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Features
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| Cosmic Flow talks wind surfing, the Prodigy, becoming a black belt and his mission - to help people feel, heal, and move together through sound – all ahead of his upcoming album release – ‘Infinity’! | | Fertile talk about the 90s spark, analog dreams, and the power of collaboration, ahead of their debut album release 'Everywhere' on Iono Music! | | Celebrating 35 incredible years of Banco de Gaia | | Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino |
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Interview with Judge Jules
Reported by tom
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Submitted 06-11-02 00:21
Judge Jules is truly a DJ who needs no introduction... but we'll give one anyway  He's one of the biggest trance DJs on the planet, was voted No.7 in this year's Top 100 DJs poll and regularly rocks Ibiza with his residency at Eden while on the production side he's notched up three top 25 hits under his HiGate guise with Paul 'Yomanda' Masterson and vocalist Jina. HarderFaster popped a few questions to the Judge to find out his opinion of the UK and London clubbing scenes 
HF: What do you think of the London clubbing scene at the moment?
JJ: I only play two London clubs regularly, the Gallery every month, and Serious at the Cross bi-monthly. These are always sold out, and if these two are in any way representative of what's going on in the capital, London's dance club culture remains very strong.
HarderFaster: What is your opinion regarding the apparent malaise currently hitting clubland in the UK?
Judge Jules: I think it's a malaise that's only affected the large branded clubs. It's not affected clubland across the board. Clubs who've become more focused on selling cd's and merchandising than caring about what's really important.... the club... have suffered badly. At a number of the 'superclubs', the promoters stopped turning up to their own night, relying on employees to keep an eye on things. This is unbelievable. When a promoter no longer thinks it's necessary to turn up, they should pack it in. Fortunately, throughout the country there are hundreds of dance promoters who've never dreamed of releasing a cd or selling branded slipmats and record bags. Most of these clubs, generally existing out of the glaring eye of the media, are still doing very good business.
 HF: After playing so many clubs up and down the UK which one would you say is your all time favourite?
JJ: Gatecrasher.
HF: Who is currently rocking clubland in your opinion?
JJ: Eddie Halliwell, who's a unique dj.
HF: How do you feel about being the DJ that people love to hate?
JJ: It's something I've accepted for a while. I'd be worried if people stopped having an opinion.
HF: Do you have any plans for more Higate productions?
JJ: We've had our album finished for a few months now, and it delves into a range of different styles alongside the banging tunes that I'm more readily associated with, ie chill out and funky house. It will be released early next year.
HF: You've recently been playing tracks such as "Revolution" by BK and "Jungalize" by Ann Savage and BK, what do you think of the current hard dance scene in the UK and are you moving towards that sound?
JJ: I think artists such as BK have moved more towards what I'm into rather than vice versa. Two years ago he was making the sort of unsubtle un-groovy hard house which seemed to be going nowhere. These days, most hardhouse producers and dj's have taken trance influences on board and seem to be taking more chances than they used to. I think BK is the most improved producer over the past 18 months.
HF: You had a very public bust up with Sundissential a few years ago - can you tell us what exactly happened there?
JJ: Back in '99 they were moving towards hardhouse and I was still firmly rooted in trance. The promoter (Madders) got on the mike and slated my dj'ing after I'd left the club, which was the first time such a thing had ever happened to me. I think the music I play would actually suit Sundissential quite well now, but I don't think it would be easy to make peace with a promoter who slags off his own DJs.
HF: Which DJs provided you with your inspiration?
JJ: Norman Jay.
HF: When can we expect the Judge Jules T-shirt company to begin?
JJ: God help the fashion world if this is ever the case. Sunglasses all round.
HF: what djs/producers/artists do you like in the hard dance scene and why?
JJ: BK, Jam X and De Leon, Dave the drummer.
HF: What is your favourite Julesism? (As in 'like toilet paper, we're on a roll' etc)
JJ: A bigger set than a randy badger.
 HF: Do you have any plans to retire, if not when would you consider to be the right time for a DJ to retire ?
JJ: I don't think you can put a fixed date on it. When the buzz disappears it would be better to retire early than drag things out to the bitter end. In my case, the buzz is very much still there.
HF: Which up and coming DJs in the scene are you currently most impressed with and why?
JJ: Eddie Halliwell, for making scratching and banging house work like a treat. Anyone who's witnessed my scratching will have seen how it shouldn't be done.
