Tuesday 24 November 2015

Jacksonville: Live In Edinburgh




THAT man Jacksonville might as well take up residence on this site. He is without doubt one of the most played producers round these parts and if not extolling the virtues of a new release, then you can often find us waxing lyrical over a remix he’s knocked out or pining for more material from the Edinburgh-based artist.

Apart from genuinely being one of our favourite deep house dons, he’s also a friend of ours and a top lad too. So what has the man known also as Chris Lyth been up to this time? Doing what he probably does best and that’s putting together a brand spanking new set, this time for a live show in his hometown.

Bringdownthewalls caught up with Lyth for a wee word about preparations for Animal Hospital at La Belle Angèle in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town this Friday [November 27th].

How is work on the new live set coming along then Chris?
Yeah, it's coming along great thanks. I’m almost deaf from rinsing out the monitors all weekend. It’s all good fun, plus having a deadline is a great motivator to work my arse off. 

Is it a difficult process putting it together?
I’d be lying if I said it was easy. It’s a fair undertaking to write an hour of music that is club focused and engineer it to sound good on a club system, all using fairly limited tools. I like to build scaffolding that gives me lots of room to move about and respond to the crowd dynamic.  

Your live set in Zurich [check it out at the bottom of this post] from a couple of years back stills sounds fresh as a daisy. The gig you did earlier this year in Geneva was ace too. So what can those coming along to the gig this Friday expect from the new live set? 
Cheers, yeah both of those sets were good fun. Every set is different and I’ve never played the same set twice. The one I’m working on at the moment is a fair bit techier than the Zurich one. I’ll still keep plenty of groove and atmosphere in there, but the whole thing is a lot punchier. 

Another producer asked me a few days ago if I change the style of my set when I play abroad. I’d say I pretty much stick to my guns. There’s no Tower of Babel-esque confusion of tongues with house and techno. The 808 always translates. 

Is any of the set likely to find a release?
Every time I write a live set I tend to find something that makes it to plastic. It’s a great place to find out if an arrangement works in a club environment. Both Tokyo [Atmospheric Existence] and Seberg [Inner Shift] came from parts of my live set.

So how did the La Belle Angèle gig come about and what do you know about the night there?
It’s with the guys at Animal Hospital [check it here]. I headlined at their New Year’s Eve party at Studio 24 a couple of years ago, which was an amazing night. They have just moved to La Belle Angèle, which recently re-opened after being burned down about 10 years ago. They’re really meticulous about the way they organise their events and always get in a great crowd.

And what’s forthcoming for Jacksonville?
More live sets and some 12s in the New Year. I’m also hatching plans to put out a few EPs on a new label of my own. I’ve got an interesting concept in mind so all being well that will drop soon.

Check out:
Jacksonville on Soundcloud
Jacksonville @ Discogs
La Belle Angèle online


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