Zone Magazine Issue 033 - Jan Johnson

The world cup in South Africa - your
track 'Mundo Via Afrika' was
chosen, can you tell us all
about this time & process?
I grew up in South Africa where I played soccer at
a high level. I'm a huge fan too. Sony Africa asked if I
wanted to make a song for their official World Cup album
exclusively featuring African artists and I jumped at the
opportunity. Growing up in Johannesburg, I had a turntable
in my bedroom and I'd raid my father's vinyl collection. I
loved his comedy records. That silliness stuck with me and
anytime I get a chance I like to make a silly record. Mundo
Via Africa is pretty silly. I appreciate music that doesn't
take itself so seriously. There's a good amount of that in
the Hardkiss catalog. There's a time and place for all kinds
of moods. The dance music scene tends to take itself
seriously. THE DARK ART OF LIGHT WORK is a heavier
tone. MUNDO VIA AFRICA is fun. Have you seen the
video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0LpO7TA4Sg
What was your main music influence
growing up in South Africa?
Black music, comedy records and new wave.
and DJ'ing?
For sure, I was making mixed tapes of Chicago
acid for house parties back in Philly. Then got on board the
groovy train with all the indie music coming out of
Manchester. So there was this strong connection to
Chicago and the UK which was quickly followed by Detroit
techno. I'd say Detroit techno of that era is some of my
favorite music ever. There is some great mimicry these
days and I keep a digital crate of the Detroit sound handy
at all times. There's a sound where Detroit techno meets
Africa and I dig that. In the early '90s, one weekend when I
was DJing in Chicago, I was invited to the Trax warehouse.
I was given free run of the warehouse to take copies of
anything I wanted. I didn't hold back. Pretty much
grabbed the entire collection and have that vinyl collection
in a crate on standby at all times.
How vital was it to get to know the
record stores and record labels on
the east coast for you?
While living in Philly, we used to buy records from
King Britt at Tower and developed a lifelong friendship with
Frankie Bones at Groove Records in Brooklyn. Couldn't
have hoped for any better influence. Two tall standing
dudes who created entire cultures around them.
How did you meet Scott
and Robbie?
Scott and I went to college in Philadelphia. Robbie
and Scott went to high school together near DC. I dated
Robbie's sister. I think Scott dated my sister. When Scott
and I graduated from college, we drove across country to
San Francisco to connect with Robbie who had moved there
a few years earlier to start Hardkiss Music.
In 1991-92 how vital was it to book
studio time and did it help when
starting the label?
Correct, we would use our sway or remix fee or DJ
money to rent time in studios. It was quite frustrating
because there weren't many dance music engineers at the
time which forced me to buy the gear and learn for myself.
Tell us more about the
names Hardkiss & Hawke?
Scott and I were tossing around names and I
threw out Hard and he threw out Kiss and then he put
them together. We started the Hardkiss Music label and
then he began DJing as Scott Hardkiss and a couple of
years later Robbie and I did the same.
My name Gavin means White Hawk in Gaelic but I
couldn't really call myself White Hawke. That would have
been career suicide. So I went with Hawke. I was producing
before I Djed. Actually, one of the first tracks I ever made
was just re-released on vinyl here: https://
klassewrecks.bandcamp.com/album/elegal1-ep
Was it the acid house sound that got
you into the electronic music scene
" San Francisco was on
another level back then
pre-Internet. We lit the fire
for the tech revolution. The
culture and music was
diverse and futuristic and
the techies fed into that "