Oneman | Interview

[Steve Bishop a.k.a. Oneman]

There is no denying that we have seen an influx of DJs over the past decade. In surprising contradiction though, we’ve also witnessed the diminishing of another species; what we’ll affectionately refer to as the DJ’s DJ. Steve Bishop, better known as DJ Oneman, is the epitome of this title and as such is but one of a few. Revered for his impeccable taste, honed turntable-isms, and ability to recontextualize the familiar into the novel, Oneman is perhaps even more eminent of a figure now than he has ever been. His name has many times graced the posters of Fabriclive, Boilerroom, Rinse FM, the Red Bull Music Academy, and now Igloofest, where we find shelter after his riotous performance to discuss the virtues of “Trap” music, the role of the DJ, and the future of UK dance movements, among other things. We hope you enjoy –

Low-Life: Igloofest… what is it? What’d you expect, what’d you get from it?

Oneman: I dunno what I expected.. I guess I expected an igloo. It’s good that there wasn’t one to be honest..

LL: I’ve read that one of the craziest parties you’ve played was in an igloo, back to back with Jackmaster, one deck, how did that compare to this?

Oneman: Ahh, that was so much better [laughs]. I can’t even begin to explain how much better that was. But yeah, like that was an experience in the igloo in Austria with Jack. And yeah, it fell to pieces; and this [Igloofest], stayed afloat. The boat stayed afloat.

LL: I guess that’s the beauty of not actually playing in an igloo. Having some actually structure.

Oneman: Yeah. Having a great stage, a good heating system for this weather..

“…if a whole new genre of music like dubstep came around… I really can’t see that happening again.”

LL: Changing the subject entirely – you’ve made a career out of being a DJ (among other things of course, label owner etc), do you think it’s still possible for an artist, a young guy coming up to make a name for themselves as that predominantly?

Oneman: I guess, well, it’s a lot harder now. When I did it, I was goin’ to clubs, I was meetin’ people in clubs, it was way more personal – not much internet involved. I’d meet people, and they’d give you a chance, because they believed in you, or they hear a mix of yours, or a radio show.

The scene was so small, that you could get away with it then. I feel like the only way that that could happen now, is if a whole new genre of music like dubstep came around; and I really can’t see that happening again. I feel like that could be the last big wave of a powerful music scene to come out of the UK, or anywhere really. I don’t think anything’s been as powerful as when dubstep came through, since. It was kind of: House, DnB, Garage, Grime for a little while, and then Dubstep. Since then, its just sort of been filler stuff. There’s never really been strong, powerful movement since then. So I think it can happen, but it’s a lot harder.

“That’s what I feel DJs should do if they’re producers. They should distance themselves from that production side of themselves.”

LL: I’ll quote you on this, you said: ‘I don’t think that the DJ is as needed or as important as when it started, all performance now is money.’ Do you think this has/will inevitably lower the bar for live performance? Essentially will it lower the bar for what a DJ is expected to do?

Oneman: Well, in a way I think yeah it’s already happened because, you used to rely on the DJ for new music. The producer couldn’t DJ. They’d have to learn how to DJ, where now it’s.. you know, a lot of producers have a copy of Ableton, and a controller, and they play their own tracks through that. Which is fine, and I have no problem with that, but it’s.. yeah it’s totally different deejayin’.. the bar would be lower, because expectations are completely different as to what they were.

LL: You’ve also said that one of your fortes is not necessarily relying on those unreleased tunes from your friends, it’s the talent in blending the existing tracks into something they’ve never heard before. Is that dwindling, or is there anyone out there still impressing you right now that can do that?

Oneman: There are a few DJs that I feel still do that sort of thing, like Jackmaster for instance, or Krystal Kleer – another great DJ that.. distances himself from his production style. That’s what I feel DJs should do if they’re producers. They should distance themselves from that production side of themselves. Not just like play all their hits, but you know, delve into what they like, or what they feel they could play against stuff. That’s what deejayin’ is I feel.

“[‘Trap’] reminds me of the energy that Grime had in the UK.”

LL: Just out there you played a lot of trap music: some classic stuff, Lex Luger, but also some from the more bursting phenomenon, Iggy Azalea, for instance. How do you feel about that movement?

Oneman: I feel like a lot of it has good energy.. and I feel like a lot of it has a relation to clubs. It’s club music. Bein’ the 808 beats, or the kind of straight rhythms, they have like.. set intro, set verse, set chorus. It’s good. It’s easy to play in a club, and it works. So yeah.. I mean, it reminds me of the energy that Grime had in the UK, from like 2000-2001. I hear the same sort of energy in a lot of the “trap” music.

LL: A couple weeks ago, you released a 119 bpm House edit of that xx tune, ‘Chained’. What provoked that, and can we expect more from you in the way of production?

Oneman: That was the Young Turks guys.. they asked Jamie [xx] to do a classic house edit of the ‘Chained’ track, and Jamie said “why don’t you ask Oneman to do it?” And then they asked me to do it, and I kind of played around with it for a bit, I had a few ideas, I used some UK Garage tracks and they didn’t really work, and then I settled on some old House stuff, and yeah.. I sent it to them, they liked it.. I think it’s good.

LL: Yeah, I think so too. One last one question – what gets you movin’ these days? What do you listen to on the plane, in the shower, whatever.. personally?

Oneman: Oh, at the moment, it’s the new Sasha Go Hard mixtape.. it’s sick. And it’s called ‘Round 3’ man.. and I dunno, she’s like one of the young Chicago girls like Katie Got Bandz. She’s really polite, she’s really nice.. she raps about her boyfriend, she raps about bein’ in love, she’s so sweet. I love her.. she’s great. She’s got good producers.. Block on Da Trakk, and another guy called Absolut P I think. Yeah, that’s my mixtape for the moment.

LL: Fantastic. Thank you for your time.

Oneman: A pleasure.