We chat with Bristol-raised, New York-based DJ Nature before he plays Le Bain on Saturday, November 18th.
LE BAIN: You moved from Bristol to New York in 1989. How would you describe your first days living in NYC?
DJ NATURE: Incredible! I fell in love with the place watching movies like Taxi Driver, Manhattan and Midnight Cowboy. I went there with some friends in 1987 and knew that it was the place for me at that time. We came here basically with no foundation, no friends for advice, and we set up a business shipping American product to Japan! Looking back, it was pretty crazy.
DJ NATURE: Incredible! I fell in love with the place watching movies like Taxi Driver, Manhattan and Midnight Cowboy. I went there with some friends in 1987 and knew that it was the place for me at that time. We came here basically with no foundation, no friends for advice, and we set up a business shipping American product to Japan! Looking back, it was pretty crazy.
"I definitely don't make music thinking about the message I intend to send."
Let’s go back in time a little further. In 1984, you went to Japan for the first time with the legendary London collective Buffalo from Face Magazine and you DJ'd for the designer Takeo Kikuchi. How was that?
Japan was shock to be quite honest! Living in the UK, you had very little knowledge about Japan, only stereotypical or obvious stuff. So when I went there, I was blown away. The place was ahead of us in many ways in regards to street culture, especially American street culture. They had so many things we never had and in the UK and we thought we were second to NY in that aspect pretty much at that time. Working with Takeo was really easy, very relaxed, just basically playing music for the show. Later we would do the Yuji Imanishi’s Men's Bigi, which was really a lot of fun. I gathered some of the best New York hip hop dancers of the early 80’s for that show. The crew ended up doing some catwalk stuff for Takeo, which was a laugh.
Back in NYC, you said that Tony Humphries has been one of the biggest influences in terms of DJing. How does that influence reflect on your own style today?
Well, I think I am ever-evolving, so I don't think he's influential as directly as he was earlier in my DJ career. I think he was doing things that I related to a lot in terms of blending tunes, but his selection and programming, especially on the radio show, was second to none. [His club] Zanzibar was incredible also, but he was slightly different on the radio.
Japan was shock to be quite honest! Living in the UK, you had very little knowledge about Japan, only stereotypical or obvious stuff. So when I went there, I was blown away. The place was ahead of us in many ways in regards to street culture, especially American street culture. They had so many things we never had and in the UK and we thought we were second to NY in that aspect pretty much at that time. Working with Takeo was really easy, very relaxed, just basically playing music for the show. Later we would do the Yuji Imanishi’s Men's Bigi, which was really a lot of fun. I gathered some of the best New York hip hop dancers of the early 80’s for that show. The crew ended up doing some catwalk stuff for Takeo, which was a laugh.
Back in NYC, you said that Tony Humphries has been one of the biggest influences in terms of DJing. How does that influence reflect on your own style today?
Well, I think I am ever-evolving, so I don't think he's influential as directly as he was earlier in my DJ career. I think he was doing things that I related to a lot in terms of blending tunes, but his selection and programming, especially on the radio show, was second to none. [His club] Zanzibar was incredible also, but he was slightly different on the radio.
You once said, “People seem to ignore the fact that dancing is basically a mating ritual.” Do you think the music you produce and play should work as a reminder of that original purpose?DJ Nature: Subliminal Seducer Mix
Not really. I definitely don't make music thinking about the message I intend to send. I just go with what comes natural at the time. It's been good and bad in a way, because I end up doing a track that people seem to like a lot, such as my last release on Futureboogie, "Ultimate Delusion," and then I go back to my studio doing something really dark and quite the opposite when maybe if I continued on the same vein as the last release, I could build a consistent following maybe. But I think it is problematic to change how I make music. I wouldn't feel comfortable going against my natural creative path. Plus, I kind of avoid hype and fair-weather fans and pick up followers who get into what I do for the long term.
What’s your ultimate delusion?
Thinking I will ever stop doing this.
On Saturday, November 18th, Le Bain presents DJ Nature & BLT (Partyline)
The Standard, High Line | 10PM
DJ Nature: Soundcloud | Facebook | Website
