Interview: Joshua Iz talks with Nordic Trax

Interview: Joshua Iz talks with Nordic Trax

6 October, 2008 | 9.39AM

• Written by: Dana_D
• Filed under: Music News: joshua iz, nordic trax

Joshua Iz sits down with Nordic Trax to talk house and about his new Beatport exclusive release, ‘Baked Goodies’.

Get his full take on things after the break.

What were your first influences when you started DJing and getting into
 house music?



When I first started, I was into all kinds of stuff: soul, funk, jazz, reggae, disco, hip-hop, punk, ska and the early house releases.

I’m still into all this music and back when I started DJing you could go to a party and hear all of this in one night!

Going to parties and early raves showed me that all this different music could be played in a way that fit together and still rock the party.



In the late ‘80s, a lot of crews like Soul II Soul were drawing from a wide range of music and cultures and this has stuck with me to this day.



You’re from Chicago and migrated to San Francisco. Both have a long 
tradition as being known as ‘music cities’. What’s your take on the
 difference between these two famous music scenes?



Well that’s not exactly correct.

I moved to the Bay area at age 10 with my family so I was too young at the time to have gone out and experienced Chicago as a ‘music city’ as you say.

I moved back to Chicago from 1994-96, and then I’ve been in San Francisco ever since.



These two cities are ‘music cities’ but also cultural cities.

Chicago has a long tradition with music: from spiritual and blues music that moved north to Chicago as people did; to jazz, disco and of course house.

But also there are great cultural traditions in Chicago that mold and shape the music: a rich tradition of arts, architecture, civic life - even the weather.



Likewise, San Francisco obviously has its hippie roots but before that there was jazz (and the beat poets), the folk, pop, rock, Latin music and a healthy disco scene as well.

Culturally, the beat poets, hippies and more recently the technological innovations that are developed here all influence the music and its tradition.



And did this culture of music have a specific impact on the development of
 electronic music in the early 90s?

I can only speak about San Francisco for this question but at that time there was a confluence of several factors that shaped the music scene then:

1) the development of emerging technologies that started to permeate the music scene (computers, visuals, smart drinks, etc.);

2) an influx of djs from the UK;

3) the tolerant attitude of the bay area (which allowed the growth of underground parties); and

4) loads of new good music.



All these things came together and made something more than the sum of its parts.

It was a special time to be in San Francisco.

What producers are you feeling these days?



Really liking Mike Monday, Jamie Anderson, Radio Slave, Justin Martin, Derrick Carter, Jimpster, Paul Woolford, Atnarko just to name a few (and that’s just this week).



Do you think vinyl will make a comeback? Or is it now a reality that it will
 only be a very niche market?



It’s been a niche market for 20 years!


How do you feel about the ‘digital revolution’ in the music industry?



What I feel about it is irrelevant.

It has already happened so everyone has to adjust regardless of how they feel about it.

That said, I am very pro-technology but I still think vinyl records and Technics 1200s are the best tools for the job.

Still, with digital music I can create a track and play it the same night and this immediacy was not possible before and I think it is a great thing.

Digital media has a fluidity which makes it easy to combine and make new forms as we can see with the proliferation of You Tube and internet video.

What is your city and club to play right now?



Everyone is going on about Berlin and Panorama Bar - I haven’t been so I can’t say.

For me some of the best clubs to play are still Fabric in London and Sub Club in Glasgow.

I like playing anywhere people are up for it and I love going to new places.



The current scene: any rants? Or people you wanna big up?

Big ups to Diz and my Mom!

As an artist and on other levels you’ve been behind the scenes at a few famous
 labels (Guidance, Prescription, Tweekin’). Any memorable stories from around
 the office you care to relay?


Nothing I can say without getting people into trouble!



When you’re not doing the house music thing, how do you spend your time?

I still do a bit of graphic design...other than that: playing tennis, reading, movies, cooking, computers.



Which is more irritating to you: the DJ Mag top 100 poll? Or people that 
think that the DJ Mag top 100 poll actually means something?

I haven’t looked at DJ Mag in years so I can’t really give you an informed opinion.



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