While
I wouldn't necessarily call them an overnight success, ever since their 1993 debut this
British quintet have become European pop stars of mega proportions. Jamiroquai's recipe
for success has been the combination of lead singer Jay Kay (a powerfully outspoken
twenty-seven-year old white boy tenor with dreadlocks, who's [sic] love for pot and fast,
expensive cars is only outshown by his talent and exuberance for timeless music) with a
passionate and polished set of musicians (Toby Smith - Keyboards, Stuart Zender - Bass,
Derrick McKenzie - Drums, Simon Katz - Guitar, Wallis - Didge), who's [sic] talent for
crafting classic soul, disco and funk has propelled them to mega status. I recently had
the fortune to sit down with this humorous and always outspoken group of musicians, and
while often they all spoke at once, making it very difficult to quote any one person, this
is much of what transpired.
DMA:
I've read through many of your interviews and they have all seemed to ask pretty much the
same things, so I'll try to avoid the same mundane questions:
JAM: Hmmm... let's see... our favorite color is blue, the name was inspired by
Jay's fascination with the Native American Iroquois Nation plus the ability to
"Jam," Jay's a 27 year old white boy with scruffy dreadlocks, tenor... sounds
like Stevie Wonder, our music's an acid-jazz vision with a dualiy towards the ecology
thing, he's scruffy, we're broke, but drive very expensive cars. How's that? There's the
interview... we're done. (laughs)
DMA:
I'm gonna start by getting my one and only criticism out of the way early-- why are your
damn songs so short on the new album?
JAM: Hang on a second...you've obviously been listening to the third album...some
of the tracks on the first album go 10 minutes long. Most of the tracks on the second
album went 6 or 7 minutes.
DMA:
So what was different in crafting "Travelling Without Moving"?
JAM: We wanted to avoid getting too self-indulgent on this album. We wanted to
concentrate on getting a more light feel, working with a more dance element...And not get
too anal with the jazz fusion masterpieces...where they tend to take up alot of space on
the albums.
JAY: But there is a new track we've just recorded called "Bullet" which
is a 9 or 10 minute extravaganza (laughs)...it will be on the flip side of "Virtual
Insanity"...the flip side groove!
DMA:
Speaking of extra tracks, what is the bonus ghost track hidden at the end of the new
album?
JAY: The ghost track is a jungle track.
DMA:
I think it's a fierce track and deserves to be released as a single. Why is it not listed
on the album?
JAY: You think it should be released as a single, eh? You don't fancy trying to be
my boss now do you? (laughs)
DMA:
No (laughs)...from what I've heard of you, that's not an easy occupation to have.
JAY: (Laughs) Actually I think it would be great. We'd love to put out things like
that as a single...the record company wouldn't have it.
DMA:
And what's it called?
JAM: "Function."
DMA:
Why a ghost track and not just the final track?
JAM: Because it was done in one take. Yeah, just for a laugh. We didn't want to
list it because it was just us playing after we had set the studio up to do another tune.
But it's a bit o' fun, ain't it?
DMA:
Yeah...and that's a lot different than anything on the album. Jay's voice lends so well to
the Jungle tracks...Ever think of just doing an album of this style of music...just for
the hell of it?
JAM: We sort a want to do an EP of out-takes and tunes that come up but don't go on
the album. Some really out there stuff. In the course of touring, we've already recorded
and written about two more albums worth of live and new material.
DMA:
So you guys are currently on tour. Where are you right now, New York?
JAM: Yeah...actually we just finished our tour. It went really well.
DMA:
Any towns that partially stand out in your minds? How was San Francisco, since I didn't
get a chance to catch you?
JAY: They were all really good. Very hard to choose one in particular...they all
had their own very special vibe. San Francisco was really hot...sweaty and groovy. It was
the third time we had played Bimbo's...I like it there.
DMA:
Let's talk about the band for a second. Unfortuantely, all too often in the American
market, a band is defined by its lead singer who often gets all the press and photo
attention. Such has been the case with you. Most people think Jay's name is Jamiroquai.
How do you deal with that as a band?
JAM: We're all seeing shrinks! (laughs)
DMA:
What about in your videos especially...do you make a conscious effort to show the entire
quintet?
