Jamaica, that beautiful Caribbean island is known for its dreamy beaches, a natural jewel, premier tourism destination and of course the birthplace of reggae. Music is an important aspect of the country and is deeply rooted in its culture and way of life. The Kingston based dancehall and reggae collective Equiknoxx is one of Jamaica’s most interesting musical exports of the last decade. Ninja Tune legend The Bug has invited the band for the next “Pressure”, his own regular night at Gretchen, on September 14. We had the chance to talk to Gavsborg, one of the producers of Equiknoxx, about the band, their work and music in general.
Jamie: Thank you so much for taking the time. Let us start with a simple question: What does the name Equiknoxx stand for?
Gavsborg: You are most welcome 🙂 , the name Equiknoxx stands for a group of truants who found more comfort in the library rather than the classroom.
Jamie: Equiknoxx is often described as a collective, but it seems like the brains and muscles behind the project are the producers Gavsborg and Time Cow. Who else is part of the group and is there a clear hierarchy within the band?
Gavsborg: The muscles behind the group are all the components as we all have been integral to facilitating our current position. The members of Equiknoxx are: Bobby Blackbird, Gavsborg, Kemikal Splash, Shanique Marie and Time Cow. I was releasing tracks under the name Equiknoxx from 2003, then Blackbird and I started the label officially in 2007. Time Cow, Shanique Marie and Kemikal Splash joined us between 2009 and 2012. Continue reading “Equiknoxx”
Already for the third time the Sample Music Festival returns to Gretchen this weekend, September 2nd and 3rd. This unique event was invented to give people the chance to have a closer look on how producers work these days. It puts the spotlight especially on the so called turntablism – the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats – the controllerism – the art and practice of using musical software controllers – and sampling – the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a sound recording in a different song or piece.
