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[ p i m p . d a d d y . o f . t e c h n o : j u s t i n . r o b e r t s o n ] [ t e x t . o n l y . v e r s i o n ] [ b y . a l i a s ] Over the past year we have seen many international DJs tour Australian shores. From the house grooves of E-Smoove, Derrick May, Judge Jules and Frankie Knuckles; the drum and bass boom of Bailey, Dom and Roland, Technical Itch, Grooverider and DJ SS; the techno brilliance of Steve Bicknell, Stacey Pullen, Space DJZ and Orlando Voorn; and the breakbeat shennanigans of Groove Armada, Laidback, John Stapleton and Rae and Christian. All have been masters of their craft, excelling within the genre they choose to navigate. However, there are few that are capable of mixing nearly any style at almost any time, and making it sound so damn smooth and natural one can only scratch one's head wondering how the hell did he do that? Justin Robertson is one such selector. The pimp daddy of techno may not be a household name in some parts of the world but over his ten or so years of music making he has established himself as one of the pioneers of British electronica. Just check out his seminal "Journeys By DJ" set that he composed back in 1996 for a wildly eclectic set. From the abstract Chi-town house of Green Velvet, to the anachronistic electro-tech of Christian Vogel and frenetic drum and bass of T-Power, right through to the dubbed out blunt friendly rhythms of DJ Shadow and Octagon Man, Robertson pulled it off with ease. Yet he shrugs away from the eclectic tag. 'I do play sort of across the board, but broadly speaking its more house or techno based' says Justin. 'I'm not insanely eclectic. I'm not going play a techno record after a hip hop record or anything. I don't work like that. It's more a case of trying to vary styles across a set of criterias. Say at Bugged Out (the seminal techno institution where Justin is resident along with techno king Dave Clarke) for instance, I might start with New York house and end up with something banging, that is an example of the sort of styles I might go through rather than just play deep house or minimal techno. I like paying variations of a theme. 'I'm always a bit wary of the tag eclectic, because it makes you sound like you like everything. I probably dislike more music than I like. I don't know how to describe my sound, it could be urban funk music or something like that, but when you DJ and people brand you as eclectic the crowd sometimes expect you to be spinning heaps of different styles, which I don't always do.' Robertson's history is fascinating. His public life began in 1990 with DJing at Spice, which alongside Shoom was one of the key institutions of acid house. Most Excellent followed, a night where a youthful looking brothers chemical were rubbing shoulders with such folk as Bjork and Darren Hughes (ex-Cream owner and now Home chief). It was a huge night. A hot, sweaty and ultimately timeless affair. In the middle of all this fun, Justin decided to switch his attention to a new type of gathering, The Rebellious Jukebox, a club where all styles were invited and all styles of music were spanned. A place where the DJ could explore their own musical history as opposed to purely pleasing the crowd. This was a time when boundaries were really being pushed. Surprisingly, Justin still feels there is as much excitement in clubs nowadays as back when the scene was only in its infancy. 'Oh yeah' he enthuses, 'it's nice to still be involved in it. What's good about the dance music scene is that it hasn't become like the rock scene became in the seventies, or moribund and full of the same old faces. There is always new people there. It's great to be a part of that. It's good to hear fresh ideas from new people, and that is what is so exciting about the whole thing. 'I'm approaching my thirties now, and my next door neighbours are 18-19 year-old students, and there is a common bond there! That's really nice.' Since signing to DeConstruction in 1992 under the Lionrock banner, Justin has released many classic tunes and two critically acclaimed long players. The classic "Packet Of Peace" featuring Mancunian legend MC Buzz B was, and still is, a tough and emotive record (with some amazing remixes courtesy of Jeff Mills and the Chemical Brothers), but it was the 1996 debut "An Instinct For Detection" that really turned heads. It was a true album, that showed the song writing and production skills of Robertson and studio assistant Roger Lyons, as well as the lyrical range of the previously mentioned Buzz B. The follow up, "City Delirious" gained substantial chart exposure, with the lead off single "Rude Boy Rock" going top twenty in the UK, landing Justin a "Top Of The Pops" performance, and some serious world exposure. Unwillingly, Lionrock became another member of the big beat mafia at the time when the largest of breakbeats was the sound. 'I don't feel and never have felt any affinity to big beat at all,' Justin states. 'I thought that broad idea of being eclectic was good but it was never about that it was always about big beats. We got lumped in with that scene quite a lot and I felt so uncomfortable with that because I thought we were nothing like that. I can see why some people might have thought that and with the next record I am trying to rid people of the confusion and let them know that we aren't part of a movement or a scene.' It was at this time that Justin walked free from DeConstruction and attempted to setup his own little empire. Master Detective is its name, and when Justin speaks about his own little enterprise you can sense his excitement. 'There a lot of things that are occupying my time right now' he says proudly, 'and I feel really refreshed by it all. I finally feel like I've got real involvement with what I can put out now, y'know what I mean? I started to lose perspective on things before. There are bits of the last Lionrock album that I definitely would not do now. I think I was, maybe subconsciously, trying to please too many people.' It is on Master Detective that the new Lionrock album will surface. It looks like being Justin's most honest and assured album to date. 'It's a lot more coherent than the last release certainly' he muses. 'I'm free from DeConstruction and all the major label hassles and pressure, some of which you do put on yourself, and funnily enough I can see it having a commercial appeal to it, but it's not commercial per se. It's kind of got those elements that have always been part of the Lionrock sound -- that melody, that quality -- that hopefully conjures up some kind of images in your head. It's a lot fresher, it doesn't sound squashed, it's rather a distillation of the influences this time whereas I thought with the last record it sounded like I was trying to squash different influences. I feel a lot more comfortable with those now, I don't feel like I have anything to prove.' Master Detective will also be the home to many other continental acts, including Homelife, Dis Jam, King Marvel Invention and Gentleman Thief (Robertson and Roger Lyons house-based project) with many more to come. When looking for artists to release Robertson didn't have any particular sound or style in mind. 'A lot of people ask me just what is Master Detective about' he says, 'and I'm like 'I really don't know, it's just music that I like. I'm not quite sure, but I think it has something to do with the panoramic feel of some of the artists, something that sounds like the people have put care and attention into what they have done not in an anal way but in a loving, natural way. I think the Master Detective releases have been very eclectic but there is a common thread in there somewhere!' |