“I had to take my son to the doctor, he has bronchitis again. Then I had to drop my daughter off at playgroup. Family life man, it’s going on, and I was up in the studio til late as well,” the affable Wisternoff says when asked about what he’s up to. “Trying to mix the two together is quite hardcore but it’s all good.” We have actually caught the Bristol beat-maker on an odd day off, where he is spending some quality time back home. Wisternoff enjoys his one sole day with the family before having to head back out on the road for a show in Mexico. “A day’s long enough to wash your underwear and see the kids and the wife,” he jokes. There’s a sitcom in there waiting to happen.
While it’s only a fleeting opportunity he enjoys it as much as he can before heading back out on the road. “It kind of resets the batteries. It would be nice to stay a week but a day is better than nothing.” He explains that naturally as a dedicated family man his days of working on tracks in the studio until odd hours of the morning and waking up at midday are behind him now. “You have to grow up a little bit, wake up in the morning and try to make music during the day. It’s sort of like normal society,” he jokes. Normalcy isn’t necessarily very rock n roll but even so the DJ and producer enjoys the change of pace. “It’s kind of pleasant actually, you can’t be going through your whole life being a vampire,” a matured Wisternoff chuckles. “You wake up early in the morning and by the time it’s midday you get so much done it’s incredible.” While aspects of his life have changed the respected DJ has found little time to stop since first embarking on his wild musical journey at age 13. The man who dropped out of college to pursue his music dream will soon be the parent having to handle rebellious kids. Clearly the move worked out well enough for Wisternoff.
From his first break at the 1986 DMC World DJ Championship to becoming an important part of the rave scene and co-founder of Way Out West, he has followed his own path. That continuing path will soon lead him back to Australian shores as he headlines The Breakfast Club at New Guernica this Friday. Having come down under several times in his career this will mark Wisternoff’s second visit in two years. “Since the year 2000 I’ve been there about eight times I reckon.” On this occasion he’s looking forward to getting more time to enjoy the sights. “Normally I spend an off week in Sydney, time this time I’ve got some off time in Melbourne. It’s a fantastic place, so it’ll be nice to stay slightly longer than one day. He’s also looking forward to breaking up his flight itinerary, as opposed to the whirlwind he typically experiences. “I’ll be flying into Perth actually, which is a really pleasant way to enter Australia, because it’s so quick from Singapore, it’s actually five hours down. Usually it’s like hit Singapore, go to the outdoor beer garden for a while then get on another eight hour flight after a 12 hour [flight]. It’s a killer. I mean it’s nice you can pop upstairs to the outdoor beer garden, you can get some serious humidity going on. Or you can fly via Bangkok and see all the dirty old men on their way home.” If the DJing thing doesn’t continue to work out maybe a career as a travel agent could be an option. As a travelling DJ he has the perk of heading to our shores once a year, if he can, along with all the other destinations he hits throughout the course of a year. “It’s usually a once a year thing. Most DJs if they’re lucky enough to do it, come down and do a two week tour once a year.”
For Wisternoff, it doesn’t stop with international tours and Singaporean beer gardens as he spends his off time working on new remixes and tracks. It sounds sort of like punching the clock in an office except you don’t get to read out excerpts of your marketing report at a packed club. Jody is fresh from releasing his solo effort Trails We Blaze, which has been getting rave reviews since it came out earlier this year. Even though he dropped his first single back in 1992, the X-Psych-Ting 12”, this marks his first full album. Building on his trademark progressive house sound the album veers from loungy to contemplative, with the occasional rough edge. It seems to be an accurate representation of the man behind it. With the weight of the dreaded debut off his back he has had time to work on other material including a remix for Bristol band The Other Tribe and their song Skirts. Jody throws in a little funky curveball and turns their appropriately tribal stomp into a long extended groove. He has also hooked up with Trails We Blaze collaborator Pete Josef, who contributed to gems like Just One More, for a new track.
For a veteran DJ this hectic schedule is par for the course and something he has gotten used to over his career. “Upwards and onwards really, I’ve got loads of stuff on the go,” Wisternoff affirms nonchalantly. I think that’s how it is for people that make music, you’ve got about 30 tracks bubbling on and you just kind of finish them off. Some of them make the grade, some of them don’t but you always think ahead.” Music is his drug of choice so obviously there needs to be some moderation, and Wisternoff always tries to find way to manage and break things up. “You do a little bit on the laptop while you’re travelling, go to the studio and work on it a bit there, then back to family life. It’s a nice kind of balance really, the two are good for each other.” Over the years Wisternoff has evolved with the dance scene and enjoys new technology but is still faithful to the old school. He always prefers to have that hands-on studio environment, rather than a portable digital set-up. “For me it’s a tricky one because most of my sound sources are from synthesizers in the studio and I use a lot of old hardware so I can’t carry that with me. You can do radio mixes and stuff while you’re on the run but I’m not one of those guys that could finish a whole track in a hotel room. It’s not gonna happen.” For his recording process he needs to have that classic analogue gear to help foster the vibe. “I actually seem to get more results from hardware synths at the moment. Using two-step sequencers and stuff like that.”
As a DJ and producer he, like most his peers, has found a process that works for him. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. “The flexibility of adjusting the sound while you’re playing it seems to bring out more magic than using a plug-in. I’m just an old school kind of guy really so I’m more into the hands-on style. That’s the way it seems to work for me.” It’s not only about the sound however, it’s also about creating a mood and an atmosphere that is conducive to his form of creativity. “It’s really fun as well, you don’t feel like you’re sat behind a computer working you’re jamming with instruments. It reminds me of the days of old when you went into the studio and used sequencers and there wasn’t even a computer going on.” The joy is very much in the process for Wisternoff when everything is clicking in the studio. “It’s fun programming drum machines like the 808 or the 909.” At the same time he appreciates what technology can offer. “I love Ableton man, it’s the coolest thing and I’m quite interested to check out Bitwig. Ultimately though yeah, a mix between analogue and digital.” There you have the ingredients of a master DJ who is still pumping it.
BY ANDREW ‘HAZARD’ HICKEY
