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14/11/15 Return to the Source, London


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Into the 22nd Year, Return to the Source is back with the first of a new era of events in London, across the UK and the globe.

14th Nov / Return to the Source at
Scala, 275 Pentonville Road. Kings Cross. London N1 9NL

•• Main Room: Psychedelic Goa Trance ••
Ajja
Hux Flux
Cosmosis
Tsuyoshi Suzuki
DJ Moon
ThallOm

•• Flying Rhino Room: Techno Progressive ••
James Monro
Bumbling Loons
Darshan
4D
Aliji

•• Ecletic Music Unlimied ••
Freear (Slamboree)
DJ Cal Jader
Klutta
DopaMina
A Thousand EYES

loads more to be announced.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/790751891022001/

Tickets £18+bf available from:
Access All Areas Network

Online: http://www.accessallareas.org/rtts

Cash, Credit Card and Phone Sales:

Access All Areas Network Ltd
2nd Floor, 30c Camden Lock Place, London, NW1 8AL.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7267 8320 & +44 (0)20 7267 6148

Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.accessallareas.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/

Our opening hours are:
Monday - Saturday 12pm till 7pm (BST)
(Closed Sundays and on Bank holidays)

Also available from:

Ticketweb:
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/return-to-the-source-tickets/184739

Scala
http://scala.co.uk/events/return-to-the-source/
Tel: 08444 771000

More info:
Venue website: http://scala.co.uk/

[img]http://s9.postimg.org/j0dg9opfj/10253779_1020664781279739_3700803921452577949_n.jpg[/img]

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Return to the Source
~ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ~


James Monro / Flying Rhino Records


One of the hardest-working and most diverse artists around at the moment is Flying Rhino veteran James Monro. Producing and playing psy trance with Dick Trevor aka Dickster as Bumbling Loons and darker minimal-tech stuff as 4D with Grant Collins aka Darshan, it’s safe to say that he’s left many in the dust as he continues to play three sets at festivals all over the globe – the third and often headliner set, of course, being as himself.


In the final edition of our trifecta of interviews featuring some of the pioneers of dance music coming back together for next week’s Return To The Source party, we managed to track James down for a very rare interview…


Hey James!!


Thanks loads for taking some time to chat with us ahead of the RTTS event in a couple weeks!
I have a few questions for you I think our readers would love to know.


SO shall we begin?


1. Give us a bit of insight into your musical background and major influences that brought you to DJ and produce music.


I’ve been an avid music collector and listener since I can remember! I used to play my Dad’s records on his homemade high fi when he had people over for drinks… vibe up the party so to speak! First time I did that I think I was about 6 years old. Since that moment I have passionately collected music and upon discovering Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygen’ when I was 8, I embarked on a journey into electronic otherworldly music and sound. I soon discovered the likes of Tangerine Dream, Yello, Kraftwerk, OMD etc, and that was my ticket into electronic heaven!


It was a very natural progression from there into the early days of electronic dance music and I soon started to experiment with friends (my first track was done with Neil McLellan who now produces The Prodigy). I then started to work with Matt Evans and together we created Technossomy. All I can say is that my desire to enhance the environment I was in with good music, is what fuelled my becoming a DJ. I never set out to become a DJ, and it was because of my passion for electronic and weird music and my collection of said music, that people started to ask me to come and play “my strange and wonderful” music at their parties… the rest is pretty much history.


2. You were classically trained as a musician, tell us what instruments you can play.


I played the piano when I was a toddler and then took up the clarinet.


3. What prompted you, Dominic Lamb, and George Barker to start up Flying Rhino, a label that is still one of the most widely recognised in the Goa trance scene?


Our combined passion for deep and trippy electronic music and the resulting mayhem it created wherever it was played!! Obviously Flying Rhino itself was born in memory of a very dear friend of ours, Adam Boyd, who sadly died. The label was named such in his memory.


4. I have to admit, some of the old Flying Rhino releases are still safely snuggled up in my top favourite tunes on wax. Of all the releases you put out, do you have a favourite one? Which one was the best seller and has the most longevity?


Well tricky question… there were so many that I loved!! Today I still think ‘First Flight’ was pretty ground-breaking at the time, and sold a good 15,000 copies. The ‘Slipstream’ compilation definitely hailed in a new sound and a reduction of the bpm into what became latterly known as “progressive trance”. It still sounds good today as well! Personally I love the ‘Retrodelica’ comps. These were made up of tracks that inspired us to do what we did. Timeless classics that still sound amazing today and also still ring a very emotional and personal note. Some of the music we released on Flying Rhino Freestyle (our chill out department) I still listen to today and has stood the test of time, ‘Wabi’ being a particular favourite and ‘Sofa’.


