The Littlemen interview - Acid House Pioneers
Author: ANDREW JAMES
Friday, November 18, 2005
Think of Nottingham in the UK and you're more than likely to come up with the legend of Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and the Sheriff's dastardly acts. But fast forward to the present and the more famed members of the home county would have to be DJ duo The Littlemen. A pair of acid house fans who met each other at the same early '90s parties, they bring house music to the masses with funk flavour in spades. In Australia soon to support Greenskeepers, they caught up with us.
How did you guys first hook up-
We got to know each other because we were going to and playing at the same parties, Steve as a member of the Smokescreen crew, Gav as part of the Giddy Fruit DJ collective.
How has the UK scene changed since you guys first started back in 1993- What do you see as the most important change-
The scene in the UK has got a bit smaller... first dance music diversified, then rock music has made a big comeback. People are into live music again, which isn't really a bad thing, but it has meant club nights aren't as busy as the early '90s, when it was massive and everywhere was rammed.
Has the subsequent commercialism of the scene been a good thing or a bad thing-
Obviously a bad thing... over commercialisation has made house music a bit uncool to 'the kids', it's not new and exciting like when we were younger. But we always played underground music anyway, so all the commercial superclub stuff hasn't really affected us too much.
What attracted you guys to house in the first place-
In late '80s everyone liked house music over here, it was just really new and exciting - the Acid house Summer of Love etc. Then, with the free party scene a couple of years later, we started taking the music out to the countryside. We think it's 24 hour party people music. We wanted to party for days on end and this slow groovy music fitted the bill.
Who are some of the DJs and producers that you're big fans of-
Too many to mention in one go... Todd Terry (back in the day), Derrick Carter, DJ Pierre, Mood II Swing, St Germain, Bottom Line and Nu Groove Records.
What's one of the best gigs you guys have done and why-
We've played all over the place, but we always loved the Glastonbury Smokesceen parties of a few years back which were four-five days of solid house music with thousands of people and nice sunny weather.
What's one of the worst, and why-
Steve's trip to Bosnia just after the war - fighting squaddies on the dancefloor!
Who would you most like to work with, alive or dead-
We could get John Lennon and Ian Curtis (Joy Division) on the mic and keys.
How's the Nottingham scene going these days- Still as vibrant as ever-
There's a few new nights going on, but not enough clubs really to make it as interesting as it could be. The Smokescreen nights are still awesome though, and all our guest DJs reckon it's their best UK gig.
How's your label, Mobile Trax going- Any new releases we should keep an eye out for-
Label's going really well, all the EPs have been well received and are selling more with each release. Next EPs are by Steve with Ben Brown, then one by Slater Hogan and Chuck Daniels.
Check out Tranzfusion Record's selection of tracks remixes and compilations featuring The Littlemen at this link Tags