You know the John Creamer and Stephane K sound - very deep, often dark and always sexy as hell - straight from the grooviest alleys of New York City and into the world's best clubs. Superstar DJs John Digweed, Danny Howells, Danny Tenaglia and Pete Tong were among the first to champion the John Creamer and Stephane K sound and made it an international sensation. What was "the new sound of New York" has gone well beyond the banks of this metropolis and is now a global craze.

There is a certain texture and mood to every track Creamer & K touches. The duo has an identity for good, quality vocals (but not the over-the-top diva kind), steam percussion and twisted, tribal efx. This formula has been used time and again the construction of some of the most popular remixes of the last decade. Their stellar remix portfolio includes reworkings of Kosheens "Hide U," Satoshi Tomie's "Love In Traffic," New Order's "Crystal," Nat Monday's "Waiting," Hybrid's "True To Form," Moony's "Doves," Puretone's "Addicted To Bass," The Crystal Method's "You Know It's Hard," Sinead O'Connor's "Troy" and Iio's classic anthem, "Rapture." (hit #2 on both the U.K. and singles chart and on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club play chart.) Beyond remixing, their acclaimed original productions including "I Love You" and "Wish You Were Here" continued to earn them respect worldwide.

John Creamer grew up in Philadelphia and from an early age was influenced by classic rock; eventually leading to his role as a trombone player in a garage-ska band. However, like so many others, John's life changed instantly by his first encounter with the original Sound Factory. Drawn in by the no holds barred approach to music that the sound factory DJs instituted, John knew that house music was where he needed to be. Following his instincts, he soon moved to New York and landed a record store gig at the influential Eightball Records. In time, Creamer rose up the ranks to become A&R man for Eightball's growing label (and later A&R for Satellite Records). Constantly surrounded by records, Creamer did quite a bit of DJing around New York City while also dabbling into the production realm with the release of some well-respected acid jazz under the name Butter Foundation.

Like Creamer, Stephane K also got his start in rock music. The New York resident - by way of Paris and Tokyo - first started out as a bass player in the progressive rock band E Trance and performed with the group at legendary digs like CBGB's and the Knitting Factory. In the early 90's Stephane was also converted by the original Sound Factory and quickly made the shift over to house music production. His first house productions came via a collaborative effort with DJ Katsu under the name Madam. Stephane later went on to record tracks with Satoshi Tomiie under the name 'Bipath' and continues to dabble into the production of his own tracks, most notably "Numb" and "Insane Poem", co produced with PQM.

Being an A&R man with Eightball, Creamer was quite familiar with Madam's production ability and hired them to remix an Eightball project. A close relationship soon developed between Creamer and K and they soon began collaborating together with a mutual desire to create vocal-driven tracks. This was a bold move when you consider that at the time, long, drawn-out instrumentals were the name of the game in dance music. Well, the rest as they, is history.

When you are responsible for a number of huge remixes, good things start to happen in all facets of your career. Upon hearing the duo's remix of Trancesetters' "Roaches," Bedrock honcho John Digweed asked them to mix the fourth installment of the label's Compiled and Mixed series. Previously known more for their remixing, this CD provided a forum to showcase their abilities as DJs. The two-disc set was well received around the world and featured Creamer & PQM's naughty "Fucksonnet," described by Muzik magazine as "a fucking brilliant prog-swearathon that would makee John Lydon blush."

Drawing from his production remixing skills, Creamer has launched a budding DJ career. Internationally, he has already played the world's most respected clubs including Cream, Renaissance and Bedrock in the UK; Pacha in Portugal, Soda in Athens and Zouk in Singapore. In the U.S., he has played Spundae in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas; Axis in Boston and just about every cool (and not so cool) venue in New York City.

So what's ahead for Creamer & K? This is set to be the biggest year ever for the boys, as it will see the release of their debut artist album (yet to be titled) on their own NY Love record label. You can expect more of what you already know and love from Creamer and K - lot's of sexy vocals, throbbing basslines and crisp percussion. This album will also introduce you to a wealth of brilliant young producers and vocalists including Rosko, Susana and Lance Jordan just to name a few. The first single, "Storm Is Rising" (featuring the vocals of Susana) was recently serviced to radio and is already positioning the album to be a massive hit - this is classic Creamer & K!

The boys will be taking to the road later in 2004 for a series of New York Love themed nights all around the world. It's not just about one thing when Creamer & K play live - a lot goes into making a night work. These nights will be centered around a vibe, an overall experience; through the music and out to the fans.


Interview

With several award winning remixes under your belt which do you think was your stand out piece?

IIo - Rapture

Which of your past project was most gratifying / fulfilling?

[John] Business wise Rapture because it opened up so many doors. Artistically is a tough call…Moony. I love Moony to death.

Do you both find yourselves at an even balance between production and DJing, does one take more precedence over the other?

[John] The production end is a bit more important.

How is the conference going you this year?

[John & Stephane] Slow, very slow.

How was the reaction to Tuesday’s performance?

[Stephane] Uh…Our party got cancelled. They had to shut it down and move to Space. Two parties coming together and so many Dj’s made for a messy party. Everyone was jockeying for position on the decks.

Tell is a little about the new Album?

[John] Conceptually we have not made a game plan. We have tons of music to put on one cd. [Stephane] So many almost-finished pieces.

What are your thoughts on the new technology of DJing with laptops?

[Stephane] I use a laptop…even before Sasha started using it. A lot of people were against it. Now that Sasha uses a laptop during his performances, this new technology has been agreeably accepted. Still people seem somewhat against it.

Do you foresee vinyl becoming a forgotten part of the past?

[John] No the new technology is the way forward, like cds it’s not gonna get pushed away. Maybe kids will see it as an old format. [Stephane] It’s like cd’s were when they came out. People will slowly accept it.

After doing some research we read about your recent development company for undiscovered artists, tell us about Plan BE?

[John] It’s about developing people who may not have the opportunity to have the same networks that we have. You look at Chab, take him, you have a circle of production people; we have all these offshoots…Marketing, Radio Promotion, and Billboard Promotion giving the artist help and attention they need to develop. This is the concept behind it, to push forward with these outlets.

What artists have you acquired so far?

Nadia and Rosco for vocals, and also the women who was on American Idol that was voted off for number 12. It was actually kind of cool because she wanted to get voted off. If you win you’re stuck with them for 7 years under contract. I mean she’s an American Idol.

Thank you to John & Stephan for taking the time to answer these questions. We would also like to thank Leslie and Catherine at Funky Dumpling for arranging the interview. This was a live interview during WMC '05.