30.04.2013
Question time with Metro Area On UK's The Independent
Prior To Metro Area's Live Act @ Oval Space in Hackney (London) on May 25th
Several years ago, before digital media became the norm, I remember being handed a mixtape by one of my friends. It was a collection of house and techno delights from various artists, and at the time I didn’t know the names of any of the tracks or their producers but, as time went on I discovered some of them. Among the many gems on the mixtape was a track by Metro Area – as always, as soon I discovered the duo (Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani) I delved into their back catalogue and unearthed one fantastic track after another. Metro Area are renowned throughout the music world for their classic take on electronic music, full of soul and funk – music that really gets you dancing. Their influence is widespread and they have universal respect from within the electronic music community. Ahead of their first live performance in over a decade, I was fortunate enough to be able to ask both men some questions…
You guys grew up in New Jersey and New York… What effect would you say your hometown has had on your musical direction?
Darshan: Of course, I didn’t realize it when I was a kid, but I think we definitely benefited from certain influences and values growing up in the general vicinity of New York. Morgan’s hometown is about 30-40 minutes from Manhattan on the New Jersey side of the Hudson, and I come from a town about an hour north of the Bronx, between New York and Woodstock. This whole area has a pretty great cultural history.
Morgan: We both grew up in truly suburban environments, meaning we were outside of the city but still within reach and therefore affected by it. We were influenced heavily by its radio stations (KISS-FM etc..) and culture.
What kind of stuff were you into when you first discovered your love for music?
Darshan: Like so many other kids, I started with my Dad’s records and tapes. It was a mixture of stuff – mostly 60s and 70s rock. Simon & Garfunkel, Carole King, Lata Mangeshkar, John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band’s “Sometime in New York City” album, which was slept-on at the time, but is now kind of a cult classic, co-produced by Phil Spector. Though I have to say, I had just as much fun looking at and reading the cover art as I did listening.
MG: I can’t remember not being into music. My older siblings had a major effect on me. Devo was huge for me as a little kid. You could listen to it as a child or an as adult. I could bounce around to simple lyrics and melodies but knew there was something naughty going on that I didn’t understand yet. I listen now as an adult and it’s pretty subversive stuff.
Who were your inspirations within rock music?
Darshan: By the time I had any sense of inspiration from rock it was probably 1979 or 1980. So I was into radio stuff like Foreigner, AC/DC, Toto, bands like that. I heard “Tom Sawyer” by Rush in my cousin’s car and the synthesizer sounds blew my mind. I liked Ozzy Osbourne when I was like 8 or 9, being too young to really know about the much cooler Black Sabbath stuff.
MG: One of the first songs I got into as a baby – and I’m not kidding, I used to mosh around to it – was “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. It was released the year I was born. The production of classic rock is amazing… that kind of dead room disco sound, but more expensive. Later I got into prog rock, that my brother listened to, like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rush… Stuff like that.
Read the full interview via The Independent.co.uk
