banksy. His shit was all over Bristol in the late 90s and it always stood out and caught my eye whenever I came across a new piece. He’s awesome at getting up in places you wouldn't think possible, which only added to his appeal. If you don't buy into the bullshit media hype and take his work at face value, which is simply clever, humorous and brilliantly aware of the surrounding environment, it makes a lot more sense.
edj: What are your feelings on graffiti in general - art or vandalism?
Graffiti can be art, vandalism, or both at the same time. I’ve participated in both, it's a wicked rush, but ultimately I felt more comfortable with a sketchbook a biro and a laptop, than a can and a wall. Interestingly, it's the vandalism aspect I take more inspiration from. Perfect letterforms, 3d, highlights and fades are all spectacular to look at but I personally love the look of an old grimey wall that's been tagged to oblivion with drips, worn away paint and dirt which looks like a natural part of the urban environment. That’s the kind of aesthetic I borrow from graffiti and work into my design and illustration.
edj: Plugs...
I’ve just had a release on good-looking, entitled 'food for thought'. Also check for my second release on channel 82, bluebird/lucid, and a 12 on New Zealand based label 'samurai redseal', late night special/solstice, both to this month. Art prints and channel 82 mp3s are available to buy from
http://www.channel82.co.uk/. Check
www.myspace.com/channel82 and
www.myspace.com/evesonmusic for more forthcoming material.
edj: Shouts...
Shouts to metalheadz and intrigue who I’m right in the middle of doing some work for right now, fabio cos I was writing this interview listening to his show and he just played two new bits of mine, all the crew involved in making Bristol such a dope place to live, and hobzee, zyon base, soul intent, lenzman and all the other new breed producers making waves right now.
