There’s a lot of colourful faces in clubland but plenty more when you consider the penchant DJs and producers have for creating secret alter-egos. It’s a trend that dates back to dance music’s day dot and one with no signs of abating. Just what is the appeal?
Perhaps inimitable disco don Dave Lee is the person to ask. Indeed, Lee has used a staggering 27 different studio personas since making his recording debut as M-D-Emm (alongside Mike Cheal and Mark Ryder) back in 1988. He’s blasted out underground hits as Raven Maize, Sunburst Band, Doug Willis and Akabu; and sampled pop success wearing the funky shoes of Joey Negro, Jakatta and Z Factor.
Why does Lee like dressing up so much? “It’s something I’ve always done” he suggests. “My first few tracks were released under an assumed identity and I quickly realised that pseudonyms gave you this massive sense of artistic freedom to do what you wanted; have fun and experiment.”
Perhaps remarkably, given his kaleidoscopic discography, Lee has recorded the odd groove under his real name – Mucho Macho, Latronica and You’re Not Alone. But he will, undoubtedly, be remembered best for tunes like Sessomatto’s Can’t Fight The Feeling, Raven Maize’s Together Forever and, of course, Jakatta’s American Dream.
Does it bother Mr L that most clubbers probably don’t know who he actually is? “Not really, I don’t ever think about it” he laughs. “My peers and fellow music-makers have always used false names. OK, so maybe I’ve used more than them but it gives me a real edge in terms of being able to make the records I want to make – not worry about all the crap that comes with visible artists changing image and direction. And to be honest, a lot of house fans do know who I am anyway! All these monikers have been the making of me, rather than the breaking….”
Joey Negro
It’s a perfect set-up, giving Lee the license to pursue outrageously fly retro-funk (Sunburst Band,) twisted, tech-y house (Akabu,) sassy, soulful four-to-the-floor (Joey Negro) and even Top Of The Pops (Jakatta) without anyone batting an eyelid… just smashing it on the dancefloor. Only last year he celebrated his sonic schizophrenia with the successful release of compilation retrospective The Many Faces Of Joey Negro – a second volume at that.
Lee’s first major project this year should be his long awaited debut album as Akabu; a fourth Sunburst Band opus is also imminent, and a heap of new Z Records singles. Plenty more variety then…. “Absolutely” he answers. “I never tire of this job. Variety keeps things interesting.” So does that mean Lee might consider yet more alter-egos? “No, I’m not planning any new faces. I’ve got enough good ones to contend with now and don’t want too much extra work!”
Pseudonyms might, of course, suit our Dave, but legendary East Coast DJ and producer John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez is at least mindful of their potential restrictions. “I grew up with a club scene in the 1980s that was completely anonymous” he reflects. “Sure, you had heavyweights like Larry Levan and David Mancuso, but ultimately there were more clubs than DJs; you could thrive on anonymity. Artists still do that today but times have changed. There’s huge focus on DJs and producers now, because there’s so many of them – dance music has become a truly fashionable past-time. As such, parts of the record industry are only interested in artists if they’re visible, well-defined brands. Big success can sometimes mean shedding your skin and letting label folks style you in a specific way.”
John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez
Then again, the rise of digital media and social networking has arguably made it harder to ‘hide’ in the first place – vague artist pseudonyms might well help clubland’s cool new sub-scenes remain anti-establishment but not for long; those scenes will soon be picked apart by the keyboard-punching masses. “You can use that to your advantage” Lee concludes; “build hype around names and make them smart new brands. And aliases do still help producers hop more easily between label deals. Ultimately, though, the music needs to come first.”
There are, undoubtedly, enough high-profile examples of that to prove the interviewee's point. When not releasing mainstream dance bangers like Pjanoo under his own name, Eric Prydz records as Pryda (no nonsense prog-house,) Cirez D (underground techno and electro) and a whole host of deviant aliases including Sheridan, Moo and AXER. Canadian techno god Richie Hawtin, meanwhile, continues to thrive off the back of releases under an assortment of tags – his double-decade career is littered with pseudonyms such as Plastikman, F.U.S.E, Concept 1, Circuit Breaker, The Hard Brothers, Hard Trax, Jack Master and UP! We really could go on….
Eric Prydz
“Pseudonyms are all well and good but, ultimately, the music needs to come first. It has to be about the music first and foremost” Lee rounds off.
The easiest way, surely, to make a name for yourself….
Words: Ben Lovett
