Behind The Scene: Scotty Johnson

Here at the Island, the music is important.  But of course, you couldn’t have music without people.  So in addition to our usual coverage, we present this first installment of what we hope grows into a recurring element here–interviews with people in the scene.  If you are involved with the mashup scene and interested in taking part in an interview, please contact me.  Don’t make me hunt you down.

*shakes fist* 

We kick off the debut of Behind the Scene with one of the main podcast providers in the world when it comes to mashes–a friend of mine who runs Ramdom Thoughts, Scotty Johnson.  

Thanks, Scotty, for the premiere interview here at the Island of Misfit Songs.

Why don’t you give a little mini biography of yourself for those who aren’t up on the glory of the Ramdom Thoughts podcast?

I’m based in Essex within the UK. I’m in full-time employment as a Civil Servant and work in Central London.  I’m a massive podcast fan. At present, I am subscribed to over 70 podcasts in iTunes. It ranges from tech, Apple, mashups, remixes and entertainment shows (audio & video).

Do you have a musical background yourself?

I don’t have any sort of musical background really. I can play the keyboards though.

Why is your favorite artist Depeche Mode and not a good band like, you know, the Dave Clark Five or Rick Astley?

I’ve been into Depeche Mode since 1990, and I just love the way they evolve with each album they release, plus they are still on an independent label (Mute) and have been going for over 25 years. They also originate from Basildon, Essex, UK which is literally only about 10 miles from where I currently live. And of course – most importantly – I love their music. 

When and where did you hear your first mashup? Were mashups something you grew into or were you hooked instantly?

I heard my first mashup on a commerically released album that was released here in the UK in 2004 (I forget now what it was called), and was pretty much hooked. I then started searching the internet for mashups, and then when podcasting came along – I was totally hooked.

How is/was the scene in the UK different from the scene here in the US?

I have no idea what the scene is like in the US, so I can’t compare it to the UK. I get the impression that the mashup scene is stronger in the US, but it is picking up in the UK, and we do have the odd clubs where they have a mashup event. 

Do you have a problem explaining mashes to people who’ve never heard them before? What sort of reaction do you usually get from there?

I don’t have a problem explaining what a mashup is to people, but they sometimes have trouble understanding. Normally, once you play a mashup for someone, and then explain the tracks used – they are pretty blown away that someone would do that with say 2,3, 4 tracks to make one mashup track. 

In your eyes, what makes a good mashup?

A good mashup is to experiment with the least expected – don’t follow what every other mashup producer is doing at any given time.

And now, to get all Hornsby on you–top 5, desert island, all-time mashes.

To ask for my top five mashups is really hard mate. I have well over 1,000 tracks in my collection at present. I simply can’t choose 5 from all that lot. However, I can give you my top 5 mashup producers at present, if that helps:

1. Bobby Martini
2. Divide & Kreate
3. DJ Earworm
4. DJ Peaking
5. Go Home Productions

Did you decide to do your mashup podcast because you were a fan of podcasts in general, or because you felt there wasn’t a good mashcast out there?  What mashup website sort of “opened up the Matrix” for you?

One of the very first podcasts I started listening to was a UK based mashup show at: http://www.tbr.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mashup/ – I really liked the content (was new to mashups at that point) but got frustrated as the podcast wasn’t updated very regularly. A show would be released literally once a month, and then sometimes it would be even longer. I then did a search in general for mashup & remix podcasts – there weren’t that many. I subscribed to a few, and again most of them died over time. Then that got me thinking – do my own show where I play the music I love, and it’s updated every single week. Making each track available to download was primarily what I personally wanted in a mashup podcast. There is nothing more frustrating finding a track you like in a podcast, but then not knowing where to look on the Internet to find it. I was also listening to the Daily Source Code (and still am) – not a mashup show, but Adam Curry really gave me the ambition to give podcasting a try.

In the early months, did you feel like you were talking to yourself more or less?

Oh yes. For the first 6 months, I had 30 subscribers to the RSS feed and under 100 downloads a month. However, that did not deter me from continuing with the show. To be honest, I’d continue with it if only 1 person was listening. If you have a big ego – don’t do podcasting is my advice.

What is your favorite thing about doing Ramdom Thoughts?

My favourite thing is playing tracks I fundamentally love, and then hearing back from listeners via comments on the website, e-mail etc. I always get blown away when I check the show’s Frappr map: http://www.frappr.com/ramdomthoughtspodcast and see who is a fan from all over the world.

How do you form a weekly set?

When I form a set, I work a week in advance. When I release a show on a Friday/Saturday evening (UK time), I’m always recording next week’s show the next day. It takes a while to decide what tracks to play from the playlist (currently 670 to choose from), and also depends on what e-mails / comments were received for the previous show. I try not to play more than one mashup from any given mashup producer on each show.

Finally, are you comfortable with your current level of popularity or do you want to sell out big-time?

Yes, I’m very comfortable – the show’s site gets over 1,000 hits a month, and I’ve currently had a total of 36,000 downloads in total – what more could I ask for. I like to think that it’s the mashup producers out there that make the show what it is. All I do is put it together on a regular basis – as simple as that.