Electro funk pioneer Greg Wilson has been an avid music listener since the golden era of Motown. After returning to the world of music with his hugely influential ‘Credit to the Edit’ albums in 2005 & 2009,  his sample-laden anything-goes sets have gained notoriety as the best parties in town. We caught up with him before his show at Plan B on the 26th February and asked a few questions about one of his favourite subjects; the album…

Where would be your ideal place to listen to your favourite album?

I suppose that when you boil it all down, there’s nothing quite like the moment of discovery – when music really connects with you on a deeper level. This takes me back to when I used to sit in my bedroom in the summer of ’73 absorbing Bowie albums on my first record player, which was a bit of a cobbled together hybrid that some electronics enthusiast must have built in his spare time – hardly hi-fi, but it sounded wonderful to these ears, Albums like ‘Hunky Dory’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust’ never lose their appeal, but I don’t think they could ever sound any better than they did that summer, even over the most high end audiophile equipment. So it’d be nice to go back in the time machine and experience that all over again.

Which album do you remember from your childhood that really influenced you to become involved in music?

It was singles rather than albums that lay at the root of me becoming a DJ. I obviously loved the seminal Motown Chartbusters series, which my sister bought in the late 60’s / early 70’s, but these were, in essence, compilations of singles.

What lesser-known album (a personal favourite) would you like to make the world sit down and listen to and why?

‘Rufusized’ by Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan, of course, from 1974. It’s a big personal favourite, but something of a hidden gem nowadays (along with their previous album ‘Rags To Rufus’, another top LP).  The band are wicked, but it’s all about the voice, and Chaka was triple hot in ’74 – oozing with funk. Despite her best-known tracks (‘I’m Every Woman’ ‘Ain’t Nobody’ and ‘I Feel For You’) coming later, this is when I think she was at her most remarkable, fairly bursting with youthful energy and verve.

Do you think the album is due a comeback in popular culture after the rise of digital downloads, and what do you think has to change to bring back its past heights?

I think that some artists will present their material in a way that’s more akin to the movements and symphonies of classical music – hoping the listener will connect on a less superficial level, immersing themselves in the experience. The whole Living To Music thing I’m doing via the blog stems from this:

http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/category/living-to-music/

Now the CD is becoming an increasingly antiquated format, and with the music business struggling to re-define itself, things are bound to change around / be shaken up – a situation that presents its own opportunities. The fact that you no longer need to manufacture CD’s or LP’s to get your music out there is something of a seismic shift, which we’re all still adjusting to, some more progressively than others.

Do you think the specific album platform (eg. Vinyl, CD or MP3) can affect the artists output?

One of the big things that occurred to me via the Living To Music sessions was the re-realisation that, before the CD replaced vinyl as the dominant format, LP’s only lasted around 35-40 minutes in length. CD’s can hold twice as much music, but often quality is more important than quantity. It got me thinking about the amount of filler on contemporary CD’s, which wouldn’t have got anywhere near the vinyl format of old.

Tickets are still available for this party, which also features Love Fever’s Andy Bird & DJs from seminal disco label Tirk Records.

Tickets / Facebook