JAM: We try to...but we've found that directors often can be asses and have their
own ideas of what they want to portray. Often just wanting to work with Jay.
JAY: Sometimes it's a problem, especially when we have our own ideas for a video,
but we're fixing that by doing a performance video for the next single. But it's easy for
them (the other band mates), they always have the option of dropping out and sleeping in
where I always have to get up really early to be there (laughs). It's a real pain in the
ass.
DMA:
While the Dance World is jamming to trip-hop, techno & house, and most recently drum
'n' bass, you've chosen a more artful, funky-soul and jazz fusion direction. Why is this
and how does this direction effect your acceptance in this dance scene?
JAM: We're just doing what we like, and doing for ourselves. At the end of the day,
I guess if you were to generalize it, you can say this album has a more modern disco
direction.
JAY: ...and house is only fuckin' right next door to that (disco) so I think people
are going to come back to the disco and funk style much more now. People are tired of
house and want to party out now. Our music is made for that.
DMA:
Even in the states, where the general public is highly influenced by radio and MTV play,
often listener's first exposure to a new single is through the club mixes that are often a
far cry from the original track. I've read that all of you, especially Jay, are not keen
on what club mixes do to your original production. Is that accurate?
JAY: That's a situation that we've tried to eradicate this time by writing songs
like "Alright" and "Cosmic Girl" that lend themselves more easily to
be mixed without altering the original sound. Even if you were deaf and remixed it, there
isn't a whole lot you could change about it. Because it's 4-To-The-Floor to it anyway--
because I find it annoying when the record company pushes back the release of a signle in
favor for waiting on remixes. I mean shit...why work so long on the original track just to
have it so completely altered it sounds like shit. And we record the original track live
with real instruments, and by the time we get to live performance, because of the remixes,
people are expecting us to be a house band. I find a lack of imagination in these remixes.
DMA:
Well, speaking of a lack of imagination, that brings us to David Morales...
JAM / JAY: (very loud laughs) I think I like where the direction of this
conversation is going! (laughs)
DMA:
As a DJ, I can be very opinionated about remixes, so I can only imagine how you might feel
hearing one of your tracks torn apart in the name of commercial success. And listening to
the latest David Morales remix of "Cosmic Girl" it's an obvious and mindless
rip-off of his successful yet mindless "Space Cowboy" remix.
JAY: Like the way he massacred it ("Cosmic Girl")?
DMA:
Not even that...just the way the intro alone is a complete rip-off of the intro for
"Space Cowboy."
JAY: Precisely...that annoying "baa baa baa baa baa baa baa" crap. But
I'll tell you what is most annoying, besides that fucking dribble, is he had the audacity
of putting DX7's (fake horns) in there and took out our live ones. We had three fucking
live horn players on that track. We should have just done the remixes in-house. In fact DJ
Darrin (DJ Desire) [sic] has done some great remixes for us, and for the upcoming single
"Alright." He's much much better. He actually has an imagination.
DMA:
What about "Cosmic Girl"?
JAY: Have you heard the "Cosmic Girl" remixes?
DMA:
You mean the Morales mixes?
JAY: Arrgh! Crap. No, the double set that has our remixes. God damn it! You work on
remixes yourself and they don't even get released in exchange for that other crap!
[Jay
begins to have a heated discussion in the background over remix releases with a record
exec. and the exec. offers to send me out a copy of the additional remixes-- Jay is
noticeably perturbed.]
DMA:
What about remixes for "Alright"?
[As Jay continues to argue in the background...]
JAM: DJ Darrin did a remix and Todd Terry did a remix. We wanted Todd Terry because
of what he did for Everything But the Girl. We liked what he did for them, it was a really
good remix.
JAY: ...But you know...the guy must of [sic] only taken two hours to remix our
track.
["See
man, we shouldn't have that mix fuck on there...it's crap!" Jay exclaims in the
background to the record company exec.]
DMA:
Don't you guys get a say on what gets released as far as remixes?
JAM: We've always seemed to be away when the final decision is made on them.
[Jay's
continued heated remarks concerning the bad remixes makes it almost impossible to hear the
other members.]
DMA:
I didn't start a fire did I? Maybe we need to change the subject.
JAY: You think you can do a better job on remixes for "Alright"?
DMA:
Are you asking me?
JAY: Yeah.
