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Toby Smith

Jay Kay's right-hand man and Jamiroquai keyboardist Toby Smith talks about the band's new album 'A Funk Odyssey'.

TOTP: I read that your new album was a real departure, but from what I've heard it seems like a continuation. How would you describe the album's sound?
Toby: Because we're not a bandwagon group, we thought we'd do it in-house which means we're always limited in the way we change the production of the album. At the end of the day Jamiroquai is a song-driven group. Songs are pretty important to us so it's always going to sound like Jamiroquai as soon as Jay opens his gob. That's what people like, but for us it's a real departure because half the tracks' programmed and we've never done that before. We've always been fully live before. We've also used a full orchestra on some tracks as well, so it's definitely a big departure. The people who love Jamiroquai and buy our records from album to album - they love it enough to see the changes.

TOTP: There's 1 or 2 songs that have quite a French disco feel to them...
Toby: Yeah. 'Little L', the first single, is disco but it's programmed. We do like programmed stuff and we don't have an aversion to non-live stuff. I love trance and Jay's got a soft spot as well. We just didn't have time and it was much quicker to put all the guys in a room and just play the tunes and press record. It took a lot longer to get to grips with it because we didn't just ship in a programming producer 'cos we're control freaks and we wanted to do it for ourselves!

TOTP: We think that 'Little L' is one of the best things you've ever done...
Toby: Yeah. Well that's another reason why this album is different from the last one. It had 'Canned Heat' and a few other moments, but it was so rushed that we didn't have time to work on it and make it the album that it could have been. So, in terms of albums that we love, the 1st, 3rd and 5th we really love - all the odd numbers!

Toby talks about new sounds, and how to write songs in less than 15 minutes!

TOTP: You, along with Jay Kay, are the songwriters. Do you do the music and he does the lyrics? How does it go usually?
Toby: Each track's different. With 'Little L' I did most of the music and Jay did the lyrics. Then with other tunes, he'll write the melody and i'll write the chords for it. Our new guitarist does some writing on this album as well and he's added a different flavour. On 'Corner Of The Earth' the beginning sounds Moroccan. We've never done anything like that before. He's added that different sound.

TOTP: Do you start with the track you end up with or do you do demos first?
Toby: Well, 'Little L' started from me. I was fiddling in the studio with the beat you hear and the chords and Jay came running up the stairs really excited, got the melody, and within 15 minutes the tune was written.

TOTP: Oh wow, it must be brilliant when it comes together so quickly like that!
Toby: Yes, we do get very excited and silly and we jump up and down! Give each other big hugs and stuff. All the big tunes off all the albums have happened like that, really quickly. Or Jay will come with the melody and he'll pretty much have the whole tune in his head and I can hear as soon as he starts singing what progressions are right for it. 'Canned Heat' was like that. Anything that takes more than 10 minutes to write is crap.

Toby tells us how much he hates shopping in Tesco's and why he's not jealous of Jay.

TOTP: Why don't you just throw the rest away?
Toby: Unfortunately, you can't come up with amazing tunes every time. With this album, more than any of the others we've had to discard maybe 10, 12 tunes - all of which are great and If I'd had my way 3 or 4 of those would be on the album instead of ones that are. But ultimately Jay has final say.

TOTP: Jay's the frontman. Is there any jealousy there?
Toby: No. Do I want that? Would you want that? Would you want your private life discussed in public?

TOTP: No, but at the same time you're a fantastic songwriter...
Toby: Yeah, but I know what I do and I know my friends know what I do, so do I care? Only one time I'd like it would be if I got recognised in the supermarket 'cos then I could say to my girlfriend: "Look love, you'll have to go to Tesco's." That would be the only time! Very happy as I am, thank you.

TOTP: Do you remember your first TOTP appearance, back in 1992...
Toby: I just remember looking really stupid with a woolly hat on. I went through a woolly hat stage. But Top of the Pops is so classy, man. You don't want to look stupid on TOTP!

