Genre-hopping Manchester DJ/producer Mr Scruff is back in town touring his Keep It Unreal night and anyone who’s caught one of his marathon sets in the past will know what to expect, this time around we’ve got a whole five hours to look forward to as well…

We caught up with him to talk tunes, gig preparation (there’s lots of it in his case) and how he ended up running a tea company…

Hi Mr Scruff, I’ve just had a look at your schedule for May, four gigs in four days in Scotland! Looking forward to it?

Yes indeed, it’s a while since we’ve been on the tour bus, and we’re gigging for most of May.  I’ll be doing a total of 20 hours of DJing in Scotland over those four days, so I’ll be on top form & really focussed.

Next month is the 11th birthday of Keep It Unreal in Manchester, that’s quite an achievement for a clubnight these days, tell us a little bit about how it all began…

In 1999 I was asked by a Manchester venue if I’d like to do a regular club night.  Up until then, I’d had many residencies & guest spots around Manchester, but this was the first opportunity that I had to do my own night.  The first night in June 1999 was the launch party for my Keep It Unreal album, and we’ve done one every month since then!

…and do the sets you play at the Manchester night differ at all from what we can expect when you’re up this way?

Every set I play is different, but the attitude & approach is always the same…I play all night, and cover loads of styles of music.  Expect the unexpected!

Right, three records (old or new) you’ve picked up of late that truly excite you:

Soul Jazz Orchestra ‘Rising Sun’ (Strut LP)

Flying Lotus ‘Cosmogramma’ (Warp LP)

Ramadanman ‘Glut’ (Hemlock 12″)

You’re well-known for arriving early and making sure everything’s up to scratch before your gigs, what’s happening during this time?

We spend about 3 or 4 hours setting up. I bring all my own DJ kit, much of which is custom-made, and we set that up on a heavy table weighed down with concrete slabs to prevent jumping, feedback & to tighten up the low-end frequencies.  We then set up all the visuals kit on stage as well, test the in-house PA, do a soundcheck, program the lights, hang up drapes if necessary, set up the teashop & do any final tweaks to get the mood just right.  All this extra work is worth it, as I know that it’ll sound great, and nothing will go wrong during the night, which means I can play all my favourite tunes & they’ll hit the spot!

Punters in the club on Saturday will notice your famous tea stall, how did things jump from that to the full-on business which is now Make Us A Brew?

We started the tea stall about 10 years ago as a daft thing to do in the back room of my regular Manchester venue. When we started to tour the Keep It Unreal night around the UK from 2002, we took the tea shop as well, and people responded really well to it. Fast-forward a few years & we were selling thousands of cups of tea at festivals, so we thought ‘why not do our own teabags?’, and so, four years ago, the ‘Make Us A Brew‘ tea company was formed.

Any new records/studio stuff on the horizon from yourself? I’ve noticed it’s the 20th anniversary of Ninja Tune (christ!) this year too, anything special planned for that?

I’ve just released a new single on Ninja Tune…Mr. Scruff Vs Kirsty Almeida ‘Pickled Spider’ (video below), plus Ninja are planning some very special surprises for their 20th anniversary which I’ll have a hand in (possibly a Ninja Tune zimmer frame!)

……

So there you go, I’d quite like one of those zimmers myself actually (aye, only if it was a limited edition) anyway, hopefully that’s whetted a few appetites (and whistles) for what should be a fantastic night,  as always there are plenty of mixes etc to check out on Scruff’s excellent website to get you further in the mood…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z8p7sHkz3I]

Some of the city’s best up-and-coming talents join regular Saturday night resident Funky Transport down Snafu way this weekend.  Expect quality underground house in all its shapes and forms. Pre-party upstairs in The Athenaeum from 9pm with discount/free passes on offer too…

A little reminder for this one, the second of The Dirty Hearts Club’s 4th Birthday nights (Thursday with the Filthy Dukes was  a stormer by all accounts). There’s a wee bit more info in our previous post here (the competition’s closed now, obviously). Get down early to catch Findo Gask live.  Good band…

Tonight (Thursday)!  Great cause.  Nice bar.  Excellent line-up of DJs.  What’s not to like?

When you look up ‘eclecticism’ in the dictionary there may well be a picture of Manchester DJ/producer Mr Scruff.  Actually, there won’t. Dictionaries don’t have pictures. Unless it’s some sort of special picture dictionary. Or one for kids or something. Always hated that phrase. Ridiculous.

Anyway, said tea-obsessed DJ brings a four-hour set with all the trimmings to The Warehouse tonight.  Expect everything from original blues to house, tea stalls, incredibly cool merchandise, a venue festooned with his famed funky artwork…the whole shebang.  If you’ve been anywhere near the club scene over the last ten years, you’ll know about this man, probably have at least one of his albums/mixes kicking around somewhere and will be looking forward to this immensely.  If you haven’t, his superb website is as good a place to start as any. Recommended.

Producer, songwriter, solo artist…Allen Toussaint’s 40-year career has seen him work with some of the best in the business, as well as almost single-handedly crafting the New Orleans R&B/Funk sound of the Sixties and Seventies.  Session painist for Fats Domino, writer of Lee Dorsey’s ‘Get Out Of My Life Woman’ (see below) and ‘Working In A Coalmine‘, producer of legendary band The Meters and LaBelle’s ‘Lady Marmalade‘…the list goes on.  This is going to be amazing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MV6StYgd34]

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