The name Joey Anderson has been synonymous with New York dance floors for the better part of 20 years. Whether you’ve seen him dance or heard his transcendent sound – you remember how it made you feel. It’s a place you’re a witness to. An expression, a sonic representation of movement born on the floors of New Jersey and the greater New York during a now mythic club era. He and his collaborative competitors went out to create with movement from sound until close, eventually picking up other tools such as decks or synths to invocate his thoughts for dancers – taking them to spaces born out of the invisible in his Jersey City home studio.
We are delighted to welcome Joey Anderson to our MIXED BY/ series for an exclusive trip into the depths of his universe while sharing some thoughts with him.
INTERVIEW
Staying on “then versus now.” A lot of your peers have shoved off to Berlin in recent years but you’ve talked about how your home is such integral part of your writing. Drawing inspiration from your day to day life interacting with all walks of people. Can you speak more to that?
I think it’s an awesome thing to move to Berlin or anywhere else to pursue or continue your musical dreams . One never knows , where he or she might end up in life . As far as myself , I feel comfortable in my surroundings, That is New Jersey, NewYork area . Everything here fuels my reality . Actually it always did , from my dancing years to my producing and Dj years . The heavy fusion of culture, music , and ethnicity the thrives the cities here . Also the relationships between people and the experiences I have all sort of mold who I am creatively.
If you were 21 today in NYC, what do you think you’d be in to? Do you think you think you’d be more likely to leave if you didn’t have dancing or the experience you were afforded? Do you think folks are too nostalgic for the era?
If I was 21 today I think I would be heavily into school or pursuing education at the highest level possible . Musically I think , hip hop , r and b , jazz , gospel , rock . Back in the late 80z when I found dance music , it was all about expression and developing dance skills that matched the level of the music which made me pursue learning what dance music was about . As far as now , just feel something “ honest “ is missing or lacking . For example years ago I remember thinking I was a good dancer . Then one day I realized I sucked and I had to work harder to develop my skills in what I was doing and what I wanted to contribute to the art .
Turning to that introspective, “invisible music” – you’ve said before that you tend to write music in the early morning, creating an invisible party by yourself. You’ve said it’s personal listening music that draws from your days walking around NYC with headphones and your interests in geology, astronomy or anthropology.
Invisible , I think comes from the creative side of me . One being able to translate their life style or surroundings into their music . Some of the things as you mentioned in your question , I personally fancy . Music at its core puts one in a certain space . I tend to rely on my zones to create.
Is the process for clearing your mind before dancing, djing or producing the same? Or do each require a specific cleansing routine or routine for getting on top of your performance?
I’ve came up dancing hard for most of my young life . I always seem to lean towards this when I’m producing . I remember a time when I would enjoy getting open without a beat or for example when I heard just spoken words or even just strings . Dancing taught me how to tell a story . When everything connect right , a kinda of a clear picture emerges. A pic of science, an image of beauty, art of creation ,, grace .
When producing I try and take these elements as mentioned above and conjure the vibe or atmosphere in these elements can exist .
Weird one…aliens? Do you think atmospheric conditions and evolutionary processes mean music may be something uniquely suited for earth? How likely do you think it is that another lifeform would be able to experience music in the same way or do you think there are Muddy Waters fans out there already?
I’m not an expert on the subject of aliens , lol .But I would like to think sound is actually frequencies. This is in some sort of way , Math. I also would love to believe math is the same everywhere in the Universe . So , who knows maybe there is a Levon Vincent track being appreciated out in the cosmos. :)
If you had to have any other profession what that be?
If I had another profession I think it would be … an Author .
Interview by Michael Neumann