Dear diary

>> Fila Brazillia’s Steve Cobby shares his Kodak moments


by SCOTT C

If you dip into the diaries of Steve Cobby, tucked neatly away in the folds of www.23online.co.uk, you’ll find the international exploits of Fila Brazillia and company, an interesting companion to their recently released LP Jump Leads. No strangers to Montreal, Cobby and partner Dave McSherry return to this city for an exercise in live performance, something that the fans here have never seen. The duo’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to musical hybrids has unearthed a slew of LPs and singles over the years, paying respect to influences in dub, house, hip hop, jazz and indigenous music from around the world. The Mirror spoke to Cobby over the phone from Hull, England.

Mirror: How do you split the emphasis between studio time and live stuff with your music?

Steve Cobby: Well, generally we’ve always been a studio-based operation, and it’s only in the last two years that we’ve really worked on making the live show something to be proud of. When you work in the studio, you have an incredible amount of freedom to do whatever you can think of, and while you’re doing a live show you’re actually performing those ideas for someone else. A live performance allows you to connect firsthand with the fans, while studio work can sometimes leave you a little disconnected. I’m really enjoying the live show right now and I’m happy it’s been well received up to this point.

M: An interesting addition to your Web site includes a diary of your various travels throughout the world. Is this just an extension of the fact that travelling has great influence on the work you do?

SC: Oh, definitely. We love to travel, whether it’s touring or just taking a trip here and there. Those diaries have become something short of therapeutic for me, and I actually really enjoy writing them. I only wish I started doing that sooner, because it makes looking back so much easier. Travelling has always influenced our work. When you travel, you take away a piece of whatever culture you’ve introduced yourself into, and for us that will more often than not translate into the music that you hear. Obviously we also sample a lot of things while we’re abroad.

M: As someone who’s been involved in this industry for over 10 years, what changes have affected you most?

SC: Our first single sold 1,000 copies, but it took a whole year to do it. I just think that people today are more interested in hearing a wider selection of music than they used to. It used to be so hard for us, and here we are 14 years later, still making music and touring and performing around the world. Music file-sharing technology and peer-to-peer swapping on the Internet is threatening to put a lot of the majors in some serious trouble as well. It’s just amazing how much music you have access to on the Internet. I could download 3,000 songs to my computer and actually play a DJ set right off of my laptop. That should be good for a couple nice sets, no? :

At Cabaret on Thursday, March 28, 8pm, $20