Everything and the kitchen sink

>> As his From the Deep compilation surfaces, DJ Fred Everything shares some thoughts on, well, everything

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Living up to a moniker like Everything is a pretty tall order. But Montreal-based house DJ/producer Fred Everything, primed to release From the Deep, a collection of remixes--sorry, "reinterpretations"--on Montreal's prestigious "deep house" label Bombay, goes a long way towards doing just that. He's fooled around with most every idiom of electronic dance music (some of which he shudders in shame to mention). He's cranked the heat on dancefloors across Montreal and the world over, from London to Moscow to Cape Town, South Africa. And he's got something solid to say about pretty much any topic you can toss at him. Here's a diverse selection of off-the-cuff notions (alphabetized for your convenience) from the Big Book of Everything.



Afro Loft: "It's my studio. I named it after my broken moniker Afro Loft Project. I only did one EP with that name but also did remixes using it. My EP One Love was big with Rainer Trüby and co. It's just a bad play on words I made up with my friends since I live and have my studio in a loft (duh!)."

Bombay Records: "Ah, them Bombay boys! Met Nav ages ago through the rave circuit when I used to play 'live' at some of his Harmony parties, among others. I even opened for Sasha at Metropolis once. A few years have passed and they now have a very respected, world-renowned record label. I'm glad they gave me the opportunity to re-work some great songs and that's why I went to them with the remix compilation."

Curtis Mayfield: "Probably my favourite soul voice ever! I was sad when I learned of his death a few years ago. It was such a thrill for me to work on that Bran Van 3000 track ["Astounded"] with his original vocals. Thanks to Luc Raymond, who introduced me to the track, and James DiSalvio for his support. I brought some CD-Rs with me to the Winter Music Conference in Miami and it got instant play from Mark Farina and King Britt."

Deep house: "Not sure what it means anymore. For some, it's that New York/Jersey, organic, Body & Soul vibe. For others, it's that trendy West Coast sound or the more U.K. side of things. I don't really know and I certainly don't care who's deeper than whom. From the Deep only refers to diggin' in the DATs to find the rarer remixes! In the past, I've been told I'm too deep and now that I play in the Deep room at Aria, people say I'm not deep enough. Go figure."

Everything: "We all had those silly rave names back in the days. I got mine because I was making a lot of different styles of music. In the beginning of the '90s, I was doing techno, house, acid jazz, breakbeat and, yes, even trance (oops). I used to play live with a microphone, shouting, 'Bring that beat back!' Then I moved on to DJing and slowly added my real first name, so people wouldn't call me, 'Hey, Everything!' on the street all the time."

Fender Rhodes: "My favourite keyboard ever! I got mine last year, a used Suitcase that used to be rented for the Jazz Festival and the history tells that it was used by such luminaries as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Don't know if it's true but it puts a nice vibe in my studio to believe it."

Food, drink and the sink

Gastronomy: "I go through phases with food. Right now, I eat a lot of Asian food but I went through heavy Indian, Thai and Italian phases. Basically, I like to eat well and really enjoy Montreal for that. In the Mile-End where I live, there's a great variety of food. You can eat just about anything from Greek to African, Indian, Jamaican, Chilean, Tombougtou, you name it!"

Heineken: "If you see me in a club without that green bottle in my hand, it's either that a) you're in a no-alcohol establishment, or b) there's something wrong with me, or c) it's not me. Yeah, I've been known to drink a lot of these. When I was doing my night at Jingxi, there was always a bottle waiting for me on the bar when I showed up to work."

Intonation: "Intonation is the label who licensed my album Under the Sun for Vienna. They then commissioned me to do a mix CD for them, DJ Set 01. It was released in June in Europe. It just made it here through Fusion III Distribution and is getting release through Virgin in the U.K. It's got stuff from Derrick Carter and Jori Hulkonen and two new exclusive tracks from me. They're also the ones responsible for a posthumous Falco album--talk about eclectic!"

Jazz: "Another tricky one! Jazz purists will tell you jazz died years ago. I believe it is still around and healthy, in various forms. Electronic music, without being the jazz of the jazz, gives artists the freedom to create and to fuse genres like old jazz musicians used to. I use a lot of jazz chord progressions in my productions but do not necessarily consider myself jazz. It's just about freedom of styles, I guess."

