Jonny L feature – ATM 2004

Jonny L feature – Published in ATM Magazine, 2004

Jonny L has been a busy man. ‘27 Hours a Day’, is the title of his new album, and by the looks of things he’s been working against the clock for the last five months trying to finish it. Add to that all the stress and work involved in releasing an album, when you don’t have the backing of a major or even a big independent like XL, as well as running your own label and you can see how the album is aptly titled.

So how different was it for Jonny to produce and release an album on his own? “Well for one by the end of my time at XL I was always complaining, about artwork, record sleeves and the rest. In the end I had a little falling out with them, and then I went onto a proper major (Arista/BMG) for a while when I was working with Truesteppers. And there I realised how much better XL actually were, because Arista were a proper nightmare! And with this LP on Piranha, I have really come to realise how much work is involved in releasing an album and how time consuming it can be. I even had to hire someone at the last minute to help me because I just couldn’t bare it anymore. Releasing singles I can handle, but now that I have seen what’s involved in doing an album, I don’t think I would do it ever again.”

Piranha was set up a couple of years ago after Jonny left XL. He has since put out a few 12”s on it and spent the last half a year working on this LP. As he explains “that’s the beauty of this album, because it was done in like 5 months, it’s a total vibes album.” What does he mean by vibes? “Well it’s something I first learnt when I did ‘Piper’. After I finished it and gave it to XL, I went back in the studio and did another three versions, because I thought it was too techno-y, I thought it needed some more work. I brought it to them and they were like ‘Why the hell did you do that? The first version was bad!’ I realised that you can get too involved in the tune and tamper with it too much. So for this album I had to stop at the first vibe. This is what this album is, all original vibes. I mean it can be good both ways, but I have learnt you need to know when to stop working on a track and when to continue.”

There are a lot of different emotions, and ‘styles’ in this new LP, as exemplified by the first track, which serves as an intro to the album, somewhat of a rarity for a D&B album. For Jonny it was a case of trying to incorporate as many different influences and feelings as possible. “I was trying to show all the different moods that make me as an artist. I’m not into the one-vibe thing, I think it’s like no rules, no limitation to what I’m into. There are artists in the D&B scene that have a certain vibe to what they produce, and that can make them a better artist. Like for example when you buy an Ed Rush tune you know what you are getting. I’m not disciplined like that. Every track is new and different; you never know what you are getting. And that’s the kind of stand I have been trying to make, not necessarily to have a winner with every tune, but more to have an element of surprise in every one of my records.”

And this stand Jonny wants to make is really apparent on ‘27 Hours a Day’, with the dub influences of ‘Tell a Friend’, dancefloor orientated numbers, tear out amen pieces and the last track ‘Old Skool’, a sort of homage to the early days of dance music, all cohabiting happily. To top it up there is a hidden track, which switches the tempo altogether back down the spectrum in a typical Jonny L twist. And let’s not forget the icing on this electronic monster of a cake, ‘Let’s Roll’ and ‘Let’s Roll revenge’, arguably Jonny’s most controversial work to date.

As he has stated before, he wasn’t trying to make a political stance, as he freely admits to not even knowing if Tony Blair “is labour or conservative!” What he was trying to do was to make a track that could serve as a sign of the times for future generations, who could listen to it 50 years from now and get an understanding of what was happening in 2003. “I was trying to be like a news reporter, giving both an anti and pro side to the track, so that people can find both meanings in it, depending on which side they are standing. It was meant to be neutral, like the work of a reporter. And on top of that Bush’s voices has an amazing musical quality to it. His voice is at the perfect speed for high bpm music, even the pauses in his speech are on time! He sounds like a true junglist.” The second part, with its sample of the Iraqi minister, was done much more quickly, as an answer to ‘Let’s Roll’, and Jonny admits that it could have used some more work now that he has released it.

What about the reactions the tunes have caused within the scene, and out of it? “Well I think that sometimes people in the D&B scene, might not want to have a joke, you know? In the end I got the reactions I wanted from both sides, especially with ‘The Revenge’. Some people were going crazy at me. Like the little kids on the boards, some were bitching really badly and some were clapping, which is what I was trying to get at. I think too many people are purists about this music, and they need to be opened up.”

The one thing that seems to be missing on this album, compared with his previous efforts, is the presence of a vocalist. He explains that this time round he hasn’t really worked with any vocalists, opting instead for a lot of samples, some of which he made himself. “As far as vocals go, I’m learning to sing and so now I try to do stuff like that in the studio. I think using your own vocals is wicked! Like what Dillinja has been doing with his vocoded stuff recently, I really think that’s the way forward.” He insists on emphasising that for him it boils down to this: “Basically I think a lot of D&B producers don’t consider themselves artists, because they are always called producers. Same with the DJs, the more they can feel like artists, the better it will be. And it’s the same with this vocal stuff, if you vocal your own stuff one way or another, its more personal. You give your full 100% as an artist and that’s what makes the difference. I really think it’s about time we got out of the habit of criticising producers and DJs and recognising that they are as much of an artist as other musicians. If people on Top Of The Pops or Pop Idol can get called artists why can’t we?” And he has a point, as the scene struggles with its increasing chart flirting and ever growing popularity worldwide, it is time for those most involved with it to really stand up and affirm their creativity as being more than just an ability to push buttons and layer samples together.

Now that the album is finished Jonny hopes to be able to concentrate more on pushing Piranha forward and building it up, as he isn’t the type of producer to release massive amounts across labels, instead being happy to push his tracks on Piranha and have the odd release out of it. “I prefer to keep tunes for my own label if I can, and I try not to do too many remixes, as it eats up your time and some of your creativity. I will be looking at expanding the label and getting some people signed as well as trying to get a little crew of people together. It’s a hard time for everyone at the minute, records aren’t selling as much as they used to. But I still want to build Piranha to be bigger. At the minute it’s a very small team of people, but without them this LP wouldn’t have been possible.”

Before we part, I ask him if he is planning any gigs to help promote the album, as he has never really been the type to go out and play on the circuit. “Well the thing is, I can’t really DJ anymore because my ears are fucked and I have been told to watch it or I could end up deaf. It s coming back though as they can heal like any other part of your body. So I will try and promote the LP but I have to be careful. I can’t lose my ears!”