DJ/Producer extraordinaire Ron Trent has been pumping out music for over 10 years. His 1990 release "altered states" on Warehouse Records is now considered a house classic. His earlier collaborations with producer Chez Damier were exquisite, spawning underground house gems such as "don't try" and "the choice", both on KMS Records. He also founded the powerhouse Prescription label in the early '90's which was well known for its raw & moody deep sounds. While Prescription later got put on the back-burner, he founded Clairaudience Records and formed the team of Urban Sound Gallery with Anthony Nicholson, releasing monster records in the form of "ebony angel: a tribute to Fela", "introduce my love", "word sound power" and "n-came-u", afterwhich Nicholson took over things at Clairaudience. Together they also released a full length LP on UK's Distance Records, under the USG acronym. In the late '90's, Trent focused once again on Prescription and since then delivered "paradise", "life is for living", "afro nova EP", and the recent "have I lost you" featuring Se'vere. Not to mention the countless productions he's provided on many Giant Step Records releases, such as "future love" & "no more excuses" by Naomi N'Sombi, as well as "rise" by Richard Worth to name a few. I had the pleasure to sit down and converse with this living legend!

D/V: Who or what has inspired you to do what you do?

Ron Trent: Well, it's a mixture of things. It's definitely the creative energy and it's definitely the environment in which I was raised. My parents were very influential with respect to the music in my life. Also, various amounts of soul music artists, African artists, and jazz musicians have been influential in cultivating my tastes. It's been an amalgamation of things over the last 27 years. So it's not just one thing but rather a conglomerate of many things.

D/V: Who are you listening to nowadays?

RT: Jill Scott, N'Dambi (backup singer for Erykah Badu),.all kinds of jazz stuff!

D/V: I heard through the grapevine that you don't like planes!

RT: ...I don't like planes!!!!!

D/V: How do you travel to Europe?

RT: (laughing) I go by plane when I have to, let's put it that way!

D/V: Elaborate on your past collaboration with Chez Damier. Are you still working with him?

RT: Oh no, no! We've gone separate ways. It's basically something that happened many years ago. We basically got together, we had a common interest in music, a common vision, so we tried to do it upon that.

D/V: (same question) Anthony Nicholson?

RT: Same thing, except I was trying to cultivate him as a producer. I was in the position to do so, so I did so, and he went on to do great things. We still communicate and we're making some plans to do things later on in the future. I started the record label Clairaudience and passed the torch so to speak, to Anthony.

D/V: Any pet peeves?

RT: Bad sound systems!!!

D/V: Who would you like to work with in the future?

RT: Definitely some R&B artists, some jazz musicians, some that are obscure and anybody that has a visionary status.

D/V: How old are you? Your birthplace? And how did you end up in NYC?

RT: I'm 27 and I was born in North Hampton, Massachusetts. From there, I went to Chicago and was raised there. I ended up moving to NYC in 1996.

D/V: Are you single or a family man?

RT: (proudly) A family man. I have an 8 year old daughter named Noni.

D/V: Favourite movie?

RT: (laughs HARD) I have a couple. "Bamboozled". I like Spike Lee alot; any David Lynch films; "Hurricane" is one of my favourites, "The Bone Collector". Denzel Washington's my man!!!..Beat Street!

D/V: Best musical experience in Ron Trent's career?

RT: Hearing Frankie Knuckles at Sound Factory in 1991. That was the absolute best. That shit was dope. In terms of my career, it's hard to say. I've had many good experiences and I'm hoping to have many more.

D/V: Worst experience?

RT: My trip to Amsterdam, years ago. It was bad. Fucked up!!! The promoter just didn't have a clue. I don't know what the fuck was on his mind, but he tried to treat me like a workhorse or something. It was crazy. I can't really speak about it without getting emotional. That happened in 1992-1993.

D/V: What is your favourite dish?

RT: (laughs) I'm into Thai food; noodles and hot stuff. I would say my favourite is chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits.(can't stop laughing).

D/V: Tell us some of your favourite exotic cities you've visited as a DJ?

RT: It would have to be Japan..and Montreal (sarcastically almost). There's a lot of beautiful women here!

D/V: What is your take on the Japanese house scene?

RT: I love Japan! Let's just say that they are very serious about the music, and have a great respect and reverence for the music, and that's important. It comes out in what they do.

D/V: Where would you be without music?

RT: I would be involved in art, or drawing, or an architect.

D/V: What was the very first record that you bought?/produced?

RT: "Beyond" by Herp Albert was my first purchase, while "Altered States" was my first production.

D/V: If you had 3 wishes?

RT:
1. Peace and love for those I love and myself
2. Prosperous, comfortable life
3. Positive progression

D/V: What is your favourite all-time Ron Trent track?

RT: Shit.I don't know if I've made it yet!. "Lamentations" by Carl Hancock Rux ?!

D/V: OK, I will mention a name, and you tell me the first word(s) that come to mind.

RT:
Darryl Strawberry - baseball
Spike Lee - (laughs) just put laughing!
Chuck D - (his mood quickly changes) militant!
Al Pacino - (laughs) good actor
Fela (Anikulapo Kuti) - my man, my boy
Marv Albert - I have no idea!!!
D'Angelo - dope artist
Martin Luther King - speech
Beastie Boys - '80's
Louis Farrakhan - powerful man
Miles Davis - my boy
Kirk Franklin - (laughing) no comment
Isaac Hayes - good brother
Hillary Clinton - I like her
Fidel Castro - (long pause) purpose
Ron Trent - respect



Michael Terzian sinister@deepvibes.org Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.
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