Patrick Forge

Patrick Forge is one of the UK's best-loved eclectic DJ/ producers. This month he follows hot on the heels of Kerri Chandler by releasing a mix CD and triple pack vinyl called Excursions 2 on Logic's new label Obsessive. Mark Moore caught up with him at his infamous residency Off Centre at Shoreditch's 333 Club for some mind expansion and music for the soul.

Whilst playing out at a packed 333 Club, he was frequently playing air guitar and imaginary bongos, which begged the question whether Patrick was a classically trained musician. "I do play instruments but I'm not much of a musician," he says modestly. In fact he's played bass and guitar for years. "But it's been an enormous help to me as a DJ who makes music that I started off playing instruments rather than playing records as it means I can talk the same language as musicians. Musicians speak in their own language and a DJ typically speaks the language of the dancefloor."

Yet Patrick was doing that superbly well at Off Centre spinning such choice eclectic morsels as African Connection Tiembelembre on Celluloid from the 1980s with its fusion of electro and African beats and chanting, Japanese producer Sinichi Osawa from Mondo Grosso Bird's Game, Da Lata's remix of Friends From Rio Escravos De Jo, the Kyoto Jazz Massive remix of Jazzanova's Fedime's Flight on CDR, Eric Kupper's Havana on Hysterics and Phil Asher's remix of Mark De Clive Lowe El Dia Perfecto all broadcast live on www.music365.com. Paul Trouble Anderson takes over and we head to the car for a chinwag, listening to Excursions 2.

So how did he first get involved with Obsessive/ Logic? "They rang me and asked me if I wanted to follow the first one in the series done by Kerri Chandler. So I looked at his tracklisting and noticed that there was a mixture of old tracks, new tracks and some of his tracks. I liked the opportunity of doing those kinds of records when you can fling anything down. When you put together compilations, there is so much possibility of choice. If you think about it for too long, you could get really lost in it wondering what you are trying to represent. I approached it quite spontaneously and when I came back from Japan this year, there was a bunch of records I was playing out there and those formed the basis of it. Those were the records I was really feeling at the time."

In his own words, Excursions 2 is "probably a romance about the dancefloor. I wanted to put in different kinds of music, some organic and some non-organic and mix the two as I do when I DJ. Most of the music that's inspired me over the years is old organic music - music that is made without programmed drums that isn't dance music in that sense. That organic music has a quality to me that program music cannot reach which is a real soulfulness and a real energy the way people play with each other. Certainly the Afro, Latin and Brazilian rhythms that I love move people in a different way to tonking beats." Indeed, seeing the more mature up-for-it party folk imbibing the music on the dancefloor it was clear that Patrick was hitting the spot.

We spend some time talking through the tracklisting numbering thirteen and I was inquisitive to find out how the track selection reflects his musical background? "When I was first playing with Gilles Peterson ten years ago I was known as a jazz DJ, whatever that was. That wasn't something I was particularly happy about particularly if it moved into acid jazz DJ because I was never happy about that label because there were too many misconceptions about it. But those were my roots as a DJ. But I've personally grown up with so many different musical styles, like more commercial dance music which excited me and I'm also a child of the disco era, so I wanted to put those roots in the album too. That's why I had to include George Duke's Brazilian Love Affair that sums that feeling up for me."

As we run through the tracklisting, it became apparent just how exhaustive Patrick's musical knowledge was. "Subterraneans A Night In Tunisia is a funny one as it is Max Beesley who is Scary Spice's new boyfriend playing vibes. It was done with Brother Marco who was a member of the Young Disciples just after Dizzy Gillespie died and that was a tribute to him. I dug it out for the first time in ages and after blowing off the dust it sounds better than it did when it was released. David Matthews Sambafrique had to go on there as there was a bootleg knocking about which Nick Holder did so I had to put the original on to let people know where this great music came from. I played it a lot in Japan in 1999 just after the Nick Holder record came out. Every time I dropped the original, a rush of trainspotters would run to the decks to find out what it was and funnily enough it was on a Japanese label to begin with anyway! Joey Negro's remix of Blaze Wishing You Were Here is brilliant as they are one of my favourite artists who are massively underrated. I met Dave many times in Reckless Records as he was one of the many avid 12" collectors who'd be constantly plaguing us! I really respected that mix as it really didn't take anything away from the original, which had a slightly odd beat. Dave rejigged it doing the simple obvious thing but that was the thing to do. He left all the beautiful keyboards intact - top mix!"

