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DICKY TRISCO INTERVIEW
hey DT, thanks for the mix! Please tell us where you are from?
I’m from the UK. Originally from Glasgow, Scotland. That’s where I grew up and got my
musical education.
How would you describe the style of your mix?
I try to avoid that kind of question as much as possible because it always seems like it puts a
limit on things. But then I know that I wouldn’t play just anything so maybe that’s just a cop out.
So..I would usually describe myself as a Disco DJ because to a lot of people that will be the
thing they can most easily identify about what I play. Problem with that however is that it leads
to a lot of people presuming you are a mobile wedding DJ, which has never been my thing.
And if it is Disco I do..then it’s Disco in a very wide sense of the term. That is in the tradition of
NY pioneers like Larry Levan and over here in the UK with DJs like Greg Wilson. These are
people who put the emphasis on playing a load of different sounds and genres in their sets
and who are more concerned about whether the music is great and about the way it’s
programmed throughout a set than about a particular sound or mixing style .But in more
personal terms what I play is also about the music I heard played out as a kid, especially pre-
House when I would hear tracks by the Clash blended into Chic then followed by Hamilton
Bohannon or Peoples Choice and finished off with a Human League, Talking Heads or a New
Order number. That’s pretty much what I still do now! Although I have added a bit of good
house, occasionally even techno and of course nu disco to the pot. It’s that kind of eclectic
blend that inspires me. I also like the term ‘Balearic’ to describe this approach because it also
suggests a sense of openness to different music styles and DJ techniques, and in the DJ
History community it also has a thriving community driving it as a scene forward, which is a
very positive thing. But to be honest, I find it easier to define or describe what I don’t want to do
as a DJ and that is to knock out those sets that have loads of tracks that sound the same and
sound like they have been beat matched in Ableton by a robot on drugs and all made by the
same producer using the same equipment. That for me is where things all started to go wrong
for dance music, when everything got stuck in very small inward looking genres and scenes
and people lost a wider love and respect for music in general. But that’s just my opinion.
You seem to be stoking lots of fires ... what labels do you run and what artists are involved?
I run Disco Deviance at the moment which is shaping up to be a great series. It features
people I believe are among the very best DJs and editors in the world Greg Wilson, Ashley
Beedle, Pete Herbert, Eddie Tour etc and we have some excellent new releases coming up
from Fat Camp, BC who did the stuff for Redux and some newer names to the scene who we
are very excited about. The feedback and DJ response to the imprint has been amazing! And I
really feel with DD that we are managing to produce an imprint that will inspire the next
generation of Disco DJs, producers and editors through reworking and reintroducing classic
disco music. I am also currently heavily involved with my friend Greg Wilson’s new Ruff Edits
imprint and some of his other projects. Greg and I hooked up over the Boogie Corporation stuff
I did on 2020 with Calum Walker and he has been a heavy influence on me since. He has an
amazing knowledge and vision of music and is a gentleman as well as a scholar. Besides
that I am also heavily involved with releasing new music on Deep Freeze through artists like
Ilija Rudman, Ajello, Dubious, Electronic Boogie Band and the very excellent Silver City. Then I
also produce myself as part of Boogie Corporation and Electronic Boogie Band and under my
own Dicky Trisco name which I started out doing with Alex Smoke who then went on to
become a techno superstar. So plenty of fires getting stoked..
How long have you been managing the labels?
About 10 years now. So just about getting the hang out it now.
Are you and Calum Walker still making music as Boogie Corporation? I believe the last
release was in 2005 on 20:20 Vision, right?
Calum and I are good friends and have been making music together since almost the first day
we met in 2004. After that day we met weekly for almost 3 years and made a heap of music.
