The Freemasons - Dance Music Dominators!

[modz1]

Welcome to the 2nd in a series of DV247 Forums exclusive interviews..

Without doubt, ask anyone in the high street, in a bar, at work, in a salon, on a bus, wherever - "Who's your favourite dance act on the radio and in the clubs right now"? The answer most likely to be uttered is.. The Freemasons!

Bursting onto the club scene in 2004, and all over radio like a rash, their 'Love On My Mind' track set a new pro-production benchmark in crossover club music that had raw percussion and bass power, blended almost symbiotically with lush melodies and out 'n out pop sensibility! What followed was a string of remixes for the likes of Luther Vandross, Beyonce/Shakira, Kelly Rowland, writing for the pop princess Kylie Minogue and the ultimate pop/dance seminal hit that was 'Uninvited'.

We spoke to James Wiltshire,


who, alongside Russell Small, is one half of the ubiquitous duo, and the studio genius behind

The Freemasons

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DV247:
“No doubt the Freemasons are hard at work in the studio this week, what production is up on the mixing desk right now James?”

JW
We’re literally just finishing mixing a series of clubbier tracks for our DJ’ing in the coming months and in particular a gig at Carl Cox’s Tuesday night at Space, Ibiza ... Last one of the day’s mixing session was a tough-edged but very melodic track called ‘Pegasus’ - Russell left his computer out for Carl two nights before the gig, Carl heard it, loved it and swiped it for his early outdoor set which was amazing in itself, but later as we walked back through the labyrinth of corridors after a brilliant night on the Space terrace we heard the chords coming from the main room - He played it last record !!!!! .... If Carlsberg did DJ gigs - it would be that one for us this year
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DV247:
“Successful collaborations such as yours usually have different tastes and influences merging to the greater good; what, or who, are each of your musical roots or inspirations?"

JW
They are actually very similar for both of us - We have an obvious love of late 70’s funk, Soul and Disco - especially the New York producers - Chic would probably be our most consistent muse. We both love the records from the Detroit and Atlantic Soul years and grew up around the time when electronic music suddenly flourished from a new romantic underground to the forefront of production. And then by the time we were ready to go near a studio, dance music was just beginning to peak in the UK. Russell DJ’d for years.
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DV247:
“James, your background is well documented as a studio engineer, programmer and musician, can you describe your journey from entering the industry to the formation of the Freemasons”?

JW
My second professional session was as a programmer for a dance act called The Delorme at DMC studios.. I was only 19 I think.. Soon after I was offered a job which seemed like an amazing opportunity as I was suddenly working alongside all the people who’s names I’d read on the back of record sleeves for years .... Suddenly I was in the little studio next to the likes of Paul Dakeyne, Steve Anderson from Brothers in Rhythm, Chad Jackson was popping by for a chat and a laugh, etc,etc. I was there for 5 years and it was only when I left the place to work in the London major studio circuit that I realised something quite extraordinary - through a friendly rivalry that had developed in the studios we’d all pushed ourselves technically, and as a result I knew how to do things that left other programmers and engineers picking their jaws up off the floor. This proved very useful and soon I was working every week on different projects across London. I worked intensely with Gota Yashiki who is quite simply one of the most talented men I have ever met - It was he who really fused the mix of sampled beats and live drums and his work on Soul II Soul’s first Album, Seal, Sinead O’Connor and Simply Red’s ‘Stars’ had led him to become one of the most revered rhythm programmers and producers around London... Through him I met Andy Wright - an excellent London-based producer who was a huge influence on my professional life and still remains a great friend ... Andy taught me the social and personal side of production. I’ll never forget him walking back into a session full of people after dinner one night ... the session had gone wrong as a few people there had personal problems.. Instead of going mad, he just looked around, instantly assessed everything and then went round every person and said the right things, broke the session up, sent everyone home for an early night but made everyone feel good about themselves.. He taught me that sometimes you need to leave your own ego at the door to get the best result. A few years later I moved to Sydney in OZ for 6 months and on my return found I couldn't live without the sea .. That brought me here to Brighton. Jason from Phats + Small was a founding member of the Delorme and we’d worked together a lot over the years. I helped them out on their last album for BMG Germany and afterwards Jason wanted to pursue other types of music... Russell and I kept on making dance records and over the course of a year developed a whole new way of working and using the software. Soon our first record “Love on my mind” was doing really well - DJ’s were desperately trying to get hold of it and - then we got offered some remix work - the rest is history!!
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DV247:
Once ensconced in the studio, can you describe your workflow: would one of you solely take on a particular stage of the production process or would you always be together through the entire project”?

