We are not sure if this interview is coming out due to reasons and circumstances beyond our control, but thought it was important to share it and leak with you here before the release of this new monumental remix album dropping this Thursday on Beatport Exclusively! Already available for preorder and listening here: https://www.beatport.com/release/house-music-saved-me-remixes/4187177
Interviewer: What I inspired you to start making music?
Jim Carson: What inspired me into making music... Most definitely Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin of Def Jam and Columbia Records. The first memories I had of music were Rick Rubin's collaborations as a producer with the Beastie Boys on "You've Got Fight For Your Right to Party" and Run-DMC's "It's Tricky." From the moment I saw the Beastie Boys' video I knew that is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to spin loud records, make noise, party with girls, smash beer cans, and be a bad boy even though I was a nerdy, straight As honor roll student who was only 120 pounds and crowd surfing at shows put on at venues like the Hollywood Pallidum featuring bands like Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Radiohead, and Green Day... and later Nirvana at the World Famous Los Angeles Forum where the Los Angeles Lakers originally played basketball.
I played guitar and bass in punk rock bands and sang onstage with bands like Eve6 (when they were Yakoo and Eleventeen) and The Ataris on Kung Fu Records, Fat Wreck Records, and Columbia Records when they needed an accompanying vocalist in the years 1995 to 1999. When Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 was late to the gig with The Ataris I sang his part of the song "That Special Girl" in 1998 or 1999 in Corona at the Showcase Theatre and stage dove right into the crowd right afterwards. Crowd surfing and stage diving were some of my favorite activities while attending music shows as a youngster.
Face to Face was another band I really loved seeing play "live." Originally, they were a three-piece band featuring Matt Riddle on bass guitar. He sold me their first CD on a record label called Dr. Strange at a show on the Sunset Strip at The Whiskey-A-Go-Go. Trever Keith was the singer and a great songwriter and vocalist, but I really loved the sound of the bass in that band as it was super heavy and driving. Matt Riddle really drove the sound of that band in the early days. Not a lot of people pay as much attention to bass players as they should. Without the bass, you don't have the groove and soul of the music.
I also met Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day when they first played Hollywood on the Kerplunk tour and it was cool to see someone who looked like me with braces and dyed purple hair minus the dreads that Billie Joe was rocking.
I remember winning tickets to see Beck and the Beastie Boys at The Palace in Hollywood and crowd surfing most of the show with my hands in the air rocking out to MCA's rhymes. I was living the life I had seen my musical favorites - the Beastie Boys - emulate on television in real life. So naturally I had a respect for the production behind it, the way they were managed by Russell Simmons early in their career, and always viewed Rick Rubin as the god father of the Beastie Boys, the producer behind one of my favorite hip hop tracks - Jay-Z "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" - Linkin Park's album "Minutes to Midnight" with the emotional and inspiring track "Shadow of the Day," Red Hot Chili Peppers' iconic, moving, dynamic, and funky album "Blood Sugar Sex Magick" - and someone I would want to aspire to be one day later in life which is kind of what I am doing now... except I am more hands on... I produce, mix, and master my own records. More recently I have collaborated with a guy in the UK who is amazing and does most of my mix-downs and masters so I can focus on production. The Def Jam sound was my earliest and most influential influence and later a plethora of funk, R & B soul, rock, punk rock, hip hop, and house music artists would inspire me further. Dance music labels like Defected, Toolroom, Sola, Helix, and Jamie Jones' Hot Creations, John Summit's Off The Grid (specially GUZ NL's remix of "Lipstick") along with all of Peggy Gou's productions currently inspire me at the moment.
Interviewer: Where were you born and raised?
Jim Carson: I was born and raised in Eagle Rock, California, USA, near downtown Los Angeles until I was a about 10 years old and then I moved to La Crescenta just up the hill in November 1988 and that was the year that was really great for musical influences ranging from Tracy Chapman to Guns N' Roses... I got see Guns N' Roses three times from 1991 to 1992 and later Depeche Mode in 1994 as well as Nirvana that same year at The Forum. My biological name is James Edward Carson... My father was born Nicholas A. Boldyreff and he gifted me a guitar at age 13. I briefly took classical guitar lessons at Pasadena City College and private rock guitar lessons in Burbank and studied with Randy Rhoads' student Chet Thompon for bass guitar at Grayson's in Montrose. My father, being a huge musical influence and fan of all modern entertainment and fashion, introduced me and my siblings to his 33 and 45-RPM vinyl records much earlier.
