Q&A: Art Department

Art Department were in Hong Kong last weekend celebrating Small&TALL’s four year anniversary, which conveniently landed on the start of Hong Kong’s Art Week. The Canadian house and techno duo carried a jam-packed house through to the wee hours of the morning with an energetic and upbeat set at Volar. Mixmag Asia caught up with one half of the pair, Jonny White, just before the show and asked him about some of the most memorable moments he and his partner Kenny Glasgow have experienced since getting together, including how they got together.

ART DEPARTMENT ON THE MORNING AFTER…

“It’s always a hectic morning after a gig when you’re on tour and off to the next city after a couple of hours sleep, if any. I recall one Chicago date that had us scrambling to catch our flight out to NY. It was looking optimistic as we arrived to the airport about an hour before the flight, when then our bags became trapped in the trunk of a taxi and the driver couldn’t figure out how to open the latch. He was dead set on taking the car back into the garage to have them sort it out with our bags in the trunk. I had no choice but to steal the driver’s car keys from him to keep him from leaving with our bags and was literally doing laps around the taxi as he gave chase while Kenny tore apart the back seat trying to access the trunk form the inside. There was a point where I was on the roof of the taxi right in front of the terminal playing keep-away with this driver. Finally, I jumped in the drivers seat and put the key in the ignition to see if that would release the latch and…lucky us.”

ON HOSPITALITY…

“I was recently treated to a beautiful night in Vienna when we last played for our good friends at Pratersauna. They booked us into the “Black suites” of the hotel, which were well… completely black. From the bath to the ceiling to the heavy matt rubber walls that slide together to completely block out the light, it was almost difficult to see but stunning really. The same evening we were given a black key that unlocked a door at an extremely exclusive, members only all night restaurant/bar with amazing food, loads of one off pieces of art by famous painters and graffiti artists, and the freedom to do as we pleased. We’ve been offered tours, girls and party favors but nothing really beats a private and comfortable situation to share time with friends you don’t see often enough.”

ON EMBARRASSING MOMENTS…

“Once I slid down a flight of stairs as I entered into a club in Hamburg. It really set the tone for the night.”

ON FANS…

“There are some pretty amazing pieces of art or banners that people will make and bring to festivals for us. I’ve been given really beautiful pieces of jewellery that people have made for me but that’s usually in hopes that we’ll be promote their company by wearing it. I’ve seen a girl who wears a locket around her neck with a picture of me in it, even a girl who had a picture of me on her birthday cake. I know four fans that I’ve personally met who have the Art Department logo tattooed on them. But the nicest thing a fan has ever done for me was without question when one of my closest friends – Ira, who truly believed in what I was trying to achieve gave me her Apple PowerBook to produce with when the computer I used and all could afford at the time wouldn’t cut it.”

ON CANADA…

“There were clubs in Toronto that rivalled any event, anywhere for some time back in the day. I remember Better Days raves as good as any rave on the planet, nights at Industry Nightclub where I could hear just about every legend on any given Saturday in an atmosphere that felt so intimate, so accepting and non-judgmental and conducive to experiencing house music the way it was meant to be. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that Industry Nightclub on a good night was the best club I’ve ever been to.”

ON AFTER PARTIES…

“When Kenny and I decided to start a project together called Art Department….”