I-F - Bootleg DJ Cafe - NL - Feb 2004 - Part 2

Biography of I-F

I-F, short for Interr-Ference, also known as Ferenc, Beverly Hills 808303. Affiliations: Murder Capital, the Hotmix cartel, Parallax Corporation, the Viewlexx empire, Interdimensional Transmissions, Top Secret; ties to Disko B, other covert recording outfits. Pushes product throughout the globe, specializes in stuttering 808s and throbbing basslines, and inspirational to the careers of countless electro acts on the come up. Headquartered in The Hague, Holland, known to have alliances with electro brokers in Rotterdam (southwestern Holland connection), known associate of Unit Moebius, the Bunker posse, and other black budget artistic projects.

I-F moves through this world of small labels and localized networks more like the playboy gangsters imagined in disco songs than a musician and label owner. His business dealings have the emotional urgency of the affairs of any Italian or Russian Mafia professional. 'I had a bad experience with majors,' he says, remembering the time when his single 'Space Invaders are Smoking Grass' was causing a much more than anticipated stir in Europe. 'They wanted 'Playstation' and 'Space Invaders.' Talk to me--they were already talking to Disko B [the label that released them in Europe], they didn't even talk to me. When I tried to talk to them, it was very difficult. You get a girl on the phone, 'He's not in, he's in a meeting.' No fucking way am I going to deal with you guys. I told Disko B, 'Tell these fucking guys I'm not going to deal with such a company.' If I want to pitch you, if I want to speak to you, I want to leave a message at your answering machine. If you're not interested, or don't call me back or whatever, fuck it, okay, just good friends. But if you want something from me, talk to me, look me in the eye and be fair'

Unlike the criminal underground that traditional gangsters inhabit --where a small, shady organization opposes a larger, more benign government--the thugs in I-f's world are the idealists and the establishment is the force trying to kill art. He gets fiery when he thinks about the way large labels endlessly promote the same sounds and muscle around small outfits threatening their regime. 'Their fucking job is to sell records--so shut the fuck up and sell records. I'm making them--I take care of the music--and I don't want to name labels, but they're selling a lot of shit. Like I've only bought ten, twelve new records this year, because I'm very critical, that's my right to be critical.' Major distributors in Germany boycotted his records when they first came out, and he was dissed by the press in his native Holland in the beginning. Now that 'Space Invaders' has been included on a few chic compilations and played on the radio throughout Europe, the local lifestyle mags have taken notice and have come knocking. But once you do him wrong, there's slim chance for redemption. 'No fucking way am I doing [an interview] with them now.'

His mission is simple: to make people listen to different music. It has lead him to create the disco music side-project Parallax Corporation, his radio show at home, and his various labels to sponsor unknown producers. When I-F gets into some gangster shit, know that he's doing it for you, the curious listeners of the world. How many other gangsters have your back?

http://www.phinnweb.org/links/artists/I-f/