How old are you? Where were you born, and where did you grow up? T1: I'm in my late twenties. I'm a Detroiter, born and raised, not capitalizing on the city; I've been here all along. When did you first get into electronic music? What was your introduction to it? When did you make the realization that you had to spin records, and when did you start spinning out? T1: In college, I had a techno/dance music-oriented radio show here in Detroit called "Fast Forward" and this is where I became a DJ. In the early 90's I started spinning out because of my radio show, opening up for guys like Moby and 808 State because mine was the only show in Detroit that gave them airplay! I got my international break spinning for UR's live shows, and Iíve been out here ever since. What were some of your first experiences spinning at parties like? What kind of parties were they? How were they different from the parties of today? T1: The first parties in Detroit in 91 were OK; the concept of rave had just come here from London and LA. It was all whistles and big Dr. Seuss hats and "Mentasm". The cosmopolitan vibe of rave never sat well with Detroit's blue-color mentality, though. But when I got to go overseas with UR, it was mad; Australia's the only place Iíve ever been that's totally sick with women. Like women who want you. Tokyo was wild, too, their techno culture. Shibuya-ku is like one big video game. The parties of today... I don't know. Iíve grown to like US audiences the best. Foreign audiences take the music too seriously. American kids just want to rock. Especially the kids in the small towns. What labels are you affiliated with? Who are your main musical influences? Whoís your favorite DJ? Producer? T1: The two labels Iím affiliated with are Generator, which weíve just ended, and the new label I began to take its place, Pure Sonik. Pure Sonik is where you'll find all my future releases as DJ T-1000. All hard, DJ-friendly techno, no compromise. Influence-wise, Derrick May's first records on Transmat had a real impact on me. I'm into a lot of straight-ahead, minimal stuff at the moment. The stuff on Downwards (Regis, Surgeon) I'm really big on right now. My favorite producer has got to be Joey Beltram. I tried to get him onto Generator for a long time, but it never happened. I met him in 1991 when he was a guest on my old radio show (he was in Detroit and Windsor doing the "Vortex" record with Richie Hawtin and Mndo Muzique for +8) and weíve been cool ever since. I thought "Places" (on Tresor) rocked and I just got the new JB3 thing on Novamute. And let me say that I DID SOME ARTWORK FOR JOEY AND HE OWES ME. As for DJs, hmmm. Claude Young rocks and I like Kelli Hand. Mike Dearborn rocks... oh, and Heather Heart! Do you draw a distinction between a "party" and a "rave"? If you do, what ís the difference between them? T1: The automatic distinction is that "raves" are huge and sick with cracked-out kids lying on the floor and sound bouncing around everywhere, and "parties" are smaller, less about drugs, more about the music. I've always said that anybody can play a rave with the right records because really, nobody cares whoís spinning at any given time. But the small affairs; those kids are watching and you must have skills, baby; no other way. I prefer the smaller club-type things. As you may or may not know, MTV just within the past couple of weeks has started airing a music video show called "AMP", featuring videos from Orbital, Aphex Twin, The Prodigy, etc. Okay, so what the hell... is this the end of the scene? Is it going completely commercial, all whack and MTV and stuff? Is there any hope? Is "commercial" necessarily "bad"? T1: See, I don't have a bad opinion about the MTV thing. I don't think that techno should be our little ghetto so we can thumb our noses at people who don't understand it (although it is fun). I think that any avenue that gets the music out there should be supported. The thing is, this won't effect what I'm doing business-wise one bit. AMP will only feature a) artists who are big in the UK already (Chemicals, Orbital) and b) American artists who have a shitload of money behind them (Electric Skychurch, Rabbit in the Moon). The underground, which includes ALL of the Detroit stuff, will stay under. Until I win the lotto and can afford a $10,000 video, I'm afraid AMP doesnít mean shit to me. How can we save the scene from drugged-out idiot kids who don't know sheeyit? Is trying to educate ravers about the music a lost cause? T1: I don't know about "saving the scene" from drugged-out raver kids. They ARE the scene!!! I mean, they pay $20 or $30 to hear me and others play just like everybody else. True, they're not adding that much to the scene, maybe even giving it a bad name, but at the end of the night you want as many people at the party, paid, as possible. You've got to take the bad with the good. I'd rather have a cracked-out raver than a cracked-out rapper any day of the