Issue 041

Egebamyasi = Acid House = tell us
more about this.
The sound that went on to be acid was a new
fresh unusual individual sound back in the 80's and
early 90's. Fresh to the people doing it and the people
who were listening to it. In my opionion it's an
underground sound and should stay there. Its one of
the last genre's to be that way but it moving up, lots of other
music that started underground is no longer there. Drum 'n'
bass, Jungle, Garage. Once more folk get into it it rises out
the ground and become commerial, acid house was the
original Drum 'n' Bass because all it was was drums and the
bass. The sound just did something to me and I went with it.
There was no plan, it was as much luck, how the machine
and me met a Roland TB303, in Stirling, in 1983. FFS WTF!
You have released on many labels,
which do you think you were most
excited about and why?
It wis a buzz to record with all of them as it's not
something everyone gets to do make records so I
eggppreciate all labels even tho there was trouble with
some. Groove kissing of course because it was the first
proper chance EBY had ti make a mark, altho had no idea
that it was the start of bigger things. I remember sending
Groove Kissing demo tapes and they were mince, but they
still liked them so I went back to Amsterdam to record. I
have done much better demo tapes and fuck all happened
with lots of them. So it tells ye crap can be good to the right
ears. All this was the early 90's with no internet. In later
years when I got a computer I came across Discogs by
accident and found out Groove Kissing had licensed lots of
the track to labels all over the world without my knowledge
or input, fuck knows how much they made out of that.
Who have you not worked with and
would like to? And why?
Well 99.9% of the music industry, I can say there is
absolutely no one that jumps out to work with, anything I've
done with other artist came about by connections in various
ways. Did a weekend in Manchester early 90's with A Guy
Called Gerald as we had the same manager, there was some
weird thing with St Etienne and a bass line of mine but it
was all so long ago I cant remember what the detail was.
Plus working with folk is a pain, your not always on the same
page and there are awkward times when there is tensions
regarding parts and sounds I can be doing without that crap
and uncomfortableness.
Give us the top 3 highlights of your
career in your mind, and why?
1... Highlight but for all the wrong reasons was
glasgow 95/6ish...the roadie I had missed the gig at the
Circa club so I set up and broke down the gear. After I
played I went back to the dressing room ti cool down and
havegg more lines no doubt. Much later I came back out to
put all the gear away and the club was emptying I noticed a
space where 1 of the 303's was, but no 303. I thought it was
a joke by someone so was looking around for it to come
back and it never did. The machine had been stolen. I don't
think who ever took it knew what they were taking. It was
jist an easy bit of gear ti grab. Never heard anything about it
and the empty feeling wi hellish was likegg losing a family
member.
2...Recording at 142 studios in amsterdam owned by
vince clarke of erasure.i went there to work with sequential
for groove kissing,but i met vince in the kitchen and he was
reheasring for an up and coming erasure tour in UK.he wis a
legend friendy dowin to earth and not acting likegg a big
shot.when erasure came to edinburgh for a week at the
playhouse we met up again,had vince,s birthday in
edinburgh and they came to a gig i did in leith.he ended up
doing a remix for me on the track "remont"
3...Played 3 gig with the stranglers back in 1985
Glasgow appolo Aberdeen Playhouse and Edinburgh
Playhouse, playin ti that many people back then wis probably
the scariest things I've ever done specially at the Apollo in
Glasgow, the Stranglers audience did not like EBY, they
could not get their ears round a compleatly different sound
and band with no real instruments. I was never so glad to
get off a stage, I was eggspecting chairs bottles and fuck
knows what else coming on to the stage.
4....Milky way in amsterdam in 1991 as it was a different
buzz to play in front of a completly different audience in
legendary venue a different country for the 1st time,they
were more in tune with the sound and the place was
jumping.
Tell us about the Roland 303.
When I first heard the 303 on John Peel I used to
think who the fuck is makin this music as it was so different
and unusual they must be space men from the future. No
303 no Acid House and if it was'nt for Acid House there
would be no Teggno, as I said the 303 was first on the
scene, was unique and so was the acid genre. The acid
started underground and is almost still there but is becoming
more and more popular with the cheaper gear. Roland
created a monster but with the help of Behringer they fucked
it. It's now like Aldi or Lidl Acid House wi awe the cheap
gear, eggsecially when it comes to the Behringer TD-3 or the
Roland TB-3 the Acid House has lost it's cutting edge,
mystique it's underground the uniqueness it's all become jist
a sound. I used ti think the 303, 909, 808, 707 etc were
mystical numbers, but now it[s all bollocks with the 303 day
or the 909 day. One thing al credit Roland with was the TR-8
and the TR-8's being able ti write drums as ye were playing
livegg was a game changer and the fact it has all the Roland
drum machines in 1 machine, was the start of taking less
gear to gigs, so I stopped spending hours writing drums in
the house, I jist put in basic patterns and left the jamming to
livegg performances, never wrote basslines livegg tho. Av
not been playing much acid for a while, have been turn off
by it all, am still into it but its not top of my list atm. Got
everything set up but been getting more into and playing
Garage, Future garage and more bass music.
40 ZONE-MAGAZINE.EU