Bloc File: Surgeon

As the Bloc countdown continues, one of this year’s undisputed highlight acts, Surgeon checks in for a quick chat. Fresh from turning in a storming podcast for RA and remixing Shed, he talks about his love of Japan, his Frequency 7 collaboration with Ben Sims and being  a techno outsider...

You were over in Japan  recently and it seems like you tour there quite a lot -  is it one of  your favourite places to perform?

“Yeah, I spent January in Japan just as a holiday, non-gigs. I fell in love with Japan when I first toured there in 1996. It's a fascinating country and culture, and I have some good friends over there. I’ve also been learning Japanese for the past four years, so it was great to practice conversing with native speakers. I’m back over there for at tour in May, always great fun DJing there, followed by a gig in Shanghai, my first gig in China.”

Do you think that it is one of the world centres for techno?

“Strange to think of 'world centres for techno'. I don't think that exists in the same way it may have in the 1990s. Information is spread all over the world in an instant these days, although Spain is still the undisputed hard partying world centre for techno!”

What do you make of the shift of producers towards Berlin -  and what do you make of the music that has come from that phenomenon?

“During the mid to late 1990s, I visited Berlin once a month for my residency at Tresor club. Those were special times for me, the city was in a state of intense change. I remember friends taking me to small underground clubs (in disused public toilets for example) that had been bulldozed out of existence by the following month. I only visit once or twice a year now, so I'm not as familiar with the city as I was then. Berlin music, as it always has for me, begins and ends with the Hardwax crew!”

Was the mass exodus to Berlin another symptom of the lemming/herd mentality inherent in techno?

“I seriously thought of moving there in the 1990s, but not now. It’s kind of funny to see people chasing the scene and the hype. It’s like quicksilver, try to grab it and it runs away from you!”

You’ve always been a bit of an outsider  - do you feel you’ve  always done things your own way?

“The 'outsider role' works for me, I use isolation as a way for me to create what I do.”

Has this been key to your longevity or does the fact that one still sees certain techno DJs who played the game doing well mean that being an outsider is irrelevant?

“That’s what works for me, but of course not for everyone! Also, when you say ‘doing well’ that’s a very vague term. ‘Doing well’ can mean earning lots of money, but hating the music you play and release or the opposite. Depends what you value. There are so many different 'impure' motivations for being in this game. Doing it for the money, celebrity, to be like someone else, to get laid, for attention, to be liked. Those are some of the driving forces for shit music.”

"Doing it for the money, celebrity, to be like someone else, to get laid, for attention, to be liked. Those are some of the driving forces for shit music.”

There has always been a confrontational aspect to your music from the titles, across the music and in the visual presentation (even that recent British Murder Boys appearance on 'Slices'). Is it important for you that your music provokes a strong reaction? In this regard are you taking example from Throbbing Gristle, Coil?

“I think most of the time it's just the product of a stupid, subversive sense of humour. The Slices interview turned out the way it did because we were far too hungover to do a coherent interview on the day they filmed us. But yes, I do enjoy music that provokes a strong reaction. There’s nothing worse than indifference.”

There was a lot of rumour-mongering about why BMB went their separate ways: what actually happened? Are you happier now that this relationship is over?

“Sad to have lost a good friend, that's all.”

Was there always a lot of tension between you and Karl or was it an easy working relationship?

“There are many different kinds of tension, that's all I'll say!”

Tell me more about the Frequency 7 collaboration with Ben Sims: is it primarily a club/DJ performance or is it also a studio collaboration?

“For the moment, the project is a club/DJ performance, although we won't rule anything else out. Frequency 7 is a lot of fun for both me and Ben and I think that really comes across when we perform together. To some it may be an unlikely paring, but our different styles work very naturally together.
 It's a very different dynamic to what BMB was.”

How come the mix CD that you did for Warp was available only in limited edition? Is it futile limiting a CD release as it forces fans to download it illegally?

