Jackmania – It's all about House Music. A documentary directed by DJ Ino 

Dj Ino is one of the explorers of the House genre and has been responsible for spreading it wherever he goes. We don't know exactly how long he has been linked to music, but it is clear that he has been around for a long time, so much so that in 1995 he already created a brand “House Café” known as his trademark. In 2003 he created his own record label where he released his own vinyl record called ““Funky Soul Rebels – House For All EP”.

In 2015 he directed the documentary “Jackmania – it's all about House Music”. He has subsequently carried out multiple projects and worked with countless groups and artists. He currently has a program weekly radio in “Ibiza Sonica” called “Dance Criminal Radio Show” broadcast every Saturday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

The documentary that we are reporting on today has a Spanish stamp, specifically it was born in A Coruña and as its title indicates, it deals with one of the genres that have popularized dance floors around the world and where Dj Ino wants to show a possible lifestyle, convinced that the love that is breathed on the dance floor is the result of respect for others. In it you will see historical images and stories of artists that more than one of us would have liked to live but, we are lucky enough to enjoy and feel all that magic thanks to the work that has been left to us in these ninety minutes of video. 

After this presentation we want to ask Dj Ino some questions with the intention of reinforcing the essence of the cultureSo here goes the first one 🙂

Do you remember any story or detail behind that first production we were talking about earlier that you would like to tell us about?

I guess you're talking about that first album "Funky Soul Rebels – House For All [Ep]. The truth is that during that time everything seemed new and exciting to me. I was used to a different House sound in Spain, harder and focused on the Dance Floor, I used to always play at dawn and that influenced my sound in some way.

But when I traveled to New York for the first time, I connected with a group of DJs who were really crazy about the deepest and sexiest sound, which I loved but didn’t find many spaces in my city to develop it and I could only do it in my own club “House Café” (1997 – 2010). And everything changed on that trip, with the people from this group “Funky Soul Rebels”…

I remember going to the apartment of two of the band members, as they had scheduled a recording session with a saxophonist from Brooklyn to record in a room in the apartment where I was staying. I had never seen until that moment how a drum machine, synthesizers and the “Reason” software that my friends were making music with worked. Imagine… It was an experience that opened my eyes to the path of production. 

Once we left that apartment, I decided that the best way to get that music out into the world would be to create my own record label “House Cafe Music” where I included that song “Seph & Ven – Dreaming” on that first album. I did what I could, I made my first track “Morir Soñando” which at the same time had a lot to do with the Puerto Ricans from New York… Everything was a gift… I pursued that goal until well… in the end I achieved it.

At the beginning of the documentary we can read that you reflect different visions of music, specifically the most Underground Deep House where all the movement is valued.  Where do you think that scene, that respect for music, is right now? 

Let's not be mistaken. I think there is little scene left. There is an industry, and with everything that entails. The scene is formed in a natural way, without programming, with a group of local people interested in the movement, contributing and making it credible to the rest. At the moment, what can I say? The industry works according to your exposure, and this is something that didn't happen before.

If we talk about my first stage as a DJ and promoter of a club, we chose the guest artists based solely on their music. It was not necessary for them to release albums or be producers, we chose DJs who were representative of many clubs in Spain and America, without the need that the market now demands. Now you know that this does not happen.  

If we talk about respect for music, it is a very broad issue to be judged freely. I suppose there are people with different points of view to mine, but I sense that people who love and respect music are easily recognizable, as unfortunately the opposite is also true. I don't know how all this can be measured, I suppose it depends on the personality of each artist. 

Years ago, the people who opened bars, pubs and clubs were usually people who loved music more than hospitality… At least in my city there were always different bars that had their own personality, or had the personality of the owner himself who was usually the visible face of the bar. Nowadays, the owner is neither seen nor expected. I don't know, everything has changed. For better…? For worse..? I don't know, this is up to each one. 

Can you describe what went wrong to favour the success of a more commercial sound, free from the values with which the community grew up?

I don't know exactly what went wrong. But in any case, commercial music has always been something that people consume thanks to media like conventional radio and TV... I think that the underground cannot afford to dare to compete with that industry, since these companies have the money and only bet on saleable products. And I don't think that the job is to compete, but to show a less conventional side of radio-friendly music.

What I see clearly is that here in Spain we don't know how to sell ourselves like they do in other countries. We always focus on what comes from abroad (we have to) but we pay less attention to what's domestic. It's something inherent to Spanish culture, it doesn't only happen in music but in other arts like cinema. 

We rescued one post from your Instagram where you confess that it is when you dive into vinyl that you find your true self. The fact is that a few years ago there was a change in format from vinyl to digital and we suppose that lovers of this culture are missing something, a stroll through record stores looking for new releases, analyzing and delving into each listen with the intention of discovering new artists and labels to share. What do you think of this change in format?

Well, I've always bought records... obviously more before than now, but I still spend my Euros on this from time to time. It's tangible music, that you can touch and manipulate with your hands. Seriously, there's nothing more satisfying than having your own records. I remember when I was starting out in this, the only thing that set you apart from another DJ was your suitcase. If you didn't go to the record store that same week, you missed out on new releases, and it was essential to travel and visit record stores in any city you went to so that your music would be different from that of the guy who was playing before or after you.

The audience visiting the venues could listen to a DJ with a unique speech, and rarely was the music repeated between DJs at the same event. Record shops were the meeting place for all DJs. We all went to record shops and when the Internet came into our lives, one after another they closed, and today only a few remain open… What a shame.

DJ ODYSSEY's story is shocking, but hearing him say that House music has the power it has is a source of pride. 

Yes, he is a true survivor of all the scenes in NYC. I have known him for a long time, and listening to him is like opening the doors to a book about electronic music in the Big Apple. He has millions of anecdotes and knows a lot about everything that was going on in NYC at the time. And in reality they (the ones from NYC) can talk about the scene, because they have taken care of everything they did from the first minute and they always believed in it. In that, the Americans know much more than the Spanish. 

Can you give us some ideas on how to keep that spirit of brotherhood alive? 

Well, this thing about brotherhood… When I started touring back in 1995 and during the first years of my career, there was more communication between the artists… and I remember that we helped each other to make dates here and there and keep alive that scene that we were unconsciously creating.

Nowadays, this thing about brotherhood… don’t get me wrong, but there are so many cases of false camaraderie that they could be written in several more chapters… But well, I imagine that the same thing happens in many other artistic disciplines. But this “spirit” that you speak of has a double standard, because in many cases these brotherhoods become insurmountable and inaccessible groups… So “Less Ghettos” and more “Generosity”. That is what I think we need to reflect on and work on a little more…

Well, that's all for now. We hope to find something as interesting as this documentary from you again and that it motivates us to write something with as much enthusiasm. 

Written by Rinno