After rocking Earthcore events in Victoria and Queensland recently, after a few weeks away in South America John 00 Fleming is set to return to our shores to headline Gatecrasher events in Sydney and Melbourne this Christmas and Boxing Day. As one of the most enduringly popular names on the global trance scene, in recent times Fleming has created a stir in the media for his outspoken views on the DJ Mag Top 100 poll. ITM caught up for a quick chat to see what he’s been up to of late, and what he has planned for the future.

Your new single coming out, ‘Rasa Lila’, is more a goa trance tune, along the lines of your ‘Mahadeva’ remix compared with the last single, “Fused”. Is this a direction you want to take further, or just something you felt like at the time?

It was a bit of fun in the studio. I was messing around writing an old lead line that reminded me of the goa trance days, a few days later ‘Rasa Lila’ was born! So I thought, ‘sod it, let’s put it out as a single’. I like to experiment in the studio.

Since the last time we spoke, your upcoming mix CD ‘Unfold’ has now been put back twice! What is the cause of the delays?

Mainly due to licensing issues. You can’t simply choose tracks and throw them on a CD. You need to get them cleared from the labels that own then. It can sometimes take a few weeks to negotiate a deal. Things ran late getting us close to Christmas time, which is best avoided in the dance world. So we’re 100% set for January release!

The DJ Mag Top 100 poll results came out recently, unfortunately you didn’t seem to make the cut this year! What was your initial reaction to missing out?

I’m very proud to be alongside Jeff Mills and The Chemical Brothers. I think that sums it all up! For me the importance of being in the chart was lost a couple of years ago and I’ve openly spoken about this over the years. I was under pressure from people round me to continue to canvas, but now the industry as a whole feel the same as me.

You’ve spoken out about the poll on your website diary and have been quite critical of the whole process. What do you think is wrong, and can it be fixed?

I’d be here all day trying to explain the rights and wrongs. The best thing to do is read my diary on my website. A good friend of mine summed it up very well; ‘I really think that these type of polls from magazines are for marketing purposes, they’re quite dangerous because they distract the audience from the hard work that most DJs put into their careers, and reduce it all to a flaky popularity contest’. I think it’s killing the dance scene. You guys are seeing it in Ozz right now.

Also, at the end of the day, this is a poll of favourite DJ’s by the magazine’s readers. Why is it considered so important, compared to an industry award or something along those lines?

It used to be important until marketing companies and smart IT people came along and trashed the meaning of the poll. That can’t be hidden. They had 217,000 votes from a UK magazine that sells around 8,000 copies each issue. So it’s obviously not the reader voting!

What are the best, worst and funniest track requests you’ve had at a gig?

Play harder… and, play harder!

You are working on an artist album which will be out next year. How far along is it? What can we expect from it?

I’m 75% there. It will all be finished for April, 2007. It’s taken so long because I don’t use co-producers or engineers. I do all the production myself from start to finish. My touring schedule eats up so much of my time, it’s very difficult finding studio time.

Travelling around the world you get to see a variety of dance music scenes and cultures. What are some of the things you have picked up from different countries, from both the scene itself and how it is portrayed?

Some countries remind me of how the UK and Oz used to be. People are there simply for the music and don’t care what brand or who they are listening to. They simple want to be entertained by music that they don’t know, but that will take them into a musical journey. It’s amazing, and to me a true job of a DJ to lift the crowd, take them deep without using obvious big tunes. Unfortunately is not like that anymore at home.

Finally, with your stage name an homage to the movie series… How do you think Daniel Craig will go as the new James Bond?

I think very well. He looks like a hard nut! Something that’s been missing from the recent Bonds, I can’t wait to see the movie.

Don’t forget, inthemix will be holding a live ‘in the spotlight’ webchat with John 00 Fleming on Monday December 18th at 7pm AEDST. Login for your chance to win Gatecrasher tickets and CDs, plus we’ll also be giving away a self portrait of Fleming, painted by the man himself! For more info click HERE.

Dec 25th – Bondi Pavilion, Sydney
Dec 26th – The Metro, Melbourne