Rob Swaine talks to Jack from the Friendly Fires ahead of Friday's DJ gig at the Horse & Groom.
Following the success of their previous events, Causes Of Colour return to the Horse and Groom with their best line-up yet, courtesy of the all-wise promotors and vastly experienced resident DJs. Having played a nine-hour set at the debut Causes of Colour night back in February, Warm's head honcho Ali Tillet and DFA's sublime producer Tim Goldsworthy are more than capable of rocking a crowd on their own, but where's the fun in that? So this Friday sees Optimo and Jack from the Friendly Fires pop in to the Horse and Groom to lay down sets of their own.
JD Twitch and JG Wilkes of Optimo will be heading straight from their Glastonbury performance the night before to give all those in attendance a demonstration as to why their world renowned Optimo (Espacio) clubnight at Sub Club in Glasgow became such an important UK dance institution over the decade and a half that it was in existence. They've just had the huge privilege of having a Fabric mix of their own released, which represents a fantastic example of their ability to bring together a seamless blend of genres into their exciting and unpredictable sets.
Jack, the drummer of Friendly Fires, is not only a very friendly fellow but also a very talented DJ in his own right. Often when bands turn their hand to DJing it tends to have disasterous and confused consequences, but that's not the case with Jack as he sure knows what he's doing. He kindly divulged a little more about his DJing past and what we can expect from him this Friday:
How long have you been DJing and how did you get into it?
I first got into DJing aged about 18 when I first got into dance music and raving. Me and my friend John wanted to put on a club night at university, so we made up loads of DJ names to go on the flyer. In the end only about twelve people turned up, about as many punters as we had fake DJ names. We were way ahead of our time though, playing dubstep and grime in 2003. Could've been a legendary night.
I've read that the band are influenced by the techno label Kompakt and also Carl Craig – do their records often feature in your sets?
Often, and I'm sure what they produce in the future will too. Kompakt is such a great brand, they always surprise, but the quality control is sky high. Carl Craig has been making incredibly forward-thinking dance music for around 20 years; the man simply cannot fall off.
Do you feel obliged to play Friendly Fires tracks in your DJ sets or would you happily do a full set without playing any songs by the band or supporting remixes?
I usually play at least one of the remixes, because it gives the set some identity, and appeases Friendly Fires purists who weren't expecting two hours of rave bangers. At the moment the Joakim mix of 'On Board' is my fave, but the Wild Geese and Thin White Dukes mixes of 'Jump In The Pool' are all dancefloor gelignite.
What's your opinion on other bands that turn their hand to DJing but clearly have no idea what they're doing?
I don't really check out many band DJ sets, because they are generally useless, but I'd say you don't have to be able to mix to be a good DJ. As long as you have some understanding of what makes your crowd dance and if you can pace your music so people stay on the floor, you can be a brilliant DJ. Jarvis Cocker can do that, as could John Peel.
Do you prefer drumming or DJing?
Probably drumming, as the you can't beat seeing a huge crowd reaction for your own band's music. I enjoy it being physically demanding, while DJing's more of a mental puzzle.
Are you excited about Friday's set and are you looking forward to meeting the legendary Optimo?
I met Twitch at Bestival, not sure if he'd remember though. We were both part of a bizarre four-way interview with Tim Sweeney and Nadia Ksaiba, in which a huge volume of utter guff was chatted.
Have you ever played at the Horse & Groom before?
No actually, looking forward to it. Been down a few times for various things though. Excellent boozer.
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