Mar

Music You Should Know: Deepchild

While doing research for the SXSW Q&As for Spinner/AOL, I came across a short blurb on Triple J’s website about Australian DJ/producer Deepchild. Whenever I see the words “deep” and “dance music” in the same sentence, I’m always intrigued. I didn’t know what to expect but was willing to give his tracks an open-minded listen. (It’s the Me Like Good Music way, you know.) The dark, spacey (yet surprisingly playful) grooves of “Backroom” instantly had me hooked and I continued to bounce and bob from that point onward. I immediately contacted Deepchild (aka Rick Bull) to get him to answer a few questions. Since he’s constantly on tour, I’m grateful he took some time to introduce himself to the Me Like Good Music family. As you get to know him, you’ll quickly discover he’s deep on several levels plus he fits right into the family.

Introduce yourself to the Me Like Good Music family. Who is Deepchild?

Hello Good Music Family! Who is deepchild? deepchild is a work in progress, a convenient moniker which encompasses my original production and dj-work in clubs, as well as my lesser-known audio-visual production work. Principally, it’s a musical pseudonym – a convenient alter-ego, focusing on the exploration of visceral, temporal media. Often-times I feel that pseudonyms allow for an almost Jungian shelter, under which an artist can engage with the ’shadow-self’. deepchild is an open-ended experiment; a frame around a set of ideas, philosophies and personal questions.

How did you come up with the name?

I can’t actually recall the genesis of ‘deepchild’ – it’s been over 10 years of using the tag as a production alias, and I’m sure it was an organic genesis, most-probably toyed with over some late nights and bottles of cheap-wine in my mid-20s.

When did you get interested in music?

For as long as I’ve can remember, I’ve felt compelled and excited by music – certainly from my early teens I was a fairly avid listener and experimenter. Some of my earliest and most discreet musical memories involve a strange obsession with Pink Floyd, The Doors, Cream, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Cage, Living Colour, Joe Satriani….later evolving into a fetish for James Brown, and a whole legacy of Black Music – from Sun Ra to Parliament, Prince, D’Angelo to Juan Atkins. I’d listen to pirate-radio tapes on repeat in my room of these artists. I remember being a super-introverted kid, and found an immediate affinity with instrumental music. The dominant culture of rock’n’ roll felt extremely alienating to me – to the point of despising, for some years, any music fronted by guitar-toting white-trash. It’s tempting to turn this into a racial polemic, but moreover it was the perception of a lot of pop/rock as middle-class placation which I found difficult to stomach. I just reacted SO strongly to all I felt that rock culture represented.

Fortunately, I feel at a very different place now – but it was actually this sense of alienation which led me headlong into electronic music. It captured my imagination, and gave voice to a particular sense of late-80s alienation. I found machine-music spoke louder to me than vocal-based stuff; minimalism and repetition as a manifesto, a mantra, a reading ‘between the lines’ of popular culture. I remember buying my first drum-machine and synthesizer around the age of 17, along with a 4-track tape-recorder. I’d synchronize the two and feel such a rush as they generated random-sequences. I felt as if I was reprogramming myself, re-imaging my universe. Not a whole heap has changed that radically. In the last 10 years, I’ve found authors like Kodwo Eshun have articulated so eloquently (and often frustratingly) about what’s compelled me.

How would you describe the kind of music you play and create?

Body-music, booty-tech, half-way house, crud-step, faux-lectronica, boom-bap, jackin’ IDM, R’N'Bleep, Tek-no, skunk-disco.

Deepchild

Are you signed with a record label? If not, why should a label sign Deepchild?

I’ve worked with a ton of labels over the years (Freerange, Om, Get Physical, Future Classic, Resopal Schallware, Anabatic Records, BEEF, Perplexed Records, Affin, etc.), and at the moment am working primarily with Trapez, who are based in Cologne. I’ve seemed to have developed an affinity with a lot of German labels. Trapez have such a brilliant catalog of work, including some of my favorite artists (Akufen, Jeff Samuel, etc.), so it’s a pleasure to have an ongoing relationship with them. They’ve also been fantastic in maintaining a commitment to pressing releases on 12″ vinyl, which is a rarity these days. I’m actually a lot more reticent to seek out any sort of exclusive record deal than I used to be. Most artists are realistically better served by taking responsibility for their own publishing and distribution of work, if they are willing to spend a little time clarifying their vision. I’ve felt extremely burnt in the past by being locked into exclusive recording contracts, where service of the artist has come a distant second to the politics of ego and exploitation. I’ve had to learn a lot of things the hard way, I’m afraid. The old contractual models of label/artist relationships are no longer valid – music production, distribution, consumption patterns have all changed radically – new models should reflect this. I value my independence very highly now, especially as turning any profit from music production is next to impossible. Exciting times, but disconcerting to see how the industry is at odds, even within itself.

Tell us about your latest release.

Most recently released was a 12″ and digital release for Trapez, called “Backroom” (see below). It was written between tours of the UK and the US, the week after I touched down around 6 months ago, after 6 months away. Probably one of the darkest and more heavy “techno’ joints I’ve released, as the name might suggest. I don’t usually write music whilst I’m feeling depressed (usually it just end up sounding awful and self-indulgent!) but this was a rare exception. Penned and mixed in a bedroom in the midst of heavy jetlag. It’s been a great seller for the label, which is excellent. I suppose it’s something of a grimey, bottom-end heavy roller, revolving around a vocal motif. When I listen to it, it actually reminds me of the small hours spent at a club like Berlin’s Berghain – somewhat melancholy, with a sense of urgency. I guess it was my way of exploring the way the lines between longing, despair and hope converge in the context of losing oneself in a club experience. Hardly an uplifting “Ibiza anthem”, but hopefully a offering worth something to someone. It’s actually proved an unlikely hit for some of my homeys in the alt-gay/leather scene, which I find pretty touching! All I could hope for, musically, is to help traverse some sexual/racial/political boundaries.

What upcoming things are you currently working on?

I’m just about to drop the next 12″ for Trapez, called “Fire” with some wonderful remixes from Butch, KiNK, Dopamine, Autodeep and more. It feels like a tidy segue from the “Backroom” joint – another vocal-driven tool, which extends the narrative established by the previous 12″. Again, a slightly dark and melancholic excursion, but more quietly celebratory. The B-side tunes should help flesh out the picture somewhat also. Stylistically, it’s still a heavy tech-house joint, but certainly reflects my love-affair with Chicago House and the Detroit Techno sound pretty heavily. I’m actually in Detroit right now, and I think I’ll drop the single tonight at a show I’m playing with Konrad Black. It feels like such an honor to be here – Detroit has been so central to my musical education for as long as I can recall.

Who inspires you musically?

As mentioned earlier, I guess. Body-music, dance-music, music which engages with the primal and eternal. Music with intention, but which doesn’t take itself too seriously. I find myself inspired by most music to be honest – as long as there’s a sense of integrity felt, I’d like to stay open minded. I’m certainly surprised on a daily basis by new discoveries. [You see. I told you he belongs in the MLGM family.]

Deepchild

Whose music are you currently listening to?

On my iPod of late – Audion, Grizzly Bear, Patrick Watson [previously recommended on MLGM], Pezzner, Peter Gabriel, Rhythm & Sound, The Roots, Mos Def, Tricky….

What is your definition of “good music”?

Any music made with love and vulnerability.

What’s your private fantasy song to record?

Stevie Wonder “They Won’t Go When I Go“.

You’ve always dreamed of collaborating with….?

Sade.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve experienced while on tour?

Accidental consumption of multiple hash-cookies in Seattle. Nothing like being completely stoned out of your mind in a cold-sweat and having no idea why.

Ever gone skinnydipping? And don’t skimp on the details. Or better yet, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done naked?

Skinnydipping….you know, I’m not sure that I have, strangely enough. Strangest thing done naked…hmmmm….probably trying to cook something with important organs in close proximity to an non-nudity-friendly hot-plate.

For a newbie to the industry, what would be your best advice for generating a following?

Don’t fuss too much on generating a following – it will likely backfire, unless you’re a fantastic lie-teller. Focus on artistry, community and supporting the greater-good and vision of those you’re working with. Karma usually takes care of the rest, I think. Certainly, patience has proven a virtue, and the willingness to laugh heartily at the madness of it all.

And for the “heed my warning” advice of the day, what would you say has been your biggest career faux pas that you wish you could undo?

No real career faux pas, but certainly plenty of one-off gig messups, usually involving anxiety-driven drinking/smoking/substance-indulgence beyond the call of duty. It serves no one well, and turns individuals into sloppy messes – especially myself! I don’t regret anything, so much as feel embarrassed by past mistakes, on occasion. I feel that I’ve messed up relationships in the name of “career”, which now seems like the height of arrogance to me. It’s humbling to realize that you’ve been righteously self-obsessed at the expense of others. I still have to remind myself, “it’s only music”.

Offstage, how do you spend your time?

Yoga. Coffee. Sleep. Writing music. Meditation. Pub. Friends. Family. I’m overly blessed…I’m surrounded my gurus and angels and saints. A fortunate life.

What singer or band do you wish would just “SHUT DA F*CK UP”?

None. We all deserve a voice. Even an obnoxious, whiny, ear-splitting one.