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 John "00" Fleming, one of the pioneers of trance, talks to i:Vibes just before going on tour to the far east about his latest news, upcoming news, and the state of trance
John Fleming, producer and DJ of the trance sound which never dies for the past 15 years, speaks to i:Vibes about what he's been doing in the past, and whats to come
Brought up in Brighting, John "00" Fleming has touched the minds and souls of trance fans around the world recently with his Essential Mix on Radio 1. 2 Hours of throbbing progressions and psy-trance which some had thought was gone from the music industry for good. At 32 years of age, John is still producing those hi-energy bubbling grooves which were made famous in the early-mid 90s rave scene. Since the days when he was DJing as a student in 83, and then his first residency at the Legendary Stern Club in the UK soon after, he has never failed to rock ever club he has played at.
When asked about trance and how it has evolved and the current stars of the industry, this is what he had to say
John:"I have noticed that in recent years, trance has been more and more commercialised, with a lot of trance becoming nearly like pop. People don't realise that there is still real trance out there and that it will be back! One of my favorites at the moment is Tiesto, as he spins it through, keeping that thumping sound going. He really did it with his remix of Silence last year!"
What about your label Joof? Are there going to be any new releases on that coming up soon?
John:"The label was kind of created just as an interest, and not really anything serious *Laughs* but it has definitely started to take off with some great releases coming up. We're looking to change the format of the label soon, splitting it into 2 types, a more slower calmer subsection of Joof, and then the much more energetic Joof. With a line of future releases including his the recent stormer Semuta - "The Future", a quality hard banging trancer."
How about yourself? are you going to be releasing anything soon on your own label? or any other?
John:"Well, my latest track, Belfast Trance, which samples Simple Minds' classic "Belfast Child", is due for release on Nebula soon, along with a couple of remixes. "
Any other productions you are working on at the moment, and what does the upcoming year look to bring for you?
John:"I've been working on a track with Les Hemstock (Of Hemstock & Jennings - "The Mirage" fame), which also looks to be released on Nebula in March 2002, and also a solo production which is currently untitled and not due for release until after the summer next year, so keep an eye out for that!"
Where does your production and remix inspirations come from, and how do you go about doing your productions
John:"I'm a bit of a gadget person, *laughs* and everyone is saying that everywhere I go, I have a bunch of gadgets with me. I take my laptop everywhere I go, and I work on my productions when I'm on the move. Sometimes, you hear a hi-hat or such in a song or a club, and you think "wow, that would work", I see myself as a 'sponge', absorbing these sounds and developing them in my productions. I hope to work a bit more on my production on the trip to China this week."
You've been traveling quite a lot lately, and you have a string of tour dates around the world coming up. How do you compare the scenes around the world to that of the UK?
John:"I've had quite good responses where I have played, especially the US, where people have good knowledge and diversity of music. I'm excited and looking forward to the gigs in China, as the sound there is pretty new, and then I'm off to Peru next week as well."
Your sound has been associated to that of Israeli Psy-Trance, what do you have to say about that
John:"I think guys like Yahel and Astral Projection have a lot of talent in their productions, and that is the sound which I am about. I don't try to jump onto progressive, or hard or anything, I just play the sound I like. But saying that, you'd expect the Israel scene to accept psy-trance well, but when I played there, people actually preferred the non-israeli stuff!"
Anyone you want to work with in your productions in the future?
John:"Andy C! yep, the drum n bass Andy C!"
Andy C??!!
John:"I was listening to one of his tracks recently, and loved the sound he produces. But mixing trance with drum n bass is pretty unheard of I think *laugh*, so its either going to end up as a disaster, or something pretty interesting"
nice stuff! what do you think about the mp3 scene which is ever growing at the moment
John:"Its great in the sense that music is promoted, but I think most people would argue, there are the 2 sides of the argument. A lot of people don't respect the producers for the work they do when they play the mp3s out."
The ever continuing debate on mp3s... finally John, anything else you want to tell i:Vibes?"
John:"Well, my next compilation album, titled "Euphoria White Label" will be released in the UK in February 2002, and I will have a truly nice personal compilation which is due out in Aug-Sept 2002, with great talent from producers such as GMS, Digital Blonde, and a few favorites added on. There will also be a album tour associated with that next summer, so keep an eye out for that as well!"
Well, thats it from John Fleming from i:Vibes! and in case you were all wondering where the "00" comes from, its a bit of a name matching. Ian Fleming was the creator of James Bond, and back in the day, everyone had kind of Pseudonym. John has tried to drop it since, but its always stuck with him
Hopefully, John will be coming into a chat session with i:Vibes sometime in January or so, and an exclusive mix to follow as well! so keep an eye out peoples!
His discography and biography info at his homepage:
John "00" Fleming
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