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Tim Sheridan
31 December 2009 08:34:16
Tim Sheridan is a man of many words. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't take the time to let his music or infamous parties do the talking. Quite the opposite.
DJ, Producer, promoter, label boss, musician and all round electronic music don Tim Sheridan has been expressing himself via dance music since many of us were watching The Racoons from under our Roland Rat duvet covers. And with new project The VVWI Limited Love Orchestra in full swing, shows no sign of stopping.
We caught a minute (or so) with Tim to see whats happening in his seemingly wild world of music, parties and instrument playing! Are you sitting comfortably...?  Pulse Radio: Your VVWI nights were based around the after-hours ethos and were dubbed as 'deliciously sideways' by DJ Mag. How, if at all, does this reflect in the releases put out on the VVWI imprint?
How does the after-hours element reflect? I'm a big fan of avoiding genres so really the point of VVWI was to encapsulate the sound of the after-hours, in the spirit of working with something new or at least unique, rather than following trends. The music from VVWI came out of 'VVWI the after-hours' and while at the time some 5 years ago we were one of very few after-hours clubs in the UK.
And there have been far too many copyists since. The spirit of the thing remains very much in dirty basements with the wierdos [laughs]! Many after-hours have sprung up and we are there to provide the music; although as a club we have become a big Saturday night in huge venues, we've never lost that sound and feeling. I hope!
What has been the main focus for you this year? Parties or Label...? Or none of the above or both!?
I think these days you really can't afford to make a distinction. If you are not firing on all cylinders then you will get left behind. We have parties, records, radio, tours and so on. And most importantly a very strong on-line presence and community. Our VVWI forum is a lot of fun.
Most importantly I have gone "back to the shop floor" and have a band playing all my work live. It's a fairly unique thing as the band is a totally MIDI or digital construct, meaning all the instruments are through computers and sound very highly produced and electronic, but have all the feel and fun of a group. Four good musicians. Actually make that three! I am not that good [laughs]! I'm the weak link!
You get the vibe of musicians bouncing off each other creatively but it still sounds as polished as a record - almost! It's still being tweaked.
We had a killer début at one of the biggest clubs in Europe; matter in London - a new project from the people behind Fabric. So certainly over the last 2 months the band was the main focus. It's quite an undertaking having 4 people rather than just a DJ, never mind the epic tech involved in reproducing studio quality audio in a live scenario. It's good to be challenged though. We are called The VVWI Limited Love Orchestra.
As a promoter you obviously have a penchant for the strange and unique in terms of party concepts, so how does it feel to be booked to play in or to promote a night in a standard club (pardon the expression) on a normal night? And would you rather be playing at one of your more individual parties? I never see it as a 'normal night' and I only work with certain clubs for VVWI. As a DJ I work wherever it takes me, that's my job. However DJing is separate from VVWI which is my 'thing' and something I need to have a standard for. If we do work in a club environment I tend to work with the best I can: Matter, Space [Ibiza] and even Ministry Of Sound [London] was part of VVWI early on, which was an opportunity to subvert the assumptions people have. At the time it [MOS] had no credibility in the UK and was very much on it's arse! [laughs] Sorry to be blunt  but it was. Bottom line is it has one of the best sound systems in the world and when you fill it with new people and even newer music the history of the place gets forgotten and all that is left is the fact that as a venue, as four walls and a world beating sound and light system - well it's awesome! So we basked very much in that achievement. Even DJ Mag came down and announced that "MOS was back" and stopped calling it "Misery Of Sound"! We very much enjoy being part of that snobbery-busting thing. Of course I only do it for a while and move on. One thing we do in massive clubs is make them bring the prices down and turn nearly all the lights off. Just those two things totally transport a place. As to whether I'd prefer playing somewhere else? I don't know. I have a sort of missionary zeal about underground music and I am not one of these London-type snobs who only do gigs on a gibbous moon in a disused torture chamber on a Tuesday morning sort of thing! [laughs] Although I have done such things! I'm a combination of Irish and Northern English so I really hate elitism. I am as happy playing at Space Ibiza to 3000 people as I am in a nasty hole on a Sunday morning to a small bunch of quadra-spazzed mongs. I think elitism and snobbery got a strangle hold on house music a long time ago and have been throttling the life out of it ever since. I think everyone deserves to hear the cutting edge of music. The assumption that "some people" are below appreciating it smacks of Nazism and I hate it. So in short, as long as people are dancing I don't give a shit where it is! Sorry but I am such a steaming communist! [laughs] Do you try to give people a slice of what to expect from your more 'specialist' parties when you play in a more traditional club setting?
