Juno Reactor - Touring is very expensive when you have to fly over up to 15 people

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12 Apr, 2008 [ Views: 82120 ]

Juno Reactor - Touring is very expensive when you have to fly over up to 15 people
Ben Watkins entered history as one of the inventors and godfathers of goa-trance. More than a decennium after his real last goa-trance experiences, he’s still remind and recognized as being one of the pioneers, but Ben also revealed another side of his genius. He’s just a fascinating electro composer who intermixed and explored different horizons although he always remains faithful to a typical sound characterized by deep, dry bass lines, magic rhythms, and trance vibes. The “Bible Of Dreams”-album released in 1997 remains an incredible release in the style, but it was also the debut of the wider range of influence that Juno Reactor went on with. In a way this ‘legendary’ album saw Ben Watkins moving through other fields, which he did with the same passion and as a real master in the writing. “Shango”-released in 2000 and “Labyrinth” released in 2004 both confirmed his status. In the Meantime Ben also started to write soundtrack music and his work for the famous “Matrix”-movies remain another milestone in his career. Juno Reactor started with other and new project, but finally started to work on his 7th full length. “Gods and Monsters” is now a fact and definitely a rather surprising opus where he already visits new influences. Ben Watkins here delivered a few more details about this album! More info at www.reactorleak.com and www.myspace.com/juno_reactor .

SL. Without counting in the “Odyssey 1992 – 2002”-album which was a kind of ‘best of’, the new album “Gods And Monsters” is the 7th full length for Juno Reactor, but this time it did take you more or less 4 years to complete it after the “Labyrinth”-album� How do you explain this lapse of time?

B. Errr, hm, that is a good question, I have never thought about it in fact. You know, now that I think about it, I am always doing some stuff, soundtracks and so on. I have lways been busy during those past 4 years. Do know that it took me a year and a bit to record this album, so all in all, these 4 years did pass by very quickly.

SL. “Gods And Monsters” sounds quite atypical for Juno Reactor I must say. It sounds somewhere in between the “Luciana”-cd and the songs you made for the “Matrix”. Was this planned it from the start? The only ‘typical’ Juno eactor song I found bck on the album was “Tanta Pena”�

B. Repeating the past just isn’t interesting enough and since I didn’t run out of ideas (smiles)� You see, I didn’t want to do a live album or a dance album, it had to be something I hadn’t done yet. Also the writing sessions for this album were quite different to what I usually do when I recrd an album. Usually I start and finish a song without stopping the process. But this time I did put the song aside even when it was not finished. Later on I started work on it again and that resulted in quite different sounds and songstructures. I also worked with other people such as Ghetto Priest and along with Eduardo Niebla, Xavier Morel, and Yasmin Levy.

I love working with live musicians who really know how to play their insutruments. There is great electronic stuff out there to be heard but at the same time I like to explore. You know, electronic music can be great but damn, it can also be so introvert and paranoid. Add to this that the electronic format shields the personality of who is actually producing the music, it destroys every personal touch.

SL. Speaking of Ghetto Priest, how did you get in touch with him? The singing on “Inca Steppa” and “Tokyo Dub” have this kind of jazzy voice we’ve not been used to inside Juno Reactor.

B. I wouldn’t call it jazzy� I knew Ghetto Priest from his work with Asian Dub Foundation, a lovely guy actually. I just love the way he sings, he sounds just like Nat King Cole. I saw him live a while back and I was absolutely amazed by him and I immediately wanted to work with him. So I asked whether he wanted to go and ply with me in Japan. It was amazing, the guy loes doing improvisations live and that is exactly what I like and what Juno Reactor is known for. In fact we never give peope what they expect, we want to surprise.

SL. “Gods And Monsters” sounds like the most ‘soundtrack’-like album you did in the past few years. How do you explain this evolution and what’s the possible link with the music you made for movies and more particularly for the “Matrix”-movies?