DMA:
I'd love to give a try.
JAM: We may just have to ring you up.
JAY: Anything's better than this crap. (Laughs)
DMA:
I think we'll get off this subject. (laughs) So Jay, you're 27...how old is everyone else?
[While Derrick answers 32, various ages are yelled out simultaneously (late-20s to 30s)
ending with an exclamation of 22 for Toby [surely, he meant to say Stuart --KR]. Once I
exclaim, "He's just a puppy" cooing and giggling commence while others exclaim
his cuteness and brag about his endowment.]
DMA:
Well (laughs) with that said...Being that you are all so young to be producing such
accomplished and polished funk and jazz fusion, has your age ever been a hindrance towards
being taken seriously?
JAM: No...well quality is timeless and I think good music is accepted coming from
any age. Plus, we know what we like and like to listen to...and that comes out in our
music. People seem to get that point, plus people are starved for something different, and
I think we deliver that.
DMA:
The American Record Industry still views Dance Music as the bastard child. Often after the
first single reaches enormous success, as did Space Cowboy, record companies often put
little push behind future singles...expecting them to ride on the previous single's
coattails. How do you make sure each release gets proper promotion?
JAY: We raise hell and twist arms (laughs). Actually we've been very lucky. Sony
(and Shore Fire Media) have treated us quite well. They've gotten behind most of what we
do, and we're fairly happy.
DMA:
I know you guys have to leave, so I'll wrap this up quickly. Since you seem to be breaking
new ground in the dance field, combining classic jams with new rhythms...are there any
classic artists you'd like to work with in the furture?
JAM: We'd love to work with George Clinton, the Mazelle Brothers, Mica
Paris...there's a lot.
Here's
what happened when I spoke with a very tired and road-weary Jamiroquai about their latest
album, "Travelling Without Moving"...
EXAN:
Your first album ["Emergency on Planet Earth"] went straight to the top and
debuted at number one on the UK charts, and when you have that sort of beginning, that
sort of success right from the beginning, it must be really difficult to try to match that
two albums, and now three albums later.
JAY:
Yeah, well, I think if you've got some longevity, if you set out to do live music in the
first place and that's what you stick to, I don't think it's really that much of a
problem. I don't see that we will have a problem writing stuff for years to come.
EXAN:
"Travelling Without Moving" has already surpassed platinum sales in the UK?
JAY:
Yeah, double platinum.
EXAN:
Do you think it has the potential to surpass the sales of "Emergency on Planet
Earth"?
JAY:
Yeah, I think it will. I think it's going to be better than...I think it has, actually.
It's done well everywhere. It's done hugely in Japan.
STUART:
It's quadruple platinum there.
JAY:
It's good.
STUART:
We know that we've got fans there.
JAY:
There's a fan base there. So I think the people that went out and bought the last two
albums will buy this one. And I think all the time we've got more people...well, some
people only know about this one...
EXAN:
So when you were going in to record this, did you have that at the back of your mind,
like, this is the album that's going to...
DERRICK:
We just wanted to do a better album, that was the main thing. 'Cause we knew that the
second album ["Return of the Space Cowboy"] was a difficult one to record. But
the third one ["Travelling Without Moving"] we had ideas already started,
because we were touring and writing, so when it came around to starting the third album
[we already had] a few ideas there. Plus, Jay's got a little studio in his house....
(Toby
enters)
DERRICK:
This is Toby, by the way! So, yeah, this album was easier to record.
JAY:
I think we set out to make this one the one. To make this one the benchmark, if you like.
I think after three albums you've established yourself enough to have created a benchmark
to go on further. To expand beyond what it's done already.
EXAN:
The title track is obviously about your love for speed and cars. Why is that the perfect
name for this record?
JAY:
It's not really all to do with that. I think it's..."Travelling Without Moving"
is a statement that encompasses so many different things. But I think for me, in some ways
it points to what the alternatives are for transport and power, you know. 'Cause you know
I do have a passion for fast cars. But I think there has got to be alternatives. And I
think if we look to the future that's what it could be, "Traveling Without
Moving". I just have this idea about things on rails and superconductors that don't
actually require internal combustion engines and all that, and can actually just run off
of magnetism or...
STUART:
Or teleportation. That's definitely "Travelling Without Moving".