Jay Kay's right-hand man on playing live, the internet and his plans for the future.

TOTP: You're playing live at Knebworth in August. How do you feel about that?
Toby: We're all quite nervous, because it'll be the first time for ages - like 2 years- that we've played live. And it's a big gig and a dance gig so we're going to cater the set accordingly which gives us a chance to experiment with some techniques we'll be taking with us on tour - sequencing because half the tracks are programmed. We're going to try it at Knebworth and see if it works. It's either going to sound super fat or it'll fall flat on its face...so, we'll see. I'm pretty confident it's going to be really good.

TOTP: I've heard Jay is a big non-internet fan. Are you an internet user yourself?
Toby: I like to see what fans say and stuff and I read the post boards. The one time I went on and posted a message I told people what the new album was like and what to expect, and people replied: "Yeah, man. How do we know it's you."

[Note: Jamiroquai.com's old Post Board is where he posted the message. You can still find it here (but you can no longer reply).]

TOTP: You're obviously a creative person. Do you hate doing this side of the biz; promtions and stuff?
Toby: I don't really mind it 'cos I don't have to do that much of it. Jay is not a fan because he has to do lot more than I. We've been around for 10 years now and we're not the instant exciting surprise that we were in 1992. And you've got to do it, haven't you?

TOTP: And finally, are there any solo projects in the pipeline?
Toby: I haven't had time. At home in my studio I have about 200 ideas for tunes and stuff that stay on my computer. I play it to my mates and I did a trance tune for some friends for a laugh and stuck it on the back of one of their albums. I don't like to split myself and like to stick to the one thing, but with time, for sure. I may go and study orchestration with a view to doing some film work.

Nesta primeira entrevista Toby fala do passado e presente dos Jamiroquai e do Synkronized, a 2ª entrevista foi feita pela revista Top Gear e centra a sua atenção nos carros que Toby Smith possui.

Musical Two Rock Festivals Herald The Sounds Of Summer Mayhem Jamiroquai
by Michael Mehle

Jamiroquai's funk-fortified R&B landed on deaf American ears until 1996, when the British band's third album capitalized on new pop hooks and a tantalizing video for the song Virtual Insanity.

But when it came time to cash in on the momentum and record the follow-up album, the ensemble first had to deal with the departure of its bassist. Jamiroquai lost more than a member; the group also lost a handful of songs. To help make the breakup complete, leaders Jay Kay and Toby Smith decided to dump eight to 10 tracks that the band had recorded with old bassist Stuart Zender.

"We threw them all away," Smith said recently on the phone from London. "He didn't write the songs. Jay and I write all of the songs. Always have. It was because he played on them. And we knew that he would have been difficult if we had released an album with his bass playing on it. Also, we knew that we could write 10 new songs, and we knew that it would (make him angry). If we had used the old tracks, he would have taken (Jamiroquai) to court and tried to put an injunction on the album to keep it from being released.

"Stu's a nice bloke, by the way. But he had problems with Jay, and they had this (stuff) going on for a year or so."

Jamiroquai performs at Winter Park on Saturday as part of an overhauled music festival with an international, world-beat flair on Saturday and a rootsy, folk and blues flavor on Sunday.

"It was an uncomfortable time when (Zender) left, but after that it was much more relaxed," Smith said. "It was like a weight had gone off of Jay's shoulder. It had become more uncomfortable with Stu. He wanted to have his own spotlight. And he wasn't going to get that with Jamiroquai."

So the group moved on without Zender and wrote 10 new songs. One of the tracks, King for a Day, is a rant against the old bassist, with lines such as, "there's no hope for peace and reconciliation.' ' On six of the tracks, Smith played the bass parts on synthesizer, a move he says portends to more technological innovation on Jamiroquai's part.

"Me and Jay, we wanted to change the production a bit, to make it a bit more contemporary," he said.

