Freemasons Interview

The Freemasons are back with a brand new 3 CD compilation ‘Shakedown 3’ that will blow you away. Having taken them seven years to create, it’s some of their best work to date. We speak with Russell Small (of Phats and Small) and James Wiltshire (a.k.a Jimmy Gomez) about their new work, life in Brighton, and highlights of their Freemasons career.

Hi guys! How’s life treating you?
Very well, we’ve had a lot of positive feedback for our album, which is such a big relief and the sun’s out, and Brighton is ‘having it right off’ to coin a phrase.

What are you up to at the moment?
James is in the studio and I am out in Ibiza DJ-ing and trying to break the world record for Tapas eating.

Ha sounds good! After taking a break in 2011, you’ve returned to the music scene with a bang! How does it feel to have a new album out after seven years of studio work, and with so much support behind it already?
It feels great to finally have it finished. We believe it’s the best body of work that we have done. We took our time over it and I think that shows with the quality and diversity of the tracks.

Do you have a favourite track from the new album, ‘Shakedown 3’?
It changes all the time! At the moment it’s ‘True Love Survivor’ and for those warm summer evenings, “Paradise”

There’s a very cool yet upbeat sound to the album – what did you want to put across with ‘Shakedown 3’?
This time we wanted to give a little bit more. We have been working together for 10 years now, so we wanted to make it quite special; a true reflection of what we both are about musically, both in terms of production and remixes. It contains influences from different genres, eras and styles of House music, spread over 3 CDs, with CD 1 and CD 2 mixed. The first is more laid back, more appropriate for the poolside or beach, or the bedroom for that matter! CD 2 is more upbeat – more what people would probably expect from us I suppose. And the third is an artist album; a collection of all the new material.

‘Shakedown 3’ looks like it may be one of the biggest albums of the year! If you had to describe the new album in three words, what would they be?
Blood, sweat and tears … Oh – and Nespresso.

We can imagine! You worked with some interesting people on the album including, Emma Rohan, Randy Chapsaw and HANA – how did you go about selecting the artists?
We have met most of the artists we work with through friends – they just seem to fall into our laps at the right time, although Randy has turned out to be a nightmare – he’s wanted in three Southern states for Aggravated Menace and Possession of an Offensive Wife so we could never tour with him [laughs].

What was a highlight of making the album, and how long did it take you to make?
When we actually started to piece the mixes together, we realised that what was a huge list on the studio white board for over a year, had suddenly become quite a body of coherent work. We’d stretched ourselves much further than ever before. All in all, if you consider the writing, it took three years, but we ducked out for a while during the EDM onslaught and waited for the kidz to bring House back!

Check out Freemasons Ft. HANA – True Love Survivor

As well as your own hits, you’ve created remixes with tracks from the likes of Kylie Minogue, John Newman and even Beyoncé, but do you have one particular artist or band that has influenced your own music?
We love and are influenced by so many genres and bands we couldn’t pick just one. If you listen to the album its quite obvious sometimes who we have been influenced by on certain tracks – wink wink!

You’ve had such a successful ten years in the music industry, your mix of Beyoncé’s ‘Déjà vu’ earned you a Grammy nomination, how did that feel?
It was an amazing feeling just to be nominated. It would have been nice to win one, but there’s still plenty of time yet!

A lot of successful bands and artists have grown up in the music industry; did you always know that you wanted to work in the industry – and where did your love of music come from?
Russell: My whole family are big music lovers, there was always music being played in the house or the car when I was growing up. I started collecting records with my brother when I was around 9 or 10, we got our first decks when I was 13, a Citronic belt driven DJ console. I then started my own mobile disco, moving onto clubs in Brighton when I was 19. I never really saw it as a career though until I got together with Jason Heyward to form Phats and Small.

James: I’ve only just found out that my recently retired father always longed to be a singer and used to entertain everyone on the school bus in the 50s. There was always so much music in the house including classical from my mother hence the huge love of orchestral sounds, but it was when technology and music collided in the 80s that I fell totally in love with it. I remember a load of us discussing the Pet Shop Boy’s Fairlight computer from Top of the Pops at the age of 14. Now I have every synth under the sun at our disposal in software and the world’s best strings players at the end of our sampler!

Obviously you’ve had great success with Phats & Small and Jimmy Gomez – do you feel it’s important to have these different identities – and do you feel its aided the duration of your careers?
We all have a past and these different guises are ours, we are proud to say, but sometimes I think it can be a hindrance. You tend to get pigeon-holed and it’s very hard to break away and do something new, especially as you get older. These days people tend to try and stay anonymous when starting a new dance project, feeling they won’t get a fair crack, especially if you’re changing the style of music that you normally make. Obviously you shout about it from the highest rooftop if it’s a success!

How do you decide when to put your Freemason’s hat on, and when to be Small or Jimmy?
I think we wear the same hat all the time. We both love different styles of music – all through our careers our music has been quite varied. I think the biggest change in our sounds comes down to the constant changes of club culture. You pick up all the little influences from the zeitgeist and extract what you like.

Hailing from Brighton, what would you say about some of the new talent that’s coming out of there – acts like Anuskha for example on Giles Deacon’s label? Is it an inspirational place?
At the moment it certainly is – for example, right next to the studio is one of the UK’s best Indie music distribution companies called Republic of Music. They’re now firmly into management and have an incredible singer Called “I am L”. I’ve just helped a bit on the first record and it’s stunning. During Brighton’s music conference (The Great Escape – which actually should be called the Great UK A+R piss-up) she showcased for the first time and literally blew everyone away! Last year it was London Grammar performing in a church – exciting times on the beach!

On tour, if you could only bring three items with you, what would they be?
iPhone, Headphones, SD Card.

Very much to the point! In your leisure time, what other artists do you enjoy listening to?
It’s mainly Dance music on my iPhone. I’m listening to Clean Bandit at the moment and the Dimitri from Paris’ album on Defected.

Ah that’s a great album. Where has been to most amazing travel destination your career has taken you?
There has been a few, but I love Brazil – the people and the atmosphere…stunning!

What’s your most memorable performance?
One of the most memorable was at the Papaya festival in Croatia, playing on a horse shoe beach with the sun coming up behind you, with Sandy Rivera doing a bungee jump as you play Axwell Ft. Steve Edwards “Watch the sunrise”…

That sounds truly idyllic. What do you like to do in your time off? Any guilty pleasures?
Eat, drink, meet with friends, watch films and TV series, listen to music…

What are your plans for touring/performing coming up?
Just back from the US. The rest of the summer finds me in lots of holiday destinations around Europe – promoting the album!

Thanks for your time!

By Naomi Finniss