JAY:
(very tired) Or teleportation into the bed!
(they
all laugh)
JAY:
I could teleport from here, I could travel...
STUART:
From here into the bed!
EXAN:
How does Jay travel without moving?
JAY:
He doesn't. He's always traveling!
(they
laugh)
EXAN:
Let's talk about technology versus nature. Do you dislike or do you agree with technology?
Do you think it contaminates nature? Does it endanger our spiritual growth as a
civilization?
STUART:
You can have a fusion of the two, can't you? You can have a working relationship between
technology and nature, but it's not normally like that, is it?
DERRICK:
People always look at the financial side of things, basically. They don't care what they
destroy. They dump oil into the sea, and it destroys the plant life or the fish or things
like that.
JAY:
I think where it becomes dangerous is when you've got people behind closed doors messing
around with genes and genetics and stuff, trying to make things grow. It already goes on,
you know, foodwise, for our market, the food technology. And I think that's a very
unhealthy thing. If we could do things organically it would be a much better way to do
things. But we can't do things organically and sustain the population we've got at the
moment. [But] there's a lot of technology that doesn't get used that could get used. Like
Toby was saying the other day, the 250 year light bulb. But nobody wants a 250 year light
bulb because it won't make any money.
STUART:
They've already introduced genetically engineered soya into England. You know, you've got
candy bars, and things like that that have had soya in [them], but now...
JAY:
Everything is shaped for us. Tomatoes are big, red and juicy, and they're shaped just for
our market. Apples -- spray it with some stuff and leave it for a while and it will ripen
up. They farm salmon, they farm everything. Farm chickens, grow [them] in 36 days instead
of 82, all sorts of yummy, lovely things going on...
EXAN:
Something to think about, that's for sure.
JAY:
(still tired) I wonder how I could technologically transport us to our beds. That's
the future. What we do is we all travel around in our beds. And we don't get up, we're
just couch potatoes...
EXAN:
Let's talk about 70's disco. Did you grow up listening to a lot of that, because to me
that's the prominent influence....
JAY:
No, not really.
DERRICK:
I did.
TOBY:
I did.
JAY:
I grew up listening to Rene & Rinata.
STUART:
To what?
JAY:
Rene & Rinata.
STUART:
Boz Scaggs.
JAY:
A lot of...
STUART:
Woody Nelson. (laughs)
DERRICK:
I grew up listening to a lot of disco stuff.
JAY:
'Cause you're an old man!
DERRICK:
'Cause I'm an old man. I'm drawing my pension next month.
EXAN:
Generally, what did you guys think of disco?
DERRICK:
Great. I loved it. I still love it.
JAY:
'Cause it's the best music to have a party to. To get down to, definitely.
DERRICK:
The music now kind of stems from disco.
STUART:
Yeah. House. Garage.
DERRICK:
All that type of stuff. The thing is people are using technology now all the time to try
to create a disco vibe, which is pointless, 'cause it was played live then. And that's
what we do, we play it live, so we can get that feeling, do you know what I mean? Which is
what people like. [We played] a gig last night, everybody was jumping. If we were using
machines and things you'd notice the difference, people would just be like hmmm....
JAY:
It makes it house as well. Once you start using machines it makes it house. All the beats
and the rhythms are the same. It's gotta be live. It would be boring if things weren't
live.
EXAN:
I have to ask you this question. What do you think of comparisons to Stevie Wonder?
JAY:
I think they're old hat. They've all been done before. And I'm not Stevie Wonder. I'm
nothing like Stevie Wonder. He's him and I'm me, and that's the way I like it. (points
to his sunglasses) Although in these glasses I could get away with it...
EXAN:
Do you take it as a compliment, or would you rather just not listen to it?
JAY:
It's great. It's a compliment to an extent, but after a while it's just like, "yeah,
sure". It's just a pressure, that's all it is. Everybody expects to come to a
Jamiroquai concert and see 'Little Stevie'. Somebody said the other day "you sound
like Stevie when he was 12".... I was like, ["whatever"].
EXAN:
I think what you guys are doing is similar to what Beck does, in that you take a variety
of different musical genres and you blend it through the Jamiroquai filter and give it
that Jamiroquai signature. How do you make all that gel?
JAY:
I don't know. After three or four years if you have to think about it you wouldn't be any
good at it.