HF: You must have played to a LOT of really big crowds. Which was the best crowd you've ever played to and why?
JJ: The Irish dance festivals. Two out of three of my best gigs of the year since 2000 have been in marquees in Ireland. The atmosphere has been spectacular.
HF: Do you still DJ with ice packs strapped to your back?
JJ: That was only one night in late June. It looked stupid, but it got me through a night of unbelievable back pain.
HF: What would your advice be to DJs who are just starting to avoid damaging their backs ?
JJ: There's not much you can do about it. Some clubs have very low decks, and if you're tall (6ft 2ins in my case) then there's very little that can be done, apart from squatting, which looks daft and you forget to do it when you're pissed.
HF: How related is the downturn in clubland to the decision of the major record labels to move away from dance music in general to more traditional forms of music i.e. guitar based stuff?
JJ: I don't think clubland is on a nation-wide decline, as I said earlier. When Cream closes and Gatecrasher goes monthly, some people will inevitably panic, but things are still strong and busy in hundreds of less high-profile clubs.
HF: Do you think that so-called 'hard dance' is ready for a wider audience (say, radio1 listeners) - as suggested by your playing of tunes like Revolution?
JJ: I don't know where one genre ends and another begins, so I can't really answer the question. When I'm dj'ing in clubs, I play a lot of hard records, whereas I tend to ration things on my radio show. If I was on later at night, I'd probably play more.
HF: What's your best track right now in your record box?
JJ: Tomcraft- Loneliness
HF: How much say do you personally have over what goes into your box ?
JJ: 100%. It's not something that can be delegated.
HF: Do you feel you get enough time to get to know your tunes before you're expected to play them?
JJ: The only way to really get to know a record is to play it in a club. Tunes never sound quite the same when you listen to them at home as they do on a boomin' club system, so as a dj you've got to take a chance with your new vinyl and throw it on.
HF: How much pressure is there to play certain tunes?
JJ: If I was to pay any attention to the media, I'd be playing boring progressive records. No thankyou.
HF: Do we actually need DJs to be rock stars? Is it driven by the clubbers, or by big business?
JJ: I don't think dj's were behind the 'superstar dj' phenomenon. Ultimately as a dj, you go out and try to play your best, and if journalists want to write about you 'cos they've got nothing better to write about, that's not your fault. There's been less mainstream media focus on dj's in the past year, and that can only be a good thing.
HF: What do you feel has been your major contribution to the Dance industry?
JJ: I've never been an industry favourite. A lot of people in the dance industry are in their mid-thirties, and frequent bars rather than dancefloors... I'm not really concerned with having contributed anything long-term, as long as someone who's paid £10-15 of their hard-earned on a Friday or Saturday night doesn't feel I've let them down.
HF: What needs to be done to revive the ever decreasing spirit of the so called, "Party Island" that is known as Ibiza?
JJ: I don't think the spirit has decreased at all. Numbers were down this year, but the established successful nights, such as my Judgement Sundays, remained rammed. If anyone's departed Ibiza, it's the lager lout brigade, who've gone to Fallaraiki in search of a cheap shag after seeing the 'Club reps' programme. The clubbers were still there, and if anything, Ibiza improved this year.
HF: Would you agree that the basic, fundamental ethics in the dance industry have been ruined by commercialism?
JJ: The fundamental ethic of club culture is people getting together with a sense of unity on the dancefloor. Those clubs who've retained these values as the only thing that's important have remained strong. When you go to a club and you're surrounded by sponsors logos and adverts for their latest cd, it's a far cry from the reason I started dj'ing (and still enjoy it today) and why people go out on a Friday and Saturday night in their hundreds of thousands. People aren't stupid, and don't want to be part of some big game of commerce. Fortunately, most clubs haven't been sucked into the Ministry of sound blueprint, and things aren't bad at all on a nationwide level.
HF: Vestax or Technics (or other), which is your favourite set of decks ?
JJ: Technics MK3's
HF: 'Tried and Tested', your new album CD compilation is a triple CD release - can you tell us what sound / theme are you going for with each mix CD ?
JJ:
CD 1- banging tunes
CD 2- funky house
CD3- tried and tested tunes from my R1 show.
With thanks to Judge Jules for his time.
Related Sites
Judge Jules
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Other Features By tom:
Interview with Guffy
Interview with Energy Dai
Interview with Tara Reynolds
Interview with Anne Savage
Interview with James Lawson
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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