INTERVIEW: JOE MORRIS

"Warmth and depth are the two characteristics I will always aim for"

Joe Morris performs music that works in all settings and transcends genres. His openness to a wide range of sounds is what has made him a beloved favorite, but also someone who operates in his own parallel musical world. In addition, he is involved with Clandestino and has his own Shades of Sound project. We had a chance to speak with him, so enjoy reading our interview below to learn more about Morris's work, his broad influences, and his favorite music.

Hey, where can we find you right now? How did you start your day? I'm in Leeds, UK. And I started the day in much the same way as I have since lockdown started here back in March. Roll out of bed, throw on some comfy clothes and shuffle next door to my office / studio space where I spend the next 8 hours.  Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music? I'm from the North West of England, where I spent my formative years in the early Nineties growing up against a backdrop of exploding club culture. The clubs were booming, there were loads of great bands around with the clothes and fashion etc so I absorbed all of that and developed a love of electronic music. For a while back then Manchester was the epicentre of the dance music world, it's scene rippled out to the nearby small town I grew up in and I lapped it all up. New Order, The Hacienda, The Stone Roses, all of that stuff. Then a little later every Saturday night was spent travelling to various clubs across the North of England, it's just what everybody did back then.  In 1998 I made the short move across to Leeds to study Music Technology and immersed myself in the club scene here, which at the time was the best in the UK and still retains one of the best. Global pandemics notwithstanding, of course. Once I arrived in Leeds I started putting on my own club nights and learning to make music.  How would you define the sound of Joe Morris?

Hard to quantify really. The one thing I always try and convey when making music no matter what style is that it has to invoke some kind of strong emotion and feeling, otherwise what's the point? I've noticed over time that my music is often quite melancholic and mournful yet there is always a hopeful and positive tone to it. It's a nice balance. I absolutely don't deliberately sit down to make music in that way; it's just what comes out of me - like some kind of internal musical personality signature.

What is the concept and history behind Clandestino?

Clandestino is really just an excuse for three old, like minded friends to put on a party and DJ to anyone who wants to listen. Everything else we do around that just feeds into that pursuit in the hope that people will be interested enough in what we do to ask us to come and play for them. I'm not really sure there's ever been a concept, in the early days we were a kind of ad-hoc, pop up party series that occasionally invited big, established DJs. In between that we'd DJ where we can and have been blessed enough to be invited to play across Europe and many festivals. A podcast, radio show and record label somehow shambled into existence at some point and over-time we seem to have gathered a fairly sizable online audience. 

What can you tell us about the latest Clandestino releases? What do you admire about the sound you are looking for with Clandestino? We recently reached our 10th release on the label and decided to take a pause there for a moment. However it was one of our strongest ever releases with a great EP from Ali OOFT. We always look for a range of vibes when signing music and with Ali's EP he nailed it, with a mix of club tracks and some downtempo cuts. The Clandestino sound is somewhat contested since you have three different tastes in play at all times however broadly speaking it's quite a retrospective style given how long we've all been around, but it's important to always have a contemporary edge to it.  How was the Shades of Sound mix series born? What do you try to capture in each release? Shades Of Sound was born out of a lack of avenues to present the kind of music that I really want to play. I have a broad musical palette and the opportunity to present such a wide scope wasn't always there so I decided to create one for myself. As I mentioned above I always try and capture something emotive musically and so it's the same with the mix series, leaning particularly heavily into the deeper, spacey elements of the music I love. I try not to make each edition too samey, but do endeavour that there is a definite identity to them. I've had people come forward and tell me they look forward to each one, which is all you can really ask for. Recently I was given the opportunity to take the series to Balamii Radio for a proper radio show which has been great to do. And as a producer, what do you want to convey? What inspires you? What sounds are you looking for?

Once again this comes back to the search for presenting something emotive in the music. Since I absorb so much other music, often the inspiration comes from other artists I'm listening to at the time. That usually sparks an idea and I quickly try and record the idea and then the song will kind of develop organically from there. However I am trying more and more to be inspired naturally rather than be triggered by other people's work, so maybe taking a walk and spending time outside in order to gain inspiration and ideas. In terms of sounds I seem to be drawn to a softer, rounded palette. Warmth and depth are the two characteristics I will always aim for. What projects are you working on at the moment?

I'm trying to use this enforced period of lockdown to record as much material as I can, so currently I'm writing three EPs. One of which will be my next Shades of Sound release, and two EPs for other labels I haven't worked with before. I usually work piecemeal, finishing one track at a time so it's been nice to have two or three projects on the go at the same time to keep things interesting for myself. Stay tuned! Do you have any final words of wisdom?

Don't let the grubby little opportunists get you down (© Andrew Weatherall).

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