Revigorante com alto carácter sugestivo, os Dustaphonics passaram pelo Porto, desfilaram simpatia e arrasaram num impressionante concerto no Armazém do Chá. Projecto de vários músicos em partilha de conhecimentos e sensações, esta banda inglesa assume em palco uma dimensão multifacetada rara, percorrendo um cocktail de estilos, que vão, essencialmente, do soul ao garage, com toda uma identidade de rhythm & blues. No Porto estiveram com Healer Selecta (guitarrista), Bruce Brand (baterista), Kay Elizabeth (vocalista), Dana Svovboda (vocalista) e Michael Bluesmith (baixista). As respostas pertencem a Yvan Serrano 'Healer Selecta', guitarrista e mentor do projecto.
1) As far as I know, Dustaphonics is still recent project ... how did it happen? I ( yvan Serrano) been signed by a great English label called Freestyle. They asked me 30 songs for an album few years ago, I selected studio jazz musicians and then we want to my mate studio Ed Deegan at Gizzard studio ( i used to record a lot at Toe rag even done the Popcorn Brothers with Liam Watson) but I like to work with Ed. One day my friends and Ed 's friends, Bruce Brand and Johnny Gibbs were available and with Bruce we were planning to play together since a good 10 years, we then took the opportunity and recorded 3 songs. When I gave the 30 songs to Freestyle records, they liked it all but didn't want to release the 3 songs with Bruce (too rocknroll for a jazz soul label) so when I signed the contract, I said, I want the unreleased songs back and the name of Healer Selecta album was Dust-A-Phonic, I said, i take the name back too, then Dirty Water release the single, I got the name from long time, then France and Spain called for tour and gigs/festival and this own we started the Dustaphonics, Then I used to wrote a lot of songs 20 years ago for my surf band and then we added lyrics and vocal on top and it was finally time for Bruce and I to play together after 10 years plan.
2)Looking at your concerts, I can see a solid and comprehensive repertoire, full of influences. What are you ambitions soundwise, what would you like to achieve? I collect music and I am a popular Dj in London, I pioneered 15 years ago a dj style of mixing my favorite Vintage music styles, so all these sounds of music are a big influence on the writing and the set up of the band, I select all the musicians to be part of my band, they need to have the right vibe and attitude, we are soldiers for music not stars. There is no really an ambition but a goal, the goal is to share the music we like to play, and that we like to listen or collect, and to share it with other music lovers. We can also have a trumpet/Sax and hammond sometime, but we really dig the sound as a combo. If you check our first cd http://www.reason2b.net/ there is a full horm section, hammond etc ( only few copy left)
3)From tour to tour you can notice the variety of musicians involved. It is a necessity, a challenge or a normal process? It is always a challenge, sometime some musicians, can have get a bite of attitude when it can be involved with something successful, in general these musicians are leaving the band very fast, trust me. It is the vibe who is important and keep the music simple is the hardest thing. The line from tour 2011 was amazing. Also we are all busy with different projects and making a living with music, so sometime we have musicians in rotation because X is in tour in Japan, or Y is recording in Hawai.
4)In what persons are the Dustaphonics structured today, is it correct to mention Healer Selecta and Bruce Brand? Can you speak a little of your relationship and the role of the others involved? I run the structure of the band, sound, etc, I select the members and repertoire, the music orientation and the vibe, I write the music and Aina write lyrics, we are going to do more now with Kay, All together we love to play this music together, there is no stars or diva in the bands, we enjoy each other company even during 8 hours in a van, so it is all great fun.
We enjoy to listen to each other playing and we respect that, we have maximum fun even at rehearsal, so imagine on stage :)
5)You played in Portugal for the first time. What impressions were of Oporto city, the public and the whole atmosphere that night at the Armazem do Chá ? The Spanish Tour was great, I am half Spanish and i do have Portuguese family in France, so i was very happy to bring the band in Porto, where I djed (Healer Selecta) at Casa De Musica 5 or 4 years ago, and since I am in love with Porto, Armazem do Cha is a great venue and the atmosphere was great, I was joking with the crowd and it was our last gig of the tour and the palce was packed with great vibe and people. Thanks to you man
6)In terms of recordings, what records have you released and when is the next one planned? I produced and recorded all the Dustaphonics songs, we have now a new album ready, it should be out very soon plus 3 or 4 single,
A single on Dirty Water and a mini Cd on King A ling
7)Is it legitimate to already leave any promises of returning to the Portuguese fans, who had a first contact with the band? Well, we love Portugal, we done a special song for you guys at Porto in "Brazilian", Dustaphonics musicians, are also selected not only for their music talents, but also by the way they see the world, we are international and respectful of other cultures, it is very important to me that the people I bring into that project respect that, the music we play is a melting pot of nationalities, cultures. So yes we are ready to come back any time in Porto and visit Portugal like we doing France, UK, Spain. Just ask us to come back we will :)
8)How has it been the impact of Dustaphonics worldwide, especially in London, France and the United States? In less then 2 years, we have a solid reputation in UK, we played 100 club and many great venues, we have an offer to open for the Yardbirds in july. I auto managed and produce this band, so we dont have support form PR or records company and we are on the top of the game in UK.
