Deep House Leaves Home (Greg & Shane aka Fish go Deep)

Ken Rooney talks to Fish Go Deep exclusively for www.deephousenetwork.com, in their last interview before announcing the end to their historic 13-year residency.

It s Saturday, 10th November 2001, and Greg Dowling, one half of up coming house act Fish Go Deep, is playing some tunes to a small but appreciative gathering. Suddenly, the sound of an airhorn is heard, prompting the assembled crowd into a bout of appreciative shouting and chanting. Generally of course, this would be an unremarkable occurrence for him. Unremarkable, that is, were it not for the fact that it takes place, not amongst the heaving mass of a nightclub at peak time, but in Lebowski s bar. At four in the afternoon.

This is just once indication of the almost tangible sense of anticipation which greets Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson s "Sweat" birthday night each and every year. For the uninitiated, Ireland s Cork city boasts arguably the largest amount of deep house fans per capita than anywhere else in the world. We re in the Deep South now, and where music is the new religion, with Sweat as its place of worship. Already the longest running club residency in Europe, for any form of music, tonight devoted regulars and willing pilgrims from around the country converge to celebrate 13 years of underground house music. Before the madness, Greg and Shane took some time out to talk to www.deephousenetwork.com about the upcoming festivities, making music that lasts, and their newfound status as international dance music artists.

DHN - You have begun releasing material on established labels like i! Records, Chez and Imperial Dub. How did this come about, and do you feel your reputation has been enhanced since your association with American labels?

G - Oh yes, defiantly. Releasing records on labels like those you mentioned opens a lot of doors for us, especially abroad.

S - However well known we might be in Ireland, we needed those labels to do the things we wanted to do, to take our music to a global audience.

G - For one of those tracks, we just sent in a CD to Imperial Dub, and they signed it straight away. It can be as simple as that, if the music is up to scratch.

DHN - Before now, few people would have predicted Ireland as the source for the emergence of new deep house music. Do you feel your success can provide an example for other producers to follow, particularly those from less recognised areas?

G - Well, we already knew a lot of American DJs and producers form their guest appearances with us, so I don t think that Fish Go Deep came as much of a surprise to them.

S - It can help if you come from somewhere with a scene, but just because you re not doesn t mean you can t make great music. Kevin Yost for example comes from a place in rural Minnesota, and he s been making great music for years.

G - I d personally be very happy if it gave some Cork people the inspiration to take themselves more seriously and get their music out there. There s a lot of talent here, lots of DJs, but it s gone a little quiet in the last few years.

DHN - When you started out DJing, did you plan to eventually become music producers?

S - Haha! No, we just turned up and played music!

G - There was no grand plan at all, really. Back when we started in the 80 s, DJs didn t know what they were doing, they were just starting out, you know? At that stage, we had a hard enough time just finding records to play, we didn t think beyond that at the time.

S - The thing about DJing professionally is you ve great hours! But soon you do tend to get a bit bored hanging around the house all the time, so music production seemed the obvious thing to do for us.

DHN - Access to music production technology is more widespread than ever before, with the end result of an explosion in the amount of people producing music. What do you feel sets your music apart?

G - Talent! (Collective laughter) No seriously, we were playing this music for years before we started Fish Go Deep, and that certainly helped.

S - There s a thousand records released every week, and a lot of them are just trying to sound like something else. We try to make music that you wouldn t stop playing in four weeks time. If people like it, great, if they don t, fair enough.

DHN - At what stage do you put a title to your tracks? Do you come up with a concept first, and work the music around that, or vice versa?

S - Well, no matter what we are working on, even if it doesn t make the final cut, we always put a working title on it, just to identify it.

G - We take the approach of writing the music first, and let the momentum of it take it where it eventually goes. At the end of the day, it s the music that s most important, not the title. Sometimes the working title sticks, sometimes not.

DHN - Do you ever road test your works in progress in Sir Henry s, to gage the crowd reaction?

G - Oh yes. Always.

S - And not just in Sir Henry s either, wherever we play we try out our new stuff.

G - It s very useful from a sound point of view as well. Occasionally we d find that the bass might be a bit too heavy for instance, and that doesn t always come through listening to the studio monitors.

DHN - What advice would you give to Deep House Network visitors who are starting out on producing their own material?

G - Aim high. Listen to as much good music as you can before you start out, and try to make music that s every bit as good as what you ve just heard. You might not always manage it, but at least if you take that approach, you could come up with something almost as good.

S - You really just have to be patient. Some producers are in and out of the studio in a day doing some remixes, but we usually take at least two days on every track we do. You ve got to remember that once you ve released something, you ve got to live with that tune for the rest of your life, and it can come back to haunt you! Take the time to produce something you re proud of, don t just settle for second best.

G - I think it s also important to have a good understanding with whomever you re working with. Sometimes myself and Shane would spend ages in a studio not even talking, but we know from nods and signs between each other if something is working or not.

DHN - In relation to the DJing side of your careers, upon visiting your weekly Sir Henry s residency, DJ magazine described it as "The Best music that side of the Irish sea". Which was nice. Do you feel you get that level of recognition in Ireland, and abroad?