When the band formed in 1992, the group chose to emphasize real instruments with a big band rather than techno-gilded dance music that required antiseptic computers and synthesizers on stage. As a result, Smith said, Jamiroquai fell into the trap of sounding a lot like the funk and soul bands of the '70s.

"The results is that we've had a lot of critical (complaints) for being retro or being funk. But that's what it sounds like when 10 musicians play live. But there will be much more experimentation in the future. We've established that we can play live."

Jamiroquai has also established that it can sell millions of albums. Travelling Without Moving sold 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and 8 million worldwide. The band enjoyed the success but isn't concerned with duplicating it.

"Eight million people bought the last album," Smith said. "We've done it. If people want to buy the next one, they will. With this one, we said, 'We'll just do our own thing and have a laugh, and hopefully people will buy it.'

"There were elements of the last one that were poppy, which is not what we're into. This one (Synkronized) isn't poppy at all. At the moment, it has been No. 1 in eight countries, including Japan. We'll see what happens in America. America is very tricky because of the segregated radio airplay that you guys tend to have. And we don't tend to fit in anywhere."

The U.S. has also been a strange place for Jamiroquai's other main members, who must play second banana to Kay. As Smith explains it, Sony signed Kay, not the band, to its label, and Jamiroquai's other mainstay members - Smith and drummer Derrick McKenzie had to then sign contracts with Kay.

"When we started up, they were only interested in Jay. They thought he was going to be a star," Smith said. "It doesn't bother me, because I get all the perks, the (royalty) points and stuff. And, in my mind, I don't have to put up with the bad parts about being a celebrity."

Top Gear: Julho 1999, p.76

Face to Facel with Toby Smith
Andy Wilman

Whereas everything in Jay's garage is designed to help him lose his licence, it's more measured at the London home of Toby Smith, keyboard player and fellow songwriting partner in Jamiroquai. As Toby throws back the garage doors, sunlight floods in on two immaculately maintained cars which, side by side, score highly in the chalk and cheese department.

The first is a yellow Lamborghini Countach, the second, one of the beautiful cars ever made, a Facel Vega 2. "I'd been after one of these for ages and I had to fly to Germany with 30 grand in cash to get it," says Toby of the French classic. "The car was owned by this eccentric German and I was told if he didn't like me he wouldn't sell it. He didn't speak a word of English -and it's quite hard to mime that you're a really nice guy."

We stare inside at the huge dash-mounted levers, which wouldn't look out of place on Flash Gordon's spaceship. What exactly do they do? "Nothing," says Toby after a few moments' reflection. "I think one of them does something with a bit of warm air..."

Alongside the Facel Vega and Countach may seem an odd choice. This particular Lamborghini, after all, has a reputation today for being as tasteful as an arm dealer's bedroom. But this is precisely why Toby has gone for an original 1975 model, which, as he points out, is still an outrageous car, but nevertheless a typical work of beauty from the Italians. Only, he feels, when the silly arches and spoilers appeared on the Anniversary did the car begin to deserve its vulgarity tag.

Despite coming across as a bit more considered in his vehicle buying habits, Toby is nevertheless quite capable of flying the Jamiroquai flag for kamikazi driving. Until recently he owned a Skyline: "But I had to sell it or I would have killed myself," he says. "One time, in the early hours of the morning, I was demonstrating how clever its chassis was to some mates and I said 'Look, you can do anything with the wheel and it won't lose it...'" Toby then had to sit there, gently munching one his words as it careered off for a wallop with some road furniture.

"Later on,"he adds, "The dealer told me I should have put on the power to make the car drive itself out of trouble. Well, that would have been fine on the track but it's pretty hard when you're going around Hyde Park Corner."

As I'm leaving Toby's, I spot a knackered old VW camper van tucked away in the corner. "I bought it last year, and it is just the ultimate love wagon," he says, laughing as his blushing girlfriend moves in to silence him. "In fact, our baby daughter was conceived in that van. We parked it on the penis of Cerne Abbas, that big chalk man, to get the fertility vibes and..." Oh no, now he's at it as well.