Se7en Inch Collective – Interview
When did you first meet and why did you form the Se7en Inch Collective.
It started over a chance conversation about three years ago. We both knew each other, but in passing and through friends of friends, but met on the street and John mentioned a single he had just picked up that blew him away – Delicate Cycle by the Uncluded. Its Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson. For the next hour we began bouncing names and connecting dots, realising there was a lot in common… specifically around the humble but glorious 7″ single. We came from different angles musically but shared a passion for singles. John has been DJ’ing vinyl for over 20 years, festivals clubs and bars, but usually 12″ and LPs, but always continued to buy singles, whereas I had never used decks once and simply bought them to listen to at home. This conversation prompted us to start something. Simple.
What is it about the format that appeals to you so much and how does it affect how you DJ?
We both love how punchy a single is… it keeps you on your toes, and encourages you to mix it up. We enjoy the format as it is more playful and we switch up genres and styles as we want… we don’t really care in a way… we don’t plan, we just have our own boxes and start… if one of us wants to switch it up.. then they do. The variety of stuff out there on 7 is ridiculous, but also the limitation is kind of cool too.
I love back to back DJ’ing as it is a lot of fun especially when the other DJ doesn’t know what you are going to drop. Can you tell us about any sets where one of you has dropped a real curveball seven and how you responded.
Agreed, yeah, back to back is great fun, especially with the 7’s as we are not tied to matching the bpm, genre or style. I mean we don’t just stick something on for the sake of it.. there is a coherency, as it still needs to flow, but it can ebb and flow if you get me. I guess the collective was built on curveballs, as so much of our stuff isn’t known to each other, but when John played Slayer – Reign in blood in the middle of a set.. that was a curveball. There was only one response, from reign in blood to Purple Rain – Prince… its the little things.
You have been releasing a steady stream of mixes recently. How do you go about putting sets together and choosing which tracks to include.
During lockdown over the last few months we have been putting out some longer mixes on mixcloud, recording 7×7 each then pasting them together to make one each week. We don’t really chat about the mixes or what goes into them, as I think this would ruin the feel of them. The mixes are a way of us keeping our own conversation going too. Nevertheless, like so many here, the real love of the collective is playing live together, with the buzz and energy of the music and people and bars and festivals and dancing. Though live gigs may be some way off, we are streaming the first Friday of the month on twitch which is a start.
What are you the top 5 45s that you have picked up so far in 2020?
Johnny7:
Cornelius – Gum
Outkast – the whole world
Antibalast – dirty money
Buddy Griffin and his orchestra – I got a secret
Sabres of Paradise – Haunted Dancehall
Ste45:
Annie Be a feat. da7 – Luxury Kills
The Bob Cost Skiffle group – It Takes A Worried Man To Sing A Worried Blues
Son of a pitch and Dj Suspect – Alice Donut / Nino Fourrere
The Charmaines – I idolise you
Black twang – travellin’
These are just off the top of our heads.. the lockdown has been a funny time with no proper digging to be done. It is sorely missed.