Fish Go Deep Interview

In 1988, Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson started a new club night called “SWEAT” at Ireland’s most notorious night club, Sir Henry’s. One would hardly consider it an unusual name for a night now, but, back in 1988, people didn’t go to clubs to sweat, or at least at first they didn’t, but Saturday nights at SWEAT changed all that.

1988, the original summer of love, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London, Manchester, the Hacienda, Sir Henry’s…., dance music exploded and a new way of partying came with it. If you just happened to be in the uppers business, then the time was now. The Shamen’s “Ebeneezer Goode’ raced up the charts to number one, there were hungry mouths to feed, and it just so happened that in the early part of the 90’s, most of anything bound for Europe, passed through Cork City first.

Not that this has anything to do with music of course, but it sets the scene for what was to become one of the top clubs in Europe in the early 90’s. 3 night long extravagant weekenders, with line ups like Carl Cox, DIY, Laurent Garnier playing side by side, club fun fairs and gurners galore, as clubbing goes, this was the full on metal jacket.

As with anything, it evolved, the club evolved, the sounds evolved, and the crowd evolved with it. By the mid 90’s Sir Henry’s had become a house haven playing host to some of genre’s most beloved regularly, Kerri Chandler, Jovonn, Joe Claussell, Jerome Sydenham, Roger Sanchez, Glenn Underground, Boo Williams, Cajmere, Gemini, Derrick May, Kevin Yost, Migs, Rasoul, Fred Everything, Erik Rug, Harri, Needs, Calum Walker, Ralph Lawson, Charles Webster, Kevin MacKay, Herbert, DJ Deep, Mike Pickering, Graham Park, just to name a few.

The 90’s also saw Greg and Shane turn towards production, under the guise Fish Go Deep. Having played to every element that dance music offers, by this time, their sound and sets had taken a turn towards the deep side. Their very first release on Red Records in 1995, was under the name Fish Go Tech. Soon, Fish Go Deep were back, and many more releases followed on labels like Imperial Dub, Gourmet, Chez, Attic Space, DHN, Inspirit Music, Elevation, Blusoul, and multi-releases on !Records and Brique Rouge featuring many talented vocalists such as Mary Cigarettes, Tracy Kelliher and Rebecca Meagher.

For some people, these guys are just great dj’s, and for many dj’s, they are considered great producers, and for many more, they are considered an institution. Just about to embark on a small North American tour, I managed to catch up with them to find out their latest on some news and reviews…..

DHN: The last interview I did with you guys was back in Nov 2001, just when the 13 year residency at Sir Henry’s had come to an end? Now, nearly 3 years on, how does it feel to look back on that time?

FGD: Good times and good memories. We've been keeping busy since then so it seems like a long time ago. Also, since that time your reputation as producers has come on tremendously, you have been busy in the studio since then? Yeah, we've done a lot of different work. Over the last two years we've been concentrating on a couple of album projects. Both are pretty much finished now so we're looking forward to doing some club tracks again.

DHN: What have been your favourite tracks of your own that you have been most proud of that have come out over the last few years?

FGD: Like twelve inch circular plastic children, we luv them all!

DHN: Do you see any pattern or certain type of style that has emerged in your music over time, or to you as the producer, do you hear progression in your own music?

FGD: Whatever sound we've developed over the years probably has more to do with the way we work and the studio we work in than anything else. There's no grand plan at any rate. Progression is a subjective thing, isn't it?
It's not our top priority. If we listen back at the end of a day in the studio and can say "that's good" then we're happy.

DHN: Do you think this has added anything to your music, or taught you anything, having a third party input to your sound?

FGD: Nearly every collaboration we've done has taught us something new. Even the ones that don't work out can be useful.

DHN: What is your current dj-ing schedule like? Any good nights people can look forward to?

FGD: Our main focus is on our weekly Go Deep party in Cork. It'll be one year old in September so we're planning a birthday bash at the moment. We're also looking forward to a bit of traveling over the next few months. In August we'll be in the US and Canada and, in September, France and Sweden.

DHN: What records are you currently spinning every time you play?

FGD: 'No More Believe' by Franck Roger & M'Selem has been big for months. Every summer I pull out 'Que Tal America' by A Man Called Adam for those sunshine moments.

DHN: On the whole Vinyl V’s MP3 debate that has emerged lately in the industry, what are your thoughts and what camp are you in- vinyl or digital?

FGD: We both prefer playing off vinyl but we play cd’s a lot too and even mp3s if that's the only format available. Mp3 is ok for our radio show ‘cos broadcast processing evens everything out but on a big club system you can really hear the difference in quality.

DHN: Who was the best guest you have had come play in Cork in the last year and why?

FGD: Guest deejays have never been the main focus at our club nights. Rather than trying to sell Go Deep on whoever happens to be touring each week, we prefer to feature someone we really like every couple of months. In the past year....Charles Webster, Yannick and Lars from Needs and DJ Deep have all been great. Cartoon's live show was cool too.

DHN: Is there anything you have been working on that is due to be released that we can look forward to?

FGD: We have a new record called 'Hey Mr California' out any minute now on Blusoul and an ep on Gourmet in the Autumn. Those albums are in the pipeline as well.

DHN: With the release of Bodytonic’s first release featuring Aruba and Paul Hughes, Paul having recently released in Brique Rouge, as well as Blusoul, DHN, Elevation, Connections, plus many more, do you think Ireland is beginning to get some serious recognition for house music?

FGD: It's been frustrating how long it has taken for people here to make the music but it is starting to happen. I've been getting some nice demos from local Cork producers recently - that's promising.

DHN: With the fall of San Francisco (an arguable point, but I mean the popularity of the ‘West Coast’ sound), where do you think THE next place for house will be? Ie, the US, or UK or Europe?

FGD: Who knows. We've never been too bothered about where the music has come from - if we like it we'll play it. While it might be natural for a city or an area to have a particular sound, an organised scene like that usually only exists in the media. I suppose it's easier to write about music if there's that kind of angle.

DHN: How is the website going since you launched it?

FGD: It's going really well. Lots of people - old and new heads - have been dropping by to say hello. We've been putting up our old Sweat mixes from the '90s for download and they've been very popular. We also put our Red FM radio show up there and it goes down well too.

So, with new ep’s out on Chicago’s Gourmet, and an upcoming album on Toronto’s Ultrasound Recordings, even if you can’t catch them at one of their US or Canadian dates, you can certainly check out their latest sounds, or for some great mixes that range from 1992 right up to now, check out www.fishgodeep.com.

Aine G.
2004