Charles Webster

Defected, Miso Records, Furry Phreaks

2008.04.29 ::: Words by Toni Tambourine

It’s great when your star is in the ascendant, especially in that headiest of all heady worlds, the music business. That unbeatable adrenalin rush as your career seems to be on a permanent upward trajectory. Everyone loves you, everyone wants to be your friend. They slap you on the back (ouch, that hurt actually…), they want to be seen with you (hang on, your trousers reflect badly on me…), take drugs with you (just say no…).

Then the inevitable come down. The hits dry up, your new friends disappear, your old friends are sore that you forgot about them, your label drops you (didn’t the Jam write a song about this?). You could write a concept album about it. With a bit of luck, an old friend in A&R might have been sacked by his major label employers (probably for being crap, a crackhead, or most likely both) but been given a big enough pay off to start his own independent, he’ll fund it.

STOP! There is another way. It’s a way we first glimpsed when the electronic music revolution spread like wildfire from the world’s bedroom studios in the mid 80s, demystifying and democratising the music-making process virtually overnight. The possibilities seemed endless, especially when the music spawned a culture in acid house that put the emphasis on participation – no ‘us & them’ between audience and artist. We were all ‘us’ in the scene, ‘them’ were simply those who didn’t (wouldn’t, couldn’t) get it.

Of course it couldn’t last, as the ‘industry’ slipped out of its own backside for long enough to find ways to exploit this new scene. So we got (cough) superstar DJs, club (ahem) “brands”, all the hits & more cheesy megacomps, ‘avin it in Ibiza ad nauseam (literally)….

STOP AGAIN! Some of those who’d witnessed the other way liked what they saw. They stuck with it. They eschewed celebrity status, the pop charts, three gigs a night, unnecessary remixes, radio edits. No compromise, no sell out.

Rather, they worked at their craft. They strived for perfection, refusing to accept it was all but unattainable. They pushed boundaries, challenged fanbases that relished that fact. They survived & thrived. They made the world of music a better place…and a select few of them are still here, still challenging us and thrilling us in equal measure. Enter stage left(field) Charles Webster.

People love Charles. DJs love him for making their jobs easier… producers love him for the inspiration he provides… his loyal fanbase love him because they can trust him to deliver time & again. Twenty odd years in the game and Charles has the RESPECT of several generations of music lovers.

So how did we get here?

Well Charles is from a blessed generation. One whose parents owned Beatles albums, one which was seduced by glam rock, then had its senses awakened by the double whammy of the DIY punk ethic and Kraftwerk’s electronic revolution…then was still young enough to embrace the possibilities of the digital age. And so it was that this unassuming, bespectacled, hat-obsessed musical troubadour from semi-rural England set about making his mark on the world.

Charles got his first instruments aged 15 (guitar, synthesizer and drum machine) and began treading the boards in early electronic bands round Sheffield and Derby.
Then another fateful hand was dealt. Charles moved to Nottingham, started working in a restaurant... the owner of which also just happened to own the city’s 'Garage Club', definitely the first House club in Nottingham (and arguably in England). The owner invited all the staff to the opening party of his new club. One Graeme Park is the resident DJ, Larry Heard and DJ Pierre are on the turntables, and suddenly Charles is aware that the genre-defying music he has been creating himself has by chance happened across a genre and a scene which can take him to their very hearts.

From hereon it’s a blurred tale of late nights in studios and clubs, collaborators aplenty, all pieces fitting together and helping to shape the king of electronic soul we know and love today. Earning his dance music spurs engineering for the great, the good, and just occasionally the godawful at the city’s seminal Square Dance Studios, Charles truly came of age as a producer in his own right with 1990’s Sine and 1992’s Megatonk projects.

A brave move to San Francisco in 1993 enabled his production career to go into overdrive as the prime mover behind the acclaimed Love From San Francisco label. This in turn lead to tracks coming out on other acclaimed Stateside labels such as Emotive, Nitebeat, Happy Tracks, Rey-d et al. Charles launched the prodigious talent that is Terra Deva, then 16, into the dance music world via Furry Phreaks’ seminal ‘Soothe’ and ‘Want Me Like Water’.