We released two very successful EPs on 2020 and then set to work on an LP. Unfortunately for
many reasons that project never got released, but we did continue to release music under the
name Electronic Boogie Band on Deep Freeze and did various well received remixes under
both names for artists like 40 Thieves, Ilija Rudman and Silver City. We are now looking at
finally releasing some of the unreleased music from this period under the Boogie Corporation
name as we produced some really excellent tracks and still get a lot of requests from people
about what we are up to with the project. And I still think the Lay The Funk EP on 2020 was a
really important breakthrough record in the nu disco scene, because at that time there was
just so much interest brewing in disco and electrofunk again because of the growing edits
scene and the production work of Chicken Lips and Metro Area, and I think Lay The Funk
captured that wave of interest and translated it into great new music that appealed across the
genres. We certainly had a great time making it and it encouraged us to rediscover a whole
world of music that we had loved and to take inspiration from it. And for me that was the start of
the road that led to the Disco Deviance series and where I’m at now.
What other aliases have you released tracks under?
Dicky Trisco, Boogie Corporation, Electronic Boogie Band, BC, Clyde Built Project and
probably a few more that I can’t remember..
Are you involved in any other projects?
Always mate. Gotta keep moving on to keep it all fresh. To me the most important thing music
does is that it constantly brings you into contact with new people and new relationships which
keep it exciting and lead to new developments. I am currently working on a new imprint called
Maxi Discs which I am co-running with another good friend Pete Herbert. I love Pete’s music
and I think he is an amazing DJ. He’s also a great laugh and the personal side of things is
really important to me in what I do. I don’t work with people I don’t like or don’t trust any more.
That’s what gives it value. So yeah Pete and I have a great concept in mind and have some
excellent stuff coming in. Basically it’s going to look, feel and sound a like an edits label but it’s
going to be all 100% new music. All the artists and remixers will be either us or our friends.
We think that’s the future keeping it small and tight with the market the way it is now. So it’s a
family affair and it’s going to be fucking great. Format is going to be just one track on either
side of the vinyl cut loud and beautifully mastered at 45 RPM by the same Grandmaster who
does the Disco Deviance cuts for us. So no messing around and no fillers. Just great music
that will sound amazing in clubs and also home on your hi fi. And like I say we have some top
stuff already and have people like Greg Wilson, Chris Duckenfield, Reverso 68, LSB etc all up
for getting involved one way or another. Also got another edits project coming up which is top
secret at the moment and some more projects with Greg Wilson in the pipeline. All kicking in
before the end of the year as well as more great new music on Deep Freeze by the highly
talented Ilija Rudman and Silver City. Think I need to have a lie down just thinking about all
those releases…but I love it that’s why I do it.
What up and coming releases can we look forward to from you?
From me personally got a release scheduled in with Pete Herbert on Maxi Discs that we’re just
finishing off at the moment. An Electronic Boogie Band release on Deep Freeze and a Boogie
Corporation EP with Calum on our own imprint. Then there’s some top edits as BC coming up
on Disco Deviance as well other edits under my own Dicky Trisco name after that. Then there’
s the first release as autodisco deejays with my good mate iamelectron from Mighty Robot
Recordings. So it’s going to be a busy year.
You also throw the 'Autodisco' party. Who is involved in this and how often do you have
these nights?
Autodisco is a night put together by Deep Freeze and Mighty Robot Recordings. Residents are
myself and they very excellent iamelectron. We do these parties bi-monthly now up in Scotland
and we have had guests like Andrew Weatherall, Greg Wilson, Pete Hebert, Chris Duckenfield
and JD Twitch from Optimo playing at them.
Do you have a music policy or style that would describe the night?
The autodisco sound is all about that place where disco, electrofunk and early electro meets
up with early house, techno and Italo. That’s what happened basically when I met up with iam
electron. I was mainly playing disco, electrofunk and nu disco stuff at the time cos it was
around the time of the Boogie Corporation stuff. But then Dave gave me a mix of his which had
loads of music on it with early house, Italo and electro sounds that I loved and which all of a
sudden renewed and refreshed that music for me cos I could hear its origins in what I was
now playing. So early House and Italo just sounded like disco music with drum machines on it
again, which is basically what it was, and that meeting place became our common ground.