He changed his last name to Carson so kids at school wouldn't make fun of my Russian sounding last name or if he took a trip to Russia during the Cold War era.... he didn't want to get stuck there.... he also claimed he loved the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and there weren't that many names in the phone book with the name Carson... His dad and grandfather worked Dr. Ivan Pavlov (the doctor famous for Pavlov's dogs and classical conditionining and winner of the Nobel Prize of Sciene)... My great-grandfather WN Bolydreff opened the Pavlovian Institute of Physiological Science in Battlecreek, Michigan, as Pavlo's contemporary and is quoted in the magazine "Popular Science" a saying that "the power of suggestion is more powerful than any drug on the planet."
His dad's Mom's was Miss Helen Edwards and her parents settled in Fullerton, California, after my great-grandfather worked on the railroad in Indiana were of English and Wales descent....my mom is Sylvia Bruns was born in Glendale, California - daughter of Marion and Theodore George Bruns who were from Chicago - the birthplace of house music. My mom's parents and ancestry were of German, Swedish, Irish, and Jewish descent.
My grandfather instilled a love for travel and adventure in me with frequent fishing trips to Ensenada and Puerto Nuevo, Mexico, and trips to local bars in Tijuana and Rosarito as a kid. Some of my favorite memories of him are down in Mexico just relaxing on the deck in San Antonio Del Mar listening to the sounds of the waves rolling in from the Pacific Ocean while he enjoyed a cigar, a Pacifico, Corona, or Dos Equis beer.
With all of their influence, I started studying music and psychology at a young age and by the time I was in my 20s I was working as both a healer and musical professional in nightclubs, festivals, events, and fundraisers all over the world. From healing centers to concert halls, I have seen and done a lot. I later became certified in Kundalini Yoga & Meditation and studied as a hypnotherapist and became widely known for my infusion of dance music, ceremonial cacao parties, sound healing, yoga, kirtan musicians, and all-around healthy, uplifting experiences centered around a collaboration of both musical artists and DJs.
Interviewer: What was your biggest regret in life?
Jim Carson: My biggest regret so far in the entertainment industry was NOT taking MTV VJ Karen Duffy's referral to Click Modeling agency when I still had the body and good looks to capitalize on it in my early 20s. I was so focused on music and DJing though I thought being a male model would be a joke. That is probably why I love the movie Zoolander so much. It is hilarious and true to life. I'm just not really into head shots and striking a pose.
I was young enough to do it and sexy, but I was deep into collecting vinyl and spinning at major Hollywood clubs every night of the week and thought it would be a distraction and possibly a bad career move. So I mildly regret it. Not a whole lot. There would have been some great photos in underwear probably but my body today would definitely not keep up!
Other than that, I try to tell my friends to take more risks and go after their dreams. You only have one life to live, one shot, and you should give it your all. Work hard and be passionate... never stop doing what you love. I cannot stop doing music because it is in my soul, blood, and bones... so that would be my only one small regret for spreading my music to possibly a wider audience... but I just didn't want to get typecast as a model or someone not serious about dance music.
Interviewer: What do you think you have accomplished?
Jim Carson: I think I have accomplished a lot actually, but I still have so much more to get done... I was thinking about this the other day....I've started two record labels in the last 6 years - Anahata Love Recordings and Cola & Lollipops - hosted a radio show broadcasting out of Los Angeles from Bangkok, Thailand during the pandemic called Bangkok BA$$ which touched so many lives, and I have been able to heal through my music and help others heal whether it is the music productions or DJing.
The one thing I will never forget was how a dancer came up to me on the dancefloor and told me how my music saved her life from an abusive relationship with a man who raped her daughter repeatedly. That is some heavy stuff to be dealing with and you never know what people are working through on the dancefloor. So music is therapy and healing. It is what we go to when we want to express our emotions and feel good and get back into the groove.
So for this dancer, she had been coming to see me DJ for weeks which turned into months at an afterhours at Sky Sushi in Hollywood called Nympho. Another former dancer turned promoter named Angie put the night on while dating this fitness trainer and male model - DJ TJ Hoban - who would sometimes spin and have me do gigs with him and Hollywood nightlife promoter Steve Castro at After Hour Power LA and Godskitchen on Sunset.
