Mr.C and the return of Superfreq ^Featured

Some of you might remember Richard West aka Mr.C as the frontman of the 1980s Scotish psychedelic act Shamen while others recognize him as the co-owner of the legendary London's nightclub The End which he managed for over 13 years together with Layo Paskin.

Since 2002 Richard gained worldwide recognition with his Superfreq label that brought countless wild raves to London, New York, Los Angeles and Ibiza’s popular DC10. Recently on Friday, 30th of November, he arrived for an exclusive session at the Bubbles Ibiza club and before his gig we had an amazing opportunity to chat with him and find out more about his Superfreq label re-launch, productions, the Los Angeles party scene, his passion for acting and a lot more...

You are playing in Bubbles Ibiza today. Do you feel relaxed or in contrary - nervous about it? What should we expect from your session?

I'm never nervous when it comes to DJing but I do get excited and this is no exception.

Having missed my first summer season in Ibiza this year, I'm very excited to be coming to play at Bubbles and seeing all of my friends. I've had a good response and all my mates seem to be coming so it's going to be a crazy night for sure!

I never compromise with my sets so expect to hear completely up front, cutting edge, futuristic, sexy, trippy house and techno. Probably deep and dark with a lot of emphasis on fun.  Ibiza is about to see what it missed from me this summer! 

You are based in LA now. It would interesting to hear about the challenges when throwing the parties over there.

Superfreq has been doing very well in Los Angeles over the past three years. The scene there is very cool with lots of great parties happening from deep house to techno and  everything in between in both clubs and other alternative illegal spaces.

There are not that many great clubs available but there are two new clubs opening called Sound and Dim Mak. These are probably the best two mid-sized clubs along with King King.

The downside is, even though there are lots of great parties going on, there is still not enough people into underground music to fill them all, but it's getting better all of the time.

You had six successful seasons in Ibiza. Would you see yourself hosting events here again?

I do see Superfreq returning to Ibiza, if not in 2013 then definitely in 2014. I was meant to do three Superfreq parties with Monza at Sankeys last summer but it fell through when Monza pulled out which is why I didn't make it to the island yet this year.

I'm about to re-launch the Superfreq record label and I'll be releasing two EPs each month, one vinyl and digital, the other digital only. I have the first eight vinyl EPs ready and the first 4 digital only releases ready, all amazing music so I'm extremely excited!

The re-launch of the label will definitely elevate Superfreq as a clubbing brand to the next level and as Superfreq has a lot of history in Ibiza, I'll definitely be looking for a return here. 

I learned that you are passionate about acting. Is it more of a hobby or a serious creative ambition you seek success in?

Acting is a serious creative ambition for me. I studied a very serious form of method acting called the Spiritual Psychology of Acting for almost six years every week when I was in London, so my acting skills are spot on. I can play pretty much any character!

As I’m doing so well musically, playing lots and making a lot of music, I haven't been pushing it very hard but I shot a very small role in a low budget British movie called "Luck" back in March 2012 which should be in the theatres by summer next year.

I also have a lead role in another British movie which has a pretty big budget that shoots next summer which I'm extremely excited about as I get to play the devil himself!

I am also meeting good people in LA in the movie business and getting a little interest so it's only a matter of time before it takes off for me. Many DJs don't have a second passion and may have to grow old disgracefully being the oldest swingers in town which I don't think is a great look, which is why I decided to master a new performance art and one that can take me though to my older years.

Have you been spending time in studio lately? Are there any interesting collaborations coming up?

I've been spending so much time in the studio over the last year or more! I had two EPs released on Adjunct Audio with [a]pendics.shuffle in the summer and had my remix of "Obel" by Fractious released in NB records from Austria in September.

I have a remix of a track called “Money Dish” by Mikael Stavostrand & David Scuba coming out on Riff Raff from LA in January 2013 and then my new EP called “I'm gonna Give You Some” is being released on Superfreq in February 2013 for the re-launch of the label.

I also have two more solo EPs ready for Plink Plonk and have also done remixes for Affie Yusuf, Joint Custody, Xo Chic and Bea Tricks, as well I’m starting a new project with Affie Yusuf under the name Indigo Kidz, all to be released on Superfreq in the first half of 2013. I'm also working on more new solo tunes and a couple more remixes so expect a lot of Mr.C music to be hitting the dance floors in 2013.

I meet a lot of DJs today who play only vinyl and call it the only true way of DJing? What do you think of this trend?

I'm also a vinyl DJ, although lately I've been playing about 20 per cent CDs too, as I've been showcasing all of the new Superfreq material, none of which is on vinyl yet. But I personally do prefer the sound of vinyl and also I think it's way more interactive with the crowd and also more fun to spin. I'm delighted to see more and more DJs switching back to vinyl, however all formats are relevant and everything works, so long as the DJ is good and knows what he / she is doing.

Is there any new talent in the current electronic music scene that you find extremely inspiring?

There's so much new talent coming through all the time! Watch out for David Scuba, Xo Chic, Dance Spirit, Luke vB and Joint Custody to name a few.

Layo&Bushwacka have announced the end of their 6 year collaboration. Any thoughts on the case?

Their collaboration was for a lot more than six years but sadly, all good things have to come to an end. Bushwacka has been making some amazing music as Just Be and Layo is still making great tunes and spinning out.

In fact, Layo & Buyshwacka have just released their new album together so I don't think it's the end of Layo & Bushwacka as a production duo, but they will be working solo considerably more from now on. I do of course wish them both the very best of luck!

Year 2012 is coming to an end. What would you say was your biggest achievement in 2012?

Staying alive probably! Ha-ha! I've been very happy with the continued growth of Superfreq in the Americas, especially in LA but to be honest, I'm just happy to still be spinning all over the world and enjoying great music. Long may it continue!

Find out more about Mr.C and Superfreq at: http://superfreq.org, http://endclub.com, http://ugroove.tv/superfreq or www.facebook.com/mrcsuperfreq.