The world according to....
Producing under the names Hallucinogen and Shpongle, Simon Posford runs Twisted Records, and he is regarded as one of the leading lights of the trance scene...
How long have you been making music - electronic or otherwise?
"I taught myself to play the piano when I was seven, by watching a mate who was very talented. Since then, I have been in numerous bands, playing bass, drums, or guitar, until spiritual revelations at an acid house party convinced me that electronic sounds were the way ahead."
What do you try to achieve with a Hallucinogen track?
"To make music that sounds like you have taken a lot of drugs. It has to be surprising, challenging, sometimes make you laugh, and also get the dance floor rocking. Oh, and stop global warming, solve Third World debt, and end all suffering!"
Who has been most influential in your career?
"No single person, but Youth was the one who offered me a job at Butterfly Studios, and record deal, rescuing me from the corporate hell of a major studio."
Do you think big record companies are good for under ground dance scenes?
"What big record company is promoting any underground dance scene? Or anything underground?"
Does the psychedelic scene still excite you?
"Yes, but there has been a bit of a lull in Britain, mainly due to the CJA forcing parties into dodgy clubs with unpleasant security and high prices. The best parties are those outdoors with nature surrounding you. The scene is also truly global. Japan, Israel, South Africa and Australia love trance. There is still some great music being made, even though it is harder to find, because there is so much crap around."
Who have you most enjoyed working with?
"X-Dream (before they accidentally introduced a virus into my computer!), Raja Ram from TIP is a very talented musician, cunning linguist and incredible flute player, and he always has masses of energy in the studio. Except once, when he fell asleep. I sampled his snoring on the track!"
Who would you most like to work with/remix?
"I would like to do something with a good female singer - I love Bjork's voice and style."
Why did you set up Twisted?
"I wanted to do something for artists, or at least not exploit them as much as other labels."
Which party have you enjoyed most over the last year?
"Playing Golden Gate Park, USA, on Saturday afternoon to a few hundred nutty ravers, selection of walkers, joggers, and people out picnicking. Quite surreal."
Is there more to partying than getting nutted?
"Leaving the normal shackles of your mind has something to do with it, but not everyone needs drugs to do that. It's more about the feeling of unity and love from open-minded people. And you're not going to get that if you drink loads of beer and go looking for fights. There is something very tribal about stomping to a huge sound system."
What do you want to achieve before the millennium?
"A greater understanding."
What pisses you off?
"Injustice really pisses me off. Generally, however, I'm pretty laid-back. Mind you, an accumulation of small, silly things, like parking tickets, winds me up."
Does Barry Legg's anti club/drug legislation worry you?
"People will always want to party. Not everyone will want to take drugs and if they do, so fucking what? Anyway, these legislators probably don't have all the facts necessary to make an informed decision, because the only way governments get their information is through what people tell them, and who the fuck tells the government the truth?"
Who is really doing it for you at the moment?
"If you want a job done properly - do it yourself!"
Copyright WAX magazine, England
July 1998