STUART:
It just comes naturally. It's like one of those things that when you get people together
that have very different...
TOBY:
(interrupting) It's like a chowder. He's the sweet corn, I'm the pepper, you're the
salt...
JAY:
I'm the dish.
TOBY:
He's the dish.
STUART:
But you know when you have lots of different people getting together that have various
musical backgrounds, and they come together to put something out it's always going to be
different.
DERRICK:
You've got to work the ideas. Whatever idea you get, you've got to work that idea. You
might want to put a jazz bit into a funky tune, but to make it work and sound good you've
got to work it.
JAY:
You've got to have people that can play the stuff in the first place. Do you think we're
mad?
EXAN:
Absolutely.
JAY:
We're completely off our rocker[s]. Kids, if you're listening at home, don't every grow up
like us. Really bad.
EXAN:
Some people say you can tell what a person's all about through their shoes...
TOBY:
(making fun of Exan's accent) A-boot?
DERRICK:
A-boot?
EXAN:
Well, how do you say about?
STUART:
A-bout. It's all English!
JAY:
So what you're trying to say is...
EXAN:
Some people say you can tell what a person's all about through their shoes...
JAY:
(takes off his shoe and holds it up -- a blue & yellow Adidas runner) So what
does [this] say about my personality?
STUART:
Worn.
DERRICK:
Haggard. (laughs)
JAY:
Haggard. Worn. Old. Tired. Smelly. Stinking.
(Stuart
holds up his shoe -- a black and white Nike)
DERRICK:
What does [this] say?
STUART:
Dirty. Rotten. Could do better. (laughs)
DERRICK:
[Mine are] brand new.
STUART:
Brand new. Very clean. Tidy.
JAY:
Organized.
DERRICK:
(to Toby) And his are...
JAY:
Well, it's Toby's socks that really give away his personality.
TOBY:
Double cadet stripes.
EXAN:
Yeah, he's the cleanest.
(they
all laugh)
TOBY:
Thank you!
STUART:
Look at his teeth!
EXAN:
His socks are [so] white!
DERRICK:
That's 'cause they're new!
STUART:
That's 'cause he buys new socks.
TOBY:
If you knew how much [flak] I get for my feet being smelly...
EXAN:
All that was leading somewhere...
STUART:
What was that?
EXAN:
I was going to ask Jay, how does your hat represent who you are?
JAY:
Well, I like a hat, you know. Hats are a display of my exuberant personality, shining like
a star. Isn't that true?
(Stuart
gives Jay a raspberry)
JAY:
Well, what does Stuart's bald head represent?
STUART:
It represents the nothingness of nothing... (they laugh)
(the
phone in the room rings)
JAY:
Go away!!!
(Derrick
goes to answer it, meanwhile, Jay seems to be falling asleep)
EXAN:
You look like you're traveling without moving right now.
JAY:
No, I'm moving without traveling.
EXAN:
That's a neat trick. Do the rest of you guys know how to do this?
(Derrick
comes back)
DERRICK:
No, I go the conventional way.
STUART:
I drive. Or walk.
JAY:
I'm not really here. I'm still in bed. Let's talk about duvets. Nice, fluffy duvets.
Mmmm...
EXAN:
You guys started out before Brit pop became this monolithic musical category. Has the
marketplace changed for Jamiroquai at all since Brit pop became this term? 'Cause you guys
certainly are not "Brit pop".
STUART:
Thank you for saying that. Thank you very much.
JAY:
Really there's not many of us, and there's lots of Brit pop. But somehow I think the old
ship will weather it. I think we'll manage to do what we do. Let's face it, let everyone
else do it...let them get on with it. There's so many of them doing it, it's so boring at
the end of the day, isn't it?
EXAN:
But have you seen a shift in the marketplace since 1992 and your first record?
JAY:
Half the record companies put all their funding and money in dance music like ours as
opposed to Brit pop. Because that's what they do, you get one [successful] Brit pop
[band], and suddenly there's 25 bands that all sound like that. And that's because the
industry is full of boring little people that sit behind desks and don't even know the
music they're signing, but just look at dollar signs and how much it's going to make the
company.
EXAN:
So as far as you're concerned, it's not affecting Jamiroquai's success?