Back in the UK in 1996, Charles started the Remote label for his increasingly in demand output, and began to get serious props as a DJ. ‘Getting Lifted’ by Presence led to Pagan Records offering the Webster-masterminded project an album deal. The hugely successful ‘All Systems Gone’ release took the often staid world of so-called deep house into new stratospheres, won ‘album of the month’ plaudits in pretty much every publication that reviewed it worldwide (even scoring an unprecedented 11 out of 10 in one mag), and gave the world the classic single ‘Sense of Danger’, featuring Shara Nelson.

Keynote remixes for the likes of Dr Rockit (Charles’s remix of Café de Flore by this Matthew Herbert pseudonym must be one of the most licensed mixes ever) and Groove Armada (‘At The River’) saw Charles conquer the ever-growing chill out market much as he had with the deep house one, and helped pave the way for his first album under his own name, ‘Born On The 24th July’ (Peacefrog / Statra), released in 2002 to universal acclaim. Perhaps the closest thing yet to a full depiction of Charles’s musical vision, it is a deep yet uplifting, soulful, diverse collection – and makes for a truly coherent album, rather than a patchwork of club tracks and fillers. A remixed version of ‘Born…’, featuring such leftfield luminaries as Herbert, UFO and Pepe Braddock, was released to similar acclaim in late 2003.

2007 and Charles Webster just can’t stop. His latest Furry Phreaks creation ‘All Over The World’ with Terra Deva is set for a major release via Defected; more releases are lined up for his much-feted Miso Records; a definitive and long-overdue Webster compilation project is imminent, also on Defected; he is producing luminaries such as Tracy Thorn and Robert Owens; and the global dj’ing continues. And we haven’t even mentioned his internationally syndicated radio shows; his remixes for the likes of Salif Keita, Martina Topley-Bird and Fish Go Deep; the number of quality compilations still falling over themselves to feature his work (old & new) …

A true innovator in the electronic music scene, Charles Webster is one of the few real mould-breakers in an increasingly stale & predictable dance music world (though whether a man whose favourite artist is Rickie Lee Jones, and whose records ooze such soul and depth should really ever be pigeonholed as dance is another debate…).

Charles has sold over 100,000 albums without ever being considered ‘mainstream’ or having a major hit single…he has toured the world with a full (genuinely) live band…he has also dj’ed worldwide, playing regularly in every continent, without ever having had the need to be feted by the dance media as a flavour of the month…he’s had the nous to have been running his own labels for years, frequently laying them to rest before they get tired and switching to other projects…he is comfortable making music at any tempo, straddles numerous genres (both real and imagined) with ease…bloody hell, he even writes songs.

Charles Webster. Respect, as they say, is due.

Nocturnal: So you live in the Midlands (UK), why do you think it’s so great to be there?
Charles: Well, I don’t think it’s that great! (Laughs). I treat it as a base really. I grew up in Derbyshire, in the peak district; I lived in Nottingham in the Midlands also. I’ve lived between here and America all my life. It’s an easy place to live but I would much rather live in Tokyo or Los Angeles.

Nocturnal: What did you get from your experience in the US?
Charles: I think more freedom. Working in Britain at the time, it was much more hectic. Everyone was on your case about music sounding the same, why are you doing this it this way? There was much more freedom in San Francisco because no one knew who we were! There wasn’t really a scene when we went there, that’s why we chose it. We made the decision to move to America because that’s where the whole house scene seemed to be centred in the early nineties. Instead of going to New York, Chicago or Detroit, where they already had defined their sound, we went to San Francisco.

Nocturnal: So Did San Francisco influence your sound a lot?
Charles: Yes, I think every one has a city or a climate that suits them. San Francisco suited my attitude. Sunny, very laid back, pretty, creative, free thinking. It’s a big city, but it feels small, unlike LA which is quite big and intimidating.