B. Soundtrack music� I don’t know. Yeah, well, it’s not dance or pop so perhaps yes, you might be right� I have done ambient stuff in the past as well, so it’s not all that different in the end.

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SL. Speaking of ambient, I think that Biosphere has been always one of your favourite composers. What makes him that special for you? Is there a hidden Biosphere-touch/influence inside Juno Reactor?

B. Well, yes, I absolutely love what Geir Jenssen does. He knows how to create space in his work and he knows how to keep thing simple and yet very complete. His simplicity is a real example fo me. Bel Canto? No, I’m not really familiar with his work before Biosphere no�

SL. Back to your album, “Mind Of The Free” is one of the most unexpected tracks you’ve ever written. It all sounds a bit like it was written after a long and wild music night. What’s the truth behind this song?

B. It was one of those songs I let gently cook aside. I actually spent 2 days layering the percussion an the guitars. As such this track actually has little or no programming on it.

SL. Another song the surprised me is the last one on your album, “Pretty Girl”. It sounds a bit like Juno Reactor in a piano-bar�

B. (Laughs) Yeah, it does sound like that, doesn’t it. I wrote this song on a piano in 4-10 minutes. I usually never write this way. It is also a very autobiographical song, something I never used to do in the past. I never gave it a thought really..

SL. On this album you also referred to several places you have been, such as in the songs “Tokyo Dub” and “Last Vegas Future Past”� Do these place influence your work?

B. “Tokyo Dub” is a homage to Japan really, a country hat I have been visiting regularly since 1995. I absolutely adore the culture and the people. Japan has been like a breeding ground, a nursery for Juno Reactor. I absolutely love Japan.

SL. They do have a weird way of doing business and I have the impression you actually never get to know what they really mean�?

B. Well, to a certain level Japanese business is very different to ours. I am not sure what kind of approach I prefer, the western one or the Japanese one. Having said that, they are very polite and honorable people which is quite different to the devious people you often find in the western world. I have a very high regard of the Japanese people.

SL. By the way, aren’t you a little bit sick and tired to remain named as the pioneer and godfather of goa-trance or psy-trance ?

B. (Sighs) have to put up with it. Juno Reactor stoped playing that kind of music since 1995, so� I’m not interested in saying that I am the pioneer and godfather of goa-trance or psy-trance.

SL. You’ll start your European tour in April, which is pretty close. Is touring still profitable for you guys, I’d suppose yes?

B. Ha, well, touring is very expensive when you have to fly over up to 15 people. Playing live is something I do for the love of it. If I had to do it for the money I would have stopped years ago. It’s really hard keeping it together really� I’m glad that I don’t have to tour to keep things going, I have my soundtrack work and more.

SL. Do you feel the downfall of the music market?

B. Of course I do. But that won’t make me change my mind and give the music away for free. Nowadays you have to be pretty lucky to get things moving as a fresh young band. But then again, the major labels had it coming, But let it be clear, there are a lot of dead people in the side streets of the music business today and I really don’t intend to be one of them !

The market also offers opportunities. In Japan for instance we signed up with a downloadcompany and I worked, we entered the Japanese charts at spot 10 and were at place 2 in the dance charts. They also released a regular CD but the download did do their work very well.

On the whole, the downfall can be good for us since the future will be purely the internet anyhow. Let’s go indie !

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Posted by: Mazzer on Jun 24, 08 | 3:32 am

"By the way, aren�t you a little bit sick and tired to remain named as the pioneer and godfather of goa-trance or psy-trance ?"

Wow....try not to dissapear up your own backside! I happened to like Juno Reactor when they were making "Goa Trance" as you call it. Just because Ben Watkins now traipses around the planet with lots of other people doesn't make him any more legitimate.

Every time I read an interview with him he slags off trance as if he's somehow above it. He says things like.."I've moved on" and "I can't believe people are still into it".

I guess if making lots of money and becoming totally commercial means that you've moved on then he truly has moved on.

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