JW
Its very similar between remixes and productions once things are underway, but the initial stages are quite different. Obviously with a remix you have the song / track intact when you start, in which case we strip it down to the vocals, get the tempo right and stretch everything up (using Serato Time and Pitch - the only timestretch we’ve found that will keep things in time over a long period) ... then we sort the basic musical direction and chords. For a production it may be a backing track that ends up getting written over, or a vocal idea from a singer, or sometimes a big fat sample... The process is almost identical once these basics are covered - we work long and hard to make sure every single part works. We start with the rhythm - make sure the bass and drums are as perfect as possible (one of the biggest disciplines you can learn - the first attempt might not always be right with the rhythm section - don’t be afraid to start the drums again - replace the bassline, change the kick, or the bass sound, etc, etc ... (Chic have always been our inspiration here - just listen to the power of the bass and drums working together on their classics ). Once we have the foundations, we build around it. We have a few tricks we use to really layer things up - there is an awful lot floating about in the background normally on our stuff - it can really make all the difference to the depth of sound ... Russell is excellent at finding obscure references for either the whole song or just sections - So many time’s he’s pulled something up on itunes that has nothing to do with the track, but it’s inspired a whole part for the mix ! Then the final stages are always the same - Almost blind panic trying to get it all to fit together - Bass end paranoia, dark thoughts that the kick drum is pants - the vocals too harsh, the whole mix rubbish - normal stuff we all go through, then absolute relief when we finish it, go home and separately listen to it on loop with a big smile on our faces driving our respective partners bonkers listening to the same track all night
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DV247:
“The track that initially broke the Freemasons into mass market recognition was ‘Love on my Mind’: Although it contains a sample from Jackie Moore’s ‘This Time Baby’, where did the additional “Can’t live without you” vocal come from AND any particular anecdotal memories about this record”?

JW
That was Russell’s idea - we bought a DVD of MP3 Acapellas from eBay and going through it we found the Tina Turner song “When the Heartache is Over”... We nabbed it for the demo and suddenly everyone loved it - ironically the “love on my Mind” lyric was the first word of the verse in the Jackie Moore song, so it could be considered a ‘cut-and-shut’ - two songs welded together with a chorus becoming a verse and vice versa. We actually ended up spending a great afternoon with one of the writers of the Tina Turner record - John Reid - He was the Nightcrawlers but has since gone on to be one of the most successful writers from the UK - Couldn't happen to a nicer chap too.
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DV247:
“You’ve worked with some great vocalists in the past few years, but recording Siedah Garrett (on ‘Rain Down Love’) must rank as a true ‘moment’ for you: How did that particular collaboration crystallise and did you record her vocals in Brighton, London or where they laid down across the Atlantic”?

JW
The song was initially recorded many years ago in LA with a very talented chap called Neil Cowley who wrote the early version of the track with me. Siedah is quite a force of nature. She was trained by Quincey Jones, wrote Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ with Glen Ballad (who went on to produce the first Alanis Morrisette album) and even sang with MJ on “I Just can’t stop loving you”. I remember arriving in LA with Yoshi, my Japanese manager at the time and heading up to Westlake studios on Hollywood Blvd. Siedah had already recorded the song - it was only a few tweaks away from the vocal you heard on the record. but what blew me away was her vocal control - she would automatically under-accentuate the S’s on a word, her breathing was fast, short and in time with the track, the ending of every word was as perfect from a delivery point of view as the entry. Her harmonies were note and timing perfect too - This is what sets the US singers apart from the rest of the world - you HAVE to be at the top of your game to do well out there and it really shows. That session started in me a search for quality in vocal performances and singers that still remains - I used to let things go. After that, the singer HAS to be great and I will go down to the very syllable on a performance ... My view is - we spend so much time on the production making sure every nuance is as good as we can - the vocalist must do the same.
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DV247:
“The background of recording and mixing your uber-smash ‘Uninvited’ is well documented on video on the web but has the global success of this now seminal club track opened up other, ‘bigger’ doors for you with regard to co-writes, development of yourselves as artists, publishing and performance opportunities”?

