Session Transcript:
Robert Owens
Red Bull Music Academy, London 2002

The video stream for this lecture can be watched here.

The first song DJ and vocalist Robert Owens ever wrote was Mysteries Of Love for Fingers Inc. - which for house historians of any shade, is some first. Owens, who grew up in the poor areas of Chicago and L.A., started singing at church and DJing at basement parties for the local gangs. Eventually, he found his way to the seminal clubs of mid-'80s Chicago like The Warehouse and Muzic Box, which kickstarted the whole house revolution. Owens was there through the 12-hour sets and he tells us how it wuz.

Robert Owens: »I've been musically inclined from a very young age. I remember being lifted onto tables in church to sing and dance and perform, so the progression to DJing was a natural one for me. I was buying records and people just started asking me to play at their basement parties. From there, I started playing in the local club circuit and even for parties organised by the gangs. I would see how all their problems would fade away during these times. It has always been instilled in me to bring people together and I found a way to do this through DJing and singing. I remember peoples' reactions to my singing back in church, the way the music would drop all barriers. I started DJing in the early '80s, during the disco period, although I'd also play Motown and Stax Records. I approached my DJing as an opportunity to help bring the gangs together and for a short moment in time, their problems would fade away. I think music should be expression of one's character, a reflection of you somewhere in the mix. When I DJ, I try convey a story and create a feeling that people can take home with them as opposed to just playing records. I think it's important to relate to people with something mentally stimulating, something for them to think about because there is a lot of oppression and different things going on in the world. I travel a lot. Every two weeks I'll be travelling around the world. I see all kinds of oppression everywhere and I think it's good to translate your concern about what's going on. Everything isn't happiness, so to be able to relate to that through music is a plus. I try to play things with meaning. Not all sad things, but I try to convey the thoughts of life, all the ups and downs. I was recently in Japan and the people there move with your beat. They know all the breakdowns and everything. There was a fusing with the people. This is what I try to do with every crowd and every single one is unique and different. You have to understand how to fuse with them and now, after all these years, I've got an idea of how to do that. I can survey and feel out a crowd. Just going in, watching and observing. I'm not the type of DJ that goes to a club and plays and then I'm gone. I try to get there before my slot and listen to the other DJs out of respect, to understand where they're coming from. Even afterwards I stay and mingle with the crowd. I talk to people to really understand what they are feeling and what moves them.«

RBMA: »What was the inspiration for you to become a vocal artist?«

Robert Owens: »Well, I grew up in the poor areas of Chicago and Los Angeles. In these urban areas, people were more contented to put you down, but somewhere in my nature there was a determination to prove these people wrong, that I could achieve something, that I can be something. I was determined to get out of the situation around me. There were a lot of gang-related shootings, people getting killed. I knew that if I stayed, I'd end up a casualty of those circumstances. That was inspiration enough.«

RBMA: »Were there any musical inspirations for you?«

Robert Owens: »I mentioned Motown earlier, seeing the struggle of a lot of those Motown artists out of Detroit. I was a fan of Diana Ross and the Jacksons. They were my mentors in a sense. They were people that I could relate to who were making it. They gave me hope and faith. I thought, 'OK, if they can do that maybe I can too if I try hard enough'.«

RBMA: »What the first song that you made?«

Robert Owens: »I actually wrote two songs for two groups at the same time. I wrote the lyrical content for Mysteries Of Love with Larry Heard for Fingers Inc, and I did a song with the another group, called The It. They were making a song called Donnie, about a girl called Doneisha, who was the rapper's girlfriend. I had gone along to the studio to give support and Chip.E, who was overseeing the production, invited me into the production booth and asked for my opinion on the track. I said: "Well, maybe you need a hook here." And I sung it to him. Everybody liked that and I ended up singing on the track. I knew Ron Hardy, who was my inspiration for DJing, I met him a few years back in California. Ron did a remix of Donnie and the record blew up.«

RBMA: »Did you ever realise that your music would reach out to people all over the world?«

Robert Owens: »We didn't, no. The thing is that in the early days there were no restraints on creativity. It all came together naturally and I think that's why it happened like that. A lot of things started out just as tapes. Records would be pressed straight from them so there was no heavy production involved. It didn't take the extensive production and programming you get today to convey the message. The main thing is to try to give a meaning of thought that you think someone will relate to, a thought relating to someone else's plight in the world. The other guys that I was involved with back then thought the same way.«

