Massively respected Ray Mang (Raj Gupta) is welcomed on board! He hit the scene with a classic release on the legendary record label Noid, moved on to cult label Nuphonic to release under the monikors LAJ, LAJ & Quakerman and Block 16, and now records with the likes of the Glimmers and Moby. He has new solo releases on red hot Maxi Discs and DFA, while finding the time to resurrected his own label Mangled’.
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RAY MANG INTERVIEW
Hey Raj, welcome to Cool In The Pool and thanks for the mix! You are like a legend in the dub disco world so it is huge honor to have you on board. Please tell us where you grew up and where you’re living at the moment?
Thanks for hosting. Let’s go swimming!
I grew up in Cambridge, had three years in Manchester and then moved to London where I’ve been ever since. I’m in Hackney now.
A guy I know once said Raj + edit = dancefloor dynamite – so true, it’s hard to pass on any of your records! What do you attribute your feel for a groove to, what music did you listen to while growing up?
Kind words indeed!
I started drumming when I was around thirteen. I played in lots of local bands in Cambridge of varying styles (and competency!). I carried that on playing in bands in Manchester and studying at Drumtech when I first moved to London. I guess this had quite a big influence on my understanding of rhythm and groove. And of course, of equal importance, listened to and played lots of different styles of music through those years.
The label release numbers are all messed up, but your record “Number one” from ’96 was one of very first on the Idjut Boys’ Noid label. How did you hook up with Dan & Conrad?
I met Dan and Conrad through mutual friends in Cambridge. I think Dan had just moved to London, Connie was still in Cambridge and I was already in Manchester but we all still spent time in Cambridge. We got friendly and used to hook up when any of us were in the same town for a spell whether it be Cambridge, Manchester or London.
“Number one” is now a classic and still tears dance floors apart whenever it’s played. What was the response like when it got released and was it the first record you released?
The response from DJ’s was great when it was first released. It got played left right and centre by DJ’s I admire greatly which is always a good feeling! Strangely I don’t think that translated particularly well into sales by the standards of the day.
It did get more widely recognised after the initial Noid release from a couple of timely compilation licenses. Dimitri from Paris picked it up for his excellent Mixmag Compilation.
Incidently Dimitri happened to pass by my flat / studio with Alex from Tokyo the night I finished the track so he was literally the first person to hear it and asked if he could use it for his compilation there and then which was fantastic!
A couple of years later the Groove Armada boys also picked up the track for their ‘Back To Mine’ compilation which again brought it to the attention of quite a few more ears.
I guess it was my first solo outing in a way. I never really thought of it like that as from around 94 I was pretty much in my studio constantly making music with various different people as well as on my own. The music was piling up and then generally either going out through the idjuts on U-Star or Noid, on Fiasco with Quakerman, or Mangled and Spectrum. So although maybe that was the first record to came out that I did entirely myself at the time it just felt like another release in a productive period!
How did you get into production and digging for disco records?
I got a taste for the studio when I was playing drums in bands in Cambridge. I was in and out of a few studios recording demos and was really taken by the whole environment. We never had enough money to get a decent amount of studio time so ended up recording our own demos with basic midi stuff and a small reel. I learned the basics of recording, midi and programming through doing that.
I guess it was really when I went to Manchester that I got into DJ / Club culture . A lot of people I was friendly with there were either DJ’s already or aspired to be. And most collected Vinyl too. The club / social scene was great and so were the record shops! Vinyl Exchange became a regular fixture.
Friends from Cambridge / London were also going down that road if they weren’t already on it. I was spending weekends with friends in London and being introduced to the specialist stores, second-hand shops and fairs there too. As well as the fast growing new wave of 90′s clubs in London.
That whole period really turned me on to the world of electronic dance music. Before that I’d always been much more passionate about non-machine based dance music like Funk, Soul, Disco, Rare Groove etc.
So while I was in Manchester I opened my mind to machine music, acquired a vinyl habit (along with a few others!) and decided I wanted to head to London to try and set up a studio and start making music.
For those that don’t know, what other aliases have you worked and released records under?
As ‘Laj’ working alone and…..with Connie & Dan as ‘The Idjut Boys & Laj’….with Ben Applin as ‘Laj & Quakerman’…..and with Crispin Glover as ‘Laj Gloves’.
As ‘Motif’ with Crispin Glover. As ‘The Sabiaco Project’ with Leo Young As ‘Block 16′ with Petar Zivkovic and Glen Eggleton.
As ‘Dirty Minds’ with the Glimmers And obviously under my real name too!
What are you working on at moment? It seems like we have been lucky enough to see a lot more Ray Mang records recently and I understand that you are doing production for a lot of other artists as well, like the Glimmers and so on …
There’s quite a bit in the pipeline at the moment. I’ve just been remixing for Needwant, 2020 Vision, Mock & Toof and Moby (with the Glimmers). I’m nearing completion on a new album proiect with the Glimmers. There’s a Ray Mang 12″ coming up on DFA with vocals from Lady Miss Kier. I recently completed an album project with Pete Z as ‘Sound Captives’ with guest vocals from Jhelisa and Mozez.. There are four new Mangled 12′s coming up. I’m working on some tracks with The Project Club. And so it goes on…
How did you hook up with the Maxi Discs chaps?
I’ve known Pete Herbert for years as I used to frequent his brilliant record shop ‘Atlas’. He approached me to work with Maxi and also introduced me to Dicky Trisco who I hadn’t met before, but who I now feel like I’ve known for years!
Do you spend more time in the studio or travelling djing and which do you prefer?
I still spend more time in the studio. The studio has always been my first love but for the last few years I’d say I’ve been enjoying DJing equally as much but for very different reasons! 
If you have to choose, what’s your favorite remix that you’ve done?
That’s a tough one as I’ve enjoyed doing so many! I guess one I did with the Glimmers of Roxy Music’s ‘Same Old Scene’. Also I did one for Beck on ‘Think I’m In Love’ but I guess that doesn’t really count as it’s never been ‘officially’ released!
Why did you decide to resurrected your own label Mangled after an almost 10 years hiatus…
The timing just felt right on many levels. I had come to the end of a long spell working on various writing / production projects so had more time to myself again. I’d been Djing more and was having new edit ideas as a result of spinning and digging. I got a good hook up with some distribution who have been fantastic as well as encouraging. And of course the fact that edits both old and new were becoming more popular then ever.
Where do you draw inspiration from these days – do you still dig for records much?
I still draw inspiration from listening to music. Mostly old music still. When you’ve got a lot of vinyl in your house there’s always something to be found that you missed or forgot about. I also often get inspiration from hearing snippets of music (that I might not normally choose to listen to) on TV and the radio. I do still dig for records both digitally and by hand. The most fun I have digging for records by hand these days tends to be when I’m working outside of the UK. My other inspiration musically has always been technology. I love fiddling about with keyboards or any music technology really whether it be new or old. Sounds and FX can be very inspiring and as well as catalysts for serendipity.
What was the most fun party you’ve played at recently?
I’ve been enjoying most of them recently but some that particularly stick in my mind are LOOP in Tokyo, Disco Not Disco in Belgrade (with DJ Brka!) and Disco Outcasts in Manchester.
What 5 records did you listen to today?
Ennio Morricone – Come Maddalena
Philadelphia – Inner City Blues
Continent Number 6 – Jungle Jamboree
M.B.T. Soul – The Chase
Mel Blanc – I taut I taw a puddy tat ….(yes! I’ve got kids!!)
Would you like to give a shout out to anyone?
Cheers to Dicky and Pete for hooking this up!
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