Two decades after "Hang the DJ" became a wry dance-floor chant, the disc jockey's days may truly be numbered. Clubs in England - electronica's mecca - are being boarded up as bands like the Hives and the White Stripes lead a resurgence of gritty rock.
So what's a DJ to do? If you're Fatboy Slim, née Norman Cook, you hire a band.
"Four years ago, every kid wanted a pair of Technics turntables for Christmas," says Cook. "Now they want an electric guitar."
For his new album, Palookaville, the 41-year-old producer ignored the high-end recording gear in his studio and cut back on the samples. He dusted off his ax and recruited friends like funk legend Bootsy Collins and Blur's Damon Albarn to flesh out a big beat sound.
Cook, whose rock-and-roll cred stretches back to the '80s, when he played bass for the lilting pop band the Housemartins, isn't abandoning technology altogether. After all, this guy built his career on synths and drum machines. But Cook thinks live musicians add nuance and spontaneity that he could never capture with the perfect repetition of digital playback.
"It's looser live because you don't play samples and retrigger the same thing every time," he says. "It's easier to get a groove."
The DJ's New Recipe for Success
• Start by finding a hit rock song to cover, such as 1973's "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band.
• Get a rockin' beat going with an old Atari ST and a vintage drum machine.
• Add a funky bass line, a few groovy guitar riffs, and a pinch of piano (to taste).
• Mix in some jokin', smokin', midnight-tokin' magic, like spaced-out vocals from Bootsy Collins.
• Serve retro-cool as Palookaville's first US single.
- Tim Molloy
credit: Harry Borden
PLAY
Fatboy Rocks
