Shem McCauley AKA Slacker has been a DJ and producer for many many years. His career can not be defined by one style of music as he has dabbled in tons of genres ranging from UK Hip-Hop to funky House and everything in between. He even started his own record label, JukeBox in the Sky with long time studio partner Simon Rogers. Together they have released some killer tracks over the past couple of years.  Slacker soon became fed up with the music industry and decided to move to Thailand where he has been for the past two years. He recently released his first new album since the move, entitled  “Start a New Life” which defines the long time electronic music veteran’s new ethos!
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Resonant Vibes had the pleasure of catching up with Slacker to talk about his new album, the move to Thailand, and a whole slew of other issues in the music industry. We hope you enjoy this exclusive interview with Slacker!
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Q: How did living in Thailand for the past two years impact you personally and your musical style?
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A: My life changed completely when I moved to Thailand. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but everything became simpler and clearer, and I became more focussed. I don’t think my musical style changed as much as my ability to see the bigger picture, and so realise the completion of an album project I had spent years dreaming about.
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Q: I know you wrote, “Start a New Life” in a Bangkok shopping mall. Does that mean you actually produced the music there too? What programs did you use and how was your approach different then making music in a studio?
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A: Indeed, everything was done on my laptop/headphones in the foodcourt of a mall in Bangkok, right beside the yoga studio where I practiced and later taught. I have always worked with samples, almost exclusively; even bassline and keyboard sounds coming from samples/found sounds rather than synthesised sounds. So it wasn’t as if I was recording vocals or getting musicians in to jam with me in the mall! Nowadays music technology allows for almost everything to be done on a computer – if the musician is happy working that way. I found the lack of other external options a bonus rather than a drawback. I tend to become overwhelmed by wanting to try everything, so not having a load of synths or outboard gear totally suited me. I used LogicPro, on my Apple Mac 12” Powerbook.
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But the most important thing was having people milling around. I don’t like working alone, and though I wasn’t working with anyone else directly on the tracks, it made a real difference to feel surrounded, as opposed to isolated, while I worked. Luckily I didn’t have to do the final bit alone. I mixed the album down in a small studio here in Bangkok with a talented English producer named Simon “Monstamix” Henderson. It was actually one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.
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Q: The new record has a real Omanis vibe to it. In particular you use some incredibly haunting vocal samples. Where did you find those samples or how did you create them? Is there any specific message your trying to convey by using certain samples?
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A: I am attracted to certain sounds and atmospheres in samples which often take priority over the words themsleves. But when I find something with a rocking sonic quality where the words resonate with my thinking too, then it’s a dynamite combo. I used to spend a lot of time bored in the UK watching film and tv, and got a lot of the samples from obscure documentaries and strange films. No special message, but all the titles touch on a personal journey, as opposed to outside bigger picture stuff. I didn’t intend this when I started, but it just kind of came together that way.
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Q: Are you planning to stay in Bangkok and just produce music every once in awhile or are you back in the music industry to stay?
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A: For now the former, but I am open to the latter. But always in Thailand
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Q: What are the major issues in the music industry that you have experienced? How do you think the industry can legitimately change for the better?
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A: There’s so little earning power in music writing these days. You need to be able to churn out product at an alarming rate to make it pay even vaguely well, and I am not able to produce original material in such volumes on my own. Back in the day working with my old music partner Simon Rogers, who was a godly musician and a whizz at getting stuff done, things were easier. But after we parted ways, I had to change what I was doing. This album is the result.
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Looking to the future, it’s the now seemingly age-old cunnumdrum: how to get people to pay for music again. A whole generation currently expects to get what they want instantly and without fuss or cost: they don’t know anything else. I think things are improving slowly, but it’s a big question which I don’t have many answers to.
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Q: What do you think is the quintessential “Slacker” sound? Do you plan on sticking with your new style or are you just dabbling in a different genre?
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A: Organic, thoughtful sample-based music, a bit tongue in cheek, and a bit funky. I am enjoying this slower more downtempo genre for the time being, but I am sure I still have a few banging house tracks left in me.
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Q: You have operated your own record label “Jukebox in the Sky” for several years now. How has that experience been? How do you strike the balance between being a producer/DJ and a businessman?
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A: It was great fun at first, especially when I had enthusiastic people working with me, most notably Rosie Robinson who looked after every part of the label’s development and day to day running in the mid noughties. When the bottom fell out of the business and we had distributors and compilation companies going bust left right and centre, owing us thousands of pounds, it all became a bit more realistic. Pretty soon I realised I wasn’t that much bothered with being a businessman! Moving to Thailand confirmed this for me. I need to be out and about, listening, or writing (rather than selling) music to be happy.
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Q: What has been the most important moment in your music career thus far?
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A: Making the decision to come out here, and start my new life.
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John “The Grizz” Grisanti