Broken Toy has been around for a honourable time and has produced tracks that has been thrillers time and time again. It’s a joy to have him spill his guts for us here at Monkeysfist!
1. Where we’re you born and where are you staying now?
I was born in Paarl , South africa. Its a small wine farming town in the Boland about 45mins from Cape Town. At the moment, I have just gotten back from living in London for 2 years and once again find myself in Paarl.
2. What do your siblings call you and why?
Everybody calls me Jimmy, but if we wanna make this interesting we can take it back 2 decades and my siblings would`ve called me Utt, which apparently was my first word.
3. What artists are you currently listening to?
I listen to a lot of DJ mixes off the net mostly. Chris Lake be tearing the shit up, Pendulum, Sander Kleinenberg. Then I`ve been listening to the new Depeche Mode album a lot and also the new Tool album.
4. When and what was your initial influence to Psytrance?
I wasnt listening to any electronic music of any kind until the first party I was taken to in `98. It was a Spirit Zone VortexAntaro and Sangeet playing. I`m not sure if the music blew me away quite as much as the LSD / MDMA combo did to be honest, but either way – The next party I went to had X-dream Live and that pretty much sealed the deal. That was followed by seeing DJ Tyoshi Suzuki, who was like the God of psytrance back then, and a pretty good year in general for psytrance leading up to the Millenium party in 2000. Feels like I started going to parties at just the right time.
So at that stage, I`d been well initiated and educated into this whole thing. Then it took the Atomic records crew to really get me fired up about this whole thing. Such awesome music at that time. I saw Joti Sidhu play a Psychaos live followed by 4hr dj set at Silverstroom that was life-changing. I haven’t enjoyed music at a party that much since then.
5. What are your favorite VST’s?
TRilogy, Arturia Arp 2600, Korg Legacy, Reaktor, Absynth
6. What EFX units do you use?
No external FX processing - All VST. Equim EQ, BBE sonic maximiser, TC works sidechainer compressor, Ohmboys delay, Quadrafuzz distortion, Waves Rverb, L2 ultramaximizer.
7. What are your favorite pieces of hardware in your studio?
I don’t have much, but I love`em all! Especially my new monitor speakers – EMES Black TV HRs – Loving them to bits. Then I got a Waldorf Pulse and a Waldorf Q, which are bitchin`, especially the Pulse. Then I got a brand new MOTU Ultralite soundcard, and last but not least – the stunning, the gorgeous- Sony Vaio Laptop AGN317 with 17″ screen.
8. What was your best experience in front of a live crowd?
Well, we can talk about playing in front of massive big crowds and all that shit, but those parties tend to be visually amazing without much vibe. I enjoy any live set where I dont have to be separated from the crowd or put on some stupid massive stage. If I can be on dancefloor level and right with the people, I`m guaranteed a rocking party. Otherwise it sucks. End of story. I hate being high up on some stage. I`m not a rock band and I`m not a dancing clown, so I should’nt really have a spectacle made of me.
So if I AM on dancefloor level, I really get the vibe I`m a punter like everybody else and now I can party with everyone on the same level.So with that in mind, my fondest memory in front of a crowd would have to be a party I played at in Osaka, Japan in 2004 with Damage and Rinkadink. This was when I was still in Damage. It was mental, we had people all the way around the dj table 180degrees partying like crazy. Mega energy. Then, in the morning when I played my Broken Toy set, I was about one song away from being finished when a very rude Vana ( Rinkadink ) poured a bottle of whiskey over my head and threw me out of the dj box into the crowd. When I finally stopped rolling across the grass, I looked up to see that Deon ( Damage) had taken over the decks and was finishing my liveset while I got my groove on with the very surprised and amused crowd. I was equally amused and surprised, but shit – we didnt give a fuck at that party. Rowdy deluxe. I don’t think I`ve had such an off-the-wall party since then.
9. What animal describes your music best?
I`m very partial to bears and otters, but in all honesty , I recon it’s more weasel-like in nature. Then again, my music can be quite viscious and unpredictable as well as kinda cute, so maybe more like a baby Tazmanian devil?I recently saw a little creature in Brazil called a Gamba, which is their equivalent to a skunk. A skunk got da funk, so maybe it’s like that. Added bonus is that in Brazilian they have a saying: “Bebados como gamb?s!” which means “Drunk as a skunk“. That would definately describe me – Not so sure if it describes the music though. Maybe.
