046: STEVIE KOTEY
“Well picture the scene, it’s 1981 and you’re driving in Italy from Milan to Naples in a red Fiat Panda, you have one cassette for the journey, you need to keep it upbeat, sleazy, funky, and disco.”
Stevie Kotey is a renowned digger, producer and DJ from the UK. Stevie has an impressive resume spanning many decades in dance music including countless collaborations with esteemed musicians and solo releases on well respected labels. He’s a current label head for Ambassador’s Reception with fellow digger and compatriot Loud-E. He’s heading up a new label venture called Peek of Normal and he remains active on the festival circuit while touring clubs globally.
An innovative, original, and industrious DJ , Stevie Kotey continues to push boundaries and explore new sounds with every set. In Stevie’s universe of dance music, he is the captain of a spaceship that takes listeners on a voyage into the unknown, hurtling through time and space around the constellations of obscure disco, sleazy Euro edits, West African funk and all varieties of sleaze. There is a cheekiness about Stevie’s approach to selecting records that keeps the dancers entertained and captivated with a sense of wonder and possibility. Above all, Stevie is a true music head, constantly seeking out esoteric records to fulfill every dance music fantasy.
Stevie's love affair with music began at a young age growing up in the UK in a Ghanian-British household. He gravitated to musical circles, and by his late teens, he gained valuable work experience at Trident, one of London's most renowned studios in the Soho neighborhood, where the likes of Elton John and David Bowie recorded some of their most iconic records. Although initially tasked with making tea, Stevie’s infectious personality and eagerness to learn soon opened doors for him. He cut his teeth on the engineering floor, learning the foundations of musical production, while the bustling atmosphere of the recording studio allowed him to forge friendships with music producers such as Paul Whaler and Danny Poku, who became instrumental mentors in his musical journey.
Collaboration has been a defining aspect of Stevie's career. Stevie delved into playing records and experimenting with samplers alongside his long-time friends Tom Lee and Paul “Mudd” Murphy, now head label honcho at Leng Records and Claremont 56, two of our favorites. Together, the trio formed Akwaaba and eventually signed to The Idjut Boys' once esteemed, now defunct label, Discfunction. Their track "Just Pilau" became a sensational hit at New York's legendary Body & Soul party run by Francois K, Danny Krivit and Joel Clausell. The track was even included in Francois Kevorkian's legendary Essential mix), which helped catapult the Akwaaba boys into the dance music stratosphere.
In the 2000’s, Stevie’s partnership with Dean Meredith and Andy Meecham (aka Emperor Machine) formed as Chicken Lips, an outfit that produced a distinct “disco dub” sound, which quickly captured the attention of dance music enthusiasts and led to great impersonation among a generation of producers. Chicken Lips dubby, bass heavy records are instantly recognizable and still carry weight on dance floors around the world. Chicken Lips toured globally, created classic mix CD’s, and created stunning productions that amassed a legion of dedicated fans. Stevie has remained close friends with Dean and Andy and he will be playing Dean’s Rotation Soundsystem Garden Party this Friday.
By 2000, Stevie founded Big Bear, a platform that allowed him to release his disco edits and showcase the works of other greats such as The Idjut Boys and Felix Dickinson. Re-edits paved the way for Bear Entertainment and Bearfunk Records. Bearfunk released works from luminaries like Lindstrom, Todd Terje, Bottin, Max Essa, and many more. More recently, Stevie's imprint, Ambassadors Reception, has been responsible for releasing edits and original productions from artists such as Albion and Loud-E, the latter having become a good friend and partner in crime in his newest label venture. Stevie’s new direction is called “Peek of Normal” with releases under different monikers such as E-Windows, providing a glimpse into his electronic soul. More on that in the interview below.
