Let's talk about music...acid techno in particular. Before you start thinking that it's made up of screaming 303s and nothing else, it's not! When we started our label "Stay Up Forever" in 1993, we were really inspired by the sound of the 303 which we took and focussed into the classic acid techno sound.
The label is still going on today, and is still 303-orientated. But in 1995, we started another label called Cluster which doesn't feature 303s at all (hardly!). It still has the gritty sound of London acid techno. All our mate's labels including Routemaster, Smitten and more recently 4x4, Hydraux, RAW and Powertools to name but a few, have pushed this sound into all sorts of areas. Acid techno has changed a lot over the years, from it's origin in screaming layered 303s to encompass all kinds of techno. It's essence is based in hard tribal techno with a penchant for phat analogue sounds. I like to think I play house music with attitude, which still gives you a big rush when it comes out of a huge sound system! To sum it up in one phrase - filthy, urban dance music.
I know that some people are keen to make me out as something of an ambassador - and sometimes a scapegoat - for acid techno culture. Fair enough but I'm not really into bigging myself or this scene up, or trying to spend my life defending it. It's there, take it or leave it, an underground scene that thrives successfully under it's own steam with negligible media coverage. As for the cult of the DJ, I spend my life debunking the myth of the "famous DJ". I hate the fact that DJs are treated like rock stars. Sometimes they go out, play, go into the VIP room to show off for a bit and then get in their car and get driven home. When I play somewhere, I talk to people, I try to get on with them, and I have a good time. I always remember that I'm lucky to be doing what I do, and what I get out of it is far beyond what I can ever put in. Trips to Europe, South America, Israel and Australia are amazing perks and give me a real insight into different cultures; and I've made really good friends all over the world.
I love DJing. It's my craft. I'm never satisfied with any of my sets though. I always think back to what I should have done differently. When I'm not DJing, I run labels. More of my time seems to be spent running labels and less of my time is spent on DJing! Most of time I'm issuing invoices, doing accounting paperwork and running around looking after them all. It's not all rock and roll...
I make a lot of music too and have had several releases over the years, both on my own and in combination with other producers. I've got a label on the go at the moment called Maximum Minimum. They're doing very well in a small way, with limited runs of 1000 copies. I've also started a label called Yolk (tough tech-house/funky techno) and Double 7 (with Ben Balafonic) to release breaks and funky house. Other projects coming up soon as well as the usual Smitten/Stay Up Forever etc acid techno releases
In places like Venezuela, Japan and Australia, the subversive, punk rock, free-party ethos is alive and well and growing like a virus. With a like-minded and politically proactive group known as the Stay Up Forever Collective (the home of the Liberator DJ’s own group of labels and several new labels run by artists and friends…) Chris has succeeded in exporting his particular brand of hard-driving acid techno to a growing legion of converts. Their original Stay Up Forever label has been steadily gaining notoriety since its formation a decade ago, gradually adding sister labels over the years. The Collective now numbers 15 labels with several further labels slated to join soon.
Championed by the likes of hard house heavyweights Anne Savage and BK as well as techno kings Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin, the musical output of labels like Stay Up Forever , Hydraulix and 4x4, is testament to the new attitude in clubbing. ‘If it’s good we’ll play it and they will like it!’ Pigeonholing is a thing of the past as punters rediscover what it’s like to have fun again in a dark an dirty bar or sweaty warehouse...
Free to work in the shadows away from corporate concerns and the lazy behemoth that is the music industry, Chris, Aaron and Julian have forged a successful career without compromising their integrity and without traditional means of support.