Layo & Bushwacka!
Layo & Bushwacka!
Layo and Bushwacka! are two of house music’s great survivors. The pairing have been working together for more than a decade, having joined forces with Mr C to open the legendary End in London’s West End in 1995 and DJed and produced together and as solo artists since before the turn of the millennium. The closing of their venue was far from a halt to their history though, and out of its ashes came Shake It, a warehouse-homed party that’s seen them continue as kings of London’s nighttime. Alongside their own Olmeto imprint, which reached 30 releases this year, they’ve taken Shake It to Amnesia in Ibiza, and we caught up with them before their last party of the year in December at Village Underground with Paco Osuna.
So, how are you both and where are you? We are sitting in the airport lounge just landed form Brazil but en route to Milan.
2011 has been another vintage year for you, with Shake It putting on some memorable parties both here and in Ibiza, and further afield. December sees your final one of the year, with Paco Osuna joining you at Village Underground in Shoreditch. What can we look forward to on the night? Well it has been good but we want to make it a lot better in 2012 and that starts really with the december party, namely more decor so the warehouse can have more character, improved acoustics and even t-shirts for the staff, we want to keep giving the party more, when you travel so much, you see and learn a lot and we are aiming to really make the parties much more developed than just a warehouse with great sound.
Is there a part of you that’s happy to have a week without a 48 hour round trip to the white island, just for recovery purposes as nothing else? Totally. It’s very very different rocking up as a guest DJ, playing, hitting the beach… a lot goes on to make something work anywhere but Ibiza has it’s own select brand of things to contend with…
What’s been the highlight of the year so far for Shake It? Getting the Ibiza residency was a high point but our favourite party was in July with Magda.
Who’s been your favourite guest in 2011? For me Magda in July in our west London Shake It party, and Paco Osuna at Amnesia.
In London you’ve been renowned for taking your parties to some of the best warehouse spaces in the capital. Was it a conscious move to get back to the feel of your early days of clubbing, just a room, a soundsystem and a crowd that’s up for it? Yes after playing the same place in London for so long, we knew it had to be something moveable, stripped back, a focus on the music, making each event feel unique.
Layo & Bushwacka!
It seems to have been part of a real return to less glitzy, more unreconstructed club nights in the past few years. What do you think’s behind that? Is it that with so many bigger venues closing since 2008, it’s harder to find more established locations to put parties on?It’s a sign of the times in a greater sense, most people in the world are affected by the crisis, there is a growing belief that things need to be more back to something that is connected, I don’t know if the word is basic but different, it is a new cultural epoch… It is also exciting to have things being more open again, more on the hoof so to speak.
Apologies for bringing it up, but now a few years on from the closing of the End, but with Shake It going so strong it almost seems like you never really stopped? Was it always a case of moving onto something new as soon as possible because you needed to keep up the momentum rather than dwell on the (amazing!) past? You can bring it up! We knew we needed to move on fast but actually were not as ready as we could have been, we wanted to really live the closing not just be thinking of the future, the next step, we are lucky that Shake It has done well but it is modest compared to The End.
Does it feel strange knowing the place is still open? No, never crosses my mind (Layo). I look back on it emotionally through the experiences, friendships, creativity but feel that it was an amazing story that had closure.
Going back to the beginning, what music did you listen to growing up? (Layo) At home as a kid, was a lot of blues and soul in the house mixed with Beatles, Bob Dylan, I was really into all that but was into electro as it came out in 82/83, then hip hop(Beastie Boys/Run DMC/Public Enemy) but also the psychadelic punk scene too, so followed bands as diverse as Zodiac Mindwarp, Gong, Ozric Tentacles, funny now but Gong were a great band!
What first inspired you to get into electronic music? (Layo) Hooked from the first moment which was part of the two paths of music coming together (answer to below too), was going to rare groove parties which followed in to Mutoid Waste Company and first heard acid there, then Strawberry Sweatshop and then Clink Street all in 1988.
Do you remember your first ever rave? Where was it? Who was playing? (Bushwacka) It was a Ratpack warehouse party in Summer of 88 in an Empty swimming pool in Merlin Street, off Roseberry avenue and it changed my life for ever. It was the Ratpack, Frankie Valentine and Steve Jackson!
You’ve both been producing for over a decade, with Olmeto the main output for your work over the last few years. What keeps the creative fires burning?
We are inspired by all the music we play, we hear, we strive to be creative, to produce, it would feel soul less being involved but not adding to the music we love.
If you could work with one producer you’ve not managed to so far, who would it be? Quincy Jones would be a dream…..his productions are second to none…a true genius..
What’s in store for Olmeto and Shake It in 2012? More releases and parties in Ibiza and London? Well there is a new Layo&Bushwacka! album in 2012 and of course more parties!
Where do you think you’ll be in ten years? Not sure, it’s far right now but hope to be happy, healthy, living a fulfilling life in some way.
Considering how many partnerships don’t stand the test of time, what’s the secret to you both getting on and working so well together? (Layo) I think the differences are what makes it work.
What’s the best and worst thing about being Layo & Bushwacka? The best thing is we have become the closest of friends and stood the test of time and helped each other out through hard times. The worst? the new breed of “DJ/producers” not really knowing just how much we have contributed collectively through our productions and Layo with The End…a lot gets overlooked in our industry very quickly.
If you had to give it all up tomorrow, how would you both like to be remembered? As artists who had integrity and produced good work though their careers, and hopefully made some people happy.
Layo & Bushwacka! present Shake It at Village Underground on 3rd December. For info head to www.shakeitlondon.com and tickets to http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?307443.They will also end 2011 with their next release on Olmeto: the Steve Lawler and Minicoolboyz remix of ‘What Do You Say Now’. And keep your ears open for a new album from the pair, due for release in 2012.
