This month i had the privilege of meeting one of the dinosaurs of the ukg scene, he is one of the industries longest serving underground dj's, Everard Junior Brown aka E.J.B, a south londoner thru and thru, he has had shows on upfront,supreme. elite, rinse and flashback, and has been on the scene since 1990.This geezer knows his S**T!!
WHATS YOUR FIRST MUSICAL MEMORY? "probably from back in the 80's listening to earth, wind and fire, and tracks like 'can you feel the force'"
WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU EVER BOUGHT? "it was from woolworths, a 7", i think it was 10cc- i love it"
WHO HAS INFLUENCED YOU OVER THE YEARS? "well, back in the day, i realy looked up to grooverider, he influenced me a lot, before he was playing d&b, he was playing house at places like RAGE in charring cross and astoria, i played d&b for a bit with Brian.g and Dave Angel, they were kinda my influences too, Daves technical skills were wicked, i admire him for that."
YOUR CAREER STARTED WHEN I WAS PRETTY YOUNG, I HAVE FOLLOWED YOU FOR YEARS, HOW DID YOU GET INTO DJ-ING? "i came from the d&b era,i knew these guys who were running a station called hart.fm, it was the only station at the time playin all kinds of music, most stations only played garage or d&b,but these guys were playin the lot so i got a slot on there playin house and garage, people like mc kie were on there back then too, and when they shut down i had to find another station, so i sat in my car flickin thru the stations, and whichever had the strongest signal would be the one i approached."
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? "i grew up in brixton but then i moved to west norwood."
WHATS YOUR FAVE GENRE OF MUSIC? "at the moment its ukg, i love jazz and hiphop,i love all genres! for me its about what mood im in!"
I HAVE GOT A MIX TAPE OF YOURS WHICH IS AT LEAST 10YRS OLD,AT WHAT AGE DID YOU BECOME A DJ? "24 im 39 now!"
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A GO AT PRODUCTION? "no,i love music, and being a dj so much, i like my sets to be perfect, i put a lot of time into it, people are paying to come and hear me play,so i like to play a set they will enjoy, so cos i put so much energy into that, the production passed me by,its too late to start that now cos i would be a perfectionist at that too! i would want to learn to play instruments, i would want the music to be real, not a bunch of sounds from a computer."
IF THERE WAS ONE TRACK OUT THERE YOU WISH YOU HAD MADE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? "let the music use you by nitewriters on jacktrax label".
WHERE HAS BEEN YOUR FAVE VENUE TO PLAY? "when i played in scotland, i was a novice back then, it was a doo called technodrome, there were 2 marquees,people like carl cox were there, i felt like carl cox that night, it was wicked!"
SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE MO? "i have been doing a few shows on rinse but other than that im not doing much else".
DO YOU HAVE A NORMAL JOB? "yep, im in glazing."
DO YOU HAVE ANY DREAMS/AMBITIONS? "im happy with my life and have always had my feet firmly on the ground,but if i had the chance i would become a full time dj,that would make me happy, playing different kinds of music all around the world."
HAVE YOU GOT ANY KIDS? WILL THEY BE INTO MUSIC? "well, i have been with Rona over 5yrs now, i do have a 16yr old son- Durell,he likes music, hes got his own decks and mixer, chip off the old block!".
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER, DID YOU EVER ABUSE YOUR POSITION AS A DJ TO GET JIGGY WITH THE LADIES? "i was never that fortunate!! haha! no, seriosly, i have always been in a relationship, so i never realy had that experience".
SO WHERE CAN OUR READERS CATCH YOU SPINNING YOUR PLASTIC? "pioneers of the oldskool at club 1921 every couple of months.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP5 ALL TIME FAVE TRACKS?
1. BOB MARLEY -REDEMTION SONG. 2.MARVIN GAYE-SEXUAL HEALING 3.CE CE ROGERS- SOMEDAY. 4.JAMES BROWN-THIS IS A MANS WORLD 5.LIL LOIS- FRENCH KISS
THANX EJB, GOOD LUCK FOR THE FUTURE, LISA.C