“Warp decided that was how they wanted to release it, I'm glad it came out eventually, I can't remember how many years it was since we first discussed the project.”

Downwards released a collection of yours and Karl's 1990s work last year -  do you think the music has aged well and did it leave a lasting  impression on electronic music? Do you look back on that time with fondness?

“I think it still retains that raw punk energy that inspired many people to start producing techno. Everyone seemed so much less self-aware back then, or I was just a lot more naive?”

You were quick to use Ableton to DJ with -  do you think that it has changed your DJ style in that it allows you to play more diverse sets? Are there any drawbacks to it as a performer – and do you miss the feeling of vinyl?

“It definitely opened up my DJ style, allowing me to play music I had always wanted to, but never could before. It's visually not what people 'expect' from a DJ and I am aware how tightly people hold onto their expectations. I don't miss carrying a 30kg metal box that  gets lost or stolen when I check it in at an airport and limits the amount of music I can travel with. I do like vinyl, I just personally don't use it to DJ with. I still release my music on vinyl as the primary format.”

You have been fairly quiet as a producer lately: do you plan to start making music again soon - or are you disillusioned with the making/releasing music cycle and  prefer to DJ?

“In 2008 I did a lot of remixes and none of my own productions. That was fun, to re-interpret other people's work. Creatively, I get a lot from DJing and I'll do my own productions this year.”

Do you have any interesting musical surprises planned for Bloc?

“We never normally confer about what tracks we will play, it's always improvised so it's fun for us to hear what the other will play, so it will be as much of a surprise for us as it will be for the crowd at Bloc. However, on this occasion we may have a few special gems lined up!”

Comments

[skkatter]

Can people stop asking DJs about "vinyl vs Ableton", "vinyl vs CDs", "vinyl vs digital", "is vinyl better than mp3s", "what do you think of mp3s". DJs use it all nowadays, nobody cares any more!!!!

[Brophy]

In a word, no! Format is important (nowhere near as important as the music obviosuly), but there is a seismic shift going on in electronic music and it's a valid question... many people feel that the death of vinyl would rip the heart and soul out of techno.

[Matt Sargeant]

Funnily enough imho your both right,

people concentrate too much on the V's but the discussions are important as we are in an industry using all these standards and they do all differ, so opinions on the finer points of each are more individual now.

and there for....interesting....but in my heads theres no V or competition between each anymore, just a wider artistic pallette.

[mikethehard]

I'm with Skkatter.

The only people still concerned about the ableton/tracktor/cd/vinyl debate are those who rely on the cues of others to form opinion.

Most poeple have figured out by now that as long as the noise that comes out is pretty and it works for them, it doesnt matter what they are using, or who else is using it too.

*yawn*

[slctrjns]

I was intrigued to read Surgeon regards vinyl as the promary release format, inspite of never playing vinyl out now (not last few times i saw him anyway...) though interview could have got to the bottom of just what/how this sims collaboration works

Of course its important to talk about technology shifts, as any1 serious about techno can see.. technology shifts are what drives electronic music forward, the equipment matter, especially if your gonna be progressive. any1 who djs or produces finds the process controls the results, as much as technology gives control to performers

so is surgeon just a nice, thoughtful guy then? what a disappointment>>

[Brophy]

I'm with Skkatter.

The only people still concerned about the ableton/tracktor/cd/vinyl debate are those who rely on the cues of others to form opinion.

Most poeple have figured out by now that as long as the noise that comes out is pretty and it works for them, it doesnt matter what they are using, or who else is using it too.

*yawn*

I find it really amusing that someone who ends their comment post with a yawn can even be bothered to enter what for them is a clearly boring argument. As I said in my original reply to Skkatter, of course the music is the number one concern - we all know that - but in spite of that, format is still important. It has nothing to do about needing other people to make your mind up for you, it's about caring about something that is intrinsic to electronic music (and hopefully will continue to be)....