Whether he is creating memorable productions in the studio or captivating audiences with his dynamic DJ sets, Stevie Kotey continues to put his unique spin on the universe of underground dance music. With each performance, he reminds us why music is a universal language that unites people, transcending borders and cultures. As long as Stevie Kotey continues to weave his magic, quality and good times will always be assured. So tune into not one, but two mixes from Stevie, each with its own distinct feel. They’ll bring you on a journey, no doubt. P.S. if you’re in the UK grab tickets to Dean Meredith and Mind Fair’s Rotation Garden Party on July 21st and 22nd and experience Stevie doing his thing in the flesh.
STEVIE KOTEY INTERVIEW WITH BAD LT.
Stevie: Thank you very much for agreeing to be part of our series! We appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions and put together a mix for us. How are you? Where are you living? How’s life?
Hey thanks for inviting me, life is good, quiet for a change, which is good! I live in North London, just on the outskirts (Zone 5 on the underground). I love it here as it’s the best of both worlds.
Last time we exchanged you said you were coming off a film set. Are film scores your full-time profession? What exactly do you do?
Unfortunately, not scores! I work as Transportation /Logistics Manager in Film / TV Production. Most things that move on and off set I manage. We work on big features for companies like Marvel and Lucasfilm.
You’ve been involved in the music industry for a long time. Tell us about how you grew up. What gave you the music bug? What were your formative musical experiences as a child and young person? Had you always known you wanted to be involved in this world?
I grew up listening to lots of African highlife via my mother’s small collection, we also made regular visits to the local Woolworths shop (RIP) that also sold records. I remember picking up Kid Creole “Stool Pigeon” and Madness “Cardiac Arrest” I also loved Dr Hook “when you’re in love with a beautiful woman” As a kid these were my jams!!
As a teenager, work experience seemed a lot easier to find than it is nowadays. I got very lucky as I had a wonderful careers teacher at School who somehow was able to get me work experience at Audio One / Tape One in Soho, which used to be Trident Studios, super famous for recording Queen and David Bowie etc. Mrs Price literally called them up on the back of me telling her I’d like to explore sound engineering and music. I think that would be much harder to pull off these days. I was offered a summer job after the work experience and then full-time Tape Op job, but I turned that down and went to college to get some qualifications.
After that it’s a bit of haze but being out all the time listening to music / DJ’s bands kind of formed my outlook. I didn’t really want to be in the music business, I just wanted to be a DJ. So I tried to make music to get gigs, but the music we were into making wasn’t that easy to get deals on, so we eventually started releasing it ourselves.
You are a major digger and have a great collection on discogs. Any records from your early days that are worth referencing?
Wow, I mean I literally have continuous loop of references bobbing about in my head 24/7 that’s how it is!! I started with Hip-Hop &; Funk ; Rare Grooves & Soul; House. Disco & Punk & Dub & Techno etc that’s how we moved, totally open and welcoming of new and old.
How did you get into DJ’ing and producing? What were your first dance music experiences and how did they shape you?
I used to go to my good friends house when I was younger, they were brothers Tom & Matt Lee and we used to just listen to music in their bedroom. Matt started going to the early Sunrise / Biology raves and would buy the music he heard on the nights at the local record store. I remember hearing Carly Simon ‘Why” and Shalor for the first time and thinking, wow!
I need to get out there. I also remember Tom getting a box of 7’s from a neighbour, who collected funk and soul and he also gave a box to Tom, there was a copy of Sarr Band ‘Magic Mandrake’ in there. This record had a lasting effect on me and it’s so funny that it still nukes dancefloors today. Tom also had a Numark mixer, which had about 5 secs of sample time, so we started mucking around with loops and then made a demo. It was very funny because from my time working at the studio, I met Paul Waller, who at the time was programming so many records I was into including lots of the Warriors Dance label. We went to Addis Ababa studios to play them a demo, which to be fair was just some loops. They were very nice, but said it needs some more work! But undeterred we carried on and began to play around the local area and beyond and hooked up with Paul Murphy (Claremont 56) and formed a production outfit called Akwaaba meaning “Welcome in Ghanaian.” We started getting a little more serious and got an Akai sampler etc then made the Phlox EP, which the Idjut Boys put out. They were releasing mind-blowing productions, edits /versions etc so we were very lucky they liked our stuff and released a couple of LPs.
