REAX: Congratulations on the completion of your recent endeavors! Your new album, The Colossus, will be your first record on your very own label. This marks a pivotal point in your success as a musician, you must be excited.
RJD2: Yeah! I sure am, the process has been great.


REAX: What was it like to re-acquire the rights to your master recordings from Definitive Jux? Was it a hassle to obtain and re-release your catalog under your label?
RJD2: It wasn’t too hard getting the records back…There were basically just some extenuating circumstances, you know, I didn’t have to pay anything to get them back. Without getting too much into legal stuff, once I got them back it wasn’t very hard. The process of re-issuing them and getting going, through the protocol, getting the whole thing together with re-distribution and stuff was kinda a drag, but um, you know, it was good practice… Ah, ‘drag’ is not the right word to use, it was labor intensive. The rig amoral of actually getting the records back was not the hardest part of it.

REAX: I’ve been a fan of your music since 2000. My friend, Brazil, turned me on to you. He owns and operates a record label as well. As a DJ, he has pretty much followed your entire musical career. He’s hyped on your finally making The Horror EP available on vinyl.
RJD2: Oh cool, thanks!

REAX: I love that you include full MP3 cards with your vinyls. I was curious about the previously unreleased tracks on your re-issued albums… Were they made at the time of the re-issue, or are they bonus tracks that originally didn’t make the cut?
RJD2: Um, they were basically songs that were recorded, relatively or as close as I could, well they were time sensitive. So, they weren’t recorded now. They’re basically songs that were recorded, for the most part, kinda as close to that era as possible. So, they weren’t necessarily like songs that I just cut from the record per say, but you know, they were things that were coming around the corner along 2002/2003.

REAX: So they were songs that kind of got put on the back burner. When you started the re-issue you decided you would just sort of finalize them or polish them up, and get them out there?
RJD2: Exactly. Like a couple of them were just done, and were exactly as they appear because that’s what they were six years ago; and then one or two of them got revisited, and I did kind of like some minor additional recording and stuff.

REAX: It is said that The Colossus will be your debut behind the drum kit, is this true?
RJD2: Yes. I’m always looking for ways to expand the palate of drum sounds that get used on records, and it just seemed like another way to do that. It’s one of things that I’ve always loved about using a sampler for making records. It’s the luxury of having a different drum sound on every single song on a record… something that’s really not realistic if you were a band or something like that. There came a point when I realized it wasn’t going to be realistic to keep relying on finding samples to make records. So, I kinda sent myself on this path of trying to collect instruments and also learning how to play them. I also like that there’s just things you can achieve that you can’t get with a sampler.

REAX: You wrote in your bio that 2004 began your love affair with vintage synthesizers and restoring them. How did you get into that?
RJD2: I’ve always felt I just like the sound of old amps better than the new stuff. Restoring them myself just came out of sheer necessity. Basically old shit breaks all the time. It can take a lot of time to get something back that’s been sent out to be restored. So that’s what sort of pushed me into it. I was like – I want this shit to work this week, not next month.

REAX: Also In 2004, Vice magazine included “Exotic Talk: on their volume 11 compilation album. The CD was not for sale and could not be picked up with the magazine, but was only distributed to subscribers of Vice. That was my initial introduction to the song and it got me really eager for your then forthcoming album, Since We Last Spoke. What role did you play in their selecting your new song at the time?
RJD2: I don’t even remember that happening, but I’ll take your word for it. I don’t know, I guess Vice was just sort of receptive to my first couple records. I mean, I know one of the guys who owns the magazine now, but I don’t think I knew them back then.

REAX: You were born in Oregon, grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and now reside in Pennsylvania. What brought you to Philadelphia, and what elements keep you there?
RJD2: What brought me there were the emergences of a number of assets. I was having to go to New York for work a lot; and also at the time, me and my lady were ready to get out of Columbus. I knew that buying a house in New York would not be realistic, and I had friends and family there, and I liked the fact that it was kind of equal distances to Baltimore, D.C. and New York and even Boston… you can basically get to all those places by train. So it just seemed like the perfect kind of way to get the best of multiple worlds.

REAX: Your music videos are a lot of fun. How much of your own creative direction is put into them?
RJD2: Oh no, they are rarely my ideas at all. By and large, I don’t like to dabble in things that I’m not well versed in. I mean if you’re gonna bring somebody on to like cook a good burger, why would you stand over their shoulder and say- “hey, hold up, throw a little bit more tarragon in there”. That doesn’t make any sense. You know, if you’re the video director or you’re the writer, just do what you do. You do it well, so I wanna stay as much out of your hair as possible and let you do what you do. Because I know, as a music producer, that’s the way that I work best. I mean really, it’s practical from a self serving perspective; you get a better product out of people if you let them do what they do naturally. The only thing I’ll find myself doing is vetoing things… like if there’s something I find odd. Like if someone wants me to like, I don’t know, ham it up on the turntables in a video or something. You know, it’s those kinds of things. If there’s something that doesn’t fit to the aesthetics of what I do, then I’ll probably request that we take it out; but I don’t ever go in saying – “hey, I want to do this” or “I want to do that”.

REAX: So then, you just give them full rein? You say- Hey listen to this song, and make me a video?
RJD2: Yeah. That’s exactly how I work basically. Furthermore, with this album, I went even farther by sending most of the directors that I work with multiple songs. I said “Here’s a series of songs. Whichever one strikes your fancy, and you’re going to do the best job on, let me know.” Because really, you’re just making their job easier, and then they’re going to produce a better product.

REAX: The “Work It Out” video from Third Hand features Bill Shannon, a man born with a degenerative hip condition, who gets around on a skateboard and crutches. It’s such a perfect video for the song; did you know him before the filming?
RJD2: I knew of him, and we have a mutual friend, this guy, Joey Garfield, who wrote and directed the video. So, Joey’s the one who basically made it happen. I didn’t know Bill before the photo shoot.

REAX: So, 1976 is your birth year… I guess then, there’s no correlation we can draw with the video being set in Cuba?
RJD2: No, it was just a cool technique that the guy who did the video had come up with, and basically ran with.
''
REAX: Nifty little award you received from the ASCAP for best TV theme song! How did the creators of Mad Men discover you for their show’s intro?''
RJD2: That’s one thing that nobody’s ever asked, and I don’t really know, but (sigh) this is gonna, forgive me, I don’t mean this in an egotistical way, I’m merely passing this information along. People who work in the film and television industry a lot often tell me that my records are common reference points for people that work in licensing to use.

REAX: So it’s not like your PR people pitched the song. The creators of the show found it, and they sought you out?
RJD2: Exactly, that’s precisely how it happened. At the time, which was like in 2006, the show wasn’t even out yet and I had no expectations; but it’s ended up being one of my favorite shows on T.V…now I’m thrilled about it.

REAX: I recently learned that you contributed to a cookbook: I Like Food, Food Tastes Good. What was your recipe, and how did that come about?
RJD2: I honestly don’t even remember, it was years ago. I think it might have been for fish tacos…I just love to cook.

REAX: Looks like you’re a bit of a Renaissance Man…
RJD2: _(laughs)

REAX: That being said, other than music, what else are you thinking about or have in the works, and (said in jest) when can we expect your comprehensive guide to espresso in America?
RJD2: (More laughing) Well, I think that’s pretty much it... Carpentry, food, and music related things, you know building and playing instruments; that’s pretty much it as far as my main interests in life. And uh, (laughs) as far as the comprehensive espresso guide, um I said that in my bio as a joke. I don’t really think there is any point. I just travel a lot and so it’s one of the things I see a lot of. I mean, it could probably be about the size of a blog on MySpace.