But the other thing that I think defines our sound is that iamelectron is the first person I have
had as a DJ partner who really is pretty different to me soundwise. We share loads of
influences like disco, Chicago, early techno, post-punk but we kind of go at it and come out of it
in different ways. I love this. He always makes me go off in ways I wouldn’t have done
otherwise and we complement each other rather than perfectly match. I find this creatively very
inspiring and pragmatically it means that if what one of us is doing isn’t really working then the
other can move it off in a very different direction, the other responds and finally it all comes
together again. If you check out our autodisco mixes on our my space page then I think you’ll
see exactly what I mean. www.myspace.com/autodiscoeventsinfo
I saw that you played in the Rizla tent at Connect last year. How did that go and is it
happening again this year?
Yes the hook up with Rizla has been a great thing. They have a really cool thing going there
and a great idea. It’s basically a kind of friendly chill out after party kind of vibe with a very
eclectic music policy. It’s hosted in an open air arena at the centre of which is an old 1930s
Rizla van where the DJ booth is located. It’s a brilliant place to play and the festival crowds
have been loving it. Connect last year was wicked. I played for 3 hours before Greg Wilson in
the pouring rain and people were loving it. I felt like crying I was having so much fun. Then this
year we did it at Rockness as autodisco deejays and it was brilliant. It was so hot which in
Scotland is pretty unusual and we had a load of good friends there and it was just an excellent
day. Again we played for 3 hours before Greg Wilson and then Greg just played the most
perfect set I have ever heard him play. And it also had a load of tunes in it that we had put out
over the last year so it was like a perfect conclusion to all the efforts put in. And my wife was
there which is pretty unusual when I’m playing cos we have two young kids. It was perfect and
we look forward to keeping the relationship going with Rizla cos we are big fans.
What's been you favourite gig?
Obviously I love doing the Rizla events as playing festivals is a pretty new experience to me
and much fun. In terms of nostalgia playing Subculture in Glasgow as Boogie Corporation
was pretty big because I had grown up going there.
What's your favourite club to play at?
I love the Reading Rooms where we do our autodisco nights. It’s very underground. Like a
small warehouse party in the main room and has a great garden where people can hang out
and smoke etc. And the building itself is an old Victorian Library. But for the complete effect my
heart still takes me back to the Sub Club which is just my definition of an underground venue.
Underground literally as it’s in the basement, intimate, low ceiling, top sound system, great
residents, no idiots, everybody dances and a great laugh. Harri and Dom are also great guys
to have had at helm for all these years and on a Sunday what Jonnie and Keith have done with
Optimo is just immense.
What artists do you admire and who would you still dig to get on one of your labels?
I am very lucky to be able to say that I have worked, or am working with almost everyone I truly
admire. I like to reach out and fortunately it has worked out mostly. But I respect the Rub n Tug
crew in NY and our paths have not crossed yet except via the internet. I absolutely loved the
Still Going release. And clubwise I am looking forward to a visit to Horse Meat Disco one of
these days.
What inspires you?
My wife and children, my friends and music. Without that there’s not much point in anything.
What's your top 5 tunes today?
Just today..ok that’s not so hard…
1.TW Funkmasters – Love Money
2.Frantique - Strut Your Funky Stuff
3.Nick Chacona & Anthony Mansfield – Oh Snap (Greg Wilson Version)
4.Magnificent Disco (BC Edit)
5.David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes
What do you think would make the planet a better place?
No cars, no weapons, less money and more freedom.
Do you want to give a shout out to anyone?
Big shout to Rayjam247!
Tracklisting:
1) Nick Chacona & Anthony Mansfield - Oh Snap! (GW version) – Hector Works
2) Boogie (Wade Nichols edit) Mindless Boogie
3) O2 (Dclas Mixture) – D Classics
4) Q – The Voice of Q
5) Disco Deviance 04 – Don’t Let Go (PH Edit)
6) Phreek Plus One – Phreek Party – Compost Black Label
7) Ignition – Secret Sunday Lover (GW Version) – Love is War Music
8) West Phillips – (I’m Just a) Sucker for a Pretty Face – Quality
9) Atlantic Conveyor – We Are – Untracked
10) Cultural Vibe - Ma Foom Bay – Crossover
11) Popular Peoples Front - Get Down Shep
12) Aeroplane – Caramellas – Eskimo Recordings
13) Two Sides of Sympathy (GW Version) – Edit The Edit
Links:
www.myspace.com/discodeviance
