INTERVIEW: Glimspe

To celebrate their 1st Birthday, Manchester night Fingerprint have enlisted the services of a low profile but highly skilled young man known to the underground house and techno world as Glimpse, but known to the tax man as Christopher Spero.

 

It's a wise move: Glimpse has released on some of our scene's finest labels (think Buzzing Fly/Plant E/Cross Town/Cadenza and hear it here) and runs a label on which his own work is released, Glimpse Recordings.

 

From slow building house grooves, to darker and more clinically minimal affairs, Glimpse's sounds vary from production to production, but always retain a decidedly 'Glimpse' core and, for that reason, we thought it time to chat...

 

Standard question but how did you get into all this?

 

I started Djing in 1995 which naturally led on to prodcution.  I started my label Glimpse Recordings with Kompakt in 2002 and things went on from there.

 

Tell us about the music you grew up with – how much has it influenced you?

 

My passion is and alway has been mainly Jazz and Blues.  This was the music that I grew up with and it still hugely influences me today.  I love the low slung cracky aesthetic to allot of my  old Jazz recordings.  The inperfections are what makes the music so exciting to me.

 

How did you hook up with the big names you have?

 

I did'nt really hook up with any of them on purpose.  A friend of mine Dean [Mushin from deep house duo Bearweasel]  sent a track I did called 'Drifting' to Carl Craig without telling me and he asked he if he could release it.  I was really pleased about this as I have alway been a big fan of Planet E and Carls music.   Crosstown Rebels again was thanks to my press agent Melissa who sent my album to Damian who made me an offer the next day.  I have never been that keen on sending my music to other labels.  This was one of the main reasons I started my own lable in 2003.

 

Do you produce the tracks first, and then search for a label, or vice-versa?

 

I never write anything with any labels in mind.  If I do something that sounds a certain way then I might think it may suit a certain label.  I dont think music can be tailor made, it has to come naturally.

 

If the latter, do you feel pressure to fit into that label’s ethos?

 

I never feel any pressure from labels.  I would not change anything in a track to make it fit a label and thankfuly have never been asked to do this. For me the track comes first and the label come after.  Allot of artists try and write music for specific labels and this way everyone ends up sounding the same which I think is starting to happen allot at the moment.

 

Is there any influence/guidance from people at the label during the production process?

 

No not really.  If im remixing something then often they may say they want something to sound a certain style or give me a refernce from one of my previous tracks.

 

You also run Glimpse Recordings... why did you set that up and how did you get the link with Kompakt?

 

Glimpse Recordings was set up mainly as a platform for my own and my partner at the times own productions. He ran a record store in Soho so we had a good relationship with Kompakt.  When we had enough music we sent them some stuff with a label concept in mind.  

 

Labels are tough things to run in the current climate, no? Piracy/depleting vinyl sales...

 

I operate in a generation that seems lost in file formats. We have never really had a format long enough to call it our own.  Like our parents had viynl.  My generation of musicians has been desperately scrambling around  looking for a secure vehicle for its imagination. Not Viynl, Not CD and un-satisfied with the sound quality and nature of MP3s,  I find myself always looking for that secure platform for my ideas that the generations before us had.  Now I think the real value of music has moved back into the live arena.  Piracy is a completely out of control now.  You see illegal links on websites as early as two weeks before the record is even out. 

By far electronic music sounds best on viynl.   When I DJ I only play viynl and always will.

 

What are your values when it comes to music making...

 

I think being as honest as possible and standing proud behind your own sound

 

As you are known for a variety of styles - from minimal to prog, via techno-pop and deeper stuff – how do you know which direction to take your ideas in, or does it ‘just happen’?

 

I actually had no idea I was known for Prog although I heard that John Digweed was playing my Planet E release. I think that was more about him playing techno than me writing prog though.  When im in the studio I just write what feels natural to me that day.  I don't really care what pigeon hole it falls into at the end of the day. As long as I enjoy working in the studio I will keep releaseing music.

 

Do you ever wonder about really focusing and honing one sound (like most people do!)to ensure you aren’t spread too thinly?

 

The records I write hopefully sound like Glimpse what ever genre they come under.  Im not interested in just  writing techno or just writing  house.  There are common themes that run through all these genres that are there to be played with and experimented with.   I like to do all of it.  My album though is very much a certain sound that I would call the 'glimpse' sound. 

 

What are you working on at the moment...

 

I have just finished my album on Crosstown Rebels which will be released in Feb 2010 so will be touring for allot of next year.  Im also just about to start a new project with Tom Demac callled 'Dense' with Kompakt.

 

Any ideas of what to expect at Fingerprint/ideas of what you'll play?

 

At the moment I'm mainly playing stuff from my forthcoming album with some older bits thrown in as well.

 

Catch Glimpse play Fingerprint at Spektrum, Manchester on Saturday October 17th.