If you’re ever short of a compliment, you can always borrow one off JDS. With the recent release of their stompin’ debut album, ‘Adventures of the Purple Funky Monkey’ on TCR, the English pair have plenty to spare. The Drumattic Twins labelled it ‘probably the best breaks album in the world’. Krafty Kuts preferred to call it ‘faultless’, while the Crystal Method settled on ‘fucking amazing’.
How the hell do JDS – aka Darren Pearce and Julian Napolitano – handle all this flattery? “We were really surprised by people’s reactions,” explains Darren graciously. “It’s just really cool. It’s an honour and achievement when your peers salute you.”
The new album sees this dirty disco duo deliver on the promise of earlier club bombshells like ‘Nine Ways’ and ‘Black Out’. The sheer magnitude of the latter saw Fatboy Slim praise them like he should, stating JDS “do the best breakdowns ever”. ‘Adventures…’ launches a whole new assault on the dancefloor, with berserker tunes like ‘Disco Rockers’, ‘Jump Around’ and ‘Purple Funky Monkey’.
Now, JDS’ adventures continue with Darren heading to Australia for the first time ever, possibly to escape all the embarassingly good press. As he packed his suitcase, he chatted to skip_intro who would later describe it as “simply amazing.”
What’s JDS stand for? Is it first names? If so, who’s ‘S’?
Julian and Darren Soundsystem. I was playing one night at Peach and MTV were filming. I was playing an acetate and when they wrote down the name for the track listing, they wrote JDS – a typo really as the record had been cut at a place called JTS. Anyway, it got us free publicity so we stuck with it!
What’s with all this Purple Funky Monkey business? Is it anything to do with a big night out? Do tell!
It actually comes from one of our friend’s girlfriend who was not quite with it one night. She just came out with it! We thought it was a great name so we went with it.
What motivated you doing an album rather than sticking to just putting out bangin’ 12”s?
It’s something we have always wanted to do. It’s just nice to have it there in your CD collection.
What tracks are you most proud of? Why?
They all give me a buzz when I see the crowd going off to them, but I suppose ‘Black Out’ as it made such an impact.
How did you guys meet? Was it love at first sight?
We meet in a studio in Bow, England, where Julian was engineering a track for me. He engineered a few more then we moved on to cross-tracks before deciding to do something together.
What roles do each of you play in JDS?
Julian and I both engineer and produce the tracks on the same level. Well, apart from when we decide to have a spar in the room next door to get some anger out! I tend to give him a bit of a beating cause I have longer arms!
Do you guys still dabble in trance?
Julian used to do a bit of trance a few years back and I did some quiet a few many moons ago, but it just seemed to get a little boring. I needed a change.
You guys played Glastonbury! How the hell was it?
It was absolutely fantastic! Both playing and seeing the reaction we got from the crowd but also watching the other bands and what they give you themselves. It was wicked – even in the mud!
What’s happening with Electrotec and Paradox 3000? Is each moniker distinct in its style?
Electrotec is my own production moniker whilst Paradox 3000 involves Helen Farringdon, so the sound tends to go in another direction. Helen has made a lot of d’n’b and garage so her influence takes me in a totally different direction altogether.
You’re coming down with Krafty Kuts and Slyde, do you know them well? Got any cheeky stories on them?
I know Martin (Krafty) very well and DJed with him quite a few times, including his night Supercharged in Brighton. It’s a wicked night. I don’t have any dodgy stories to tell as yet but we are working on a track for his album together so I’ll be sure to let you know.
I hope that’s a promise! So been to Australia before?
No, I haven’t been before and I’m very excited to see this land of yours.
Darren of JDS will be playing clubs across the country this July, don’t miss out!
Fri 8th Jul – Future Breaks, Melbourne (BUY TICKETS)
Sat 9th Jul – Fuzzy Breaks, Sydney (SOLD OUT)
Thu 14th Jul – Embassy, Townsville
Fri 15th Jul – ANU, Canberra
Sat 16th Jul – Family, Brisbane
Fri 22nd Jul – Hijack, Sydney
Sat 23rd Jul – Ambar, Perth
JDS’ album ‘Adventures of the Purple Funky Monkey’ is out now on Rennie Pilgrem’s TCR label, released locally through Fuzzy Breaks/MRA.