10. If you could do a collaboration with ANY artist, who would it be and why?
First up, I want to work with Deon from Damage again because I think there are missing elements in both our work that we can supply each other with. Also, we started making this music together ages ago, so there is a certain level of fun and spontaneiety in the way we worked that I`d like to regain. Anyway, at the time of going to press, we`ve already started on a new project together seeing as we are both finally back in the same country again. Gotta use this opportunity while it lasts. The project doesn’t have a name yet and we are about halfway through our first track, so stay tuned for more info on this.
As for other collaborations? I could mention a few famous artists and musicians I have respect for and that I`d like to affiliate myself with, but I doubt anything good would come out of it except for me learning a lot. So I won’t even bother mentioning them.
At this stage, I`d like to work with female vocalists. Do stuff thats slower and more moody. I`d love to work with Michelle Breeze, the singer from the old SA band Fetish, who no longer exist. There has always been an amazing depth and emotion to her lyrics as well as her performance that I admire. They had the new compilation of Fetishs` unreleased demos on the last 10hr SAA flight I did and I listened to it nonstop until we landed.
11. From what other artist(s) do you gain inspiration?
Musically , Depeche Mode and Marilyn Manson have just struck the kind of moods that I find mostly appealing, but because they are bands and lyrical, its difficult for somebody to actually find a tangible piece of evidence that they inspire me. But I love their work and especially the mangled, distorted syntheticness of the production, so a bit of that shines through I suppose.
Lately I`ve also been thinking of literature inspiring me, because its also all about creating a mood and presenting it to an audience, just like music. So for the mood I`m aiming for in my own music, I`m blown away by Brett Easton Ellis ( the guy who wrote American Psycho ). Especially his book Glamorama. Twisted, psychotic, headtrip mayhem written to technical, stylish perfection. Something to aspire to in a musical sense, no?I just have to add here, that in trance music , there is absolutely nothing that inspires me. This whole full-on thing is a disgrace and i dont have any time for this dark psy thing either. There is no trance act out there that is trying to capture that feeling of massive epicness that transcended label and description. Its all killer drops, build ups and trendy pop music now.
I don’t miss the music from the past, and I don’t miss the psychedelic edge that has been lost either. I just miss a lack of mood and good ideas. But I`m just as guilty I suppose. Another product of the times. I suppose I could try harder, but I think we`re dealing with a new dancefloor audience with it’s own ideas. We must obey or suffer the consequences.
Trance may have been something in the past that could`ve been seen as separate from general dance music, but it isn’t anymore. Gotta keep the dancefloor grooving, even if they are ripped to the eyeballs on Tik instead of LSD.
12. Is there any difference in crowds from party to party?
There is a massive difference. Too massive to start talking about because where would I begin? The only similarity between parties the world over is that there seem to be the same full on “Superstar” djs from a certain country topping the bill everywhere.
13. Where?s you favorite destination to tour to and why?
Without hesitation, Brazil. What an amazing country and what lovely people. It’s got incredible trance infrastructure that is big enough to sustain even it’s local djs. They can make a living off only djing. Trance is massive across the entire massive country, so the opportunities and the amount of places to play there are staggering.
I have to mention what a blast I had in Canada too, because that was one of the few countries where there was zero language and humour barriers. It gets frustrating when you are trying to crack jokes with people who don’t have a full understanding of your language and the various intricasies of saying something funny. In Canada, there was no limitation like this and I found that not only could I relate perfectly to them, I had a blast and laughed all the way through the tour. Lovely.So can I mention a few places I dont like to play?
I don’t like playing in Israel because I hate rude militant security and customs officials and I dont like sleeping in bombproof rooms ( haha – it was great. But not a regular basis please). Also, I don’t appreciate being paid in fake money.
I don’t like playing in the USA because I have NEVER played there. They are the only country to ever deny me a visa.
I don’t like Japan these days because they don’t really like my music there. They don’t seem to appreciate the funk thing I got going on. My sets go down a bit strangely there and the dj playing mega-thrashing-148bpm and beyond that plays before me generally doesn’t give me much to work with.
I don’t like playing Mexico because I need cash for rent etc. and I played there three times and got paid properly……never.
14. How would you compare that to the South African scene?
I don’t have visa problems in SA, I sleep at home and not bombproof rooms, generally there isn’t much trouble with payment except for lower fee coz I`m “local”, and people get the funk thing.
I do really wish there was the same situation in SA as there is in Brazil as far as the infrastructure is concerned. I`ve said this before that trance needs to go beyond Cape Town in South Africa. As soon as it breaks into the rest of the country , it’s a better life for all. We need more places for local artists to play as well as international artists, who could come for a full national tour instead of one CT gig with maybe a dj set at Labyrynth.It’s pitiful people!
