Q&A: DJ Sneak

When a 14-year-old named Carlos Sosa moved from Puerto Rico to Chicago in 1983, it set the wheels in motion for one of the most influential careers in house music. Initially getting work in Chicago record shops as a graffiti artist (he earned his nickname for his ability to evade the law), he eventually became general manager and buyer at Hip House and went on to work at Gramophone Records where he met Green Velvet who signed three of his tracks. And during his 25-year career, Sneak's vision of what 'real music' should be has never faltered. Be it timeless house anthems such as 'Can't Hide From Your Bud' and 'Fix My Sink', writing lyrics for Daft Punk or, more recently, his I'm A House Gangster imprint, Sneak's sermons come from the heart and tap deep into the roots of the mother genre. While his passion can sometimes end up causing a few beefs – Swedish House Mafia, Seth Troxler and Joris Voorn have all been in his firing line – one thing is certain: Sneak is fearless, frank and goodfun to talk to. Get acquainted.

You're in Ibiza right now?

I am. Staying out the whole season to focus on European shows throughout the summer. We've been doing this for a few years now.

I'm picturing a gangster villa…

Ha! I got my family here and my parents and in-laws are coming over so it's kinda somewhere between a G house and a family house.

Perfect. We wanted to start with a thanks. Through records you've sampled we've learnt about the likes of Teddy Pendergrass and Lonnie Liston Smith.

My pleasure. I was just a kid working in a record shop, I'd hear something I loved, take it home and make a record. Discoveries, man… I'd be playing a record to someone, a song would pop up and I'd be like 'Oh shit!' I'd grab a copy and sample it that night. Record stores were my libraries and I was lucky to work in some of Chicago's most important stores. They shaped what was going on in the city; it was incredible to be there right in the middle of everything.

Was this around '89/'90?

Bang on. I started at The DJ Shop as a graffiti artist in 89, airbrushing T-shirts in front of the store. That was my way in. Then I worked at the Hip House; I went in as an airbrush guy and left as the general manager and buyer. It was a very inspirational time in my life. Right place, right time. I wasn't afraid to take chances when others were too afraid to damage their look or career. I didn't give a shit. I was having fun. If people liked it, great. If they didn't, fuck 'em.

That sums up the Sneak vibe!

It's what I stand for. I'm a straight shooter. If I see shit I don't like, I'll shit on it! I'm not trying to be best mates with everybody. I'm older now, and I'm trying to be more diplomatic as a father and everything, but if shit bothers me I'll say something. A lot of people seem to turn a blind eye to shit but I'm like, 'Hey! Stand up for what's right! Don't fucking ignore it.'

Everyone is worried what everyone else thinks… More so now than ever, do you reckon?

Definitely. It's a fashion show now. It's a movie show. It's a TV show. From pop to house music, it's all about how you look. People with talent are overlooked because they don't look right. It makes me angry. Ten years ago, apparently house music was over and my career was over. I took to MySpace – it was that long ago – and wrote a blog about how everything was shit but house would survive. And it has. I've learned to stick to my guns and do what I do. People who know Sneak know what they're getting, and I won't let them down. Fuck everyone else.

Fuck back-to-back sets, judging by your recent public criticisms!

Fuck them. One hundred per cent. I'm sick of seeing two half-assed DJs put together for the sake of it. They're not creating anything new, they're just playing big records off laptops. No digging. No creativity. I could give them a box of my best records and they wouldn't know what to do with them. They're just flipping the FX so it looks like they're doing something. Let me tell you about my first back-to-back.

Shoot…

Doc Martin at Cream in 1997. One of the greatest DJs in the world; he popped my back-to-back cherry. He challenged me. You complement each other, and challenge each other to play better shit. You're raising the bar on every tune. I do it with Derrick Carter and Mark Farina. I even did it with Ricardo Villalobos five years ago. We went next level. We knew each other's music, we met half way and let each other go. It was special. Now it just seems like the weirdest combinations. It's contrived.

You must have done some serious B2Bs with Todd Terry…

Oh Todd! That dude should be… what do you call it?

Knighted?

Exactly! Knighted by the fricking Queen of England. Sir Todd Terry. He's the business. I looked up to him buying and selling his records at the store. Then I'm in the studio with him watching him get down and do it? Amazing! No ghost-writers. He's doing what he wants to do.

Did you seriously think Todd had a ghostwriter?

It's weird to even say it, but you never know. People in New York were doing that forever. I know all y'all in Europe do it. A lot of people say that about me, but I do everything myself, too. And to see Todd work was just incredible. We were laughing the whole time, buzzing off ideas. We're talking about other projects now, too. He's a workhorse and he comes up with the craziest ideas. It's the same when I'm with Kenny Dope. We vibe!

Magnetic Records is re-releasing '10 Years of Beats'. Did the launch coincide with that last time everyone was saying that house was dead?

Well actually it started in 2001 but we started pushing it out hard in 2004/5 during that period of electro and really bad music: yeah! We stuck to our guns and I've developed a great catalogue of beautiful house music. So we're revisiting, remixing, remastering and reintroducing it again. A lot of the new kids might not know these records, so I want to make sure they're available.

What's the difference between Magnetic and House Gangster?

Magnetic is the big sister. House Gangster is the mischievous little brother. Straight, raw music: just a solid groove, maybe a little slower and funkier. A lot of tracks could go out on both. But with all these things, it's a feeling, right? And there'll be a lot more new talent coming through on both labels. There's a whole generation of new talent who get it. They know that feeling and can translate it in the studio. Not the trendy ones, but the ones who know how to make something timeless. Not shitty and disposable. It doesn't matter about hitting the charts or being Beatport number one. It's about making something real. Like with my new album.

A new album?

It's about eighty per cent done. I'm collecting the feelings I've experienced over the last twenty years and working with the most talented musicians and singers to make music that's relevant, timeless, enjoyable and a far cry from the shit I hear too much of. It's about real music. Always has been. Always will be.

'DJ Sneak Presents Magnetic Cuts V1, V2 & V3' is out on Magnetic now