Cobblestone Jazz

Let's be honest, techno quartets aren't exactly commonplace. So you've got Detroit's Visionquest but they're not exactly a band are they? More an impossibly good looking DJ collective. No, I'm talking techno bands - it's a fact; they're a definitively rare breed. Cobblestone Jazz, with their documented day long jam sessions and full on LIVE show, are a techno band. Made up of some of electronic music's most visionary, if low-key producers, the Jazz are completely their own thing, brilliantly unique and musically, totally banging. Helen S caught up with recent re-addition Colin de la Plante, AKA The Mole, to dig deeper into the ins and outs behind this one-of-a-kind set up.

Pulse: Hello Cobblestone Jazz, where are you right now? Colin AKA The Mole (Cobblestone Jazz): Hi! Half of us are in Pankow and half are hopefully at Horn Lake, British Columbia but more than likely they're in Esquimalt, British Columbia. 

For those that might not know you, tell us a bit about how the band first came about. We were all living in Victoria, Canada which was home to 3 of us, and well, we were all hanging in the same places - the Boomtown record store, the Boneyard parties, that sort of thing. We were all playing in different bands, jam bands mostly, though that term makes me feel a little sick inside. Bands like velvet, and Jonny Lumiere and the Triads. The formation of our band came about naturally

You're all very successful in your own right as musicians and DJ's, tell us a bit how the dynamics work within the band. I like to imagine we're swiming in some sort giant body of water, and we're all holding onto the same floaty thing. Whatever the floating object is. Somehow what the object actually is - a raft, a piece of wood, luggage - never plays into my fantasy. Anyway there we are, all holding onto this thing and we're all kicking, each a little bit in his own direction. And our final direction ends up being some product of all this kicking, a shared product. 

Your jam sessions are legendary- but how do you find the time to all get together? These days we use the weekday down time during touring to jam. We're pretty focused on maximizing what little time we have together, plus of course it's super fun.

Tell us a bit about your technical set up for this new EP. This one was done in wagon studio A. You have to imagine a small space ship that can barely hold four dudes. a ship that is capable of all manner of things. The options are endless.. Seriously the gear list is too huge, I'd feel bad starting because I know I'd forget something awesome. I think that's an article all on it's own.

How does being in CJ affect what you do as individual artists? Well for me it's a huge inspiration working with the guys. They are super talented and great at sharing, and closeness. I try and take that home for the cold nights.

Be honest, are there ever any fall outs within Cobblestone Jazz and what are they about? Oh yeah of course, mostly because of nicknames. Or battles to be champion of one thing or another: We played sock poker the other night... that one killed me.

You've been in the game now for almost a decade, how do you feel your sound has progressed? In my ears it just keeps getting better and better. Tighter. My ears keep changing though. Do they keep growing as well? i'm not sure but I think so. The sounds are getting cleaner, the songs more complex, though sometimes that means simpler. the sound is getting bigger, the recordings are feeling better, together I think we're getting slowly, steadily, closer to translating the noise in our heads into something we can share.

The new EP is set for release very soon, how does it compare to your previous work? Yeah I'm not sure how to answer this one. I wanna say it's like grapefruit juice vs. blood orange or the greenoak adriane vs. kelvingrove doctor, love vs. hit and run... But seriously, I couldn't honestly really say.

Is there a tour planned? The next one is at the begining of November but i'm not sure of the dates yet...

What next for Cobblestone Jazz? Many more singles. We've got a small mountain of music we're sitting on and which we'd like to share. More work on the T-Bar comic series, eventually all leading to a new album. Stay tuned!

Cobblestone Jazz on Pulse

Helen S on Pulse