I
t’s 3pm in Barcelona and much of the city is
exercising its right to take some traditional
daytime downtime. However, Venezuelan duo
Fur Coat are also exercising their right not
to partake of this somewhat old-fashioned
practice. Instead they’re “up to no good” in
the studio, putting some finishing touches
to their particular brand of beautifully deep,
tripped-out, heart-rate pumping electronica.
Despite the fact that they made the choice to
move to the Spanish city over three years ago, siesta
time isn’t exactly Sergio Murnoz and Israel Sunshine’s
thing.
“No siesta, only fiesta!” Sergio laughs. “It’s kind of
annoying for us, the siesta thing. It’s a crazy thing
that happens only here. But yeah, we love the city and
we love the people, we’re not complaining, but it’s
something that you have to get adjusted to.” And there
was us thinking it was also a South American way of life.
It actually turns out that it’s mostly a Spanish thing,
because with Venezuela being so close to the States the
country has adopted the 24/7 lifestyle. “Everyone does
it here,” Israel agrees, “but not us. During siesta time
we have to work.”
A MATTER OF BALANCE
NO SIESTA,
ONLY FIESTA!
Venezuela’s house cats Fur Coat are now resident in Barcelona, and
putting their DJ skills to the fore with a killer new mix for the ‘Balance’
compilation series...
Words: HELENE STOKES
Our conversation immediately gravitates to their
forthcoming ‘Balance’ mix CD, due for release at the
end of this month. “We’re really happy with it, I think
it’s going to expose the core of us,” Sergio begins.
“Probably most days you get known as a producer,
but we’ve been DJing for years. Israel has for maybe
20 years and I have for nearly 15, or something like
that.” There’s little doubt that between them they have
earned their badges of honour and merit in services
to the dancefloor, having played separately and then
together, going back-to-back, before their Fur Coat
entity was born just over four years ago. A bountiful
knowledge of both vinyl and digital has allowed them
to bring the two together in setting up selections for
the legendary compilation series. “It has that little bit
of everything, some old tracks that we like, some new
stuff. We want to do something fresh, we try to bring
upcoming music, nice stuff from many producers and
DJs.” Sergio, the chattier of the two, continues. “We
wanted to make a trip that you can enjoy, put it in the
car, put it in your home and even put it [on] for the
after-party when you go back home from the club. Just
a nice trip for you to have on a mix CD.”
Was it difficult to pare down all their choices for the one
mix that will then be seemingly frozen in time? “With
just one CD it’s not easy, but it’s good. I like it when
it’s in one. And for me one that changed my life was
Sasha’s ‘Fundacion’,” Sergio ponders. “For me that’s
really inspiring because from that time it was a breath
of fresh air, it’s so well-mixed, great evolution, it has a
lot of senses in it, it’s not that progressive, it’s that vibe
like when James Holden had that metallic sound. Really
interesting tracks, trippy and into techno, something
different.” Not wanting to compare themselves with
previous ‘Balance’ hosts, the pair concede that they’re
open as to how the mix is going to work for them,
and keener still to point out that it’s their wealth
of experience that’s brought them to this point,
suggestive of the fact that many producers and DJs are
arriving on the scene without having already paid their
DJ dues. Is that important to them? “Well maybe for the
audience nowadays they don’t care about it, but for us,
well, we have the background. We have some knowledge
of where the music has come from,” Israel continues.
When talk turns to a recent, stop-in-your-tracks eclectic
mix that they put together for Day Zero in Mexico, it’s
clear that an upbringing peppered with the music of
Minnie Riperton, Barry White and the Isley Brothers
has played its part in their wealth of experience and DJ
know-how. “My dad used to be a DJ, just for passion.
I’m living his dream,” Sergio tells us. And what about
Israel’s massive collection of vinyl? Prior to moving to
djmag.com 087
Barcelona he did have to sell some of it, and of
course regrets it. So out of all of the ones that he
kept, which one would he never ever sell? “Peace
Division’s ‘Be U 4t’. It’s a classic. I’m still playing
it, it’s one of my favourite tracks ever.”
Keeping vinyl alive is also something high on
their list of topics for debate, and the ability to
mix the format must surely in turn give them a
headstart on the influx of burgeoning upstarts?
“I think there was an era when you could get
known as a DJ. I think probably Carl Cox is a good
example, or Danny Tenaglia or whatever. They are
already big names by being known as DJs more
than as producers,” Sergio mulls over the idea.
“Nowadays there’s a lot of producers who are
really good at producing, but they are not good
DJs.”
As far as DJ Mag is concerned, putting out a
mix online that fuses together the likes of Bill
Withers’s ‘Lovely Day’ with snatches of salsa
and dictaphone track ‘Moondog Monologue’
is a brave move. It’s the stuff of greatness.
“Thank you. It was an opportunity to do
something out of the box that people didn’t
expect from us. Although it’s not a perfect mix,
cos it’s not the same beats and it’s not four
by four. You can see the wide range of things
that influence us,” says Sergio. His personal
“Nowadays there’s
a lot of producers
who are really good
at producing, but
they are not good
DJs.”
SERGIO, FUR COAT
088 djmag.com
favourite being opener track Kool & the Gang’s
‘Summer Madness’ which takes him back to
repeated listens on road trips as a kid. “I think
it’s something that my dad did in my brain.”
And the support they’ve had from Damian Lazarus
and fellow Crosstown Rebels has allowed them a
chance to really express themselves. “We’re risktakers. We did it from the heart and from what we
are.”
DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY
It’s the tail-end of February and the duo are
orbiting around the studio that they have based
in Sergio’s apartment; working on remixes for
Watergate, Bpitch Control and a Stephan Bodzin
track for Systematic. Coming from a country that
has “eternal sunshine”, one wonders if living in
Europe with its four seasons is having an effect
on their sound? “Yeah probably, we come from
the school of house and techno, obviously you
evolve your sound,” Sergio explains of their
journey through minimal and beyond. “Probably
our sound now is techier and trippier at the same
time, it sounds like a clash but something is
happening right now, you know?”
Miami is on the horizon and there’s much to be
done in preparation for the trip. “We’re very
familiar with Miami, when we go there it’s like
going home. Our second home, if it’s not our first
home,” Israel points out. With it being practically
a hop, skip and jump away from Venezuela (well
12 hours’ flight time, but that’s not much in
the grand scheme of things), they have a “tight
thing” there, with extended family members and
friends ready to join them. “We have gained a lot
of followers and supporters on the Miami scene,
we do three or four times a year there. It’s a really
good vibe for us.”
Fur Coat have success on the global underground
circuit tucked under their belts, with their skills
to play the kind of mind-tingling, exciting and
edgy “space funk” that just makes us want to jump
into a club and go crazy. But how do they sustain
that momentum and would they ever succumb
to any pressure to play it more commercial?
“I think there are ways to handle a dancefloor
without falling into throwing a bomb. Getting
people into your pocket as we say, and doing with
them whatever you want. There’s a way to get
people interested in something, and when you
have them you can go anywhere you want with
them. Obviously we’re DJs and people want to
have a fun night and it’s their time to enjoy, it’s
not about being an asshole and putting on what
you want. When you’re DJing all these years, you
have the tools and ways of doing things the right
way.”