Kitchen sink: "Nice one, Rupert, whadya want me to write here? Everything but the kitchen sink, hey! Well, mine is messy as hell and needs to be cleaned--badly!"

London: "I have a special relationship with London. I feel, in a way, that's where it all happened for me. Since 1996, I've been going back and forth there and even lived there, touring the whole U.K. and Europe and working in the studio. I learned a lot about music (past and present), it's such a soul city. People really know their shit down there. Nowadays, my regular gig in London is Fabric, arguably the best club in London and just the best big club I've ever been to."

Travelling man

Moscow: "One of the amazing things about DJing these days is travelling to cities you would've never thought you'd visit in your life. I'm fortunate enough to been to some far-out cities and Moscow's one special city to go to. I was able to stay a few days and visit. One problem was the language barrier. The cab driver who was driving me every day from my hotel to the club didn't speak a word of English. He was driving around town for so long, I thought I was gonna end up in Siberia!"

New Order: "New Order is the band I listened to the most when I grew up. I've been really influenced by their sound and their whole career. They weren't afraid to lose fans when they went from cold wave Joy Division into easy Italo-disco New Order with no shame. You gotta love 'em for that. 'Blue Monday' is still one of the best dance tunes ever! A proper pop band."

Planes: "This Saturday is the first time I will set foot in one since September 11. All my European dates have been postponed to next year and I've been using the train to go to my gigs. New York--nine hours! It will be cool to get back to regular, shorter travelling!"

Quebec City: "I was born in Hull but raised in the beautiful city of Quebec. After spending 19 years and having done pretty much everything I could there, it was a good time to move to Montreal. Since I've lived here, about five years now, things are just getting better and better all the time. I go back sometimes to see my mother."

Reinterpretation: "This is what I do when someone asks me for a remix. I try to make it sound like I would've done it myself, without messing about too much with the integrity of the song. I always treat the original with the greatest respect."

Sexy: "One of the most common comments on my music is that it's sexy. I never quite understood it, but I like it."

20:20 Vision: "My label from the U.K. I met Ralph Lawson, label boss, four years ago in Toronto. A few months after, I gave him a tape in Miami. He called me on his return showing interest in doing an EP. Since then, I've done many EPs and remixes for them. They're also the ones who had faith in me to do my first album and they've been really supportive all the way. I used to be a regular at their club Back to Basics in Leeds and represented 20:20 in many clubs and festivals through Europe. I'm currently working on the follow-up to Under the Sun for them. It should be ready for spring 2002."

No sleep till Havana

Underwater: "I'm just back from doing the shots for the cover. I had to be in the water for about an hour and a half. It was probably the most interesting photo shoot I ever had to do. Also the most tiring! So much for being deep."

Vacation: "I really need one--no, really! I can never find a good time to go away without my records. There's always a gig, a production due or a schedule conflict. I dream of going to one of those all-included places in Cuba and doing NOTHING AT ALL!"

Woody Allen: "I've seen all of his movies and read his books. For years, he's been my favourite filmmaker. Movies like Manhattan and Sleeper (to name but a few) haven't left my VCR in ages. It's funny to hear people bitching about how he does the same thing all the time, as he's been re-inventing himself so much through different styles all these years. Some of his recent movies have been so-so but I always have fun when I see them anyway."

XLR8R: "On my first-ever trip to San Francisco, about five or six years ago, I met the editor of that then-new magazine. After playing him some stuff of mine, he suggested I send my demo to the DIY posse in Nottingham, England. When I returned home, I sent a tape and got my very first recording deal. These days, I write reviews for the house column of what I still consider of the best magazines around."

Yawning: "Yeah, that's me. I yawn a lot! My piano teacher made me realize that when someone yawns, it's sometimes because there is something they did not quite understand or they just didn't like something you said. I try to be careful now."

Zebra: "What else with Z? They are such beautiful animals! I've seen some in their natural environment on my trip to Cape Town last year. That's about everything I have to say, now I'm off to bed. Zzzzzzzzz..."

From the Deep is in stores now. CD launch with the Mondo House live percussion crew at Newtown on Thursday, Dec. 6, 10pm, $8