The 'Shine A Light On' Mix: Jonathan Krisp

Music

We love people getting in touch and giving us a kick to listen to their new sounds. No, honest we do. That's exactly what happened when this fella John emailed us and nudged us to listen to his own productions on Soundcloud. John used to play synth for Patrick Wolf and has released tracks on Cookshop Records. The lovely chiming, mallet driven and mystic electronica with titles such as Unicursal Hexagram, Higgs Boursin and Historic Market Town was definitely worth an aural exploration. So we asked him to do an exclusive mix of his own productions, and here it is:

Who are you and where are you from?

I’m John Watson, aka Jonathan Krisp, I grew up in a south London suburb.

Where was the mix recorded?

In my studio with a nice single malt on the go!

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Walking around in an open forest in early Spring with headphones on.

What should we be wearing?

Sheepskin, deerskin, woad (optional).

What would be your dream setting to record a mix?

Mix wise – some ungodly hour at a party in the woods would do nicely. For music making – I’d be recording vocals and percussion in large stone spaces, like old church’s, cathedrals or a cave: the reflections are great, it would fun to place mic’s around in different positions to capture the acoustics. My Mac, MOTU & some nice vintage outboard gear to record with.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Probably Pentacle, second track in. When I sat down to write it, It seemed to just pour out in a matter of hours. There’s a mystical feel to it, which I’m trying to inject more and more into my music.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

That’s a tricky one. In terms of the listening, I remember a really early train journey looking out the window, sun coming up listening to a Brain Feeder mix on Soundcloud. People like Lapalux, Thundercat, Gaslamp Killer were on there and it really vibed me out, the off kilter rhythms & kineticism of it all. Everything coming together. Music and train windows eh, I’m sure its not just me?

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

Probably Jeff Mills in the mid 90’s for just the relentless energy of music.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

I was about 15 & before I got 1210’s I had these horrible Terratec belt drive turntables. Total false economy. Took about 3 secs from hitting start to get to right playing speed so you couldn’t do any proper cueing. Nightmare!

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

Both totally depends on crowd / vibe / environment.

What were the first and last records you bought?

De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising / Rival Consoles – Howl.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Marks and Spencer’s Meal deal.

If it was an animal what would it be?

An owl.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything…

Sometimes I end up making music which I’ve been told is awkward to mix, and I like to write tracks which don’t just have a beat intro! Cue the last track in the mix…