RBMA: »People like Larry Heard?«

Robert Owens: »Yeah, Larry Heard is a musical genius. We're hooking up in Sweden soon. I haven't seen Larry in years because I'm more or less based in Europe and he's in America. He's working at a television station there. We were like brothers. We lived next door to each other. He would knock on my door sometimes at like 4am and go: "Come over and listen to this." He's the kind of person who stays up all night creating music. He's very prolific. He'll create volumes of material and throw away loads of it. I've often stopped him. I have things on tape that he doesn't even have anymore, so to me the best way to describe him is a little musical creative genius. Larry was a jazz drummer at first. He's worked with loads of different people from all different backgrounds. We worked together in Fingers Inc. He then went on to do solo projects and I helped him with a couple of things on his first album. I also went on to do some solo things and ended up working with Frankie Knuckles and David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie. Then in England with Block 16 and Mr C. I even worked with one of the guys from Pink Floyd and Youth from a group called Killing Joke, which went in a rock direction. So I've really diversified and Larry's doing his thing too.«

RBMA: »Can you tell us about the scene back then? How would your material sit with the music being played by Ron Hardy or Frankie Knuckles at the time?«

Robert Owens: »Back then Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles could go in any direction because back then it wasn't all about an uptempo bpm. You could go anywhere from Talking Heads or B-52's up to something like Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa or other electro. And people stuck with you. I think the main emphasis of the whole thing was based around a family-orientated environment. Everyone knew each another. Even if you were new to the club circuit and didn't know anyone, people pulled you in. Everything was all mixed together, black, white, whatever. There were no hang-ups. People came to clubs like the Muzic Box solely for the music. People would free their emotions and get away from whatever issues they had to deal with that week. So that's what it was all based around.«

RBMA: »How does a club like the Warehouse or the Muzic Box compare to clubs today, like the club you played in last week, here in London?«

Robert Owens: »The biggest difference would probably be the clarity of the soundsystem. We had one of the most amazing soundsystems. The bass alone could physically move you. Back in that period it was all rooted around the soundsystem. It wasn't about how much power it had, or how loud the sound was, it was all about the clarity. You would hear records played in these clubs that you had at home, but through the club's system you would hear things in the mix that you couldn't hear at home.«

RBMA: »At the risk of sounding like an old grandfather, why don't they make them like that anymore?«

Robert Owens: »(laughs) It boils down to unity. There's usually a struggle between the DJs and the owners of the club. They both have different agendas. In a more unified scenario, everyone would have the same objective and back then it was for clarity of sound. A lot of the material back then was vocally-led, so the clarity levels had to be precise otherwise it would sound harsh and tinny. I've been places where there are still nice soundsystems. But they don't have the same vibe because most of those clubs back then had the community-orientated environment. The people went there every week. Year in, year out.«

RBMA: »So what made DJs like Larry Levan so special in that even today, people still wear Paradise Garage t-shirts?«

Robert Owens: »Probably because he would push an artist, even if they weren't well-known. He was one of the few DJs that would play your record maybe 10 or 15 times within one night. It's rare for that to happen.«

RBMA: »You're talking about some long DJ sets then.«

Robert Owens: »Oh yeah. Most of the DJs back then usually played for up to 12 hours. So if someone like Larry wanted to break a record, you would totally know it by the time the weekend was through.«

RBMA: »What was his DJ booth like? If he was playing 12 hour sets, would it be a comfortable space?«

Robert Owens: »Yeah, Larry had a pretty nice sized booth. In those sort of clubs, there would usually be a lounge area and then the immediate DJing area with probably three turntables and a reel to reel tape machine. A lot of music would often be spliced together onto a reel for playing in the club.«

RBMA: »Like a remix.«

Robert Owens: »Yeah, sort of. They would make specially edited remixes just for the club and incorporate them into their sets with the original recordings.«

RBMA: »A lot of the records made back in the early house period had quite traditional arrangements, which you may not have realised listening to them back then. How much of an emphasis was placed on a traditional song structure back then?«

Robert Owens: »Well, a lot of producers in that period were actually musicians. So if you are producing from a musician's point of view, you're instantly thinking of structure and chords and notes. You have a set precise format to work with. But there were also a lot of creative people around who weren't musicians, who were just creatively coming with up with things almost by accident. They would work and react more off a vibe. So there were two approaches coming together, affecting the sound.«

RBMA: »You recorded a track with drum 'n' bass artist Photek called Mine To Give in 2001, which may have surprised some people. Can you tell us how that came about?«

Robert Owens: »My manager ran into Photek at Virgin's London offices in and he told her that he had wanted to work with me for the last 12 years. That was a shock to me. He sent me about five demos and I just wrote down my first reactions. I followed my gut instincts when I wrote those lyrics and figured he'd either like them or not. He ended up liking them. When it comes to collaborating with people, if they have a calm demeanour, I can instantly fuse into where they are coming from and get along with them. If they're too arrogant or pushy, then the process becomes stagnant. But if they have a level head, as Photek did, then I'll usually get along with them.«

RBMA: »Finally, what tips would you give to someone trying to make it in this industry today?«

Robert Owens: »To constantly be yourself no matter what and fuse your own identity into the creative process. You'll be inspired by other people have done things, but the main objective is to put part of yourself into the music.«