Interview: Tim Healey

TIM HEALEY

Why did you call an end to Coburn?
Coburn reached a natural conclusion, and it was time to fly solo. Coburn was a fantastic experience, but my current projects are just as exciting if not more so.

What’s caused your huge creative surge recently?
Moving my studio to Brighton is pretty much the crux of it. I have a studio with ocean views and producers, musicians and vocalists come to visit from across Europe and the US, and they are all happy to hang out here and work in the facility.

Brighton’s a real hub for electronic music, do you find it useful living here for inspiration, meeting people to collaborate with etc?
Brighton’s a real hub – full stop. So many cool people settle here, and I love the vibe of the place. I go round the world several times a year but never regret coming back to this city. But the place I have met the most glitterati is when I take my daughters to schools. I have met film stars, actors all queuing up waiting to collect their children. You couldn’t make it up.

You do a lot of work with garage legend Deekline and now Calvertron. What do you reckon makes a good collaborative relationship between producers?
Mutual respect, and a desire to progress musically fused with a keen eye for musical fashion and retro styling. And most importantly there has to be a vibe or it’s a non-starter. I have engineered for many “big name” DJs, but their creative input was zero, so the job was astonishingly well-paid, but soul-less. These days I only work with musicians I admire.

You’re on your Giant Pussy tour over the next couple of months – looking forward to playing out anywhere in particular?
Right now I am off touring Japan – which is always great, then on to Brazil for several dates there. In June I am playing this killer festival in Germany called Fusion, which I’ve played for the last 2 years. It’s in a massive old airfield with aircraft hangers covered in turf. The hangers are stages for the bands and some morph into clubs after dark. There are crazy sculptures, treetop bars and about 80,000 people. Oh and the whole event is run by German anarchists – no joke. It’s amazing.

What is the difference between your two labels?
Giant Pussy Records is co-run with DJ Deekline and is the sound of ghetto-house. Surfer Rosa is my new baby, and I like to think it is the sound of the exotic beach party, where killer grooves collide head-on with the latest in zeitgeisty production. Forthcoming on Surfer Rosa are tracks featuring Calvertron, Krafty Kuts, Nom De Strip, Hatiras, Stripper, Felguk, and guest vocals from MC Sirreal. So, happy days.

Your recent Giant Pussy Party at Madame Geisha was a blast, how do you feel it went?
Jez from Slackers Convention pulled off an incredible event – the soundsystem and visuals were spot on. The line up rocked, with Deekline, JFB, LuQas and Pav delivering killer sets, and I really enjoyed playing there too. It was the perfect celebration of a year’s work at Giant Pussy Records HQ, and thanks so much to everyone who came down.

FYI
SINGLE: Tim Healey Vs Calvertron ‘Back To The Ghetto’
VIDEO: tinyurl.com/surfer001
MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/djtimhealey