Jozef K interview: I’m not doing this for fame and fortune

When Sankeys permanently upped sticks to Ibiza earlier, they did so taking pretty much the entire team en masse with them. One man who stayed was resident Jozef K, sensing the opportunity to move forward and do his own thing in Manchester whilst retaining a bond with the repositioned club.

This weekend encapsulates that relationship. Tonight sees him kick-starting a brand new promotion in Manchester based around his new EP at the Deaf Institute, before flying off to Ibiza tomorrow to reunite with his old cohorts Sankeys Ibiza as part of Carnival Cities being taken over by Junk Southampton. We caught up with him in typically enthusiastic mood, where he waxed lyrical on moving forward and what to expect from him in the future.

You were a big part of Sankeys which recently closed its doors for the last time. How much of a wrench was it seeing the club shut?

It was tough, I have so many fond memories of insane nights DJing in there. But at the same time it’s exciting it’s like my safety net has been taken away and now it’s me by myself, which is definitely a good thing.

What have you been up to since Sankeys closed in May?

I’ve been playing a great deal since the closing, which is awesome! Other than DJing that I have been in the studio day and night working on an upcoming album with production partner Winter Son. We are working on a live show too for later in the year. I’ve also been recently signed to Elastic Artists, they have always been my dream agency so absolutely overjoyed to be working with those guys!

Outside of music I have started training for half marathon number two, getting outside the house from time to time really helps with the computer screen migraines! Word of advice… keep the screen brightness down kids!  

You're playing this weekend at the club in Ibiza for Carnival Cities - excited? What’s your relationship with the island like?

Yeah man of course! Ibiza is always a very interesting/amazing experience, I have played across the Island, at Sankeys, Space and Zoo Project. DJing there is always so much fun as the crowd are always up for a party and are super interactive… Ibiza is basically in permanent weekend mode, which to me says it all about the crowd you are playing too!

You've also got a gig in Manchester beforehand at the Deaf Institute, tell us some more about that.

The party I run and play for in Berlin (Fortsetzen) has been doing really well over there so we wanted to trial it in the UK and since my old Sankeys party Continue has sadly ended it seems the logical choice. The first UK Fortsetzen is the launch party for my latest EP released on Sasha’s Last Night on Earth. I will be playing a live 808 show with my good friend Winter Son (who I made the EP with), and we also have a whole load of other magic machines to be revealed on the night.

Also playing are Ghosting Season, (Winter Son and Gavin Miller, also signed to LNOE). These guys usually perform their super atmospheric electronica as a live band and this will be a rare DJ performance from these, very excited to hear what they come out with. Gavin will also be starting the night off, he’ll be working in some Drone, Krautrock and soundscape/ambient type numbers, really looking forward to hearing this section.

We’ve also got Means&3^rd, an absolute vinyl junkie who works for eastern bloc, playing, and then Oliver Byrne, a self-professed music geek. Basically it’s a line up of music geeks and me… I’m just blagging it!

We also noticed last week you played for Freeze's huge show at St Georges Hall. How was the event and what did you think of the environment they chose to do it in?

The venue was absolutely amazing it looked phenomenal, stained glass windows the lot! I am really good friends with the guys that promote it, and it’s ran by some lovely and driven people. They based the whole thing on a Charity as well, like I said… lovely! In a few weeks I should have some more news about Freeze and myself, have to keep an eye out for that one! Also, don’t think I have ever seen so many pairs of disco pants in all my life, they were everywhere!

Have you got any productions lined up in the future you want to tell us about?

Yeah, one EP that has a live recording of a voodoo witch doctor chant from Haiti as the main vocals. After that it’s album time, we have a couple of collaborations secured for this, and I am currently really enjoying working on it, the hours just fly by. Yesterday for example we worked for 10 hours straight, no food, no clock watching, it’s all go!

What else lies in the future for you?

In terms of the future I just want to stay involved with music and never get another job ever again. I’m not doing this for fame and fortune - fuck that man! As long I can do this and get by then I will always be happy. I’m not money driven in the slightest, I just want to have a good time above all else, and being involved in music means I will 100% be having a good time. I am turning into a hippy, basically I just wish peace, love and happiness to the whole world!!

And finally, dream situation time. You can go back to any period in clubland history, and play at any club. Who would you have playing alongside you and what tune would you drop that would define the evening? 

Gotta be Larry Levan in the Paradise Garage! That whole era intrigues me, it seems like such a beautiful, golden period of time, everyone that speaks about it seems to be encapsulated by the energy of the place when they try to describe, I want in. Tune I would have dropped? The Rah Band’s ‘Messages from the Stars’

Want to read more?

Check out the charity Freeze focused on in the event Jozef was talking about here.

More on Fortsetzen presents (where Jozef headlines tonight) here.

More info on Carnival Cities presents here, where Jozef plays tomorrow, here.

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