Absolutely. I don't change the music one bit for a big club. If anything those killer sound systems deserve your best work. I'm a total audiophile! It's all about the sound and the music. I get the place plunged into darkness and let the music do the talking. I really have only one criteria for a venue and it certainly isn't whether it is 'cool' or not. Has it got a world class sound system? If the answer is yes then I'm in. I mean sometimes I've done parties outdoors in Ibiza and everyone else has been loving it, while I'm pulling my hair out because the wind is fucking the sound up. I am an anorak! So I guess sometimes it is such a relief to go into a place where you don't have to physically build the thing, staff it and spunk all your money up the wall! [laughs] Each environment has it's pros and cons.
What was the highlight of 2009 for you, your labels and your nights? Oh maybe waking up on January 2nd 2009 and still being alive? [Laughs]. No it has to be the band. Not many people get their first gig in front of 2000 people with Trentmoller playing after! I was a shitty mess of nerves for about a month before. Standing shoulder to shoulder with very serious session players is very scary - never mind the crowd! I appear in front of crowds all the time but it's been about 10 years since I played an instrument for more than a few bars – even in the studio, never mind sweating it out for hours under the lights. But it came off! Relief and joy. Hurrah!
 In terms of promoters in the UK, who do you admire? Is there a particular crew that are doing something that you think is paving a new way for partying or building a new element or new scene? Or has it all been done before? I have no clue. I'm sorry. Ask me anything outside of my own little sphere and I am lost. I effectively became a sort of hermit some years ago. Some of it was reactionary. I got a bit tired of crowds and drug addled nitwits in the industry! Sorry, I am one of them, so I can't talk! I guess I needed to live in a vacuum to be able to make original stuff. Not be influenced or pressured. For example when I lived in Soho in London for years you could spit and hit a record shop or DJ. You can't help but get involved in trends no matter how hard you try to resist because London is 'trend-y', so if you rebel against that you don't get very far. Sort of the tacit understanding is that if you place yourself aloof from the cool stuff you are saying to everyone that they are wrong and you are right. Which is part of why we are called Very Very Wrong Indeed I guess! [laughs] I was always bashing my head against the invisible ceiling of high fashion so as soon as I got out of there into the middle of nowhere in Ibiza I started to flourish. But in answer to your question; yes it has all been done before... but then again you could say there is nothing new about the novel - that's a terrible pun. What I mean is the form of the non fiction book remains unchanged but it is open to literally unlimited scope. I think our scene has established it's form but is only just starting to soar. I am sure there are people out there building the future of the scene and I salute them. I'm just not cool enough to know who they are! You pioneered Kiss FM in the North. How does it feel to turn on commercial radio and hear the type of 'dance' music that young kids are listening to? Think Dizzee Rascal doing Dirty Cash (Money Talks).  Like I said the outside world is a bit of a mystery to me and I like it like that! I think people spend way too much time griping about things. Life moves fast and people get swamped with info and they have to put the breaks on at some point and say 'right! I've had enough. I like this and this up to this point.' It's a medical condition called being a miserable old git! [laughs] Since I was a kid I was a total freak. The local wierdo. I've spent so long on the outside looking in, that whatever the kids get into I was into it years ago and dropped it for something new, sometimes only in my head! I think you hit the nail on the head with the commercial bit of radio. It is about advertising and big business and while again I will cite the 'subversion clause' here. I was genuinely interested in what we could get away with in that world and I got away with murder believe me! Oh dear yes! What I mean is we actually managed to have great radio AND keep the fat cats happy for a bit - but it's a constant battle. Commercial ventures are there to make money for a select group of total cunts and it's only ever temporary that you can make something proper in those circumstances. I guess only for as long as you can fool the bastards! [laughs] I suppose in short I stopped having feelings about commercialism and it's impact and collusion with youth 'culture' many years ago. It was interesting but I much prefer to operate in my own little world. I honestly haven't heard a commercial station in over a decade. I listen to BBC Radio if at all; classical music and culture shows on Radio 3 and 4 but to be honest there isn't a commercial market out there for wierdos like me. I'd love to do radio weird but no fucker would fund it! I already did it on Kiss. [laughs] Anyway praise the Lord for Satan's Piano! I love the internet. The thin cats fucking the fat cats back hard! Try to commercialise my lifestyle with magazines and radio now you bastards! haha! I love that the internet has killed that. Musically who would you advise all the DJ's, clubbers and promoters to watch out for next year in terms of music production and performance? Sorry! again you are asking the wrong hermit! The sole purpose of VVWI as a record company is to find, nurture and push new and often downright weird music. So I really have my hands full with that. I'm just not the sort of person who obsesses over magazines or even clubs, I don't 'go out' at all. I kind of did all that long ago, Jesus about 3 lifetimes worth! And finally, what have you got planned for 2010? Lord nothing planned at all! I've been doing exactly the same thing for 26 years. I've not changed the basic program one bit! I try to make and find very new electronic music. Try to make people dance and forget their woes for a bit. It's not exactly worthy and not exactly worthless either. I just try to stay involved with what I love. No one can ask for more I suppose. Dan Whyles 
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