Leaping from the NY underground, the Scumfrog has taken a lick at remixing club icons like George Michael, David Bowie -- and .. Kylie Minogue.. Scumfrog took a break from his hectic DJ and production schedule to answer some questions.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: First - let's start with the most obvious question - where did the name Scumfrog come from?
ScumFrog: It was a silly name I took on back in Amsterdam just for fun. It didn't really mean anything (especially not in Dutch), until I decided to use that alias for "The Watersong". After that I was stuck with the name. I never tried to change it because it has a funny ring to it. When Roger signed me he was all about preserving that name. I guess that would have been my moment to change my name to DJ Bob...and I didn't.
RS: Did you grow up in Amsterdam? How did your early years affect your style?
SF: I was born and raised in Amsterdam. I had always been a fan of the American dance scene starting with Nile Rodgers (from Chic), continuing through Shep Pettibone, and later Clivilles &Cole , Eric Morillo, Masters At Work, Roger S, etc. Those sounds were really popular in Holland until the mid nineties. After that time the US dance scene changed and house lost the battle for DJ preference to Trance. I tried Trance for a while, I really did, it just wasn't what I liked. To me, House music comes from Disco and Soul. Trance comes from Psychedelic Rock.
RS: What inspired you to start DJing?
SF: I honestly have no idea. I always loved music and I played piano and guitar from a very young age. Then in high school I was always the one with the most music, so I was asked to play at parties. (note, this was in 1986, in the era when being a DJ just meant you were the biggest geek at the party) The first time I came in contact with someone who was actually making a career out of DJing and remixing was when I met my UK DJ friend "Slacker" back in 1988.
RS: Did your sound change when you moved from Europe to New York?
SF: New York, more than anything else, is a great source of inspiration. Everyday life in Manhattan sculpted my sound. Just the subway rides, the 24 hour culture, even the Giuliani crackdown on nightlife. The fact that nightlife for house music is dead in NYC can be very inspiring. It presents a challenge to change that.
RS: Is there a difference between spinning to an American crowd vs a European crowd?
SF: In my opinion, European crowds and promoters tend to be more open-minded towards no-name DJs. In the States, most parties in our industry revolve around the DJ, so if you don't pull as a DJ, you don't get exposure. In Europe, more people party because of the party name, the venue, or the promoter. A good example: "Dance Valley" in Holland sold out this year (40,000 tickets for $50 a ticket) before they had ANY lineup yet.
RS: Why do you feel that European fans embrace dance music more than American fans - on a mainstream and underground level?
SF: The American audience never fully recovered from the violent death of Disco back in the early 80's. Ever since, dance music is either not taken seriously, or considered gay, by mainstream America.
RS: So as a European import yourself, what inspired you to start doing production?
SF: Vanity.
RS: As a remixer - who are your inspirations? Who do you look up to?
SF: Trevor Horn, Nile Rodgers, David Bowie, Prince, Donald Fagen. On a more contemporary tip: Planet Funk, I really hope they blow up soon.
RS: Listening to your remixes - you get a real feel of the 80s ..
SF: It's obvious, because that's the era that I grew up in. 70's and 80's; I love to use elements from that time. The only thing I try to avoid is to make something that is a 100% replica of something from the 80's. I try to just incorporate certain elements. In the end it still has to be House.
