Freewheeling through time and space, Kris Needs continues his adventures in sound. This month: Jack Said What
‘Trainspotting’ is now almost 30 years old and his hot ITV drama ‘Crime’ has been taking up a lot of his time recently, but Irvine Welsh still manages to keep his feet on the dancefloor that’s gripped him since puberty, by co-running the cool house label Jack Said What. Irv’s also here because he and I have history since bonding as lifelong mates at Glastonbury ’97, including DJing as the Disco Kings and releasing two singles with our disco supergroup Hibee Nation.
Since Irv started Jack Said What last July – with Brighton-based analogue assassin Steve Mac and DJ Mag editor Carl Loben – the label’s ejaculated a blistering stream of over 20 classic house and 90s-style floor-demolishing killers.
As well as Steve Mac, the names include the wondrous mainstay Serge “Radio Slave” Santiago, Jon Carter on magnificently keck-shredding form, Chicago legends Marshall Jefferson and Curtis McClain reuniting as On The House to astonishing effect, and even Robert Owens, house music’s greatest voice on the spine-masturbating anthem ‘One Day’. I must mention the mysterious Klaus Blatter too.
“The ethos of JSW is quality dance music made for and by people who dance,” explains Irv.
“So no pop pap or chin-stroking sideline bedroom freaks. The idea is to build a self-supporting viable community of artists.
“For that reason, we’re focused on Brighton as it has the UK’s most vibrant dance music culture. People still go out and have it en masse and come from London for mucky weekends. There’s no point putting something out and hoping for the best. Our idea is to find ways to promote the acts, so we’ve been putting on events and will be doing UK-wide JSW tours soon.
“Our roster is a mix of old mates and young guns like Luca LeBleu, the Cousn boys and Scott Booth. The older heads have been around the block, the young devils know how to operate social media with huge accounts. Carl knows the media and management side, Steve can help with remixes and mastering, and I can uh… say, ‘Cool sounds, guys!’.
“It’s a local scene-based label, but striving for global reach. Family and fun is the idea. If and when our guys get bigger and better offers, they go with our grace and love and we stand on the doorstep of our Brighton offices, waving them off, teary-eyed, saying, ‘We did alright by those lads and lassies’.”
Not half.
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