week; shooting up the place. Pure Sonic 1 was absolutely slamming. Obviously, this label is going to be a driving force behind techno in the coming years. What kind of projects do you have in store for us? Who can we expect to see releasing under Pure Sonic (aside from yourself, of course)? T1: First off, thanks for the compliments, second it's "Sonik" with a "K". The idea behind Pure Sonik is the polar opposite of Generator. It's all T-1000 tracks. No other artists, although I won't discount the possibility of some superstar remixers coming in very soon. All vinyl, no CDs. The second Pure Sonik (PURE2) record is done and is called the "Thesis" EP. What kind of gear went into the making of the first record on this label? T1: Uh-oh, classified information. But let's just say that Novation is at the heart of my set-up. How long did it take you to put together this record? T1: About two and a half months. Iím really trying to be careful and not just throw out some shit. I think I've only got one double-pack a year in me. What are some of your more favorite pieces of gear? T1: See above. Is the 303 dead? T1: As a doornail. And the MC-303; don't believe the hype. Are you more into analogue or digital? T1: I'm into anything that'll give me the sound I want, I'm no purist. What was T-1000 up to five years ago? T1: In '91 there was no T-1000. I was doing my radio show for no pay, spinning at the Shelter for cheap, drawing for Djax and working in a record shop. And wondering how I could get into this music full-time. What will T-1000 be up to five years from now? T1: Out of music, I hope (at least the DJ aspect of it) with my eardrums intact, married, gone legit. Living in a nice place somewhere, not Detroit. I hope to go out on top. What do you make of this whole Internet thing? Is it really going to rock the world? T1: Only for some people. The Internet is just another way for the well-to-do to insulate themselves from poor people. People too will only bring their prejudices and stupidity along with them onto the Net. It won't be used to its full capacity at all by the masses. Only by a few. What were you into before techno was around? T1: Shit, I'm old enough to remember when rap wasn't around, let alone techno. I was into rock growing up, what is now called "classic rock". Also the P-Funk stuff, James Brown. We were a black household in Detroit when I was a baby so a lot of Motown, naturally. What do you listen to other than electronic dance music? T1: Old-school be-bop, a lot of jazz. I also like post-My Bloody Valentine experimental and space rock like Medicine, Bowery Electric, Spacemen 3, etc. Seefeel is good, Disjecta, stuff like that. Stone Temple Pilots is my favorite mainstream band right now. Some hip-hop, but not a lot, mostly East Coast rap (Biggue Smalls, Wu Tang), etc., etc. Iíve got an album coming out that has those experimental, soundtrack textures on it. And yes, Iíve decided I like drum and bass. Photek and the 4 Hero cats are what's up. Tell me about how you got interested in the visual arts... Is this something you've been into since you were a kid? T1: Yeah, Iíve been drawing all along, even before I got into music full-time. Do you see a connection between your drawings and your music? T1: Somebody else asked me the same question recently. They're two separate sides of my brain. Although if I had a million bucks to do an animated film/soundtrack, those halves of the brain could come together very nicely. What visual projects have you done? T1: Almost everything you see on all Djax records are mine. I've done three comics for Saskia, lots of T-shirts (which I'm not paid for; I'm pissed about that) and other stuff like that for the label. I think my relationship with her is dying down. I painted the album cover for Astralwerks' "Detroit - Beyond the Third Wave" compilation, a dream job (thanks Peter!) I did a Generator comic book a couple of years ago that was inside one of our records (GEN014). I also did a comic strip for Muzik magazine (UK) called "Danger Girl". I'm now doing a "DG" comic for release this year. What is your favorite visual art project that you've done? Any visual projects youíd like to do in the future? T1: The Astralwerks job was hot; real smooth. No politics, no bullshit, world distribution for the work. I loved it. As for the future, I'd really like to be animated. Lots of shit out there looks like stuff I've been doing for 10 years. And then, is there anything else at all youíd like to add... T1: Thanks for letting me blather on. One of my New Year's resolutions is to do fewer interviews and do more music. Alan D. Oldham "Enginefloatreactor" ambient 2x12" is out in February on Generator, with the CD version (with four extra tracks) following in March. DJ T-1000 "Thesis" EP is out in late February on Pure Sonik. columns : interviews : reviews : Activated Records : RadioActivated : survey : staff djs : top tens : guestbook : links : contact us : Activated Online