Slow Disco Saturdays guest, Dave Allison hails from Montreal. A veteran in the city’s House scene for years, Allison has been a pivotal influence in shaping its small, but vibrant underground nightlife through his monthly Kinjo Session series at Salon Daome, among many other initiatives. He is also the label head behind the funky House imprint, Kinjo Music, home to a family of all stars such as JT Donaldson, Joshua Heath and Husky from Random Soul.
On the Disco tip, he is the man behind the slo-mo edits label, Editorial, best known for it’s quality pitched down, funky cuts from a range of underground artists. Allison’s ear for silky smooth grooves, sultry basslines and soul-drenched vocals makes his overall style and Editorial project so appealing. We reached out to Allison and chatted about the funky side of House, dropping the tempo, and why Montreal rocks.
halcyon: You have two labels – Kinjo Music and Editorial. How would you briefly describe each label to someone who has never heard of them before?
Dave Allison: Well, Kinjo is firmly rooted in underground funky House – to get the dance floors bouncing. It has built a name as such and this will certainly not change. However, it’s also occasionally morphs to include some jazzy downtempo cuts (like the latest EP has a remix by Tommy Largo, and the forthcoming EP is coming from Matthew Kyle). It occasionally has some Disco flavors too – Kinjo 001 Limited Vinyl is coming from an Italian group, Katzuma, which is a good example of this. Editorial was developed in the summer of 2009, when I started to gear towards more of an alternate sound, a slow, lounge-ey cocktail vibe. This really began when I was doing my monthly Kinjo Sessions at Salon Daome, (‘08- ’10). Unless I had a special guest, I would play for 5 hours, and after about a dozen sessions, I wanted a different way to build up the dance floor as opposed to playing House all night. I started dropping the tempo early and build from about 105 bpm up to finishing at around 126 bpm by 2-3 am. The first release, “This Joint” was well received and after four releases, I started to branch out and get others on board. It’s really been since the 6th EP that things have really just taken off. Each of the last four releases have spent time at #1 on Juno download’s sales chart. The Slo-Mo sound seems to have gotten really popular of late as well, so it’s nice to see others feel the same way!
h: Indeed. What I really like about Editorial – especially the first vinyl release – is that you’ve recruited a handful of really underground – and underrated – Disco producers and DJs. I’ve never heard of DJ Raw Sugar, for example. How did you find these guys and who do you think are really ones to watch these days?
DA: Soundcloud has been a really great place to meet like-minded people – the Groovers, Mannmademusic and Rayko, and New York talent like Matthew Kyle and Jkriv, whom I met at WMC this year.
h: I first knew you as a slo-mo Disco producer and DJ. But as I dug I little more, I realized you are talented in many different styles – funky House, slo-mo Disco, lounge Jazz – where do all these influences come from?
DA: That’s a good question. My Mother was an opera singer, so I’m sure a lot of my musical genes are from her. But I always sort of gravitated toward music with soul and funk. As a kid I listened to Rap, in the mid-nineties rave scene I listened to Funky Breaks, and later, House. It ‘s kind of funny, human nature seems to like to group things into labels and definitions to make music (and things in general) easier to understand. I‘m definitely no exception. Most of these three styles are defined by different tempos and vibes – smooth, laidback listening versus funky-shake-your-ass kind of stuff. I like to put forth mixes people would find perfect fit for different times of the day, be it dinner music, poolside-in-the-sun music, or music for a late night at the club.
h: Let’s talk about the funky House side of your musical fortes. I’m not that tapped into that scene – it’s not really the choice of House here in New York, at least. What makes House “funky” and who would you say are the pivotal players in the evolution of that style?
DA: I would say the main DJs and producers that influenced me the most for this sound early on and what was really the foundation for Kinjo, would be: Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, DJ Heather, DJ Diz, Inland Knights, East Coast Boogiemen, Swirl People, JT Donaldson. There are a bunch of new school players that have a solid influence on moving the sound forward with production, such as Kinky Movement, Sonny Fodera, The House Inspectors. Funky House generally entails some snappy funk bass, maybe some Hip-Hop accapella samples looped up, saxaphone and wah-wah guitar, and tough clean beats. However, you could just as easily drop the tempo and make some slo-mo with those elements too I suppose!
h: On a similar note, you’ve had a couple remixes and releases on funky House labels like Om and Mushroom Jazz – how did you get involved with guys like Mark Farina, Joshua Heath and JT Donaldson?
