American producers Lem Springsteen and John Ciafone joined together as Mood II Swing in the early 1990s and radically altered the house landscape forever. If the duo’s pre-Millennial output - the core period of their career – defined them, then successive club generations have adapted and evolved that output for 21st century sensibilities. Of course there isn’t, really, so much to evolve, Lem and John’s unique vocal and dub-based takes on the conventional 4-4 house template already well ahead of the curve at their point of dancefloor origin. The Mood II Swing sound is truly ‘timeless’.
Things didn’t start out so smoothly. Lem and John’s original focus was R&B, quickly dulled by a series of low impact, poorly performing productions. It was only when the pair switched to house, very much an emerging trend, that fortunes changed. Early Mood II Swing productions like ‘Critical’, ‘I Need A B—ch’ and ‘Closer’ mixed hard, soul and powerful rhythmic swing across their various formats and versions, all to momentous affect.
Bigger, more demanding productions followed. Loni Clark’s ‘Searchin’’, ‘Do It Your Way’, ‘I See You Dancing’ and ‘All Night Long’, all released via George Morel’s cult imprint Groove On, combined rough and smooth elements with wilder, ever more inspirational intent. Such club-craft has, unequivocally, helped steer and influence the course of house music today.
Mood II Swing should also be remembered for their incredible remix back catalogue, spanning formative commissions for Barbara Tucker and Leee John through to the iconic updates of BT (‘Remember’) and Nuyorican Soul (‘It’s Alright’) in 1997. It was the same year that they delivered hit under and overground records, respectively, for Kim English (‘Learn 2 Luv’) and Ultra Nate (‘Free’, of course), and saw their fame peak internationally. There was still more to come, notably follow-up work with Nate, and the inspired remixing of Lucy Pearl’s ‘Don’t Mess With My Man’ in 2000 but activity would slow, or rather change….
‘Free’ introduced Lem and John to work within the mainstream music industry via the publishing arm of major label EMI. There were new Mood II Swing outings on Strictly Rhythm in 2007 (‘Passing Time’ and ‘Reach 4 You’ among them) but these were limited, lower-key affairs, other interests taking precedence. Over the past few years, remixes have been similarly few and far between and, bar the sporadic digital reissue of former studio glories, the Mood II Swing engine has ceased to motor. Excitingly, this month’s arrival of compilation album Strictly Mood II Swing looks set to change that. Lem tells us how, and explains the magic behind one of house’s all-time most enduring and influential double-acts.
Lem, what have you and John been up to this week?
We’re just back from DJing in San Francisco. It was amazing but surreal and actually a little surprising…the crowd actually knew who we were! They were hugging us, telling us about their favourite tracks. The whole thing was overwhelming and we weren’t even in Europe where we’re best remembered, if at all.
But who can forget Mood II Swing!?
From our perspective we haven’t played together since 2004, and that was a trainwreck. To have such a warm reaction in California this week was beautiful.
What happened at your last gig?
It was part of a mini-tour of Europe and our heads were in a different space. We’d been working in pop land with EMI and therefore played the kinds of vocal, pop-influenced records that we thought Europe wanted to hear. The reactions weren’t what we hoped for. It was a confusing time. We realised that publishers are not your fans - each need different things! We probably needed some new hit records but we just got burnt out, so didn’t do anything for the next couple of years.
You must have been even more nervous, then, about the comeback with Strictly Mood II Swing?
We’ve had such great reviews for the album already! These days there are so many releases every week, most with limited shelf lives, so the fact that people still love us makes us feel ecstatic.
How did the record come about?
Simon Dunmore approached us about bringing Mood II Swing back together. Louie Vega was also instrumental, he really supported the idea and kept pushing me to do something with John. There was a slight difficulty in that, after our absence from things, John and I initially had a different vision about what an album could look like and what tracks might feature. There were a couple of things that we’d have liked to add but everything came good in the end. It’s all about finding a balance and the record certainly represents what we were about.
Are you able to assess the success of your career now?
We stopped after ‘Free’ pretty much but I’m pleased with how it all went. Some releases happened in home studios where the overall quality wasn’t so good but there are no regrets. To be remixers first, then recognised as songwriters was amazing. And the global recognition…working with so many fantastic artists…. We climbed the ladder from the underground and that was a big achievement.
Explain your unique chemistry with John….
In the early days he let me take the driving seat. I played keys and wrote songs…I was the soul guy. John had the swing, the rhythms and those hi-hats y’know? John had a sensibility for a wider audience too. I didn’t realise that for some time. John started doing these instrumental versions of our work. They were random dubs with hardly any vocal samples, just these harder grooves and intense loops. People loved them. John wasn’t DJing but he was aware of this whole other audience…he was ahead of his time. I didn’t realise the importance of this at first but being able to deliver harder and more soulful sounds at the same time put us in a great position.
