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‘I FIRST GOT INTO ELECTRONIC MUSIC AT THE AGE OF 11’ Hitlist THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION*
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M O C E R U S O P X E T O R T E D A U H S O J .
Roll with it David Pollock talks to Detroit electronic prodigy Kyle Hall as he gets ready to guest at Jelly Roll Soul
‘I first got into electronic music at the age of 11,’ says Kyle Hall, the latest bright hope to emerge from the city of Detroit’s illustrious music scene. ‘I’d go over to my Uncle Ray’s crib and he’d show me his records and how to mix with them. I’d keep going over there and learning more and then I got my own stuff, my dad bought me turntables. That’s how I got into it.’
What sort of records did his uncle have? Are we talking the golden years of Detroit here? ‘You can ask him if you want, man, he’s right here,’ laughs Hall, sounding older and more assured than his 19 years. It seems he’s forgotten the time of our interview, and he’s sitting in Uncle Ray’s (actually Detroit DJ Raybone Jones, an old school friend of Hall’s mother) barber’s chair when The List calls. ‘Hey, Uncle Ray, how old are you? He’s 40, so not the real old-school grooves but the generation right after that. Things like Theo Parrish, Rick Wilhite, those kinda guys.’ Although this city, so prolific in the production of musical pioneers, is now onto its fourth wave of producers from the dance music era, Hall rejects the traditional label ‘house’. His first recording, ‘Plastik Ambash’, was released on Omar S’ FXHE label when he was (skip this bit if you’re an aspiring producer who’s been trying to break in for years) 15. ‘People didn’t really start playing it out, though,’ he says. ‘It’s a very experimental track, kinda noisy analogue tape edit stuff. So I produce electronic music that broadly uses dance beats, but I’ve never been confined to a certain genre. I like to be experimental and that goes back to my very early tracks.’
Although there are parallels with early Detroit
house in Hall’s music, largely because of a certain rhythmic element clearly borrowed from old funk and soul styles can be heard, there’s also a darkness and an austere minimalism to many of his finest tracks. As well as releasing on Mike Grant’s Detroit label Moods & Grooves, Hall has worked with Warp Records (a remix of The Hundred in the Hands) and Scot Kode9’s London-based dubstep imprint Hyperdub (a remix of Darkstar and his own ‘Kaychunk’/’You Know What I Feel’ double A-side), and it’s easy to see why fans of either might also approve of his music. In fact, musical diversity is in Hall’s blood: his mother is Detroit jazz singer Penny Wells and his great uncle was jazz pianist Roland Hanna.
‘These labels all came to me,’ says Hall. ‘It all started with that first piece on FXHE, it’s a pretty reputable label and doing it got people’s attention, because of course they’re always looking for things to make their label credible. Am I proud of what I’ve done so far? Yeah, it’s going all right, y’know? Mostly I’m just concentrating on my own label at the moment.’ You read right. Not content with being one of the producers of the moment while still in his teens, Hall’s also setting out to be a label mogul with his Wild Oats imprint. ‘It’s centred around my own stuff,’ he says, but I do some collaborative stuff too, one live track where I played keys . . .’ Truly, there’s nothing he can’t do. Aside from cut his own hair.
Jelly Roll Soul at La Cheetah, Glasgow, Fri 13 Aug.
✽✽ Return to Mono Rotterdam techno producer Speedy J (Warp, NovaMute, Planet Mu) returns for a set at Slam’s monthly night, joined by Glasgow’s own Edit Select. Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 13 Aug. ✽✽ Cosmic Microwave James Flavour and Break 3000 guest star in this intimate venue under their joint Dirt Crew moniker, taking time out from their day job as heads of German house label Dirt Crew Recordings. Admiral Bar Basement, Glasgow, Sat 14 Aug. ✽✽ Mount Heart Attack ‘Totally pissing on NME-style trendy dance music’ is the mission Sheffield’s speed garage and dubstep adventurers The Squire of Gothos (pictured), MHA’s guests this month, have set themselves. Step one: name yourselves after a Star Trek baddie. La Cheetah, Glasgow, Sat 14 Aug. ✽✽ Noise Pollution Esteemed UK techno producer Surgeon (an alumnus of Tresor, Warp and his own Counterbalance and Dynamic Tension labels) guests at Noise Pollution’s fourth birthday party alongside Glasgow’s Konx-om-Pax. Stereo, Glasgow, Sat 14 Aug. ✽✽ One More Tune Special guest Jackmaster (of Glasgow’s own Numbers label and club) helps the Art School’s cross- genre club night to celebrate its third birthday. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Sat 14 Aug. ✽✽ Tictactoe Presenting a showcase for Paris’ fast-rising Freak’n’Chic label, with guests Jamie Jones and Seuil. The Ferry, Glasgow, Sat 14 Aug. ✽✽ Optimo Presents Hung Up! If you have to pick one week in August to go to occasional hosts Twitch and Wilkes’ essential weekly Sunday-nighter, this edition’s special guest is Parisian electro DJ Ivan Smagghe (Black Strobe). Sub Club, Glasgow, Sun 15 Aug. 12–19 Aug 2010 THE LIST 109