Canada’s Fred Everything has been in the electronic music game for a long time. Now a resident of San Francisco, he’s a regular world traveler, and will be coming to Sydney soon to spin some sweet deep house tunes.
Alasdair Duncan: You’ve been a DJ for many years now – what is it that keeps you vital and inspired?
Fred Everything: It’s gonna sound cliché, but loving what I do is what keeps me going, along with the constant drive to get better at what I do. I also love traveling and meeting new people. I’ve met most of the people I know through music.
AD: You travel the world a lot to play in clubs – I’m wondering, do you go out dancing yourself a lot these days, or do you stick to behind the decks?
FE: I’m not much of a dancer unfortunately but I do love to go out and hear other DJs and get inspired. It’s important to support the scene you’re a part of.
AD: You have the kind of job that allows you to tour the world playing in various clubs – is that as glamorous as it seems? Does life on the road ever tire you out?
FE: Of course it’s nice but not as glamorous as one could imagine. Air travel can be full of surprises, usually the bad kind! But whatever happens, I always remind myself that I’m lucky to do what I do and try to keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to end up on @djscomplaining Twitter feed!
AD: When you’re making tracks, do you get a lot of inspiration from the gear – will you be playing around and sometimes hit on a surprising sound?
FE: Yes, I need to experiment a lot before I get to something I like. I’ve always used old equipment paired with new computer technology, and I’m even more drawn to those old instruments and some of the re-issues. Maybe it’s just getting old and feeling nostalgic about those sounds.
AD: As someone who came up in the vinyl era, where do you stand on the various digital advances of the last decade? Have they made things any easier for you?
FE: I still buy vinyl and play it, usually more at local gigs than international ones. I think that whatever media you use, it’s fine, just as long as you do it well and keep it interesting.
AD: I’ve heard you say that, when you’re not in the studio or DJing, you don’t really listen to house – what have you had on rotation recently?
FE: That’s not actually completely true. I listen to some DJ mixes while I travel and I also enjoyed Jimpster’s album lately. On the electronic side of things, I listen to stuff like Atoms For Peace, Caribou (Daphni), Four Tet and DJ Koze, as well as some rock like Primal Scream’s and David Bowie’s newer albums. I’m into jazz, soul, funk, ‘80s new wave…the list really goes on.
AD: Are you still San Francisco-based? What’s life like there these days – is it an exciting place to be?
FE: Yes and yes. I really love the city. It’s very different to the rest of the US and has a unique scene also, very cutting edge and inspiring for me.
AD: You’ll be playing at Goldfish in Sydney at the end of July – what can we expect from that show?
FE: I hope that it will be as good as last year’s, which was a lot of fun. I’ve been asked to play at least three hours, which is great. The usual mixed bag of house, deep house, disco and techno, and maybe a classic or two!
Fred Everything plays The Goldfish, Kings Cross on Saturday July 27.