Nocturnal: I know it’s difficult for artists to do this but, how would you best describe your sound?
Charles: I think it’s a personal sound, emotional. I like to call it electronic soul. It’s very detailed music, fuzzy round the edges, quite complex but yet sounds quite simple. I hope it doesn’t sound overblown or pompous. It’s mostly vocal based music that I do, not overtly soulful, its intimate soul music. For me, it’s what I do, so I don’t pre conceive it, I just do it. It’s personal and I think if you put honesty and personality in your music people can tell you’re doing it for the right reasons. So my music, it’s modern, acoustic, electric, soul, funk, house...
The most influential artist for me as a youngster was Kraftwork. The albums, Man Machine and Computer world, were in my opinion, some of the most fantastic albums ever made. I love David Bowie. I grew up with acoustic music like Van Morrison and I like some new acoustic stuff for example Natalie Merchant but a big passion was obviously Detroit house music.

Nocturnal: Who were your big icons from Detroit that shaped your sound?
Charles: All the usual suspects really. My real favourite is Kenny Dixon Junior. I love his attitude. It’s pure deep house. He’s the master of the genre. But I like all types of music.

Nocturnal: What would people best know you for?
Charles: Being tall and wearing glasses! But musically, I suppose, most people would know me for the Presence album, with the Shara Nelson tracks. But many people don’t know I was Presence because it’s not under my name. All the Furry Phreaks singles with Terra and a lot of remixes. When you remix tracks for artists you instantly get associated with them and kind of hang on to their coat tails even though you were not responsible for the original track. It varies from territory to territory. People remember you for different things.

Nocturnal: Do you ever pay attention to the reviewers and the critics?
Charles: No, not really. I read them if they are there but I don’t really read much music press. I am interested in reading what people say, it makes your head bigger for 10 minutes. Some reviews get your music to a wider audience but generally if people like your music they’ll buy it.

Nocturnal: How hard have you had to work to get where you are now?
Charles: Physically not very hard, it’s more mental. You have to persevere and stick to what you believe in. Musical integrity is important to me. I’ve had loads of people say ‘why don’t you make something cheesy and make loads of money?’ Well, I could do that but personally that’s not why I’m a musician. Music is about expressing yourself. There’s nothing wrong with making money as long as it’s on your terms.

Nocturnal: Within your career can you tell me about the struggles and the peak moments you’ve had?
Charles: It’s easier to look at the peak moments and one of the first was getting a record released on Submerge, Underground Resistance. They were some my heroes from Detroit, UR and Mad Mike. He was so influential for what I did. One day he phoned me up, we chatted and then I did a record on that label. That was my first real high, and actually it’s still going on 15 years later.
Presence, the first album was another. It was great to be received so well by the public and the press. Working with Tracy Thorn from Everything but the Girl was remarkable. I grew up listening to her on radio, so to produce for her was incredible. Shara Nelson, who’s on the first album, I love working with her. Tracy and Shara are two of the most iconic and fantastic British singers, and for them to say ‘I want to work with you’ is the ultimate respect.

Nocturnal: You work with the talent known as Terra Diva. How did you meet her and what were your first impressions?
Charles: I met her when I lived in San Francisco, in the early 90’s. She was this very confident 16 year old teenager who had tracked us down. She literally just turned up on our doorstep after hearing some my music through a friend. She said I’m a singer, I like what you do, can I sing.

Nocturnal: What was her history?
Charles: Remarkably, she was a Mickey Mouse club actor and singer and dancer. I had actually seen her on the TV. She came into our little studio and blew us away. It was around the time En Vogue were really popular and this teenager was like all of them put together. We did a couple of records straight away and that was it.

Nocturnal: As she was so young did you have to seek any approval?
Charles: I had to meet her mum, grandmother and sisters. We went to San Jose and had dinner and chatted, it was lovely. It was almost like asking for her hand in marriage. They just wanted to make sure their relative was going to be safe. But they are lovely people and the rest is history. Terra has done so many projects all over the world, but we always come back together and do our thing, every few years. We’re friends more than collaborators.

