SOULFUL IMPULSE: MORE THAN A FEELING!
June 2003
Sitting comfortably a St Julian’s café, enjoying a hot chocolate and a
cigarette, it is a strange feeling to know that, only an ashtray away
from me sits a bubbly young man with a perpetual smile, who has already
scored a string of club hits and bagged not one, but two lucrative
record deals abroad. Under the aliases Soulful Impulse and Trippy R, the
man formerly known as DJ Randy has been releasing whopping house tunes
to great effect and consequence. And if, like yours truly, you had no
clue that both the man and the tunes in question bear a glowing Made in
Malta tag, keep reading!
But, whether it is DJ Randy, Soulful Impulse, Trippy R or some other
name that may still have to surface, the essential topic here remains
only one – the music, which is why I ask Randy when and what exactly (or
not so exactly perhaps!) got him hooked on music. Originally, he tells
me, it was his older brother’s metal band that gave him his first taste,
but even then – I believe he was only about 9 years old – it was more
the equipment that he was interested in, not quite the music…yet! It was
only when he started sneaking his way into parties, despite his young
age, that he started to get hooked on the dance music vibe. For someone
who used to frequent the hip Puschka however, it is something of an
anti-climax to learn that one of the first songs to make an indelible
mark on Randy’s musical was that rather awful Scatman hit song that gave
us multiple headaches in the mid-90s. “ Looking back, it’s true,” he
tells me, “but it was a song that got played everywhere, and that was
what struck me, not actually the song itself, but its mainstream appeal,
I suppose”. I, for one, am relieved!
In between the interrupting sounds of MTV from the overhead monitors,
Randy and I flitted through some casual chitchat about the Maltese DJ
scene, which of course, he has become an integral part of. His first
experience however, was actually in a kids’ TV show, and after a healthy
number of other radio shows under his belt, Randy developed a knack for
audio production, upping the ante with his full-on immersion into music
production. Despite having been oblivious to the fact that Randy is
Maltese, I was familiar with his Return To Disco tune, one of last
year’s hit picks in local clubs and a mainstay on the airwaves,
particularly Bay Radio. An obvious slice of retro-influenced luscious
groove, Return To Disco – featuring the voice of Claudia Sammut - is
significant in many ways for Randy. “Of course! While I had already
released a couple of albums (for KM Music in 1999) featuring my own
material mixed into DJ session format, Return To Disco was a fresh move
for me – besides marking the beginning of Soulful Impulse, it signalled
a more pronounced soul/disco fusion in my music”. The song was also
Randy’s first release for K-Traxx Records, an Italian label specialising
in house music, for which he also produces remixes under the Trippy R
alter ego. Besides remixes, Trippy R also involves collaborations with
vocalist Darryl Pandy and DJ Menini, which as I understand is also
another channel for Randy to vent his love for writing lyrics! “I see
lyrics as a kind of personal diary without being too obvious - I’ve been
writing lyrics for a very long time”, so I’m assuming there are no
worries of any shortage of inspiration for a long while yet!
Still, lyrics are only half of the recipe – where does the music come
from? “Well, the when is definitely at night – I am a nocturnal
creature. If a lyric or a tune has to come, it will come by night.
Usually it’s the lyrics that come first, then I might toy around with
possible melodies for them, but it’s usually the spontaneous melodies
that work out best”. This sounds like a typical sequence for many
musicians, but it doesn’t answer my next question, which addresses the
sharp accent on house music vis-à-vis trance, electro or some other
genre, in Randy’s music? “Actually I do produce other genres besides
house, and I would love to do a techno track that I am happy with. In
the end, however, it is always the house tunes that I feel bring out the
best in me, which is why they are the ones I present for public
consumption”.
Ah, yes, the public! Aside from the handful of tracks already released
abroad, Randy’s major interaction with the public comes via DJ gigs and
some live PA’s, both locally and abroad. But, having performed in both
the UK and Italy, which is Randy’s preferred location? While many might
be assuming that Italy – often perceived as the cradle of commercial
house – would have been his obvious choice, Randy prefers the UK, but
even higher on his list – top spot, in fact – is Malta. “Nothing beats a
home crowd – knowing that there are people you know around you, all
having fun and enjoying the music – it’s a great feeling that is
practically impossible to achieve abroad”. Furthermore, there is the
buzz of playing on the same line-up as superstar DJs, including Todd
Terry, Sven Vath, David Morales, Quicksilver, Erick Morillo, Timo Maas
and Ian Pooley – and these are only just a few of the DJ’s that Randy
has shared the bill with!
Going back to the future, I ask Randy about the forthcoming Soulful
Impulse album, which should be out in June. “Well, it will be released
on K-Traxx Records. It will feature around 15 tracks, with the selection
stretching from Return To Disco to the present day. Some of the tracks
already released will probably be remixed for the album, to give it a
fresher vibe and a higher floor-filler factor (try saying that ten times
in a row!). There will a be a journey concept, in terms of the evolution
of my music - whether it is jazzy house or filtered disco - but the
common factor will always be house”! Faced with a man who evidently
knows where he’s headed, I’m curious about Randy’s favourite picks,
particularly from a musical perspective. Since he is no stranger to
either song writing or remixing, I ask which song he would like to have
written, and which one would he most like to remix. “The first is
obviously Eddie Amador’s ‘House Music’ (a classic cut still featuring in
many a prime DJ’s playlist), while the second – and more difficult
choice – is actually a tie between Jamiroquai’s Little L and any track
by Stevie Wonder”. I’m beginning to see a more defined path here, even
if Randy does list Orbital and Faithless as influences, to throw me off,
I suspect! Actually those are his live PA influences – in studio terms,
it is the vintage vibe of 70s funk and disco (as I expected!) that gives
him the groove!
With this in mind, it is no surprise that, when asked what is the best
moment of his career so far, Randy names the time (early 2002,
actually!) when influential DJ/producer and overall demi-god Joey Negro,
renowned for his colourful taste for disco and house music, listed
Return To Disco in his Top Ten tunes - and this was even before the
track was even released! It is also perhaps obvious that Randy will name
this same track as his absolute personal favourite, not only because of
its relative success, but especially because it was the first Soulful
Impulse tune! Incidentally, Return To Disco is not the only special
achiever either – recent release The Moon Song made the prestigious VOA
radio playlist, escalating Soulful Impulse’s international exposure even
further, while Forever Love has made to the final phase of the US-based
Unisong, an international songwriters festival. And, as if his contracts
with K-Traxx and Mousse T’s Ovenready Records weren’t keeping him busy
enough, Randy has just concluded a new deal with Bliss Records (of
Eiffel 65 fame), the result of which is his brand new release, My Angel.
Randy is represented by Sublime DJ Agency in Malta and Needle Damage
Management (UK) on the international scene.
Read our feature on Soulful Impulse
Recommended weblink: www.soulfulimpulse.com
