20 Years Of Planet-E: With Paul Woolford
Written by Manu Ekanayake
Paul Woolford will be playing at Carl Craig’s amazing 20 Years Of Planet-E London party on Saturday 5th March at the Ewer Street Warehouse. And as someone who’s releasing music on the mighty Planet-E, as well as an artist who’s bought a distinct experimental flavour to the world of house & techno, he’s certainly got some interesting things to say about Detroit's favourite son...
Psycatron & Paul Woolford 'Thunder' COCOON RECORDINGS by Paul Woolford
How did you feel when you realised you’d be on the bill with Carl Craig at a party celebrating his 20 years of making music?
It's pretty crazy that the first time I heard Elements I was 15 years old, and furthermore, I always felt Carl's music in a different way to the other material on the Techno compilations that Virgin Records in the UK released. That was how I first heard the music. I was into dance music but what I was hearing on the radio in the UK was obviously the most commercial ends of it. If anything, I was more into hip hop and early electro like Egyptian Lover and Man Parrish than the bits of house I had been exposed to, although I bought a Trax compilation too around that time. I was finding my feet with it all, some things I liked, some I loved.
Both of those Techno compilations really sounded completely different to the stuff I had, although you listen now to Inner City's hits and directly hear the link between the underground and the radio. Elements really connected to me in a different way. It felt way more intimate and introverted. After spending years being inspired by these sounds, it's a further massive inspiration to be representing the label and recording for them.
My relationship with Planet-E has been slowly evolving since I met Gamall Awad in New York back in 2006. He handles the PR for the label through his company Backspin, although he's originally from Sheffield which is 30 miles away from where I live in the UK, so we had a lot in common. Eventually towards the end of 2009, I sent Carl a track that I felt could be for the label, and the next morning he came straight back to me about it and the link to the label began. There is so much I can learn from the other artists involved with Planet-E, from Carl to Kenny Larkin to Sherard Ingram who is playing the Detroit date with us. This is something that never stops. By nature I'm inquisitive and so you never stop asking questions of yourself and absorbing everyone else's methods, and figuring out the next phase, be that the next track you write or the overall frame of mind you put yourself into before you walk into the studio. To be a part of the label now feels great…
What does Planet-E as a label mean to you?
It means freedom of expression, whether that manifests itself through a club track or something more esoteric. A lot of labels that are based in techno music have a narrow stylistic remit but I know with Planet-E that it's about the next thing. It's about the future.
'LET IT GO' (from Bloodline EP) INTIMACY MUSIC by Paul Woolford
What is your favourite track on the label?
Easily A Wonderful Life by Carl, with an honorable mention to Moodyman's Dem Young Sconies for the club scenario.
Carl Craig likes to work on remixes of various different artists – do you have a favourite of his remixes?
My favourite is Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom Relevee on DFA. That completely blew me away. I actually read a description of it in a magazine before I heard it - it was James Friedman writing who is now a friend (and runs the excellent Throne Of Blood label in New York) - and his choice of words immediately told me all I needed to know. The way the track develops over the time and comes back to the main theme is devastating. I know so many people in dance music that feel that remixes are not as valid as original tracks, but this comes down to whose hands are on the buttons. Whenever I get one of Carl's remixes I wait until I can give it a very, very close listen.
Why is Detroit techno so special to you?
The emotional punch and the openness of the format. To be able to blend moods that are somewhere close to melancholy, but with an indefinable aura and then subsequently add that to the rhythm track that provides the bite is what drives my love for the music. Although I always remember reading an interview with Derrick May where he says a great techno track shouldn't even need drums to hit you, it should be powerful enough for you not to need them. Someone else who I take huge inspiration from is Steve Reich. His piece Music For 18 Musicians kind of carries all of that power Derrick refers to in the emotional range, but obviously it's coming from modern composition rather than the dance music context.
In general, must dance music is often not very challenging and is super-disposable. What separates Detroit techno is when it's done well; it's the polar opposite of that. It's music for life.
How do you feel Carl has influenced the club scene in general? And you as an artist?
So many of the records Carl has had a hand in have been key to the global dance music scene. Keeping in mind that Derrick was his mentor right from the start, once you weigh it all up, it soon becomes apparent that his influence is huge. Undeniably he's the Governor!
Banging The Box / TimeOut New York / Promotional DJ mix for District 36 Planet E event. Banging The Box / TimeOut New York / Promotional dj mix for District 36 Planet E event. by Paul Woolford
Tour Dates
Feb 18th - District 36, New York, USA
Feb 19th - The Works, Detroit, USA
Feb 26th - GZG, Amsterdam, Holland
March 4th - Bergain, Berlin, Germany
March 5th - Planet E 20, Ewer Street Warehouse, London, UK
March 12th - Planet E 20, Passage, Vienna, Austria
March 18th - Planet E 20, Showcase, Paris tbc
April 1st - Headway, Dundee, Scotland
April 4th - Snowbombing, Mayrhoffen, Austria
April 25th - Planet E 20, Belfast, Ireland
April 30th - M-Code, Sheffield, UK
May 21st - Sankeys, Manchester, UK
June 12th - WeLove, Space, Ibiza (Residency)
