Nolla and Agent Pekka will bring the multitalented Londoner Leo Zero to Helsinki this Friday. Experiencing all things acid and balearic in seminal clubs like Shoom and Spectrum, Leo became a non-stop shop for not only original music and remixes but also flyer and sleeve designs. Lately, he has been involved with the Golden Sun Movement art exhibition called ON along with Luke Insect and David Little. In our interview Mr. Elstob tells the story behind the famous Prefab Sprout edit and reveals a couple of exciting upcoming projects.

 

Do you have a residency in London at the moment? Any outdoor parties, festivals or other special events coming up this summer?

 

– I don't have a residency these days but I'm spinning in East London every other weekend at all the usual Shoreditch spots and then up in Dalston and beyond. There seems to be a trend for having parties in the weirdest venues at the moment, so I've done saunas, illegal drinking dens and even a cosmic night underneath a kebab shop. I'm looking forward to a great set of festival gigs over the summer with the disco room at Vintage in London, Big Chill and Bestival to round things off.

 

Any foreign clubs or parties that have been especially great for you?

 

– I had an amazing time at Slow Blow in Stockholm where the crowd were really into the more way out stuff I was playing and I was able to go much deeper than normally. It was also an amazing spring evening with the sun up again at 3 AM when I finished. I'm told Helsinki is a similar spot with open minded people and a magic vibe, so I can't wait to see for myself. Let's hope the volcano stops puffing and I get there on Friday!

 

You did the first part of the new Disconnect compilation series on Strut last year. How did the project come about? Were there any tracks you had to leave out because you were not able to get them licensed?

 

– Quinton from Strut approached me to do it – it was a dream come true. The tracklisting was purely based on records I've been playing for years and that I truly loved. When we got all the tracks in, I suddenly realised what a difficult job it would be to mix all the different styles together, but it turned out fine and I'm really happy with the result.

 

Licensing-wise, we had to totally steer clear of major labels – which was much better in the end, we got in touch with most people directly and now we have a couple of remixes set up with the tracks. I'm working on a new mix of Masimba Bele by The Unknown Cases from the album at the moment. It's one of my all time faves.

 

Prefab Sprout 'Bonny' ( Leo Zero Re-Edit ) by Leo Zero

Your Prefab Sprout edit seems to be a bit of a hit in Helsinki. How did you choose the song, have you known it since it first came out in 1985?

 

– Tracks like Wild Horses and Appetite were my fave Prefab ones and I didn't really know this till I met my girlfriend – she always had the Steve McQueen album on when we were first going out. I fell in love with the track, and her, and we now have a beautiful 3-year-old daughter, so the track has very special memories for me. 

 

What's coming up next from you production-wise?

 

– I'm working on a track for the new X-Press 2 album with Rocky and Diesel and I've just started working with a new singer-songwriter/production partner Ed Cox, who's from a great band called In/fields. I'm also finishing off some of the final tracks for my debut artist album Acid Life – it's a very old school Chicago/NY house sounding LP with a cover of the New Jersey classic Ma Foom Bey by Cultural Vibe on there. 

 

Remix-wise I've just done an afro disco version of Groove Armada's Superstylin' with new vocals from Jamaican MC Troy Fortress. And I'm also finishing a remix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax, which I've taken downtempo on a kind of Daniele Baldelli/Indian pow-wow war dance feel.

 

How about A Mountain Of One – is the band still active?

 

– Unfortunately not, I stepped aside after the first album and did a couple of co-writes on the second, but the last I heard the guys had split up. It was an amazing project with so much great energy at the start and it's a real shame it's no more – it feels like A Mountain Of One never quite got to where it should have. I've still got lots of great recordings from the first album that I'd love to re-mix and re-master one day. I was new to producing a band back then and now that I have a bit more experience it would be great to revisit some of those recordings. My personal favourite A Mountain Of One track Downthere Somewhere is still unreleased, so maybe one day...

 

You're also known as an art director and you've done work for record labels as well. Are there certain projects you're particularly satisfied with?

 

– I've always done record sleeves for people since leaving art school and now that I have my own music to release, I've got more into doing the artwork to go with them. Recently I've been doing a lot of collage work for my Super Edits cd's, which are compilations of all my unofficial remixes and cut-up edits. The collage style really suits the music with old magazine clippings and found objects all cut and pasted together.

 

 

To finish off, can you reveal a couple of your summer favourites?

 

1. Summer 2011 anthem: Bing Ji Ling feat. Tommy Guerrero – Everybody

 

2. Summer 1989 Ibiza anthem: Dizzy Heights – Would I Find Love

 

3. Great cover of a great song: Noah and the Whale – Barracuda (John Cale cover) - BBC 1 session (09/03/11)

 

4. End of the night anthem: Inner Life - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Leftside Wobble Night Dub)