Coordinates Feat. John Selway
John Selway's 3 Decades of Influence & 5 Defining Tracks!
John Selway is a veteran music producer and DJ with a career spanning over three decades, known for his versatility and innovation in electronic dance music, producing styles ranging from techno and house to electro and ambient. His releases on prestigious labels like Drumcode, Intec, Tronic, and Ovum have earned widespread acclaim, while his collaborations with Christian Smith resulted in influential techno anthems like "Move!" and "Total Departure." In the mid-90s, he co-founded Serotonin Records with Jason Szostek (BPMF), championing underground electro, while also launching CSM Records to focus on deeper, minimalistic techno and house. Beyond his artistry, Selway is a dedicated music educator and a key figure at 343 Labs, a leading music production school in New York City, where he mentors aspiring producers and helps shape the curriculum.
In this installment of Coordinates, John Selway gives us a history lesson in music and tells us the 5 top tracks that guided his sound.
Note from John Selway:
"I picked from late 80’s to early 90’s tracks that I enjoyed back then that influenced me as a producer, or had some personal connection to in a way, so a bit of a history lesson. Just scratching the surface, there could be so much more."
Fallout "The Morning After (Sunrise Mix)"
I originally heard The Morning After on a DJ mix compilation LP from the UK which was full of great Chicago house and early Detroit techno, and this one stood out to me as having a different attitude, along with how well it combined a serious and kind of dark, jacking bass with very polished and deep chords and melody. I only realized later that it was actually a New York record, produced by Lenny Dee & Tommy Musto. My career as a techno producer really kicked off fully in 1992 when Lenny Dee released the second Disintegrator EP I did with Oliver Chesler (The Horrorist) on Industrial Strength Records. This track connects different worlds that I am connected to as a producer, literally and conceptually.
Renegade Soundwave "The Phantom"
The Phantom is another bridge between different music worlds I’ve been interested in, coming more from the indy/alternative side but also incorporating electronic dance music elements. Before I got into producing techno and house, with electronic music I was very interested in experimental or industrial music and related alternative and post punk, 80’s new wave etc. Anyway this track had a dark, hypnotic vibe and interesting rhythmic use of samples that was inspiring at the time. Also I can mention Meat Beat Manifesto as a great example of this kind of blend of genres, incorporating hip hop breaks, industrial noise, electro, creative sampling & sound design that was a big influence that I learned a lot from.
Sweet Exorcist "Test Four"
One of my favorite early releases on Warp Records. At the time when this came out, I'd heard little else like it, a kind of techno and/or house that was different than the Detroit & Chicago styles. Amazing production on this by remixer Robert Gordon with energy as clean and sharp as the best of Kraftwerk but with more bass and attitude. One half of Sweet Exorcist was the late Richard Kirk of Caberet Voltaire - also a huge influence of mine from their early experimental post-punk sounds to later 80’s new wave and electro.
Quazar "Moon Turns The Tide"
I came across this record randomly in 1990, just beginning to have a better understanding of what was going on with techno in continental Europe, mostly being aware of the Detroit, Chicago and UK sounds I had discovered by that point, and the New York scene that was growing rapidly. This track stood out as different from the more EBM / Industrial dance or variations of acid house etc from Europe I was familiar with. The record also included a minimalistic percussive house track, Day Glo, which ended up being what I could most easily play in club DJ sets, being more immediately grooving and catchy than the dark expansive track I bought it for.
Underground Resistance "The Seawolf"
In the early 90’s Jeff Mills had a residency at the Limelight in NYC, where I used to hang out regularly. Oliver Chesler & I performed there live as Disintegrator, I got to know people at the club and occasionally got to hang out in the DJ booth. One night Mills played a white label pre-release of Seawolf and completely set the club on fire. In between mixes I dared to ask him what the record was and he handed it to me and said “here you go” and turned back to his wizardry on the decks. Of course it’s a prized record in my collection and a great memory. And even if I didn’t get it straight from the man himself, I’d still say it's one of the best techno records of all time.
Check out where these coordinates of inspiration lead to on his latest track 'Jumbo', his collab with Christian Smith on Tronic Records.