For the past few years, the DJ and producer born Ashley Jones has been making it rain in the disco with innovative remixes and original tracks. Jones is far from a new jack, having racked up over a decade of international club experience and studio chops as part of the beloved drum & bass group, Evol Intent. Yet as Treasure Fingers, he’s found a way to merge his diverse influences and deep history into a signature sound, packed with intricate basslines, chopped-up, gritty synth melodies, and party-ready drum breaks.
Now, after success on A-Trak's Fools Gold imprint, he's about to drop his first EP on Defected, so we thought it was about time to find out a little more about the man with the midas touch...
Where does the name Treasure Fingers come from?
Some friends and I come up with it after I had finished a few tracks, it's sort of a nod to the 80s track by Midnight Star ‘Midas Touch’.
You’ve worked and released tracks on Fools Gold, how did you come to know A-Trak?
We actually had quite a few mutual friends, but didn't actually meet until he sent me a Myspace message saying he liked my music and was looking for new artists for his label. We did ‘Cross the Dancefloor’ for my first single and everything took off from there. It's been great and I've got a follow up single called ‘Keep Up’ coming out on Fools Gold very soon.
As your alter ego ‘Evol Intent’ you produce drum ‘n’ bass…how does this influence you when producing house?
I think it really helped me fine-tune my production and engineering techniques. With heavy drum & bass, you have every element and every frequency fighting for headroom so it's a lot harder to mix down and engineer. When I'm producing house, by the time I'm finishing up the track, it's usually already mixed down and sounding solid because I'll compress & EQ as I'm writing it. As far as influencing me, style-wise, there's not too much actually. If I'm writing d&b then I'm fully in that world and I'm inspired by more hardcore punk, dark techno, and hip-hop. When I'm in the 'house' zone, I'm reaching for more disco, funk and garage vibes. It's two extremes really.
Your latest, ‘Lift Me EP’ is coming on Defected, what made you choose Defected rather than any other label?
Defected is just one of those legendary labels that's known for putting out big house tunes. When they approached me about working together, I was on board immediately. The new direction I've been going with my tunes has been a classic disco/garage meets big room hybrid, so I think it's going to be a great relationship.
Tell us a bit about the EP…
The Lift Me EP consists of ‘Lift Me’ and ‘It's Love’. ‘Lift Me’ was the tune that first caught the ear of Defected. A-Trak and Armand Van Helden had used an early draft of it on the Mixmag Duck Sauce CD. It's just a big feel-good track, could be played peak hour in the club or at an afternoon pool party. The second track ‘It's Love’ features the vocals of Haley Small, who also sang on the next Fools Gold single ‘Keep Up’. It's a homage to classic house, big pianos, techy stabs, and there's a small bit in there where I took the vibe back to early 90s UK hardcore. Once I finished both tunes, I couldn't pick a favourite, so hopefully it will be received as a double A-sider.
Let’s talk remixes. You’ve done Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Empire of the Sun and now Tensnake’s ‘Coma Cat’…how do you approach your remixes, any tips?
The remix game started for me when I did a remix for my friends’ band, Snowden. This was during the 'blog house' era, and blogs really helped to get my name out. From there it just kept snowballing into more and more remixes, then on to major label remixes. My approach is actually very simple, I listen to the song a few times, load up all the parts, then start taking away everything until I'm left with the bits that really stand out to me. From there, I start rebuilding the track, either replaying the riffs, or coming up with new chords and melodies. Obviously, every remix will be a little different, but that's my general style.
What’s next for Treasure Fingers?
More gigs and touring, and new music as soon as I can finish it up. I'd like to get underway on a full album soon as well. I've got a mix CD project that should be out early next year, featuring a lot of the remixes I've done along with some new exclusive stuff.
Where can we find you DJing and what style do you play?
I've been all over the place lately, it's been really great to get to travel and play for new crowds. I try to keep Facebook, Myspace and my site, www.treasurefingers.com up to date with tour dates for anyone who's curious where I'll be. I play feel good house music, sometimes it's more disco, sometimes it's funky, vocal or deep, but ultimately I want to see smiles on the dancefloor.
Interview by Andy Daniell
Lift Me EP is out 29th September - click to listen & pre-order
