Tim Green - Keeping It Green
Never heard of Tim Green- That could soon change. The UK DJ/producer is on the up. Many an industry heavyweight is already onto him – Pete Tong, Richie Hawtin, Tiga – and he’s been hailed by the music media, with iDJ designating him a “player” of 2008. In town for Lost Baggage, 3D’s Cyclone caught up with the Londoner.
The affable Tim Green, based in London, credits his rapid ascendance to hard work and having a shrewd manager. It was at Canterbury College in Kent where he was introduced to underground dance music through his now best friend. Green was raised in a musical environment, taking piano lessons in childhood, before picking up the guitar, for which he showed greater aptitude. But, until college, he’d never thought much of electronica. Things like The Prodigy had mostly passed him by.
“I remember liking Firestarter, but not as a dance track – I just remember liking it ’cause it was good fun,” Green says. “But the stuff that I heard before was generally the real cheesy bad stuff in the charts. So I hadn’t really heard underground music until that point.”
Green began producing under the handle TG in 2006 but, as of last year, started to utilise his full name. Former Detroiter Claude VonStroke signed his breakthrough record, Revox, to Dirtybird, while Green released the minimal club anthem Mr Dry on Germany’s Trapez. He’s also inked a singles deal with the traditionally prog Renaissance, a label in the throes of reinventing itself. “They liked the fact that obviously I’m English and young,” Green says. “It’s great being on that label alongside so many great artists, and it’s nice because I always want to be a diverse artist. That label is completely different to Trapez or Dirtybird – they’re all quite different labels.”
In recent months Green has focussed on remixing, the standout being Steve Lawler’s 21st Century Ketchup. Now that his tastes are evolving, he’s keen to deliver further ‘Tim Green’ material. “It seems such a long time since I’ve written anything – the last set of tracks, like Revox, was written almost a year ago now. I haven’t really written any new productions since, ’cause I was doing remixes, so my new productions are a lot different. They’re a lot housier, I expect, and maybe a bit deeper. It’s hard to describe my own music without going too in-depth, but it’s on a more housey edge instead of techno.”
On his MySpace profile, Green lists unusual influences, including Jon Hopkins, Peter Gabriel and jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Long-term, he fancies producing some experimental music. “I always wanna make dance music but, really, I wanna be making all different types of music eventually. That’s always been my dream, even before I was into dance music – to write songs, no matter what the style. But I’ve always been into rock, jazz and folk music, so it’d be nice to be an artist who can get away with writing anything – similar to Beck, where they could just do what they want.”
WHO: Tim Green
WHAT: Plays Lost Baggage at The Cross
WHEN: Saturday 14 February
MORE: Facebook :: Lost Baggage / myspace.com/tg909