This appeared on the Pet Shop Boys mailing list recently, thought it would be of some interest here. The fact he may work with George Michael is a dream collaboration of mine. That voice with Rollo's production behind it? I hope it comes true, GM needs a kick in the ass back onto the dancefloor. MikeA The 2nd biggest newspaper in the Netherlands, Algemeen Dagblad, published a big article about Rollo last week. Here is a summary. === ROLLO HAS TO SELL RECORD LABEL DJ Rollo, the busiest person of English dance music, is into a new adventure again. After Felix, Faithless and dozens of other projects he now presents the group Dusted. For one time only, he acts as spokesman. DJ Rollo is a typical musician of present time. As a producer, he's the man behind the succes of Faithless. He was responsible for the multi-selling "Don't You Want Me" by Felix in 1992, led Simply Red to his only UK #1 hit with "Fairground" and he produced a big part of the latest Pet Shop Boys album. The list of artists who cooperated with hem is endless. Rollo remixed artists from R. Kelly to Robbie Williams and from New Order to INXS. Everybody wants to work with Roland Armstrong (32). But the guy from London won't do anything that's asked from him. He refused to remix a Kylie Minoque song, because he hates her music. And he will never accept an invitation by Oasis, because he doesn't like them. "I like to be in the background" says Rollo. "Now I'm the spokesman for Dusted, because the boy with who I work together is a complete stranger to the public. Next year, Dusted has to stand on its own legs. It has to become a group, just like Faithless. I never went on tour with them. I'm a producer, not a musician." Armstrong was touched by a demo-tape by the completely unknown pianist Mark Bates. Last months Rollo worked with him om the album "When We Were Young". It's a concept-CD about the relationship between a grown up man and his mother. "I immediately noticed the music he sent me. Slow, calm and a good atmosphere. He also turned out to be a very nice boy to get on with. To me that's really important. I've got my own record label Cheeky Records. All artists on that label are good friends. If an artists applies, he first has to pass some kind of ballot (exam). I invite him into the studio for a couple of days. If he turns out nice to get on with in person, then we can mean something for eachother. That's why I think I could never ever produce an Oasis record. Cooperate with someone like Liam Gallagher ? I'd rather not think about that..." Faithless is a project in which friendship is really important. Also the records that Rollo currently produces for his Faithless-colleague Sister Bliss and his (biological) sister Dido are in the first place friendly turns. "Cheeky Records is an idealistic record label. We try to divide the money we earn as good as possible among ourselves, so we can all have a nice pension, when we're old." But sister Dido is selling so many records in the USA that the companiable character of Cheeky is a handicap. "Her manager already said: You're a nice guy Rollo, but if we want to conquer the British and European market, things have to be professionalized. So I'm now negotiating with BMG to sell Cheeky. That hurts, but it means that I can focus completely on creating music soon. That's what my profession is. And from the proceeds we'll buw a new studio where we can record the new Faithless album." Before Rollo goes into the studio again with Faithless, he has an dinner appointment with George Michael. He approached Rollo to produce his new CD. Rollo: "That's seems like an outstanding challenge to me. George Michael has a great voice and creates great compositions, but the production is disappointing, most of the time. George Michael has everything to penetrate into the superleague of artists like Elton John. Hopefully, I can contribute to that." "Thanks to house music the function of the producer has become more and more important in pop music industry. In the past you needed the best musicians to create a good record. Nowadays it's mainly about samples and the right sound. You can copy almost every sound with the help of electronics. For the few instrumental parts you can simply uses session musicians. Yes, this is a favourable time for people like me." -- This message was sent through the Faithless Mailing-list. To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with UNSUBSCRIBE FAITHLESS in the body of the message.
