5 questions for... Milton Jackson

Milton Jackson is like a breath of fresh air on the UK house scene. Having released his first productions at 19, he was in a band called "The Pretty Boys" with Mylo long before the dude was even known. His long-player CRASH was released at the end of February to critical acclaim, and added a few gems to an already impressive discography. He took some time to tell us about his life & works.



You were quite the musical early bird. What got you into production ?

When I was about 13, I started studying classical guitar at school. I did that for a number of years until I was about 18. Then for my 18th birthday my parents got me an MPC2000. From there I started getting really into house music and clubs. Found myself getting an Apple Mac, then continued from there. Haven't stopped since!

Which producers inspire you the most right now ?

Just now I love all the Diynamic guys like Solomun, Stimming, HOSH. Also my label mates at Freerange: Manuel Tur, Shur-i-kan, Jimpster... I also love Kris Wadsworth, Sei A & Hiro's new stuff. Three relatively new producers who are just tearing it up !

You have a new album coming out. Tell us a bit about it.

Crash is the name of the album, on Freerange. I was going to pack music in at the start of the year, as it was doing my head in a little bit, and I didn't really have an end game or focus point. Then Freerange asked me to do an album, which gave me a bit of mojo back and something to work towards. I spent most of 2008 on it. It's mostly deep and tech house, i really enjoyed working on it and it seems to have gone down well, so I'm glad I did it.



Name one label you think could change the face of music in 2009, and explain why.

I think a lot of the deeper dubstep labels, like Hessle. I love their stuff. Certainly that sound is one that has really grown on me recently, I can see it supplanting deep house in a lot of places. I would also say Freerange as well - they always sign forward thinking house music that breaks with the older stuff of the past, which in my view is a good thing!

Any plans to visit North America soon ?

Unfortunately not, I don't get booked out there that often, to be honest, apart from one gig in NYC that I missed due to flight problems, unfortunately. The time before that I was at the WMC in Miami where I lost my passport, the less said about that one the better! I would love to come out there and play one day though.