Exclusive Interview with Jerome Sydenham

Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Jerome Sydenham, shortly before his performance at KU DÉ TA Bangkok on Saturday, April 26.

Your career started out in the peak of the 90s New York house era. How did you get in touch with House music in the first place and how did you get into DJing and producing music?

The House experience started for me around 1984 as a fast teenager growing up in New York City. There were two main nightclubs that we patronized. The Paradise Garage with Larry Lean at the helm and Club Zanzibar (Newark, New Jersey) with Tony Humphries running the ship. These were definitely the formative years.

As far as the DJ fantasy goes, this started when I was around 11 years old. We had no mixer or anything close to such technology but we used to do something called pause mixing. This is the switching between the cassette deck and turntable with a flick of a button on the integrated amplifier. It was more like editing really, but live. Eventually, when we were in our mid teens this progressed to two turntables and a mixer. Eventually it led into my first club gig/residency happened at the infamous Nell’s nightclub in the late 80s. In New York it was very common for active House DJs in the scene to naturally evolve into music producers. It was just seemed to the next step as it was happening all around you – one influence let to another.

You play and produce a House, Tech-Techno and Techno. How would you describe your own music in just a few words?

My House music has varied over the years. It encompasses a deep house spirit, at times an avant-garde tech-house sensibility, and occasionally a limited but great selection of vocal house and electronica. My techno related productions are vastly different. These take on a deeper, darker energetic pumping sophisticated state. But variety and open-mindedness is key to my musical approach. I tend to be regarded as cutting edge by my peers.

Last year you made a highly successful remix of Carl Craig’s track “Angel”. Besides that track, out of all tracks you have made, which would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?

I’ll make a short list:
Jerome Sydenham, Dennis Ferrer - Sandcastles (Original Mix) [Ibadan Records]
Julian Jabre - Swimming Places (Jerome Sydenham Remix) [Defected]
Jerome Sydenham, Dennis Ferrer – Timbuktu (Original Mix) [Ibadan Records]
Jerome Sydenham – Trobipolution [Drumcode]
Flora Cruz – Let the Sunshine Out (Jerome Sydenham Remix) [Ibadan Records]
Motorcitysoul – Space Katzle (Jerome Sydenham) [Simple Records]
Ken Ishii – Cubitos de Hielo (Jerome Sydenham) [70 Drums]
Nic Fanciulli – Materia (Jerome Sydenham Remix) [Global Underground]
Kerri Chandler – Atmosphere (Jerome’s Runaway Dub) [Ibadan Records]
H.O.S.H. – Steppenwolf (Jerome Sydenham Blacktro Remix) [Diynamic]
Jerome Sydenham – Darkroom [UK Promotions]
Adam Beyer, Joel Mull – Forming Dies (Jerome Sydenham Remix)
Dennis Ferrer – Red Room (TMB and Jerome Sydenham Remix) [Objektivity]
Jerome Sydenham – Runaway Girl [Ibadan Records]

This represents a cross-section of Deep House, House, Tech-House and Techno.

Besides countless tracks & remixes, you released 2 studio albums: “Pan-African Electro Vol.1” (in 2007) and “Animal Social Club” (in 2012). What are you currently working and focusing on?

There was actually an early studio album called ‘Saturday’ that I made with Kerri Chandler. At the moment I am working on another studio album with Ron Trent and Aybee which has a Deep House / Avant Garde Tech-House feel. In addition, I am working on remix of a track by The Martinez Brother, Seth Troxler for their new label and a Shinedoe track from her upcoming album. And last but not least a re-edit album ‘Editopia’ featuring various colorful and prominent artists coming out on Ibadan Records.

What was the best and the worst gig you ever played and what was the funniest thing ever occurred during any of your performances?

Wow, that is a though one. I can’t say the best as that is too subjective and the audience and the individuals’ opinions matters most. But I really enjoy playing at the Berghain and Panorama Bar in Berlin. As for the bad few, I was much younger and crazier then but that is also subjective as some people also enjoyed what I considered a crap night. While I was playing at the Rockit Festival in Holland on a packed rainy day the stage became rather slippery. I wasn’t really paying attention as I was dancing and rocking while in the mix. Suddenly my foot slipped forward and I landed on raw metal scaffolding beneath the turntables and almost castrated myself. Fortunately I landed a little bit on my left thigh and was able to pull myself back up pretty quickly. The audience didn’t catch it but the 30 people in the DJ booth surely did. And you can’t imagine the laughter that followed.

You grew up in New York, then moved to Denmark and reside in Berlin now. What can you tell us about clubbing and nightlife in Berlin? Do you have any nightlife related suggestions for first-time visitors?

The best spots in Berlin, for me again, are the Berghain and Panorama Bar (probably the best in the world). It is open-ended hours (could be days), great line-ups of Techno and House DJs, and excellent crowd of the straight and guy communities +++, awesome sound etc. But then you also have the Watergate, which is a really solid House music club. Club de Visionaire on the other hand is a great outdoor everyday summer spot and also superb for after hours. Then we get to Wilde Renate that exists in a rustic old apartment building that has am amazing super trashy character with great music and super cool vibe. Stattbad is a great new competitor in the scene with its swimming pool dance floor in one room and its infamous boiler room. We also cannot ignore the new club Prince Charles that has a very nice modern esthetic, clean lines and a Function One sound system. They will definitely be causing ripples through the summer. The of course there is legendary Tresor that started it all back in the early 90s and I could go on…

You have been to Thailand many times; your most recent performance was in 2006 at Bed Supperclub. On 26th April you will return to Bangkok and perform live at KU DÉ TA Bangkok at the ALTITUDE party. What can Bangkok expect of your upcoming performance at KU DÉ TA Bangkok?

I will be myself as always with an unrehearsed set - willing to inspire and please. Looking forward to it. See you there!