JW
It certainly changed everything regarding our profile - most dance acts are faltering by the fourth single, but ‘Uninvited’ came along and cemented our future for sometime - especially for Djing. Regarding co-writes - that really started off the back of the Beyonce and Kelly Rowland remixes we did - we are now in the lucky position of being able to work with some truly exciting existing and new artists. The track we did for Kylie really made us realise how much attention we were getting in some serious quarters. When we found out how much she loved it, it really spurred us on.. We’ve only just started down this road and hopefully it will be a long and fruitful one - Russell and I both un-ashamedly love pop music

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DV247:
“You kindly allowed the DV247 Forums members to recently get a peek at your full studio kit list but we’d like to ask what is/are the next pro-audio gear items on the Freemasons ‘wants list’?

JW
OOOOOO - Ok (Takes a deep breath) ... In no Particular order.. Lexicon PCM96 (love the firewire connection Via plug-ins - although the MX500 looks great too), Pro-tools HD3 - We kinda need this now we’re doing so much for the US, Korg M3 with the firewire connection (again - a great way for full sequencer integration). Dave Smith Prophet 8 ... I could be here for hours.. Of course all of our records will sound better once we buy one of them ... It’s like girls and shoes if you ask me.
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DV247:
“As an obvious gear-head James, what are your top 5 most “I could NEVER do without it” pieces of kit, whether hardware or software?”

JW
1> Apple Mac-Pro.. I’m not even going to enter the debate of Mac Vs PC as it’s quite frankly pointless - Macs are just very highly spec’d ~PC’s these days, but I will enter the OS argument. If you use Windows you get more software to play with, but if you use Macs you tend to spend more time making music and less time fighting against the OS. OSX is just better and even people in Microsoft secretly admit it... Half of it is just down to practicalities - Windows has to address an unthinkable range of hardware and software additions whilst OSX only has to deal with the range of components used in Macs over the years - and the legacy of old PC software is a real Albatross for Microsoft ... To be honest though, only good things come from this two tier system - both companies inspire and compete with each other for innovation and without either, the OS’s we use would be half as good - friendly competition is always useful.

2> Logic Pro - Say no more really - everyone grows up with one sequencer and this is mine ... It also contains the plug-in most used by the Freemasons - The Logic compressor - I don’t have any idea how we would work without this now - It’s the best piece of code I’ve found out there for dynamics. I’ve tried so many times to find something to replace it and you would think the likes of Sony Oxford, Waves or Universal Audio would blow it out of the water, but it’s just so damn easy to get great results out of it when you get used to it. I used to think I knew it backwards - then read a few magazine articles that used some of the new options like the Opto mode and it sent be straight back to the beginning with it ... Although I do wish Apple would tidy the damn thing up - It’s like a shanty town in there with bits left in from long ago to ensure compatibility ... I think the time has come for a clean start to the internal architecture - It feels like working with a grumpy, belligerent elderly relative when you have a busy arrange page - and will Apple PLEASE let me turn the contextual menus off on the main pages so I can edit things again without screaming at the Mac!

3> Ablteon Live - We now do all our drums on it and port them into Logic as it’s 10 times tighter than Logic when using the internal samplers and Drum Racks ... We’ve always used it, but now I find we’re spending more and more time inside it then porting the audio over - One of the most inspiring programmes ever written - Can’t believe how great it is at making music and DJing too!!

4> Decent Monitors - Without them all is lost - We’re on KRK V6’s at the moment, for the future I’m eying up their big brothers - the Expose range - you can listen to all KRK”S for a long period of time at reasonable volume, and you still have to work mixes to make them sound good on playback. Monitors have gone like Microphones - suddenly after the last few years all the mid-price range ones are brilliant too for a change

5> BX-Digital - M/S Mastering EQ ... This now sits on the output strip of every single mix we do now in Logic - the ability to EQ the mono signal and stereo field separately has been a revelation - It’s great on stereo instruments or recordings too - each section has a de-esser - so controlling Ess’s on BV blocks couldn’t be simpler - Also the EQ is near perfect. They are a small company so you get really personal service with them too.