5. Tell us how the Flying Rhino acts came to perform at Return to the Source parties?


Well I DJ’d at one of the first RTTS parties in Holloway and we were all good friends and part of a small family scene at the time. Not that many of us are still doing it, so I guess it was a natural progression to get us involved! It was a great moment when Phil Ross got in touch and asked us to get on board.


6. What is the first memory that comes to mind when you hear Return To The Source?


Can’t remember much… all I know is I had an awesome time!!


7. Can you explain the difference between the labels Tropical Beats, 4DigitalAudio and Flying Rhino Digital?


Tropical Beats was a new time, a new continent and a step away from Flying Rhino and the whole massively distressing experience of watching it all go down the pan. I went to Brasil, met a great crew and together we started Tropical Beats, an agency and label that helped kick-start a whole scene in Brazil, and was a far cry from the heady trance sound of Flying Rhino. It was more tech house and deep house. I was pretty hurt and damaged by Flying Rhino’s demise and I kind of reacted against the whole trance thing. Much like a chastised child! Like many things in life (Flying Rhino included) it seemed that the 7 year phenomenon kicked in and I left TB but at the same time reconnected with Grant Collins (Darshan) my old partner in 4D, and we set up 4Digitalaudio. The idea being to delve into trippy techno and a deeper more minimal approach to feeding the dancefloor. I guess in hindsight I was slowly getting back into the trancier side of things! After a few years doing this we both started to get back into the trance thing, and saw potential to get stuck in again with what we’d been learning doing with 4DA and decided that now was the time to resurrect the beast and get him off the ground… so here we are with the Rhino Flying again…


8. Being so diverse and widely released in many genres, how important do you think it is these days for an artist to flirt with many genres of music?


To be honest this whole musical thing has been a very personal journey and one that has had many reasons, experiences and influences fuelling its motion. But the bottom line is I love music, and that has meant that I have always enjoyed whatever genre of music when it’s well done. I came into the whole dance thing in the late ’80s when the raves and parties were fuelled by pretty much anything with a beat. As such I heard everything from house, hip hop, techno, new beat, instrumental and dub versions of ’80s pop bands from Simple Minds, Depeche Mode etc. and as a result I had a very open ear to what works on the dancefloor. That’s why today I love DJ’ing and producing a variety of styles of music… there’s so much to explore and I would get bored just doing one thing! That’s just my journey with it. I think it’s important to do exactly what you feel and to explore what it is you love about music, be that one genre or all genres.


9. What do you like more - writing music or DJing? Where do you feel the most reward? Or is it the combination of both – DJ’ing your own tracks?


Haha… well actually I’m terrible at playing my own music… I do it very rarely! I’m always very self-critical and always think it could be better! I love the personal immersion in the studio… the creative process and the reward and the deep joy that comes when it’s all sounding exactly as you want it, and more!! That’s quite a selfish part, well not selfish as I am always thinking of how it will sound to the dancefloor, but maybe a bit self-indulgent! DJ’ing is where I really get the whole big picture and the massive pleasure of playing to the dancefloor. That’s the time when you put all the parts together – sometimes some of my tracks might be included – and you create the journey using all the music at your disposal… the palette is infinite and that’s the excitement. I never know what I’m going to play until I’m actually playing and the dancefloor is reacting. Producing and DJ’ing give equal pleasure, but in very different ways.


10. Spending so much time in parties for so many years, do you still experience those magical moments, a different reality? Share with us a moment like this from the last year?


Oh yes for sure… without those moments I wouldn’t keep doing it. That’s the fire that fuels the desire to do what I do. Last year… well Boom was off the charts… what was supposed to have been a 2-hour set turned into a 6-hour marathon – they wouldn’t let me stop!! The dancefloor was with me, and I with them – all the way! It was truly incredible and one of those epic spontaneous magic moments!


11. Lately there have been a lot of “retro” parties happening, especially in Israel. Being a producer with many monikers from the ’90s... how does it feel to go *back in time*?


To be honest I find the whole retro thing quite difficult to do… only because that was then and now is now. What happened then and what we listened to and produced then, is what makes what we do today happen, but the production levels have changed. I was very young then and was learning my craft. Today I am still learning, but have learnt so much and have moved on. As such, I’m always keen to play the best music I have at my finger tips and that doesn’t generally mean music from 20 years ago, even though it is brilliant music! It’s also an emotional journey that touches on so many personal and historic times. Nostalgia is a really powerful emotion, and I choose carefully where I play and for whom, before digging up that past. Like anything – at the right time in the right place with the right people – it’s magic… but the opposite of that, well it can be a very painful experience!


