Feature: The return of Milton Jackson’s mojo

Feature: The return of Milton Jackson’s mojo

5 February, 2009 | 1.22PM

• Written by: jamiegardiner1
• Filed under: Music News: freerange

What a difference a release can make. After being on the verge of an early retirement from music making, Glaswegian producer Milton Jackson was persuaded by Freerange Records to not throw in the towel and instead produce a track for the UK label’s upcoming 100th release.

The result of their faith was ‘Ghosts In My Machine’, a track that smashed Miami and Ibiza, and was perhaps the biggest Milton Jackson record to date. On the strength of the release that Jackson says “got my mojo working again”, Freerange asked him to record an album and one year later, ‘Crash’ arrived (listen to the album’s teaser EP in the player).

Spanning 13 tracks, the album is the sound of a producer delving deep, refining his sound and re-capturing his inherent love of house music.

Beatportal deployed Jamie Gardiner to gather the low-down on the sound and the man.

It has been well publicised that you considered quitting the music industry before ‘Ghosts In My Machine’ was released. What influenced you to continue?

I was lacking an end-game; it was a bit like Lost Season 3 where you’re just like, “Umm, where is this going?” So when Freerange asked me to do an album it gave me a focus and something to work towards. It was quite exciting and definitely got my mojo working again!

So, what can we expect from ‘Crash’?

Hopefully an enjoyable experience! I just tried to make the best album I could. I kept it all above 120 BPM as that’s what the whole Milton Jackson thing is about. I was messing about with down-tempo things but it wasn’t really working.

Who would you count among the musical influences that went into the album?

For me it’s generally ‘what’ rather than ‘who’. I was into sampling sci-fi and old exotica records while listening to a lot of mid ‘90s house and techno. I tried to incorporate all these different vibes into the album.

Having been on the scene for a good few years, were you surprised at the recent resurgence of deep house?

For me it’s so hard to define what that is, it’s such a nebulous term. There are so many different kinds of deep house within deep house, if you see what I mean. It all gets a bit silly. I’m sure everyone will get bored of it again this year - it’s probably already happening.

Ok let’s talk about production: Is there a tried and tested approach you adopt when making a track?

Usually about 15 instances of [Native Instruments software sampler] Kontakt 2! I’m actually trying different techniques now and going back to my old hardware equipment. It’s sometimes just too easy on the computer. Computers are meant to be these big powerful devices that let you do what you want, but they end up constricting you a lot without your ever realizing it.

The same happens across the board in modern life, especially with Facebook etc., but that’s probably a discussion for another time!

And how would your approach to producing your own tracks differ from remixing another artist?

Well, the artist’s parts usually define where you end up. They can give you little ideas that you might not have had on your own. Generally I build my own tracks around a sample which I might then remove, for others I’m building up around their samples.

Which piece of studio equipment and software plug-in couldn’t you live without?

The aforementioned Kontakt 2. I love UAD plug-ins - they are great. The best sounding digital EQs and compression you can get, probably. I also love my Sequential Circuits Prophet 2002 sampler; 12 bits and about 6 seconds sample time. I think the Deepchord guys use it; it has a very distinctive sound.

Looking back, which record do you wish you had produced?

In dance music I would say The Vision ‘Detroit: One Circle’ which was produced by Robert Hood and came out on Metroplex in 1996. It’s the one that goes “Detroit” all the way through. Absolute classic.

Non dance, I would say anything by Phil Spector.

With more bedroom producers around than ever, what advice would you offer to someone trying to make their mark on the dance music industry?

I would say try and do things slightly differently to set yourself apart from the pack. Either that or make sure you are born in Germany, that usually helps.

And moving on to DJing, have you made the switch to a digital DJ set-up yet or you sticking by your CDJs for now?

Yeah I still like CDJs. I don’t want to be staring at a computer screen when I’m DJing, I do that too much during the week!

What makes a great DJ set for you?

Someone who mixes the old with the new. Cassy is great at that, I love her sets.

And finally, how would Milton Jackson like to be remembered when the dance music history books are written?

“Went on to invent faster-than-light travel.”

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