Nocturnal: Who are the Furry Phreaks?
Charles: Essentially, it started as me. The second track on my ‘Love from San Francisco’ label is as Furry Phreaks. And soon after that I met Terra, and since then it’s been me and her.

Nocturnal: What singles have you done together?
Charles: The first was ‘Want me like water’ and her delivery and lyrics were just amazing. Then we did ‘Soothe’ which is probably myself and Terra’s most well known track together. ‘Ready’, which was a more down tempo track ,was really popular and used a lot on Chill out CD’s and adverts. Then we’ve got the new single on Defected ‘All over the World’. It’s like a celebration of what Terra and I have done together really and the power of music to make people smile. The vocal delivery just makes people smile because it sounds like she smiling when she’s singing it. It’s just a feel good tune.

Nocturnal: What’s your expectation for the single?
Charles: I hope, global domination and to build a studio on the moon with the proceeds. We’ll see. It's deep house not a banging trance anthem, but I’m sure that people who know will love it.

Nocturnal: How many compilations have you done before?
Charles: The Defected compilation is the first real compilation I’ve done. I’ve been offered before but I really wanted to do it like this. Defected basically gave me free reign to do what I wanted to do.

Nocturnal: Tell me about the mix?
Charles: It’s a three CD set. CD 1 is a house mix, its got a lot of my favourite house tracks from other artists, like Kings Of Tomorrow, Warren Harris and Moodyman are on there. The rest are my productions some exclusive new tracks or updated versions of some of my favourite tracks I’ve done over the years.
CD 2 is in the style of the back to mine series, my favourite records that aren’t dance records. It’s more the people I’ve grown up listening to like Kate Bush, Patti Smith, Brian Eno all kinds of stuff.
CD3 is almost like a new artist album. It’s 60% new tracks that I produced specifically for this album, 40% are of my old tracks revisited. Some old favourites that are hard to get on vinyl or ones I felt never reached as much people as it should. So CD3 is the most interesting to me because it was almost like making a new album.

Nocturnal: How many exclusives are on there?
Charles: Almost all of CD 3 is exclusive... I think only one track on there is unchanged, the one I did for Submerge, which was a really rare record. But it’s all pretty much exclusive from CD’s 1 – 3. The Tracey Thorn track is unavailable elsewhere and a lot of the tracks on there were not available in a digital form previously.

Nocturnal: Aside from your own tracks, which are the stand-out tracks for you?
Charles: Moodyman is on there, which was an honour, but all of the tracks are a high point for me. The low point was the tracks I really wanted but couldn’t get on the compilation. That’s life though.

Nocturnal: Are the CD’s an accurate representation of how you perform live?
Charles: CD1 in an ideal situation, is a reasonable account of what I do. It’s pretty chilled. CD 2 is definitely what you’d get if you came round mine for a few glasses of wine.

Nocturnal: What are you’re forthcoming projects?
Charles: Aside from the Defected compilation and the new single with Terra, a new Megaton single, this has taken 15 years to do. I’m working on a new jazz project with a guy called Peter Raight, a new solo album, many singles, some new material with Shara Nelson, a track with Robert Owens for his album and a single with him for my label. A Dennis Ferrer mix, some stuff for Sonar Collective, a project called Version and lots more.

Nocturnal: Are you going to take this album on tour?
Charles: Yes, definitely. We’re going to do a DJ tour with guest singers like Terra. We’re going everywhere.

Nocturnal: Where will we be able to see you this year?
Charles: Everywhere, hopefully. We’ll be kicking off in Europe, Paris, Berlin Spain then Japan, South Africa, Australia then a full USA trip.

Nocturnal: So you’re going to be really busy?
Charles: Yes, won’t have time for anything else!

::: Related Links

::: www.misorecords.co.uk

::: www.myspace.com/furryphreaks

::: www.defected.com

::: 2008.03.25 » WMC 2008 | Defected In The House Photos