What’s wrong with the rest of the country? There are plenty of wide open spaces to throw lovely parties all over South Africa. I`d love to see somebody throw a massive event somewhere up country aimed at drawing the crowds from all over. It could break trance to a lot of new people all over SA and maybe help fuel the scene and help it catch on in more remote areas. Because Cape Town has been fighting this battle on it’s own for too long and some might say it’s getting a bit tired. We could do with a bit of fresh blood.This is the only thing SA trance needs to evolve to the next level.
In any case, what are these people who aren’t trancing it up country doing with themselves? Take the percentage of people in Cape Town who go to trance parties and apply these statistics to other major cities in South Africa. If they aint going to trance parties , what are they doing? Supporting South African bands ? I fucking hope so! You better not be sitting at home watching tv…
15. You think you’ll ever NOT be able to make Psytrance?
I dont think I CAN make it. Whatcha talkin` about?
If you mean will I ever stop doing what I am doing? Yes. I have a checklist of things I want to accomplish in this scene, and thats mostly done. I`m also not releasing more than 3 albums. I already have the name for the 3rd one and it will be my last with this project.
16. How long does it take you to make a track 90% complete?
Anywhere between 2 days and a year. I`ve managed to make something playable in a one day session, but this is rare for me. However, I`ve gotten much quicker lately and I`m interested to see what I do in the next few months because I feel a radical change has taken place within me. It’s going to be interesting.
17. Do you create sounds by a fool proof process or is everything freestyle and tweaking?
Since I started making music I`ve always freestyled and tweaked with no clear idea in mind, waiting for god-given inspiration to help me finish a track. It’s a delightful way to work if you`re looking for more abstract stuff with more artistic arrangements, but if you`re looking to make it in the cutthroat industry of killa full on, I suggest you work with templates and tried and tested track progressions. It’s quicker and you`ll sell more tracks. Also, with the freaky tweaky method, I find my tracks arent so easy to mix for dj’s, so that means my stuff gets played less at parties which sucks. Oh well…
18. Do you have tip or trick for us?
Yeah – Work with a spectrum analyzer on your main mix at all times and keep checking it to make sure your mix has the same look as your favourite killa artist etc. If you get used to this, after a while you don’t even need it anymore, but it will come in especially handy if you find yourself working on headphones in an airport or working on somebody else`s speakers that you arent familiar with. I`ve had an addiction to overly large bass in tracks that I could only overcome with repeated use of a spectrum analyzer that showed me how silly I was being.
Then a lot has been said for sampling your bass notes to make sure there are no wacky envelope clicks and that every note slams as hard as the one before. It’s essential. Use your hardware synth for the bass if you like, but sample the bastard. The bass needs to be solid and consistent and with the envelope clicking on different phases on the oscillators` wave, it’s gonna be a problem on every analog synth. Record in 5 long drawn notes of every note in the range you will use ( typically from the lowest C note that sounds good to the highest C note that sounds good ) and then choose the one with the best click of each. Load these up in a software sampler and Bamm! You now have snappy bass with no wacky clicks!Sounds like too much effort? Then use VSTs that use samples rather than real synthesis anyway. Trilogy for example. Personally, I`m using Trilogy and a sample kit made using the ESM1 bass synth in Logic.
19. When and what can we expect from your new album?
The album will be out in early 2007. As for what we can expect , I havent a clue. Its called ” The low, down, dirty sound of… ” and I`m trying to do something that fits with that title. At the moment, I`ve missed two previous deadlines by which I was supposed to be done with this mother fucker, and the list of tracks that I have for it keeps changing. I actually want to rewrite it all now. Thats my plan. I have a few tracks but a lot of it will have to be scrapped.
I expect this album will be less abstract in the structure of the songs as I do want them to be good dancefloor tracks and get a bit more play than my other stuff. I`d like to do a lot of weird interesting fat funky basslines, keep the mood quite mysterious, and try not to sound too standard. I`d like to make something I can be proud of, and that in itself is seriously complicated and I have to figure out what that is along the way too!
Then I want to make something entertaining without being gimmicky, something with good vibes without being cheesy, and something deep without being dark. Thats the brief.
I`m not sure if I can pull it off, but hopefully I can at least finish before the deadline, because otherwise it’s just gonna be a collection of the best tunes I had at that moment and I want it to be better than that.
One thing is for sure – The album will have kickdrums and strange noises.
Thanks Jimmy for your in-depth perspective, I had a blast reading through it. Keep on rocking and may you remain on our level, Ground level. Check out Broken Toy on Myspace and his label at Alchemy Records.
