Top Of The Pops: August 2001.Under the Grill
Special thanks to Remco for finding up this interview.
Jay Kay's right-hand man and Jamiroquai keyboardist Toby Smith talks about the band's new album 'A Funk Odyssey'.
TOTP: I read that your new album was a real departure, but from what I've heard it seems like a continuation. How would you describe the album's sound?
Toby: Because we're not a bandwagon group, we thought we'd do it in-house which means we're always limited in the way we change the production of the album. At the end of the day Jamiroquai is a song-driven group. Songs are pretty important to us so it's always going to sound like Jamiroquai as soon as Jay opens his gob. That's what people like, but for us it's a real departure because half the tracks' programmed and we've never done that before. We've always been fully live before. We've also used a full orchestra on some tracks as well, so it's definitely a big departure. The people who love Jamiroquai and buy our records from album to album - they love it enough to see the changes.
TOTP: There's 1 or 2 songs that have quite a French disco feel to them...
Toby: Yeah. 'Little L', the first single, is disco but it's programmed. We do like programmed stuff and we don't have an aversion to non-live stuff. I love trance and Jay's got a soft spot as well. We just didn't have time and it was much quicker to put all the guys in a room and just play the tunes and press record. It took a lot longer to get to grips with it because we didn't just ship in a programming producer 'cos we're control freaks and we wanted to do it for ourselves!
TOTP: We think that 'Little L' is one of the best things you've ever done...
Toby: Yeah. Well that's another reason why this album is different from the last one. It had 'Canned Heat' and a few other moments, but it was so rushed that we didn't have time to work on it and make it the album that it could have been. So, in terms of albums that we love, the 1st, 3rd and 5th we really love - all the odd numbers!
Toby talks about new sounds, and how to write songs in less than 15 minutes!
TOTP: You, along with Jay Kay, are the songwriters. Do you do the music and he does the lyrics? How does it go usually?
Toby: Each track's different. With 'Little L' I did most of the music and Jay did the lyrics. Then with other tunes, he'll write the melody and i'll write the chords for it. Our new guitarist does some writing on this album as well and he's added a different flavour. On 'Corner Of The Earth' the beginning sounds Moroccan. We've never done anything like that before. He's added that different sound.
TOTP: Do you start with the track you end up with or do you do demos first?
Toby: Well, 'Little L' started from me. I was fiddling in the studio with the beat you hear and the chords and Jay came running up the stairs really excited, got the melody, and within 15 minutes the tune was written.
TOTP: Oh wow, it must be brilliant when it comes together so quickly like that!
Toby: Yes, we do get very excited and silly and we jump up and down! Give each other big hugs and stuff. All the big tunes off all the albums have happened like that, really quickly. Or Jay will come with the melody and he'll pretty much have the whole tune in his head and I can hear as soon as he starts singing what progressions are right for it. 'Canned Heat' was like that. Anything that takes more than 10 minutes to write is crap.
Toby tells us how much he hates shopping in Tesco's and why he's not jealous of Jay.
TOTP: Why don't you just throw the rest away?
Toby: Unfortunately, you can't come up with amazing tunes every time. With this album, more than any of the others we've had to discard maybe 10, 12 tunes - all of which are great and If I'd had my way 3 or 4 of those would be on the album instead of ones that are. But ultimately Jay has final say.
TOTP: Jay's the frontman. Is there any jealousy there?
Toby: No. Do I want that? Would you want that? Would you want your private life discussed in public?
TOTP: No, but at the same time you're a fantastic songwriter...
Toby: Yeah, but I know what I do and I know my friends know what I do, so do I care? Only one time I'd like it would be if I got recognised in the supermarket 'cos then I could say to my girlfriend: "Look love, you'll have to go to Tesco's." That would be the only time! Very happy as I am, thank you.
TOTP: Do you remember your first TOTP appearance, back in 1992...
Toby: I just remember looking really stupid with a woolly hat on. I went through a woolly hat stage. But Top of the Pops is so classy, man. You don't want to look stupid on TOTP!
Jay Kay's right-hand man on playing live, the internet and his plans for the future.
TOTP: You're playing live at Knebworth in August. How do you feel about that?
Toby: We're all quite nervous, because it'll be the first time for ages - like 2 years- that we've played live. And it's a big gig and a dance gig so we're going to cater the set accordingly which gives us a chance to experiment with some techniques we'll be taking with us on tour - sequencing because half the tracks are programmed. We're going to try it at Knebworth and see if it works. It's either going to sound super fat or it'll fall flat on its face...so, we'll see. I'm pretty confident it's going to be really good.
TOTP: I've heard Jay is a big non-internet fan. Are you an internet user yourself?
Toby: I like to see what fans say and stuff and I read the post boards. The one time I went on and posted a message I told people what the new album was like and what to expect, and people replied: "Yeah, man. How do we know it's you."
TOTP: You're obviously a creative person. Do you hate doing this side of the biz; promtions and stuff?
Toby: I don't really mind it 'cos I don't have to do that much of it. Jay is not a fan because he has to do lot more than I. We've been around for 10 years now and we're not the instant exciting surprise that we were in 1992. And you've got to do it, haven't you?
TOTP: And finally, are there any solo projects in the pipeline?
Toby: I haven't had time. At home in my studio I have about 200 ideas for tunes and stuff that stay on my computer. I play it to my mates and I did a trance tune for some friends for a laugh and stuck it on the back of one of their albums. I don't like to split myself and like to stick to the one thing, but with time, for sure. I may go and study orchestration with a view to doing some film work.