Harvard Law School graduate, former roommate of Ted Cruz, Damon Watson introduced me to Angie and she really loved my demo CD which was called "Bulletproof" and a mix of some energizing sounds coming out of the UK at the time on labels like Nukleuz and Tidy Trax. It was a brief departure from my disco, acid, and tribal house sounds.
But this woman named Kim, her story of heartbreak and loss and betrayal just really touched me and made me realize that what I am doing is more than just mixing records and partying. I am a healer and someone who saves hearts, minds, and souls. So I don't know if you want to put that in the article, but I still remember Kim's story until this very day and it tears me up knowing she had to go through that and that my sets of banging house music helped her heal through this time.
So I feel like I have accomplished a lot just by being there as an inspiration and guide in my selection of sounds and melodies to uplift and warm the hearts of others and comfort... I guess that is why people like country music...it is like Southern Comfort. ..what we do as musicians and artists is very comforting and soothing to the soul... I'm no Erykah Badu or Luther Vandross, but I try and bring heart and soul into my music just as much as rhythm and funk.
I did a song under the name OM Daddy "Funk, Soul, Rhythm" and noticed how many downloads it was getting and how many people were pirating the song overseas and saw how much of a bigger impact my jazzier and soulful side could have on my audience. It is really about getting vulnerable and raw with your music and just letting all the expressions of love, joy, sadness, pain, overwhelm, triumph, struggle, and ecstasy blare out and cry out through the horns, the piano keys, the percussion, and voice...
Interviewer: Describe your style of music in one sentence....
Jim Carson: In a sentence... The music I make is "inspirational, soulful, melodic, funky, driving, progressive, sexy, and sensual house music."
Interviewer: What are some other defining moments in your upbringing?
Jim Carson: As a late-teenager, in 1997, seeing UK/Ibiza legend of Space Nightclub - Carl Cox -DJ out into the alley way of a tiny parking lot in Santa Monica impromptu after being announced on-air in the middle of the day by Groove Radio hosted by Swedish Egil and Holly Adams - formerly MARS-FM - made me go bonkers for the sound and style of raving which was house and techno. It was announced during the middle of the day when most of us college-aged freshmen were out running errands for the day - mid-week. There were hundreds of us that turned up to dance in the little alley way in Santa Monica as Carl Cox played from the open air windows of the suite where the radio station was located.
Little did I know, a few years later, Dave "The Wave Dresden" (later of iconic electronic musician production duo - Gabriel & Dresden) would invite me onto his show at Groove Radio in 2001 to play in that same spot and sign my name on the wall next to names like Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, and Sasha and Digweed.
Dave Dresden and I were frequently booked at the same parties and I remember playing with him one night at The Key Club (now One Oak in Hollywood) and him saying he was tired of getting paid $150 a night per gig and he really wanted to start playing bigger shows. He went on and really made it happen with Josh Gabriel. I was super happy for him and I hope to do the same thing with my career and label now that I am producing some really quality music that is touching and connection with electronic music lovers... hearts, minds, and souls.
Interviewer: Tell me more about your recent projects...
Jim Carson: My recent projects... There is so much I could say... I just had a slew of Top Ten Beatport Releases over the past few months dating all the way back to October with idtfkngo "Jack" reaching #7 in Tech Hose and Progressive and my latest release Jim Carson "House Music Saved Me" reaching #1 in DJ Tools and #3 in Funky House. It has been a labor of love and what feels like a natural flow state of just being present in the studio and knowing what I want to create and doing it.
I will sometimes drink a Rockstar energy drink no sugar or some espresso or cappuccino to get me going and I'm all in... Vivin Grocery https://vivingrocery.com/ makes the best cappuccinos in Thailand when I am here. I forget about the outside world and just dive deeper into feeling and creating the rhythmic dance between percussion, kick drums, and bass and melodic synth lines over the top.
Lately, I have been feeling the sound of the Moog Bass and going with it....and experimenting with VST synths like Sylenth1 by Lennar Digital or VPS Avenger and going for some aggressive 303 basslines or leads or dropping into some arpeggio instrumental grooves and melodies with natural sounding instruments.