JAY:
Not at all. It's just making it easier for us, because everyone's getting bored of [the
same kinds of music]. So it's making it easier. So you keep going churning out those
dreary boring songs and thanks, thanks very much.
EXAN:
Now, take a band like Oasis, they're the biggest band in the UK right now. A lot of people
accredit their success to their simplistic songs. But Jamiroquai songs are complex. So
does that mean that you'll never see that kind of mainstream success?
DERRICK:
Yeah, probably.
JAY:
Well, now we're getting down to the mentality of the British public.
EXAN:
I'm talking about the world, not just [England].
JAY:
Well, I think we can only go to a line, and we can't go over that.
STUART:
It's not that complicated!
JAY:
It's full, [but] it's not that complex.
STUART:
It's sort of like jazz-fusion...
JAY:
It's as complex as it has to be to get [us] into the charts.
EXAN:
I'm just comparing the two...
JAY:
Theirs is a bit more of a sort of chants. The British have a bit of a propensity rewards
the chants. They like to chant along with things.
EXAN:
How does Jamiroquai describe Jamiroquai's sound?
JAY:
Sort of sounds like Jamiroquai.
DERRICK:
Now there's a difficult question. We get asked [that] all the time but we never answer it.
EXAN:
So Jay, I hear you collect Ferraris.
JAY:
Who me? Yeah. (laughs)
STUART:
Why don't you tell the people what kind of Ferrari's you've got?
JAY:
Well, I've got a 1966 330-GT. Mark 2, and a 1996 355.
DERRICK:
Can you tell them what other cars you have, out of interest?
JAY:
I've got a lightweight Lambourghini Diablo, an Aston DB-5, and the rest there's no point
telling you about because they're obscure things.
EXAN:
And where do you keep them all?
JAY:
They're dotted around London...in various places in London.
EXAN:
Maybe you should open a museum. Jay's museum of fast cars...
JAY:
(still sleepy) The museum of the bed.
EXAN:
We're back to the bed again.
JAY:
You know back in [the old days] people just slept on the floor, you know. With a rock for
a pillow.
EXAN:
Why the deep passion for fast cars?
JAY:
Because I like speed. I like going very very quickly. And it enables me to get away...from
this crazy life that we're living. I can just step into the car -- lift the door and shut
it down behind me, and just let the 525 brake horsepower say the rest.
EXAN:
Back to that [other] question...how does Jamiroquai describe Jamiroquai's sound?
JAY:
[Ask that one] to Stuart...
STUART:
Pass the puck to Derrick...
DERRICK:
And I'll pass the puck to Toby...
TOBY:
The futility of mortality.
STUART:
And there you have it.
JAY:
You're always so full of this poetic clap-trap. Describe the music.
DERRICK:
It's a jazz-funky-Latin...
STUART:
Extravaganza. It's a gumbo. It's a big melting pot of everything.
EXAN:
Is this what it's like in the recording studio [with you guys]?
JAMIROQUAI:
No.
DERRICK:
This is timid.
STUART:
This is us being polite, basically.
JAY:
We're trying really hard. Kids, you've got to understand, when you get to our age...sleep
and rest become really, really important. We've been on the road now for four weeks, and I
never really got time to see home. And I just want to go home. I want to go see my mum.
STUART:
Click your heels three times...
JAY:
I want to go and venture down the yellow brick road that is the Atlantic [Ocean]. I want
to be on [an airplane] with some lovely stewardess who will take care of me -- coffee or
tea, sir?
EXAN:
Click your heels.
(he
does)
JAY:
It's not happening.
EXAN:
Do you miss your mom?
JAY:
I don't spend enough time [with her]. I'm sick of living out of a suitcase. I'd like to go
home and unpack my suitcase and actually put the things into drawers. There are actually
drawers, clothes do go in the drawers, but [my] clothes never make that transition. I
never get them from the case to the drawer...after a while you can't ground yourself. You
get tired and irritable.
EXAN:
But you didn't answer my question! Do you miss [your] mom?
JAY:
Yes! Of course I miss [my] mum. That's what I mean. I never get to see my mum. In fact, [I
don't know] if she's alive and living and working...(smiles) I don't know where she
is...
EXAN:
Awww!
JAY:
Cue music!
(the
others start to sing some sappy music)
