The Dale Thing

He was there when the UK was first bitten by the acid house bug, spinning funk, soul and disco as a sixteen-year-old with Tim Westwood. He later guested at the M25 raves and beyond with his long standing cohorts, Mr. C and Fabio & Grooverider, before he brought underground techno to the English capital during the early 90s via his Knowledge residency with Colin Faver.
One of the original DJs on the (then illegal) Kiss FM, he forwarded cutting edge, electronic music on the Abstract Dance radio show, which played a vital role in spreading the gospel of tech-house long before it graced the international DJ play list. He s also just compiled the second installment in the cult Abstract Funk Theory series, which unites deep, spiritual house with funked up techno, so we thought it was time for Digital Beat to finally catch up with Colin Dale.
You ve been DJing for the best part of two decades. Did you originally plan your career or was it a happy accident?
When I started off playing at clubs and parties, I was doing it because I loved the music. I was always into music and collecting records and I started off by going down to Gossips and playing soul and funk with Tim Westwood, before he got into hip-hop. Mind you, I never wanted to be a real DJ, it s something that still separates me from a lot of the other DJs on the scene: I never aspired to making loads of money, I just don t have that kind of attitude. I think this is evident in my DJing as well. My greatest strength is my passion for the music, because I started off as a record collector rather than a DJ.
As one of the first DJs involved in Kiss FM, how did you feel about the controversial re-shuffle last year?
I played for Kiss from when it began and all of a sudden I had my show axed. Then I was suddenly asked back without any explanation, but my show was put back to the early hours of Tuesday morning. I wasn t too happy about it after being with the station from the start.
You ve just compiled the second Abstract Funk Theory compilation. The first installment, put together by Ian O Brien, focused predominantly on the influence of jazz on modern dance music. How does your selection compare?
Ian s compilation was more jazzy, so I didn t want to go down that route, I decided to focus on the more soulful side of house and techno. It s got tracks on it by Vince Watson, Ian O Brien, EBE and Kevin Yost, but there s also a really old Carl Craig mix of Yennek s Serena X . It was hard to compile too, because I had to look through twenty years worth of records to put it together!
It s the second unmixed compilation you ve released the first being 1998 s Mutant Disco. Are you never tempted to mix your compilations?
The album is unmixed because, although I really wanted to mix it, Logic said that there were already too many mix CDs on the market. Abstract Funk Theory is meant to be an unmixed series, but it s still representative of the music I play out, especially when I DJ in the south of England. London s never really had a massive techno following and the techno that comes from the south is always influenced by house music.
You ve played a vital role in promoting house-influenced techno, now branded tech-house. Do you think it s suffering from the media and international DJ attention it has attracted?
Well, I m very into playing what people have been calling tech-house , which is a direction where house and techno elements are incorporated into my sets. Tech-house is a silly name, and it s a label I ve been accused of using myself, but if it helps people get into this music it can only be a good thing. The media have picked up on it, but it isn t a new thing, it has been going on for years. It has become popular and it could be the next big thing as long as it doesn t go all cheesy. Mind you, I think the producers involved have got the right attitude. I know it sounds like a clichi, but there are no egos, it really is about the music.
Colin Dale Presents: Abstract Funk Theory is available on Logic from January 21st.