F
rom the mega club anthem
that was Killer, to the fall
of the Berlin Wall being
soundtracked by his Nina
Hagen collaboration, Adamski
is an acid-house pioneer.
From classic cuts to waltz-
time remixes, the artist born
Adam Tinley, has been at the
forefront of the UK dance movement
since the late-80s. We caught up with
Adamski to talk about all of these
topics and more.We last spoke when Killer
appeared on the This Is England
’90 soundtrack. How close do
you feel to that track now – like
a child that’s fl own the nest and
gone off to have its own life, or
do you still feel protective of it?
For probably about 15 or 20 years
I was really over it. I wouldn’t play it
when I DJ’d or if I did live shows. Well,
I did part of it, but I wouldn’t have
been able to get hold of Seal.
He wouldn’t have wanted to come
and play in some electroclash club
when he was doing Hollywood and
everything like that. But, yes, I was
pretty over it.
Now I’ve recently reinvented it as
a waltz-timed track and a couple of
the other old tracks, too. I’ve worked
them into three-four time, so it’s got me
interested in it again and, yes, I’ve had
fun reworking it.
It used to really annoy me that
people defi ned me by that track alone
because I was making music for a long
time before that.
My fi rst album was entirely
instrumental, I was playing
instrumental, techno-ish stuff in clubs
and raves.
Seal was just someone I met hanging
around on that club scene and it all
just came together, because it was
meant to, but the track was just a
one-off thing.When I travel outside the UK,
I meet people around the world and
they’ll say: ‘oh, I love that track you
did with Nina Hagen’ or choose
something more obscure. Or mention
one of my old instrumentals. That’s
much more fl attering to me.Yes, that Nina Hagen
collaboration, 1992’s Get Your
Body!, is long overdue for a
reissue or remix...
Yes, because that one was kind of
ubiquitous, too, in some ways. I was
very fl attered when I moved to Berlin
10 years ago and ex-East Berliners told
me that song was like a soundtrack to
when the Berlin Wall came down and
everything. They totally related to that
song – it is the sound of freedom.One of my favourite deep
catalogue tracks is When We
Were Young, the one-off single
as L.A.Z.Y., especially the
Starfi sh Mix.L.A.Z.Y. was me and Loretta Heywood.
I wrote more songs around that time
which were never released. I can’t
really remember what happened... we
signed, then we made another single
which Trevor Horn was working on,
but it just ended up no that one was
happy with how it turned out so I went
on to sign a solo deal.
I think we had about eight songs or
something, I can’t remember how or
why it fi zzled out.
I didn’t see Loretta for years but I do
see her now and then. She’s often in
Ramsgate, as well, where I am now.
Everyone is! Tony Thorpe, too. He
did a remix of L.A.Z.Y. (as North West)
and I played with him a while back at
a club date.Another great mix of that track
was by The Jet Slags. Was that
you under another name?
Yes, me and Mr Monday, who was
one of the other keyboard whizzes
of the rave scene – although we
didn’t like being called that, all those
connotations of Rick Wakeman
in a cape! I think of Rick Wakeman
as a funny and nice man, but at the
time, that was all prehistoric.Back to the present day and
everything you’re currently
working on is in waltz time.
Was there a moment when you
realised that you’d hit upon this
really great idea, conceptually
and musically?
I’ve had a few moments like that. But,
yes, basically I’ve just taken my whole
life as a musician and producer, all
my favourite bits, and given myself
the dogma that it all has to be in
waltz time.
I like setting myself a bit of a
challenge. Except now I couldn’t
make a track in four-four, because
I just fi nd it too boring!
Ian Peel17GODFATHERS
of
ADAMSKI
Nana S RKCP30.Godfather_Adamski.print.indd 17 07/06/2017 16: