Photo courtesy of label
Erol Alkan is many things: a world-renowned DJ, label founder, club promoter, radio host, and record producer, to name a few. Judging by the cover of the long overdue debut album by Beyond The Wizards Sleeve—his duo with The Grid's Richard Norris—he's looking to convince the world that he's a musician and songwriter first and foremost. While that may come as a surprise to anyone who's caught him playing a club show or a set in the dance tent of any given festival, the artwork for The Soft Bounce features a guitar, bass, drums, and an amp. It's a setup typically associated with bands, but Alkan insists the decision was intentional."My DNA is firmly rooted in bands since the age of 16. My first instrument is guitar," the dance music veteran tells THUMP over the phone from his home in London. "When I first started DJing, I was also mixing electronic records with guitar records because I was excited by both sides. There's a a few samples on there, but those are the instruments we used to make it, and we felt it was a bit of a bold statement to put them on the cover."While they've become known for their "re-animations" of songs by groups including The Chemical Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, Simian Mobile Disco, and more, The Soft Bounce sees the duo embracing the role of artists, leaning towards more contemporary sounds than the retro ones they've become accustomed to. Incorporating guest vocalists like Mystery Jets frontman Blaine Harrison, Euros Child of cult Welsh alt-rock band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, American singer-songwriter Holly Miranda, and others, BTWS have transcended any real genre categorization.THUMP: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve has been around for a decade now. Why did it take ten years to release a proper full-length?Erol Alkan: Up until a few years back, Beyond The Wizards Sleeve was just an opportunity to DJ a different corner of music that we're both very much infatuated with. We were able to re-edit a lot of records and make them into new or dance-floor-friendly sounds that weren't particularly geared towards what DJing has become. It just felt like a natural progression to start making an original record.I've also never personally done things in the order that they should be done, and I think I speak for Richard as well, when I say that we tend to work with a spontaneous nature. If something feels right, we'll do it.So there was never much of a plan for the project?
Absolutely. But there's never really been a plan for anything that I've been involved with. Trash began as a club that was designed to be the club that I wanted to exist at that moment, it was never designed to be a club that could exist for ten years. Phantasy began as a singles club label, just to release music from new artists we liked, I didn't think we'd be 50-odd releases into it today.Beyond The Wizards Sleeve is often regarded as a psychedelic act, but the The Soft Bounce is more contemporary than I expected.
I'm really glad that you said that, because that's what it's meant to be. I have a bit of a problem with a lot of throwback music, where you get a band coming on stage that look like they're from the 70s, and sound like they're from the 70s. This record needs to sound like it was made now. It's the documentation of a period, it's not really harking back to a specific era. Every song sounds completely different, like it was made in a different studio, and that was intentional.How did you end up working with [Welsh director] Kieran Evans on a series of videos for the album?
We've always talked about him making a video for us one day. I sent him five tracks from the album to see if he'd make a video for one of them, and he came back saying he loved all of them. The songs are so varied and different from one another, we had the idea of having something to unite them visually, and he came back with these five treatments.You tend to use the term "re-animate" or "re-edit" instead of "remix." Why is that?
I personally have always avoided the word "remix." Nothing I've ever done has been called a remix. "Re-animation" has a kind of magical aspect to it, like you're bringing something back to life. So I started using that and it stuck. When we really nail it, I hope that we have made songs that are as powerful as the original.Do you have one particular favourite re-animation you've done?
I'm a big fan of my Connan Mockasin re-edit ["Forever Dolphin Love"]. I also like my rework for Hot Chip, "Boy From School," and Justice's "Waters of Nazareth." And from Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, I'm a fan of Goldfrapp's "Happiness" and "Roscoe" by Midlake, and the Noel Gallagher one ["Ballad of the Mighty I"]. I know some people aren't that close to what they create, but I try to love something whilst doing it or once it's finished.The Soft Bounce comes out July 1 via Phantasy.Cam Lindsay is on Twitter.
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Absolutely. But there's never really been a plan for anything that I've been involved with. Trash began as a club that was designed to be the club that I wanted to exist at that moment, it was never designed to be a club that could exist for ten years. Phantasy began as a singles club label, just to release music from new artists we liked, I didn't think we'd be 50-odd releases into it today.Beyond The Wizards Sleeve is often regarded as a psychedelic act, but the The Soft Bounce is more contemporary than I expected.
I'm really glad that you said that, because that's what it's meant to be. I have a bit of a problem with a lot of throwback music, where you get a band coming on stage that look like they're from the 70s, and sound like they're from the 70s. This record needs to sound like it was made now. It's the documentation of a period, it's not really harking back to a specific era. Every song sounds completely different, like it was made in a different studio, and that was intentional.How did you end up working with [Welsh director] Kieran Evans on a series of videos for the album?
We've always talked about him making a video for us one day. I sent him five tracks from the album to see if he'd make a video for one of them, and he came back saying he loved all of them. The songs are so varied and different from one another, we had the idea of having something to unite them visually, and he came back with these five treatments.
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I personally have always avoided the word "remix." Nothing I've ever done has been called a remix. "Re-animation" has a kind of magical aspect to it, like you're bringing something back to life. So I started using that and it stuck. When we really nail it, I hope that we have made songs that are as powerful as the original.Do you have one particular favourite re-animation you've done?
I'm a big fan of my Connan Mockasin re-edit ["Forever Dolphin Love"]. I also like my rework for Hot Chip, "Boy From School," and Justice's "Waters of Nazareth." And from Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, I'm a fan of Goldfrapp's "Happiness" and "Roscoe" by Midlake, and the Noel Gallagher one ["Ballad of the Mighty I"]. I know some people aren't that close to what they create, but I try to love something whilst doing it or once it's finished.The Soft Bounce comes out July 1 via Phantasy.Cam Lindsay is on Twitter.