Talking with Stupid Human

Stupid Human is a label based out of the UK that has given us 3 of the best Edits releases in the past 18 months. The resurgence of Edits saw a vast array of new labels popping up from all over the world, not many have had the impact that Mark of Stupid Human has experienced and with only a handful of tracks circulating, has already defined himself as a unique and quality producer. I spoke with Mark about the label, the loft and life.

Hi Mark, if we could start with a bit about yourself. Where you reside, where you were raised, something interesting about your upbringing.

I Live in Peckham, South London at the moment I was raised in Battersea before the gentrification then up the road in Wandsworth, my parents then moved to the burbs.

How did you first get involved with music. Was disco/house your first musical love?

I buried myself in music from an early age well before the acid house days but also well after the disco ball had fallen, my earliest memories were sneaking downstairs to record various jazz funk and electro shows being broadcast on the pioneering pirates of the eighties. The music i first fell in love with was the original electro sound, compared to what had come before it was the uncompromising sound of progress as far as i was concerned. My fondest memories are of journeys on the bus, walkman on, head down reeling from the abstract sounds emanating from the US, its all been fairly well documented now but for the record I'm talking about artists such as The System, Wuf Ticket, Tyrone Brunson, then the more electro leaning stuff such as C-Bank, Cybotron, Warp 9 etc. This is the stuff that sticks in the mind but thinking back there were lots of other influences too.

03 Together by Stupid Human

How is the Stupid Human label/name structured? You release edits as anonymous productions under the same label... are all the productions by yourself or is there a team behind SH?

Everything created on Stupid Human has been created by myself, I toyed with the idea of opening it up but decided against it. The name came about through my earnest philosophies about the state of the human condition. FYI it goes something along the lines of this: Humans are inherently stupid, we don't seem to be able to see beyond the blindingly obvious fact that we are the sole beneficiaries of this planet which is fast becoming depleted of all its resources. Over the next 25-50 years our governments are going to fight it out till the last for access to the three main resources needed, millions are going to die during that fight. It's a game of last man standing, six billion people playing out some fucked up version of Unreal Tournament. I don't remember imagining the future being like this when I was a teenager so I'm kind of disappointed that this is where we find ourselves. If God was writing up our report card I think we'd be getting C minus about now, what this has to do with disco edits I have no idea but it seemed like such a good idea at the time. The artwork looked great. (I really should outsource the naming of my creative output to a third party)

Haha, you don't have to convince me of the human race sucking, am with you there. The response to Stupid Human seems to have been great (SH #1 repressed, SH #2 out of stock?). Have you received much feedback and support from other producers and DJs in the scene? From what I can tell it's been overwhelming, has this surprised you or did you know you were onto a good thing?

It was a total surprise and very encouraging, the thing I love about the people invested in this scene is that they really care about the music and put that first before everything else. I have to give credit to my lady love for encouraging me in the first place, she knows nothing of this type of music / scene (shame) she was the one that said do it so I did. The DJ's and producers out there have been nothing but spectacular, special mention must go to Jim Stanton, Steve Lee, Ray Mang, Max Essa, the Idjuts and a whole host of others. Their comments and feedback have made the journey that much easier.

Horse Meat Disco playing the Swamp Funk 12".

How much of the SH productions is edit and how much is original? Do you have a philosophy attached to this process or is it differed for each track?

It's different for each track , I try not to put too much emphasis on trying to be either current or rigid in the approach. Some edits don't need anything added (A straight Head) whereas with others it's a rework that does the trick. ( Gypsy Man)

A Straight Head - Humans Edit by Stupid Human

Far Out Gypsy - Humans Rework by Stupid Human

How did you come to DJ and how/where did your involvement in the edits scene develop.

I was buying vinyl from about the age of 13 (1981) by the time I was 16 I probably had six to seven hundred records, you couldn't get in my bedroom for records so it seemed like a natural progression. My involvement in the edits scene developed from a resurgent interest from about 5 years ago, to be totally honest I don't think I connected all the dots until I went to the David Mancuso parties and concurrent Lucky Cloud parties. It all started to make sense to me, how it all fitted together, disco, the reaction to that in the eighties, electro, the explosion of house music and all the myriad offshoots that created. Musically there has been a lot to deal with over the past 30 years, knowing how and more importantly why it started, and David really has to be crowned the Grandaddy of it all, put everything into place for me. That and the ability to pretty much find any record you wish via the internet and discogs brought it all home.

How were the David Mancuso parties? It seems like a world away for us to have that privilege, definitely something I look to do in the future. Do you still see the similarities you read about from yesteryear or is it a whole new ball game?

They are great parties that transport you back to a time where the essence of a party is completely removed from what has happened to club culture over the last 25 years, but to really appreciate them you need to know a little of the history, the book Love Saves the Day is a compelling read if you're in anyway interested in the roots of it all. David's stuck to his formula tweaking it here and there and what he does, he does with conviction and soul and that really comes across on the dance floor. Some would comment that these parties are just old men with beards revisiting a golden age but there's so much more to it than that.

David set a tone that in the beginning was expanded and stretched into new and exciting experiences such as the Gallery then the Garage etc , nowadays that experience has morphed into a global monster that I no longer recognise. There's a small underground scene that still puts good quality Music at the forefront of its agenda as opposed to the other global phenomenon's such as noisy mass market music that has no soul and whose only objective is to transmit as much of an energy rush as possible, the culmination of which will be kids listening to white noise.

Stupid Human #3 - Gun Ga Din available now at Juno.

Do you currently hold any residencies?

No, I don't think I could. Provide support or guest somewhere? without doubt, but residency no. I have a 6 month old and I run a business in London which has nothing to do with music unfortunately. Stupid Human I'm afraid to say, is at the moment a project that satisfies my desire to make a contribution to a scene I care a great deal about. Humans need to come together to realise they are no different from one another, this is what David and the Loft was all about. The dance floor is pretty much the only place that happens.

Congratulations on the new born! It Must be exciting and daunting all the same. I am familiar with the feeling of the day job being in the way of the music it's hard to find that balance. Do you see Stupid Human ever becoming your main focus or is that an unrealistic goal?

Thanks, she's growing fast and I'm terrified because when she's in the studio at home her eyes are like saucers looking at all the records and other gadgets I have lying around. She'll be getting a thorough education from me and still end up digging some dirge from the pop market, I guess that's her rite of passage... It's not unrealistic just very very difficult to make enough of a living to pay the man and the man needs paying.

What's in the pipeline for SH?

I have two reworks / re-edits coming up that I'm really looking forward to releasing, I'd like to dedicate more time to original material so I'm going to be working towards that. I normally have five or six things that I work on simultaneously some stuff see's the light of day other stuff gets sacked so it's a slow process. I wish I could be more prolific but I think the quality would suffer. The family and I will be moving to Norway in the next couple of years so I'm hoping I can dedicate more time to music when that happens.

Any plans to tour as Stupid Human? I understand it must be difficult with a young family, but I hear Australia is a great place to go to!