Frenchy has been a regular fixture on the Leeds house music scene since the age of 15, when he first passed through the doors of the city's seminal Back to Basics club. He has since gone on to hold residencies at a number of key nights in the city, and completed the musical circle by locking down an eight-year (and counting) residency at Basics. Frenchy has shared a recent live set at the club as the second instalment of the absolutemoron mix series.
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I caught up with Frenchy to discuss the current house scene in Leeds, to reminisce about the good ol’ days at Mad Hatters, and to look into his future, having quit the day job. Read more after the jump!
I first met Iain French, aka Frenchy, around 2003 when I played at the Mad Hatters party where he was resident. A man with a personality to match his tall frame, Frenchy always has friendly words and a smile as broad as his Yorkshire accent whenever our paths have crossed. His passion for house music is unquestionable, and I remember always seeking out at least one or two tracks after seeing him play (the Rob Mello mix of ‘Discorobot’ is one that immediately springs to mind). For me, he epitomises the feeling towards house music by a significant proportion of the population in Leeds.
Hedonistic scenes at the Basics 18th birthday (thanks RA)!
I have always been struck by the strength and depth of the house music scene in Leeds, though it is a couple of years since I last went. Is it still as strong?
We’re really lucky in Leeds, and I’d say it’s the best it ever has been in the 16 years I’ve been going out there. Basics in particular is going from strength to strength and has just celebrated its 18th birthday, which we believe makes it the longest running weekly house night in the world!
That is an incredible achievement! I have enjoyed several great nights at Back to Basics over the years at various venues – the Mint Club, Rehab and My House! How often do you spin there?
I play at Basics most months and have had some great gigs last year alongside guest DJs like Josh Wink, Hector, Mr.C and others, not forgetting the rezzies, who continue to inspire me every time I play with them…
And this mix was recorded at a night celebrating those residents. Tell me more…
The mix was recorded at a Basics ‘homegrown’ night with fellow rezzies James Barnsley and James Holroyd playing after me. It’s the warm-up set from the very first tune, so it gives you an idea of how a typical night at Basics starts and builds. The night was just one week after NYE and you could barely get out of your door for the snow, but the club was busy and going off from early doors, which is testament to the commitment of the Basics crowd!
Basics has undoubtedly influenced several generations of clubbers, DJs and promoters and is one of the main reasons why Leeds is something of an underground house hotbed. What other nights in the city can you recommend at the minute?
You’re always spoilt for choice, with really strong nights and wicked venues. Mono_Cult, Louche, Cognosco, Dirty Disco, Polaroid, Asylum, The Digital Underground (plug plug!) etc. are all top class parties by any standards. Because it’s a lot smaller than most other ‘major’ cities most of the promoters and DJs are all mates, so it’s got a really nice community and not so much of the rivalry that you can get in other cities.
Mad Hatters, back in the day! Pic taken at Rehab.
We first met through Mad Hatters. Can you tell me a little about the history of the night?
The philosophy behind Mad Hatters was a place where you could hear what we classed as the very best in deep underground house music in a pretence-free party, where you looked like the odd one out if you weren’t on the dancefloor making some noise and getting fully involved. Over the 5 years it ran we had guests such as Kenny Hawkes, Ashley Beedle, Chris Duckenfield, D’Julz, Halo, Rob Mello, Joshua, and many more including yourself of course! Towards the end we brought in regular guests Buckley and Dom Cappello as residents.
It was certainly one of the best club atmospheres I have ever experienced, the crowd were very knowledgeable and used to cheer the mix rather than any particular ‘big tune’! So why did the book close on the night?
We were still pulling in respectable numbers, but just felt we needed a change and to evolve. Buckley and I wanted to break free of the Mad Hatters tag and start something up that was completely our own. I had initially only been a resident at Mad Hatters and ended up taking over all the running and promotion, so it always kind of felt like someone else’s baby, and we wanted one of our own!
Not a bad line-up for your launch party!
So what came next, what are you up to now?
Buckley and I started up The Digital Underground, and are now running bi-monthly Basement parties in The Loft (Formerly Northern Light/Velvet Underground). So far we have had Radio Slave, Chris Duckenfield, Subb_An and Shonky guest for us. We’ve got Damian Schwartz for our next date on the 26th March - our Facebook group has more info and regular mixes! Many of the old Mad Hatters crew still come down and support us at The Digital Underground - you can’t keep a good crowd down haha!
And you're giving up the day job to concentrate on music, right? What will you be doing to pay the rent?
I’ve worked at Leeds University for the last 5 years but have finally bitten the bullet and have gone full-time on DJing/music production. I’ve been thinking and talking about it for far too long now – it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do! My guest spots at other nights have been ticking over nicely, the launch of the Forefront agency in February and a couple of major personal events all just pointed to me making the move and going for it – I feel like now is the right time, if there ever was one! It really does feel like a massive weight had been lifted and I’m glad I’ve finally found the focus and confidence I needed to make the transition.
Every pro needs a slick press shot...
That’s a brave move, but one I’d congratulate you on and wish you all the best with! Getting your mixes out there is a surefire way to raise your profile and keep those gigs rolling in. I’m very pleased to have your mix on the absolutemoron blog, but where can people find more Frenchy mixes if they like what they hear?
I’m currently working on something for the Music for Friends podcast, which has some great mixes on and is definitely worth following, and have not long since had the honour of doing the very first Back to Basics podcast. I’ll also soon be starting a show on My House Your House radio, which is a new challenge for me and something I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into!
So with all your residencies and guest spots at various nights, is there a particular type of set you prefer, for example warm-up, peak time, back room, afterparty…?
I’ve got to say, I love them all! I’ve been an obsessive music collector for about 15 years and have a wide scope musically, so I love having the opportunity to play anything from disco through to Detroit techno… As long as there’s a decent crowd and I can get a vibe going I’m in my element! I absolutely love warming up as you get to play a full range of music across one set, and you know that when you get the club going off you’ve created that from nothing. I think in a way they are the hardest set to do, as you need to attract people to the floor and keep it bubbling away, without taking the energy away from the main guest, and time it so it’s just starting to properly go off as the main guest comes on. Too many DJs go for glory right from the word go in the warm-up sets and this spoils the balance of the whole night, and is not how it should be done in my opinion!!
Well said! Finally, give me a tip or two of producers and DJs readers of absolutemoron should look out for!
I’ll give you 3 if that’s ok?! My good friends James Barnsley and Jon Woodall have been absolutely blowing me away with their DJing and productions. They play the awesome Basics afterparty Whalebow, as well as guest spots in the main room, and have some serious tunes ready to unleash – I’m predicting 2010 is gonna be a big year for them! Robert James is another friend of mine who is one to watch this year. He’s got forthcoming releases on Hot Natured, one of which was featured on Jamie Jones' Essential Mix, and has just been signed to the Crosstown Rebels and Forefront agencies. There’s so much talent kicking round Leeds at the moment that this could be a very long list, haha!
Many thanks to Frenchy for the interview and the mix!
Stream:
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Click here to subscribe to absolutemoron mixes on iTunes
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