How would you characterise your sound when you play out? After a long pause, he struggles to pigeonhole himself. "There is a strong Afro/Latin rhythmic element to what I do and I like it to be quite uplifting. But at the same time it's nice to stretch people a little bit and not only go for the obvious route 1 to dancefloor ecstasy. It's very easy for DJs to go out there and play big tunes with fairly tonkin boots and move a crowd. I'm playing at my residencies but there is such an London clubs have such a big enormous constituency." Time for some reminiscing… "It's not like years ago when I was doing my residency with Gilles at Dingwalls when we had such a hardcore of people coming every time so when you have a crowd like that you can really experiment. It's much harder playing to a new crowd who want to be entertained." Yet you have to strike a balance. "Otherwise you end up copping out and it wouldn't be any fun anymore."

Patrick Forge holds three London residencies: fortnightly at Off Centre @ 333 Club, Inspiration Information at Notting Hill Arts Club with Phil Asher every Friday and monthly Brazilian Love Affair at the same venue. Even they reflect his musical passion, variety and depth. "As you can see behind you, it's going really well. They all really fulfil me in different ways." Patrick explained. "Off Centre is more house orientated and biased towards the new music. Inspiration Information is similar but biased towards the old music. Brazilian Love Affair gives me a monthly hit of playing out my old Brazilian records in one go and get it out of my system! It's one of my best nights as people leave the club smiling - it's a softer more sensuous vibe with the subtle samba rhythms rather than obvious drums."

Patrick Forge's musical career started in Ipswich where following his A-levels he was playing in dodgy bands like Hear Comes Everyone and Lux Funktion. "I thought that was a really important thing to do but I didn't think I'd have to go to London to develop my sound." But eventually Ipswich got too small and he needed a challenge, particularly as things started falling apart. He then moved to London to study History of Ideas at Kingston University and by that time started clubbing frequently and listening to pirate radio in the early 80's. And how useful was the degree in his music career? "It was useful for me personally because at the time I was trying to get bands together but nothing was working out. In the middle of my degree I was doing far too much self-abuse and not nearly enough work. I got very disillusioned but eventually got it together and completed my thesis and degree and did well in the finals which gave me added confidence which is a great life skill to have."

When did you first make the transition from playing out crowd pleasers to personal pleasers? "Two occasions really were turning points for me. Firstly when I started DJing in Ipswich on a Thursday night with a couple of guys from school in a basement. We had no idea about DJing just playing out the records we loved like Gwen Guthrie tracks and Planet Rock, Change - all records I am still playing now. Secondly, when I started working at record shops and started collecting jazz and Latin vinyl, I stood in for Gilles Peterson a couple of times at Special Branch at The Royal Oak. Sadly missed Breeze used to put up the banners and he managed to persuade Nicky Holloway for me to stand in for Gilles, which was great. I'd been collecting all that music but had never been able to so I was dying to have a go!"

His big break came when he landed a job at Reckless Records with Jonathan More of Coldcut. He had started working at the Record & Tape Exchange but got sacked after only a few weeks and walked into the plum job at Reckless. Patrick takes up the story about how they'd met years previously. "I used to chat with him at his warehouse parties in South London and his club Flim Flam. That whole era was inspirational to me at how much can be done as a DJ. People go on about so many historic New York clubs but I think that people missed out on the real history of London dance music. The warehouse scene in those days was as wild as anything that was happening at the Paradise Garage!" No doubt and refreshing to hear someone passionate about our own scene.

Patrick Forge first met Gilles Peterson when he was DJing and in record shops "but it wasn't until Kiss FM that I really got to know him. After I started doing my show on Kiss as a pirate, he actually phoned me up and asked me if I wanted to play with him at Dingwalls. He also used to put on a Sunday night gig at the Belvidere. At the beginning it was a bit bleak as there were only 150 people at the first gig I played there. But it soon picked up and luckily he kept me on and I became his DJ partner for the best part of six years." He's also kept his prime slot on Kiss FM with his weekly show every Sunday between 10.00 pm and midnight for his legions of fans.

But how does Talkin Loud and Saying Something compare to his residencies now? "We had a massive hardcore of people who would come religiously and that grew and grew. That gave us an amazing freedom in being able to experiment with the music we were playing and I just feel really privileged I was involved with that club because it was one of the really special significant ones. We used to put so much energy into what we were doing and our approach to music."

But six years later, Gilles Peterson hooked up with James Lavelle of Mo Wax and started That's How It Is. Did he feel like a lover spurned when he was no longer Gilles' sidekick? "Yeah a little bit! But it was probably better in the long run for me. We've never really fallen out and we still get on really well - it's just a pity Gilles is just so busy I rarely get to see him."