AND...Decent Coffee... we discovered that Cafe Ibiza is one of the best roasts out there - I suppose it would need to be to wake people up on that island
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DV247:
“The Freemasons are also very active on the national and international DJ circuit: We understand you are advocates of Ableton Live for your performance… Is this your sole playback source, or do CD and, especially Vinyl, still have a place in your gig boxes?”

JW
Russell plays from CD’s and I use Ableton. It’s turned into a great mixture as we are able to use the strengths of both formats.. the only arse is getting from one to the other so we have created a series of swap-over tracks that either go out on a big explosion or end in a looped part of an acappella - all I have to do is get the start point right and then I’m off (I do wish there was a simple way controlling master tempo for live to 100’s of a BPM from a controller). We both love the sound of vinyl but the beauty of CDJ’s is in the weight - It’s stopped Russell’s knuckles dragging on the floor these days and baggage handling disasters are out of the window. We recently had a young friend who could DJ brilliantly on both CD’s and Ableton supply mix cd’s to a club, and he got a horrible reply from one of the promoters saying his “Gran could mix with software” .... That kind of snobbery is pointless and usually comes from people who are set in their ways and will end up out of work in the not too distant future. Vinyl, CD’s or Laptop - It’s not the tools you use - It’s the records you play, when you play them, and the interaction with the crowd that is important
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DV247:
“When DJ’ing, your sets are renowned for exclusive ‘Freemasons Booty’s’ (or shall we say, one-off mash-ups and remixes) made primarily for your DJ sets only. Would you encourage other up and coming DJ’s to push this particular envelope and introduce as many of their own productions etc into their sets?”

JW
Absolutely, although be warned - it’s easy to get it wrong -Make sure things are in key - it’s not just a case of throwing an acappella over a track and getting it in time - it has to work musically as well ... Also make sure your source material is good - when we DJ in Russia the club owner loves it as from the first record it sounds like sometime turned all the bass and top up on the sound system - this is because all the local DJ’s play from second hand MP3’s that have been blasted to bits or not mastered properly. If you think it’s good enough to play, spend some money getting it mastered - It’s well known that we use George at Massive masters (massive masters)
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DV247:
“Brighton is obviously a significant and creatively inspiring location as a home and workplace for you both – Would you anticipate ever living or working anywhere else”?

JW
I must admit I have thought about it just recently - Two English summers drenched in rain, financial problems everywhere (that are not so acute in Europe), ridiculous tax and local planning, crippling travel and car costs have really made me look at Europe over the last few months, but to be honest I love England and Brighton is one of the best towns to live in the UK - There is always something going on and when the sun’s out - It’s amazing ... I also don’t think either of us could live without poached eggs on toast..

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DV247:
“Success and high profile is obviously what the Freemasons are enjoying right now (and long may it continue!), but in the environment as fickle, un-stable and non-predictable as the Music Industry, have either of you ever experienced utter disillusionment at where your careers may have been at any point in the last ten or fifteen years – if so, what is it that pulled you out of that place”?

JW
About 5 years ago I was personally at a low ebb - A Japanese album project I was working on had self-destructed and I was mopping up the mess ... I had a really nasty meeting in London to finalise everything and was in quite an emotional state on the train back to Brighton at 10pm. Russell and I had just signed a very small deal with Skint/Loaded at the time, but I was mentally giving myself 3 years to get things going properly or I was going to give up completely and look for work in Post-Prod or something similar as studios were collapsing left right and centre in London. When I looked up as the train pulled out of Victoria there was a collection of quite stately elder chaps in tuxedoes in the carriage around me who had obviously been out in London for a posh night out (the lord mayor was mentioned a few times) - as I listened to their conversation I was really cheered up by their long-term friendship (some even fought together in WWII) .. One leaned over and asked me about the laptop I had in front of me as his grandson was really into music. I advised him a bit as he was fascinated by the music programmes I had on it - as they left when the train arrived in Brighton, they wished me well and called after each other “see you at the lodge next week”.. I’d just spent 50 minutes in the warm company of a group of high-up Freemasons... Life has a funny way of showing you the right path - you just have to be open to the idea that not everything can be explained away. Russell and I had named ourselves after the local pub just days before!!
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DV247:
“It’s rare in dance/pop music culture that a production team gain such notoriety and success that they qualify in becoming a literal ‘hit machine’: do you feel the pressure is constantly ‘on’ to produce one smash record after another or do you adopt a more philosophical ‘what will be, will be‘ approach?