DA: Mark has been a big influence for a while. At some point a while back I started sending him music. I realized one day I had a downtempo tune sitting in my hard drive for about a year, and thought, “maybe Mark would be into this for Mushroom Jazz?” Sure enough he wanted if for #6! He’s been real supportive of both my house and chill beats, putting them on podcasts as well as releases, and I am forever grateful for that.
h: This is a three-part question…I keep hearing how Montreal has a very strong House music scene – for someone who has been in the thick of it, what are the roots of this? How did House music end up there, and how is Montreal’s scene compared to the scene in other Canadian cities? Can you tell me more about what’s going on there – the hot parties, influential DJs, local labels?
DA: Montreal definitely has been a great melting pot for music and nightlife culture over the years. It really goes way back, in the ’70s you had tons of Disco records produced here that were destined to be sold in the US. There were legendary clubs then like Limelight. Gino Soccio was born just up the street from here and helped put Italo and Disco on the map for this city. I think the blend of language and ethnicity has always had a healthy effect on keeping the city’s music culture vibrant. Although slightly before my nightlife experiences, the first raves took place here in 1990-91, and from that stemmed a lot of clubs. One of the biggest clubs in our afterhours scene was Sona. Just about every electronic act came through there at one point during the mid to late ’90s. End of the ’90s brought Stereo, where the sound was designed by NYC transplant Angel Moraes. It was known as the best soundsystem in the world for a stretch. As far as festivals, we have the world class, 11-day International Jazzfest every summer, and for the minimal and Techno scene, we have Mutek in May, which brings in dozens of new artists every year. The outdoor Piknic Electronic on Sunday afternoons has grown from about 400 people on a Sunday afternoon to 4000. There are definitely places to get inspired, but like anywhere in the world, scenes expand and contract – they are always changing. Cherry is a solid Montreal Underground venue that’s just reopened, and UN Club is a new spot on the map this past year that’s got a good sound and room. It’s a fun place to spin for sure as well.
h: I’ll make sure to look you up when I visit. Now, tell me about your Kinjo Session residency at Salon Daome, which you mentioned earlier – what was the place like, and who are some of the artists you booked to play? How else would you say you’ve contributed to the scene over in Montreal?
DA: I can definitely say this space had a great influence on me from simply dancing with friends, to throwing down on the decks and hosting some great parties. It was originally a dance studio for lessons in the day. Then, it opened at night for parties and that really took off. The early years were great from ’03 – ‘06. I was part of the “Dizzy Crew,” which was a weekly party, and sometimes there were over 300 people in there on a Tuesday night, just going nuts! During that time I had the opportunity to play with DJs such as Phil Weeks and Hector Moralez. It was such a random night but I suppose that’s what made it work. Saturdays were very much a Deep House vibe then. Eventually the people that established hundreds of great nights had left. A few years later, I had the opportunity to start my own Monthly Kinjo Sessions, the first Friday of every month. I was definitely the one bringing the funky sound to the club over the following three years. Some of the guests included: Miles Maeda, Raoul Belmans (Swirl People), Massimo Dacosta, Jason Hodges, Neighbour, Luke McKeehan. Like all great places, it starts quite underground, explodes and then I suppose, plateau’s at a certain point. It was a great run, but when the original vibe is gone and things become more of a numbers game, it’s time for a new phase.
h: Speaking of new phases, what should we be expecting from Editorial and Kinjo this year? What plans do you have on your agenda, career-wise?
DA: I’ve started to travel a bit more this past year, and naturally I’d like to keep that up. It’s refreshing to get out of town and rock some beats, and I always get a new perspective on things when returning home to the studio. As far as the labels, I plan on continuing what I‘ve started. It’s just about being patient and putting out only music I really love.
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