G - Well, to some extent we don t, but not many other DJs do either for the simple reason that Ireland does not have a properly developed indigenous dance scene, and so there s not a lot out there to support. It s a bit of a vacuum.

S - There s still a reliance on importing English and American DJs. There s nothing wrong with doing that occasionally, but if it s happening week after week, it can stifle local talent.

G - It s nice to get compliments like that, but we ve been playing all around the country and beyond, so I think the people who are into the music generally know who we are. Any recognition beyond that doesn t matter that much to us.

DHN - What has been your favourite night of the past 13 years at Sweat?

G - Oh, so many to choose from really.

S - I suppose our favourite nights would tend to be from the weekenders around the 1995 period. The scene was still quite young and fresh back then, and we would get so many people coming down from all around the country to those. We still get visitors, but now there s something big happening every weekend, so naturally there s not the same level of interest.

DHN - It s the 13th birthday tonight - it must have been tough choosing the records for this one.

S - We ve been picking them out for weeks now! From the point of view of mixing, a lot of the stuff that was made 10 years ago doesn t sound like the music that was made say, two years ago. Usually at these nights we just kind of go for quicker mixes. You have to be pretty together to mix them halfway decent, but it s a party, you know? The birthday s for everyone, not just for us.

DHN - What are the main changes you ve seen since the birth of Sweat? Is it all good?

S - Well, the music has developed obviously, but the crowds in the club have always turned over; every couple of years there s a new crew.

DHN - I suppose Sweat turns the normal perception of the typical deep house fan as a chin-stroking over-25 on its head.

S - The profile of the club has always been young, but that s what gives it that special atmosphere. People would still tend to listen to a lot of deep house at home though, even if they only come in to see us now occasionally. We play there, so I suppose we look at it from a different perspective, but some of those who come along can feel a little uncomfortable with the age profile, and I can understand that. Tonight is a chance for them to come in, say hello, and remember what it was like in their heyday, you know? Admittedly not knowing what to expect, I got the feeling from Greg and Shane that they are genuinely happy with where they are, and with the direction in which they are going. They answer each question with enthusiasm, and would have probably been content to sit there and talk music for the day, were it not for more pressing engagements. There was only one point that they seemed in any way shy - that being how long they expected their record-breaking residency to continue. And for good reason, as I was soon to find out.

Every Sweat birthday as far back as I can recall has been greeted with new rumours of that night being the last ever Sweat. I always viewed these with a quiet scepticism, the deranged product of a sort of morbid wishful thinking, with some hoping that they could boast that they were there when the final needle was lifted, when the bassbins boomed their last. Yet tonight, these rumours seemed to be more intense than ever, even spilling out into national web message boards. Before the event, there was a celebratory reception in the downstairs Bakery bar, complete with balloons, food and complimentary wine, which were quickly abandoned when the first notes sounded above in the main room. What followed was the latest in a long tradition of memorable nights of impossibly enjoyable music, wild abandon, and sheer fun, all too rare in this new age of club cynicism and lethargy. ¾ of the way through the night, Greg, the more vocal of the pair, got on the mic to thank all the house heads of "New Cork City" with the closing words "It s only 13 years you know…" to the delight of the crowd.

When the party was over, the Sweat faithful shuffled out into the icy November air, and the annual ritual of debating what was played (and of course the all-important what should have been played ) began in earnest. Yet as it turned out, the night was a chance for old skool regulars not just to say hello, but also to say goodbye- to a club that for years had dominated the local dance music scene. The following Monday, Shane announced that he and Greg had decided to call it a day in Sir Henry s. All other resident DJs, playing music from alternative to hip hop, disco to dub, have since followed suit. A place of a thousand stories and a million memories, Cork was witnessing the end of an era.

It seems likely that Greg and Shane had made the decision to leave before that night, but wanted to give their following one last hurrah. Some may question them for not announcing it sooner, but to their credit, that night was not the time to say it. After all, the people came for a birthday, not a funeral. Even those convinced going in that it was to be a case of unlucky 13, needed to believe the city s flagship club night would be around forever - if only for one last night.

These particular fish will no doubt find some bigger ponds, and they are set to play again, this time in a monthly residency in the Savoy nightclub. During the interview, Greg enthused about how much they both owe to those who came, week in, week out, even in the months when the club was refused a liquor licence and could only serve soft drinks. After 13 years, their loyalty cannot and should not be questioned. Those same message boards that fuelled speculation of the future of Sweat now overflow with messages of appreciation, praise and understanding for the boys, as well as some criticism of the venue s management. To the world which they are planning to conquer, they will be known as "Fish Go Deep". But to their following in Cork, they are and will always be ‘Greg n Shane’.

Perhaps those who were lucky enough to be there that night, as well as those who couldn t make it, will find some comfort in the fact that they each played their part in music history. Maybe not the type of history their children will study in school, but rather part of dance music folklore, that will be recounted in the bars, clubs, parties, record shops and living rooms of Cork and beyond for many years to come.

Ken Rooney [DeepHouseNetwork]

Look out for the following releases from Fish Go Deep wherever good music
is sold near you-
There For Me (i! Records US Spring 2001)
Music s Got Me (Gourmet Recordings October US 2001)
Let s Go Back (Chez Music US November 2001)
Set The Night On (i! Records US Winter 2001)