Was there any conflict between you and your differing inputs?
Only the usual creative friction. You spend so long with someone…you’re both growing and things change. There were periods when I was influenced by certain things, and John by others and, yes, we’d sometimes clash! We didn’t DJ either, so in some senses you’d forget your fanbase and that added to the friction and intensity…what way do you go? Ultimately, you have to learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We’ve had some weird stages but we always work it through. Take last week in San Francisco. The synergy was really good. We played back-to-back and both of us had some amazing ‘lost in the music’ moments.
Can you tell us more about your break from music in 2004?
After the global success of ‘Free’ we were touring and doing all sorts of work. Our output was our vocation…24-7. We were constantly busy running around New York or wherever, together and separately, both juggling so many commitments. We had no social life, we were exhausted. The European mini-tour wasn’t successful so we just decided to stop for a couple of years and do our own things. John finished college which he hadn’t been able to do when the music started. I tried to date! We both did family things and generally chilled out.
Your return to music was fairly low-ley…
After 2007 we did a few tracks and remixes, some separate projects with artists in and around New York. I collaborated with a few songwriters but nothing was a big weight…there was no real spotlight.
So why return now? The renaissance of Nineties house music has been rolling for some time…
I’ve been made aware by friends that the UK has been leading this new cycle of interest in soulful house from the Nineties for a while now. But I had no idea for quite some time that crowds were really pushing for this music again. Music is cyclical. But are there any wider reasons for this sound coming back? When I was in my mid-20s I’d shield myself from what was playing on the radio and retreat to the underground, so perhaps that’s what today’s younger generation are doing. Perhaps they’ve retreated to the Nineties! Whatever the reason, it’s good for us!
What do you make of today’s house landscape? What are your major influences?
I don’t really go out as a listener to clubs today. I can only really talk about commercial. Disclosure are amazing. If people in the mainstream go down that route, then I’m a happy camper. There was a progressive sound in New York when John and I stepped back from the scene. We stayed away from this new material, we didn’t like clubland. It’s also, partly, why I started working with small indie artists. But when you hear acts like Disclosure now…it blows my mind. They have an understanding of what has gone before, backed by real talent. I’m told a lot right now that many of today’s club artists are springboarding off of our sound and that’s a real compliment….
What’s next for Mood II Swing?
When we were younger we didn’t see Mood II Swing as a brand. It started in the US as a production company name, as all the original house names did. Throughout the years, the Europeans have built names into something more…into a following, a collective, a brand. Take ‘The Slippery Track’ which was released in 2000 - I had nothing to do with that, it was all John, and yet it came out as Mood II Swing. I think we need to be aware of how our name works moving forward, and how we can best push it and our music on. We’re definitely exploring a new EP with new songs as I speak. That’s really exciting for us and something we feel people want.
And more DJing?
I didn’t want to do it in the past. I used to see Kenny [Gonzalez] and Louie [Vega] leave the studio and head off to shows, and I couldn’t understand why. I just thought it was something they did. But now I see the power of DJing. We’re DJing more off the back of the album and it’s allowing us to access all of this other music. John and I have a lot of new ideas.
What motivates you today?
Mood II Swing has been a rollercoaster. The business element of things has had its downsides. The internet has changed things. Our remix budgets used to pay the whole team – the musicians, the engineers, the lawyers. Now there’s less money in production and remixing, and we’ve had to adapt. But, for me, I’ve always been a music man and this life is about a love of the music and hearing from fans about how what you do makes a difference. The places you travel to are also inspiring. Mood II Swing’s career has always been tied strongly to London, for example, and it remains an amazingly creative, mind-blowing place to visit. We’re hoping to play there later this spring. Right now, we feel like we’ve been given a second chance and that is the biggest motivation.
So, in summary, what’s the Mood II Swing mantra?
We provide the best of both house worlds, the soulful and the harder groove. We’re a unique combination.
And, finally, a favourite Mood II Swing track?
I love our work on BT’s ‘Remember’, that’s probably my favourite. However, in terms of experience rather than sound, then I have to mention Ultra Nate track ‘I Don’t Understand It’. It’s often overlooked, but it was the moment when I fully grasped that Mood II Swing was going places. Being flown to a studio in Switzerland to work with a live string section was, for me, amazing. Prior to that we’d been in grimy New York studios, and now we were heading to work in transatlantic jets…. That blew our minds.
Words: Ben Lovett
Strictly Mood II Swing is out now (3CD / Digital / Streaming) on Strictly Rhythm - order CD from DStore, digital from iTunes and Apple Music stream here
Limited edition Strictly Rhythm vinyl t-shirts are available now from DStore