So when did he first develop a love for latin, particularly Brazilian grooves and rhythms? "It's funny this as when I was out in Japan doing press for Da Lata the penny dropped: when we were kids, so much background music on TV and soundtracks had that little bossa shuffle going on. I must have developed a love for it before I even knew what it was! I also remember reading an interview in the NME, I think it was with Alison Moyet and she mentioned Flora Purim. I'd vaguely heard of the Brazilian singer but never had any of her records. At the time I was in Ipswich and I went into this dodgy shop that sold porno mags, fishing tackle and second hand radios - but he always had vinyl. I found five of her classic Milestone albums all at once. Brazilian fusion with George Duke producing and playing keyboards and a whole sound I only vaguely knew about. In those days it was hard finding out about Brazilian music as there was so little about and no-one to teach you. Nowadays you can buy it on a compilation!"

But it wasn't long before the need to produce became overwhelming. "About 92/ 93 I'd been hanging out with Coldcut quite a lot and watched them make music but being a musician I'd always wanted to work with musicians. I got given a tape from a band from Brighton called Batu - a British band giving their own take on the Brazilian sound - when Gilles and I were doing Talkin Loud at the Fridge I really liked it as it was interesting and played very well. So I hooked up with Chris Franck who's my partner with Da Lata and Carl Smith who was a percussionist. We released our first production on independent Paris label Big Cheese Records which was run by a friend of Chris Franck as I didn't think the band were ready. I thought the label was so insignificant that the record would get passed unnoticed. I wanted to be surreptitious as I was so paranoid about my first production. As Mark Webster said in his 5 star review in Blues & Soul it moves effortlessly from funk to samba rhythms. That is even now an incredible complement."

Perhaps not as big a complement as than when he heard that the Body & Soul crew were caning Batu's Ponteio. "Francois - my hat goes off to him every time because he hammered that record and still does. He's also one of my favourite producers right now." So how do you react when you are referred to as the UK's Francois K? "If only I could mix as well as Francois is the only thing I can say to that! I'm a selector first and a mixer second as I came from a background of playing records back to back. I wouldn't pretend to have anything to do with that immensely powerful New York tradition."

But after only one release, Batu disbanded. In its wake, Forge hooked up with Christian and Da Lata was born with Lee Hamblin from Jhelisa fame which spawned their first ground-breaking Brazilian-inspired album Songs from the Tin on Palm Pictures which was released this Summer. Lee worked with Da Lata for only the first few releases - a track for a Japanese compilation, Ponteio on Far Out, an EP on Satellite and a few remixes before departing. From this point onwards, Patrick and Chris were joined by Toni Econimides who helped Da Lata develop their sound. Da Lata's Pra Manha appears on Excursions 2. He's also re-releasing Pra Manha with remixes on Palm Pictures and remixing under the Da Lata guise with Lee Hamblin (Jhelisa). "We're about to go in the studio to remix Virginia Rodriguez from Bahia in Brazil which will be interesting as we're turning a slow moody tune into a dancefloor thing and we've just done Femi Kuti."

Where did the inspiration for the name originate? "Da Lata is Portuguese Brazilian which means from the tin and also spawned the name of the album. It's a classic story about marijuana in Brazil where a boat carrying a cargo of Thai weed was being hounded by Brazilian customs. They threw this cargo in a large net and dumped it in the water hoping to retrieve it later. Unfortunately the net broke and the weed, which was packed in tins, was washed up all the way down the coast of Rio and Sao Paulo state. People would find it, open it and smoke it and found it was very good. Therefore the hip term from the tin was born and came to mean the very best."

Forge as well as his residencies in London, has played out in Toronto, New York and tours yearly in Japan and has DJed there five times now and loves their culture of musical appreciation whatever the style. "They have this thing in Japan called Otaku which means trainspotter but in Japanese culture that is not a diss. It's a part of their thoroughness and their club culture is amazing although a bit of a freak-out as audiences face the DJ and constantly look at you playing so there's more pressure than playing in London with people just getting down to the music. The Japanese show you a lot of love and as a DJ you reciprocate." It's not surprising that the Off Centre crowd got the best out of him.

Forge's passion for music continues in the new millennium getting a lot of his inspiration from the music being made in West London like Phil Asher's productions as Restless Soul, Bugs in the Attic and 4Hero. "They are all on a creative wave and it's so incredibly exciting, Music's just the greatest thing," he enthuses. But it's back to the club for us as the CD finishes and he embarks on another excursion.