I had a stoke a 1 year and a half ago, and was paralysed for few months, so we loose a bite of time with it, but now I am focusing a lot on Dustaphonics and I am very busy with healer Selecta dj or sound system, Bruce is also very busy. So we don't need to rush things. We want to focus on small and human size gigs in Europe first. I think Europe is great, we can keep our nationality, cultures and travel easy and meeting great persons and visiting great places and cities. We gor a lot of offers from States Canada, Swede, Germany and Japan too, so many places so little time :(
9)I Look to the stage and we can see different generations and also notice the different backgrounds of the musicians ... A mere coincidence or an absolute necessity of sharing tastes and influences? Yes generation is an important and great thing, I wanted to show that can do good, we are 5 different generations, 5 different nationalities but we speak the same language: Music. It is also very rare that a French-Spanish person is leading an American-English band:
About influence, Bruce and I do have a very close background, we are friends since the last 15 years, the difference, it that in London I became a DJ, so that also opened my musical taste very large ( Afro, Samba, D&B, Jungle,etc..), Micheal is very young but knows already so much, he is a very talented song writer and an amazing guitarist too, Rhythm & blues is our main link, Kay have a wonderful jazz and reggae, samba background, she is half Jamaican- British American, and also a great song writer and such a great soul singer. Check this out, Bruce never played Bossa Nova before Dustaphonics :) and he is great with it !! It is the way Dustaphonics works, I hate cliche and fashion victims, if the audience is really rock n roll then we will play few Bossa Nova just to pissed off the narrow minded snob and if the crowd is mainly Bossa nova we will play Rock n Roll, just to select! Dustaphoncis like Healer Selecta is PARTY TIME!
10)How do you define your band in working ethic? Enjoying playing/creating music with band members who respect each other, sharing talents and performing for an audience who want something real, genuine, honest fresh, sexy and energetic. PARTY TIME !
11)The Burlesque Queen song results from a strong bond with Tura Satana ... How was it possible to reach her and what it meant to you such cooperation? Since 25 years i am very involved in the subculture and international scene, as musician, producer or promoter, in 1999 i was one of the rare Dj to spin rare buttshaker 45 in las Vegas for the Las Vegas Grind festival. I met Tura there. Then we became fiend since, keeping in touch on line. She was such a great person, she help me a lot by emailing me every day after my stroke ( bless her), anyway, back in the days, I wrote a song called Tura Satana, i asked my friend Simone Baird who is a journalist in London at Time Out Magazine to write the lyrics, then I went to studio, recorded/producing and Aina put the vocals on it. I sent it to Tura, who loved it so much that she asked me if they can use it for her new movie, of course i said YES YES YES!, then she sent the song to Tarantino. I had also this song called Burlesque Queen recorded with Bruce and Johnny Wildbeest as an instrument at Gizzard Studio, I asked Tura, do you want to write the lyrics for Burlesque Queen, you are the burlesque queen yourself!! She said i don't know how wrote songs, i said, write a poem then, she did and it is how we done it, simple as that. I am sad coz, we planned with Tura to do a Tour Tura- Healer Selecta & Dustaphonics London Paris etc.. in 2012, so that wont be possible anymore now :( RIP Tura, in the other hand, I am proud of this exchange with Tura, she is a icon, so I am just realizing now the impact of this collaboration. I remembered i was 13 when i first saw faster Pussy cat kill kill, I am now 42....
12)Who is Healer Selecta, dj, producer and mentor of Dustaphonics? Healer Selecta is my DJ /producer name, the jamaican party people who used to come to my sessions gave me this name in London in the late 90's, when I left the rockin garage-rockabilly blalala scene to start my own scene in London called Raison D'Etre-Reason2b ( mixing up all the music styles I love and collect). " Hero with a record box" (time out magazine)" Healer Selecta has re-invented Swinging London" ( mojo mag) I am also a talent spotters helping young musicians, this is how and why i know so many musicians, I am also doing a Sound System with my Jamaican friend Asher Storm, where I am djing live and playing live guitar at the same time when Asher is singing, very popular too, we done Glastonbury festival few times . Yep, Healer Selecta isthe mind behind Dustaphonics, the Dustaphonics's daddy and boss if you prefer.
13)I know that Bo Diddley is also a kind of hero ... is it perhaps the biggest of your influences? In London, healer Selecta was the offical Dj for Bo diddley, Chuck Berry, Ike Turner etc..
When i met my Hero Bo Diddley, he accepted to became the "godfather" of Healer Selecta and Raison D'Etre so then Dustaphonics.
He is the main influence in the music since the mid 50's! He was a great man! I will respect him for ever. he gave me a lot each time we met.
I recorded a song with Bruce and I use some of the recording conversation with Bo and me. HE WAS THE KING OF KINGS!
14)And I assume that there is time for side projects within the band. Can you tell us some of them ?As you can see DJ Healer Selecta , Healer Selecta Sound System and Dustaphonics, Raison D'Etre collective and I am also a father too ... But hey passion is what i got for music. The rest of the crew is super busy with different projects.