I won't get too geeky but Thorn is a really good synth too that has these massive sounds to play around with...at the end of the day it is collaborating with my friends Donald Glaude and Nerd Nate that gets me excited.
Many people might NOT know this, but Donald Glaude is the West Coast Funky Tekno Tribe godfather of house with his good brother DJ Dan. DJ Dan brought Miss Honey Dijon out here to California to play her first DJ gigs in Hollywood. Miss Honey Dijon just won a Grammy with Beyonce! So take the energy of Beyonce and Miss Honey Dijon together bring it up a notch and you have this new collaboration between Nathaniel Fowler aka MC Nerd Nate, yours truly, and Donald Glaude.
That is why I call the label Cola and Lollipops. It is part sexy and energizing and half sweet. I'm really excited to work with Donald who has been putting stuff out on Instereo Recordings with DJ Dan and Donald's own label Eden Recordings. Donald has been a huge inspiration as well since I first started DJing as I saw him and DJ Dan at every rave.
I used to film Donald on stage at some outdoor parties and JuJu Beats or Electric Daisy Carnival. We have also DJed together at some of my residencies in Hollywood and other clubs. Him and Nathaniel Fowler aka MC Nerd Nate have just signed a new track called "Slippin'" to Cola & Lollipops under parent label Anahata Love Recordings and I am set to do new remixes on it this upcoming week after a slew of major Beatport chart topping successes which are inspirational for the label and American dance community as a whole.
Interviewer: You told me about some of your original early influences as a preteen and teenager, can you tell me more about your house music influences in your late teens and early 20s?
Jim Carson: Of course... Regarding house and techno influences... You could say if you took Armand Van Helden's "U Don't Know Me" featurng Duane Harden on vocals and blended it with Ovum Record's Josh Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness" that might describe some of the later influences from the early days in the second wave of house music and rave as being pivotal tracks and intersections where the merging of the techno, house, rave, and disco begin with subtle smooth hip hop and R & B influences that make the musical style intertwine with funk, soul, and jazz with a little bit of rock n' roll over the top so people unfamiliar with the music might call it "techno."
Josh Wink calls his lavel - Ovum Records - "minimal" and "progressive house." The blending of techno and house together in my humble opinion make it tech house, minimal, or progressive house; more commonly referred to as tech house but also sometimes minimal, electro house, or progressive house. So in the last decade, and until this day, tech house basically rules the club world and is the primary form of dance music most young people and older generations enjoy gravitate towards... it is universal. These two East Coast records from Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden on vocals and Josh Wink starting his own record label - Ovum Records - and widely distributing the sound of the TB303 synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation in 1981, and discontinued in 1984 (yet rediscovered by people like DJ Pierre), really made house music become a global phenomenon with Armand Van Helden pushing more of the sounds of funk and disco sampled from old records and Josh Wink distorting the TB-303 by Roland Corporation in 1995 on "Higher State of Consciousness" on both Strictly Rhythm - and Ovum Records - pushing the techno sounds out to American crowds with the help of UK - British/English touring DJ Carl Cox.
You could say that those two tracks together with Joey Beltram's "Energy Flash" shaped my influences and a lot of other DJs from that era. Throw in Human Resource "Dominator," Kicks Like a Mule "The Bouncer," 2 Bad Mice "Bomb Scare," and Jaydee "Plastic Dreams" and you have the foundations of my early musical influences leading into later records directly from entrance into the rave scene from my days of pop-punk with Basco's "Everything's Gone to The Beat," (Electroliners Remix) and Rebirth "Pure" on Bassex Records that set things off. Not to forget B.B.E "Seven Days and One Week" and X-Cabs "Nero."
Interviewer: Wow, that is a lot of music history I didn't know about.
Jim Carson: I am encyclopedia and wealth of knowledge. Feel free to ask me anything, anytime. Thanks for the interview. I had fun and hope we can do it again soon.
Interviewer: Sure, thank you again. Congrats on your recent #1 Beatport chart release and wishing you many more. Where can people get your newest release and take a listen?
Jim Carson: Right here: https://www.beatport.com/release/house-music-saved-me-remixes/4187177 You can have a listen of one of radio edits on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/anahataloverecordings/jim-carson-house-music-saved-me-om-daddy-ganesha-cartel-radio-edit
- July 22, 2023
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