12. If you had to express yourself without music – what would you produce and in what art form?


Woodwork


13. Just for fun! Share with us your 3 favourite websites NON music-related.


Lots of cooking sites, as I love cooking!! But to be honest I’m not that big a user of the net. I use it for communication and music. If I’m on the computer I want to be creating music…


Awww, Thank for such a great chat hon...


And see you next week on the dancefloor !


* Interview by Robin Triskele
* Intro and editing by Tara aka Flibbertigibbet
* Return To The Source PR by Triskele Management


TICKETS FOR THE EVENT:
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/return-to-the-source-tickets/184739

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Share on other sites

Return to the Source
~ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ~


James Monro / Flying Rhino Records


One of the hardest-working and most diverse artists around at the moment is Flying Rhino veteran James Monro. Producing and playing psy trance with Dick Trevor aka Dickster as Bumbling Loons and darker minimal-tech stuff as 4D with Grant Collins aka Darshan, it’s safe to say that he’s left many in the dust as he continues to play three sets at festivals all over the globe – the third and often headliner set, of course, being as himself.


In the final edition of our trifecta of interviews featuring some of the pioneers of dance music coming back together for next week’s Return To The Source party, we managed to track James down for a very rare interview…


Hey James!!


Thanks loads for taking some time to chat with us ahead of the RTTS event in a couple weeks!
I have a few questions for you I think our readers would love to know.


SO shall we begin?


1. Give us a bit of insight into your musical background and major influences that brought you to DJ and produce music.


I’ve been an avid music collector and listener since I can remember! I used to play my Dad’s records on his homemade high fi when he had people over for drinks… vibe up the party so to speak! First time I did that I think I was about 6 years old. Since that moment I have passionately collected music and upon discovering Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygen’ when I was 8, I embarked on a journey into electronic otherworldly music and sound. I soon discovered the likes of Tangerine Dream, Yello, Kraftwerk, OMD etc, and that was my ticket into electronic heaven!


It was a very natural progression from there into the early days of electronic dance music and I soon started to experiment with friends (my first track was done with Neil McLellan who now produces The Prodigy). I then started to work with Matt Evans and together we created Technossomy. All I can say is that my desire to enhance the environment I was in with good music, is what fuelled my becoming a DJ. I never set out to become a DJ, and it was because of my passion for electronic and weird music and my collection of said music, that people started to ask me to come and play “my strange and wonderful” music at their parties… the rest is pretty much history.


2. You were classically trained as a musician, tell us what instruments you can play.


I played the piano when I was a toddler and then took up the clarinet.


3. What prompted you, Dominic Lamb, and George Barker to start up Flying Rhino, a label that is still one of the most widely recognised in the Goa trance scene?


Our combined passion for deep and trippy electronic music and the resulting mayhem it created wherever it was played!! Obviously Flying Rhino itself was born in memory of a very dear friend of ours, Adam Boyd, who sadly died. The label was named such in his memory.


4. I have to admit, some of the old Flying Rhino releases are still safely snuggled up in my top favourite tunes on wax. Of all the releases you put out, do you have a favourite one? Which one was the best seller and has the most longevity?


Well tricky question… there were so many that I loved!! Today I still think ‘First Flight’ was pretty ground-breaking at the time, and sold a good 15,000 copies. The ‘Slipstream’ compilation definitely hailed in a new sound and a reduction of the bpm into what became latterly known as “progressive trance”. It still sounds good today as well! Personally I love the ‘Retrodelica’ comps. These were made up of tracks that inspired us to do what we did. Timeless classics that still sound amazing today and also still ring a very emotional and personal note. Some of the music we released on Flying Rhino Freestyle (our chill out department) I still listen to today and has stood the test of time, ‘Wabi’ being a particular favourite and ‘Sofa’.


5. Tell us how the Flying Rhino acts came to perform at Return to the Source parties?


Well I DJ’d at one of the first RTTS parties in Holloway and we were all good friends and part of a small family scene at the time. Not that many of us are still doing it, so I guess it was a natural progression to get us involved! It was a great moment when Phil Ross got in touch and asked us to get on board.


6. What is the first memory that comes to mind when you hear Return To The Source?


Can’t remember much… all I know is I had an awesome time!!