JW
We NEVER do things for the money - that’s been our motto since we started and it will hopefully remain - It’s meant we only ever take things on if we think we can do a good job and we have to love the song/track. The result is we work very hard on every track.. The Beyonce and Shakira mix took four weeks as an example - Other producers we know can’t believe it sometimes as they are knocking out mixes in a few days (or even hours!!!) but that just seems self-destructive - it’s never gonna be your best work and everything that bears your name should be to the same quality. We do however realise there is a case for overkill and you have to be careful ... we have actually had too many releases just recently and now we’re going to stop remixing, go away for a bit and write and produce a whole load of new stuff for ourselves and other artists - It’s very exciting as I know what we have ready and waiting to go - And it could be our best work yet!!
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The Freemasons featuring Katherine Ellis "When You Touch Me" is out now!


If you enjoyed this interview, then please bookmark it below for 'digg' and 'del.icio.us' etc and send it to your friends on Facebook & MySpace

This interview copyright DV247.com Forums 2008

[sureno]

i watched the tutorial for uninvited and along with this interview there is invalueble information for the producer and dj!!! i think these guys are awesome, they have all aspects of the music production game nailed from engineering, musical theory and an ear for what the public will want or like. keep up the great work Modz1 it is really appreciated!!!
A*
Thankyou

[modz1]

Thanks Sureno, we've got more great interviews upcoming...

[iceHouse Project]

Awesome.

Great interview, and very informative.

[Lacerta]

Thanks for your good job Dv247
Freemasons are funny

[modz1]

New Freemasons mix on Funk Fanatics (feat. Peyton), "Love is the Answer"
Very infectious..



..and on their new 'Freemaison' label..

[EdRyan]

Not really feeling that one Modz. Gets a bit stale after awhile.

I liked what they did with 'Keep The Fire Burning'.

And it'll be interesting to hear what they come up with whilst working with Danni Minogue.

[modz1]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

Not really feeling that one Modz. Gets a bit stale after awhile.

I liked what they did with 'Keep The Fire Burning'.

And it'll be interesting to hear what they come up with whilst working with Danni Minogue.

See your point..It is a real 'handbag' moment indeed Ed, but I've got a place for such stuff early on in my set for the girls to get into (and the lads always follow).. I believe they're about to premiere their collaboration with Sophie Ellis Bexter at this years Mardi Gras down under anytime now..

[EdRyan]

The S.E.B one was news to me.

Is there no-one they won't try and bring back to being famous and relevant.

I can see a reality TV show appearing from this: "I'm a forgotten singer, get me the Freemasons"

[waxxy]

there easily the best remixers around today i wish theyd do a full album with beyonce there remixs of her last album were much better produced than the orginal album versions the same goes for the kelly rowland track it blew the orginal version away its just a shae in amaerica they arse lick guys with no talent like lil wayne or producers who no longer care about the tracks there working on ..i used to lve r n b /hop hop tracks coming from americabut they no longer excite me tracks made in europe are more creative and fresh sounding than stuff being imported from the states but radio stations dont push home grown stuff enough ..too prove me right just listen to galaxy fm ..they play tracks by pink/lil wayne/beyonce ...etc every minute but home grown rappers arent played with uch frequency its a real shame

[EdRyan]

awhile back, they did release a mix album or their remixes. It wont have the newer stuff like the 'work' mix tho. As for easily being the best, moto blanco are up their with them. They are more productive but do take on some shocking tracks. The masons do less but only seen to take stuff they are comfortable with. But to be honest, the best remixers ever were full intention.

[waxxy]

my favourites were k-klass they were so good they cracked america which not many artists ever do .and there remix of bobby browns two can play that game is a all time classic.they also earned enough money too buy a nuclear bunker of the mod and convert it into a studio ..brilliant

[EdRyan]

I never got K-klass as remixers. They were odd. Their form of original productions didn't quite translate to their remixes. It sounded like they were trying to sound lie themselves, but somehow didn't.

Same goes for the Rhythm Masters. Although Steve Mac is still going strong. I could kill him for releasing that Paddy's Revenge track though.

[waxxy]

yeah the paddy tune may not have been good but the guy coined it in on that tune.

[sureno]

oh how that tune made me feel nauseous, must of been the frequencies