Tell us about your years with the legendary Chicken Lips. What led you to CL and how did that outfit come to be? What was the production style all about and how did it relate to the scene of which you were a part?
Good times!! I was approached by Dean and Andy to partner up to become their kind of tour DJ. We also did a few compilations and a few productions together. It was great because it allowed me to play in lots of main rooms and festivals, which maybe I wouldn’t have got to see. I got to tour all over the world and represent the Chicken Lips sound. Andy & Dean are awesome producers, seriously so good, I’d even say unique. You know it’s one of their productions from listening to the first few bars. So, it was easy to play the productions and remixes because I loved them all. It was just an extension of a scene we were already involved with, so everything just melted together.
You are a chief at Ambassador’s Reception, an outlet for obscure edits (some great ones I’ve spun over the years) which seems to be its own thing. You’ve been involved in some other labels, and you still run the label Bearfunk, yes? What is the ethos of that label and is it still active? Who are some of the productions/ releases you’ve been most proud of?
Well, the Ambassadors is still active though very sporadically, we do lots of stuff not just edits. I’ve not really been involved in Bearfunk for about 8/9 years now. The catalogue is run by another company, and we have different views on how and what to release. I’m active with many labels as I love releasing music and over the years, I’ve got better at understanding the process and becoming more comfortable with what I’m interested in releasing and not getting tied down with artists that just want to jump on your label to start or promote their own careers, which happened so much when I was learning. I’m proud of most of the records I’ve released, there are certainly a few that maybe didn’t warrant a full release, but we didn’t have digital in those days! I have new label called Peek of Normal, which has got some great new music I can’t wait to release. We also are reigniting Big Bear for some reissues and compilations.
Do you still dig constantly? I’ve seen that you’ve been active as of late on UK festival scene. What is your approach to DJ’ing these days? How would you describe it to someone who is un-initiated?
Yes, I’m always digging but I’d say I’m not as thirsty as I used to be. I used to go out every other day looking for records, car boots, thrift shops, flea markets anything I could find as I used to be a quite serious seller in eBay and discogs etc. Every weekend I’d be on the hunt!
My sets these days are dependent on where I’m playing, I seriously love new music and constantly collect and dig so it’s great to play places where you can amalgamate both approaches, but lately I’ve been doing quite a few disco sets. But I am playing everything, whatever the fuck I want and what I think is going to work. People that know me and book me know how I do!!
Are there any favorite records in your bag at the moment you’d be willing to share?
Well I love this CHOP: https://www.discogs.com/release/25712464-CHOP-Fantasy- which my good friend Cosimo made with Whodamanny (who’s productions are all amazing btw).
Also picked up this F.B Illwig – Hairy Situations https://www.discogs.com/release/26110171-FB-Illwig-Hairy-Situations
DOPE!
What should we expect from this mix?
Well picture the scene, it’s 1981 and you’re driving in Italy from Milan to Naples in a red Fiat Panda, you have one cassette for the journey, you need to keep it upbeat, sleazy, funky, and disco.
Then for E-Windows Countdown to X-Tasy we delve into deeper territory, exploring electronic music and creating the same vibe I like with different sounds. I’ve played many main rooms over the years so I enjoy switching up now and then.
What are your plans for the future? Any upcoming gigs or releases? Is there anything we can keep an eye or ear out for?
Peek of Normal is going to keep me very busy but gig wise I’m playing the Rotation 10-year anniversary party, which is super cool event run by Dean from Chicken Lips and Ben Mind fair. This is going to be super special as the Idjuts are also playing and celebrating 30 years of doing what they do. I can’t wait for this one as the line-up for the whole weekend is so good. I’ve also just got back from Barcelona, I had one weekend DJ’ing GLOVE, probably one the best parties on the globe right now! And then we went back a week later for I-F and Marcel Vogel at La Paloma, which was also brilliant, then we had Loud-E at La Terrazza which was so so good. Loud-E is the master 100%. Honestly.
Shout outs???
My family – Loud E, Zonzo & the Glove family…
