It is amazing where one hit song can take you, take Uk duo Coburn,last years success of the single 'Can We Interrupt This Programme' opened more doors than the porters at the Ritz. The boys Tim Healy and Pete Martin have been drawing knowing nods from the likes of Carl Cox, Mylo, Audio Bully's Pete Tong, to the more regular amongst us you would have found the track pervading our senses throughout last summer as the theme to Citroen's new C1 commercial. But don't let this smash track fool you into mistaking these two as sudden overnight success's. You may know Pete better as 'Slide' from 'Cass and Slide' fame, an extremely talented producer in his own right, and Tim whose own eclectical musical trangressions have taken him from global trance Djing to pushing the electronic musical envelope in 2006 with the cleverly crafted sounds of this latest amalgam. We managed to sneak a few words from Tim in the build up to Coburns first Japan event on the 17th of March, brought over by the clever guys from Daikanyama's UNIT. See you there.
> Interview : Nick Lawrence (HigherFrequency) _ Introduction : Mark Oxley (HigherFrequency)
HigherFrequency (HRFQ) : Tim, we know that at least you've visited in the past for various trance shows but will this be your first time visiting Japan together as Coburn ?
Tim : Yes, Japan is one of my favorite places to visit as a DJ and performer, and this is the first visit for Coburn.
HRFQ : What do you expect from your show here in March ?
Tim : I expect another great party in Tokyo. We have a set that will be heard for the first time in Japan. It goes from heads-down dance to electro style via breaks and bootlegs...
HRFQ : Collectively you are responsible for countless music ranging from psy-trance, to progressive house to electro rock, where do you draw the inspiration for such a wide variety of genres ?
Tim : In truth it has been one big progression, a long creative journey from start to finish. I have entertained all over Japan as a trance artist, a progressive house artist and now a free-style purveyor of electronics.
My inspiration for producing music comes from a genuine love I have for all kinds of music (I have a ridiculously huge music collection which takes far too much space in my house). What is really cool about Japanese people is that they have followed me and my projects from day 1.
Working with Pete Martin (aka Slide, from Cass & Slide), is a god-send. He is a hugely talented producer, and we make a great team.
HRFQ : Your single 'We interrupt this Programme' brought you commercial success, being featured on a Citroen advertisement as well as earning you an invite to DJ for a Paris Hilton perfume launch, was this something you intended and will you aim for a similar outcome with future Coburn releases ?
Tim : Someone said to us, "now you have done a commercial, you are commercial artists". I took that as a compliment. Coburn does not set out to be commercial, but we have found ourselves being regarded as such. The Citroen ad was a great help.
The Paris Hilton party was awful! She demanded I play Madonna (and I didn't have any Madonna in my record box) and then she told me that if I didn't play "Madonna right now" she would "leave her own party". Then she played her new single, which was the worst thing I have heard in a long time.
I left shortly after our altercation, taking with me a life-size card-board cut-out of Paris which we have in our studio and which we throw darts at when we are bored. Paris is not the brightest spark on the planet, last week it was reported in the UK press that she claimed not to know that London was in the UK, and thought that everyone in Europe speaks French. What was I thinking accepting a booking from her? Never again !
HRFQ : You have both been quite successful in the past with your individual endeavors but how different are your lives now that your success is significantly more mainstream ?
Tim : The biggest change is being able to choose the kind of clubs and festivals you play at - also getting invited to play at rock festivals is great. We have to keep a fine balance between club-land and the world of real music. Writing music that people no longer just perceive of as a DJ tool, but as music in itself is a great place to be...
HRFQ : You have just remixed Pharell & Gwen Stefani- 'Can I have it like that?', are we likely to see more Coburn pop remixes in the future ?
Tim : Oh yes, you better believe it. We are working with The Audio Bullys, have done some R&B production for Liberty X (UK pop act) and are always hard at work in the studio.
HRFQ : So after DJing a celebrity party, providing the soundtrack a TV commercial, remixing pop superstars, and soon releasing a sure to be successful EP what is next for Coburn ?
Tim : Our album, world domination and retiring to our privately owned island in the West Indies. Oh and solving the problem of world peace. And that's just before lunch. See you in March !
End of the interview
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