7. Can you explain the difference between the labels Tropical Beats, 4DigitalAudio and Flying Rhino Digital?


Tropical Beats was a new time, a new continent and a step away from Flying Rhino and the whole massively distressing experience of watching it all go down the pan. I went to Brasil, met a great crew and together we started Tropical Beats, an agency and label that helped kick-start a whole scene in Brazil, and was a far cry from the heady trance sound of Flying Rhino. It was more tech house and deep house. I was pretty hurt and damaged by Flying Rhino’s demise and I kind of reacted against the whole trance thing. Much like a chastised child! Like many things in life (Flying Rhino included) it seemed that the 7 year phenomenon kicked in and I left TB but at the same time reconnected with Grant Collins (Darshan) my old partner in 4D, and we set up 4Digitalaudio. The idea being to delve into trippy techno and a deeper more minimal approach to feeding the dancefloor. I guess in hindsight I was slowly getting back into the trancier side of things! After a few years doing this we both started to get back into the trance thing, and saw potential to get stuck in again with what we’d been learning doing with 4DA and decided that now was the time to resurrect the beast and get him off the ground… so here we are with the Rhino Flying again…


8. Being so diverse and widely released in many genres, how important do you think it is these days for an artist to flirt with many genres of music?


To be honest this whole musical thing has been a very personal journey and one that has had many reasons, experiences and influences fuelling its motion. But the bottom line is I love music, and that has meant that I have always enjoyed whatever genre of music when it’s well done. I came into the whole dance thing in the late ’80s when the raves and parties were fuelled by pretty much anything with a beat. As such I heard everything from house, hip hop, techno, new beat, instrumental and dub versions of ’80s pop bands from Simple Minds, Depeche Mode etc. and as a result I had a very open ear to what works on the dancefloor. That’s why today I love DJ’ing and producing a variety of styles of music… there’s so much to explore and I would get bored just doing one thing! That’s just my journey with it. I think it’s important to do exactly what you feel and to explore what it is you love about music, be that one genre or all genres.


9. What do you like more - writing music or DJing? Where do you feel the most reward? Or is it the combination of both – DJ’ing your own tracks?


Haha… well actually I’m terrible at playing my own music… I do it very rarely! I’m always very self-critical and always think it could be better! I love the personal immersion in the studio… the creative process and the reward and the deep joy that comes when it’s all sounding exactly as you want it, and more!! That’s quite a selfish part, well not selfish as I am always thinking of how it will sound to the dancefloor, but maybe a bit self-indulgent! DJ’ing is where I really get the whole big picture and the massive pleasure of playing to the dancefloor. That’s the time when you put all the parts together – sometimes some of my tracks might be included – and you create the journey using all the music at your disposal… the palette is infinite and that’s the excitement. I never know what I’m going to play until I’m actually playing and the dancefloor is reacting. Producing and DJ’ing give equal pleasure, but in very different ways.


10. Spending so much time in parties for so many years, do you still experience those magical moments, a different reality? Share with us a moment like this from the last year?


Oh yes for sure… without those moments I wouldn’t keep doing it. That’s the fire that fuels the desire to do what I do. Last year… well Boom was off the charts… what was supposed to have been a 2-hour set turned into a 6-hour marathon – they wouldn’t let me stop!! The dancefloor was with me, and I with them – all the way! It was truly incredible and one of those epic spontaneous magic moments!


11. Lately there have been a lot of “retro” parties happening, especially in Israel. Being a producer with many monikers from the ’90s... how does it feel to go *back in time*?


To be honest I find the whole retro thing quite difficult to do… only because that was then and now is now. What happened then and what we listened to and produced then, is what makes what we do today happen, but the production levels have changed. I was very young then and was learning my craft. Today I am still learning, but have learnt so much and have moved on. As such, I’m always keen to play the best music I have at my finger tips and that doesn’t generally mean music from 20 years ago, even though it is brilliant music! It’s also an emotional journey that touches on so many personal and historic times. Nostalgia is a really powerful emotion, and I choose carefully where I play and for whom, before digging up that past. Like anything – at the right time in the right place with the right people – it’s magic… but the opposite of that, well it can be a very painful experience!


12. If you had to express yourself without music – what would you produce and in what art form?


Woodwork


13. Just for fun! Share with us your 3 favourite websites NON music-related.


Lots of cooking sites, as I love cooking!! But to be honest I’m not that big a user of the net. I use it for communication and music. If I’m on the computer I want to be creating music…


Awww, Thank for such a great chat hon...


And see you next week on the dancefloor !


* Interview by Robin Triskele
* Intro and editing by Tara aka Flibbertigibbet
* Return To The Source PR by Triskele Management


TICKETS FOR THE EVENT:
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/return-to-the-source-tickets/184739

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/790751891022001/850715658358957/

[img]http://s27.postimg.org/gvvzfo8tv/1890986_1088384891174394_4592654918664732233_n.jpg[/img]

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