Layo & Bushwacka! interview each other
With their Global Underground album hitting the shops, the duo chat...
Currently buzzing following the release of their awesome double mix album 'Global Underground Rio', Layo & Bushwacka! interview each other about the new album, proud memories of the last ten years working together and Italian misconceptions. Read on…
Layo: After working together for nearly ten years, do you tend to look back at any period together as particularly special, or do you see it all as part of the creative journey?
Bushwacka!: I think for me when ‘Low Life’ came out and it was so well received and loved by so many of our peers. That was so special because it was our first album and a whole new era beginning for us. That period was very special to me, although there have been many more since then.
Bushwacka!: What has been your proudest moment in your career as Layo and Bushwacka!?
Layo: That’s really difficult as there have been many; I remember when I was about 15 and I used to think about music and bands writing great songs - what was the feeling like in the studio, did they know they’d written something special? I remember so many of our studio sessions; ‘Deep South’, ‘Love Story’, recording the ‘Feels Closer’ album in New York, they were all really proud moments, our cover with Jockey Slut, signing with XL and some of our key sets also all stand out. To be honest I look back on three artist albums and three compilations over eight years and I think they all stand out; they are all pieces of work I’m proud of.
Layo: It was really tough narrowing down the track list for the Global Underground album, were there any tracks you were really gutted we couldn't fit on there?
Bushwacka!: I was so gutted to lose most of the tracks we had to replace as they were very special to us and that’s why they were selected above other tracks. I was particularly sad to lose the UR / Happy Records track ‘Don’t you Want It?’. For me it was one of those records that when I bought it I listened to it about 20 times in a row when I took it back home from the record shop, it is so full of emotion and soul. I was really sad not to get this one on as historically I have been given the go-ahead to work with UR material before. The other one also on UR was ‘Los Hermanos – Quetzal’ which fitted so well into our mix. It was a magic moment and again I was baffled at the discovery that we had to drop it. I guess things change and we had to swallow the fact that many changes had to take place. My saving grace was the knowledge that we had so many more great tracks in our collections to tap into so it was not the end of the world - but if we could have kept what we had to lose we would have been overjoyed.
Bushwacka!: If you could change anything you have done in the last ten years what would it be and why?
Layo: I wonder sometimes if our decision not to push forward with music like ‘Love Story’ was wanting to stay underground or a fear of commercial failure. I guess I’ll never know, but I do feel we had a good live show and were with a great label so that is a question that hovers around. However I also love the fact that we wrote ‘Feels Closer’, as musically it was our greatest achievement so you live with your decisions in life. Regarding The End, I think not having my sister involved from the very beginning of AKA is something I would definitely change given my time again.
Layo: Having also had a full solo career before our time together, what are the main differences?
Bushwacka!: Having you to work with in the studio and DJing brings a whole different angle to working solo. It has brought new ideas and concepts both for tracks and for steering our career in the right direction and it gives everything more depth and meaning to have your input mixed with mine. I think it’s fantastic.
Bushwacka!: What is it like to play at The End after all this time knowing that you are actually running the club too?
Layo: It’s funny that even after nearly 12 years and all my experiences over that time, I still get very nervous when the night begins - what’s the vibe like, am I feeling it, are the lights all working well, how’s the sound etc. It tends to be a bit of a neurotic experience which settles around 1am, and then playing becomes a total pleasure.
Bushwacka!: Is it a challenge having to divide your energy between the DJ lifestyle and hours, and the day to day working schedule of running a serious business, and having a social life too?
Layo: Yes, as you know we arrived back from Hong Kong at 5am and I was in the office by noon and will be here until 7pm, and back in all week until Friday when we’re in the studio, then Bournemouth on Friday night and The End on Saturday, and yeah I keep forgetting Italy on Wednesday. We are also launching a new website this week hence the interview and I really need to spend some time with Beia at home as I was real homesick this weekend. But in truth I love living at this pace and wouldn’t change it.
Layo: Why do some people in Italy think I’m you?
Bushwacka!: It is so strange how it happens so much just in Italy, and even more so the other way round. Maybe it’s because I usually start our sets there, or maybe the pictures on the flyers are often me on the left and you on the right, with the logo having your name first. Or maybe they have trouble pronouncing my name! It’s funny, but frustrating sometimes.
Layo: What was the best after party you ever went to?
Bushwacka!: Possibly Stanley this summer, or maybe Glastonbury 2002. They are my two likely candidates. There have been so many though...
Bushwacka!: What can you see changing musically in the future in the house scene, and what do you think will become the next big sound?
Layo: I think a little bit more of a house influence in the sound is emerging, I am not talking about something totally new but I see that vibe coming across.
Layo: We help each other a lot as friends outside of our working relationship, do you think that has contributed to the length of our creative partnership?
Bushwacka!: It’s done more than that for me. You have given me so much guidance and help in my life’s many issues and it’s priceless to me. I hope I have done the same in whatever way I can.
Published: 30/10/2007
