James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli

James and Nic

OUTRO

'ELLO SAILORS

INTERVIEWS, OUTRO, MAY 2007, COMMENTS

James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli have teamed up as One+One, already described in the music media as the greatest house DJ tag team since Sasha and Digweed. Currently on a three month world tour which kicked off at the Cafe Mambo boat party [pictured above] in Miami last month, they have an album and a single out now. They’re about to become two of the most powerful names in electronic music and already have clubland at their feet. More importantly, they’re now in NIGHT.

Hi boys. Your press release describes you as ‘inseperable’. Is that true?
James: Well, we spend a lot of time together and lead very parrallel lives, and we phone each other every day. So kinda.

Aw - where are you both now?
James: Dossing in a park in Southampton
Nic: I’m in a studio in London

What? Why aren’t you on tour?
James: I just got back from Snowbombing and had a top week of snowboarding, raving and DJing. I broke my snowboard though.
Nic: I’ve been recording at home in the studio.
James: Nic didn’t come with me because he’s not a big snowboarder and he’d be embarrassed about me owning him on the slopes.

Have you learned much from each other?
Nic: We both have a very different creative style, but you pick things up just by watching each other play, like little techniques and tricks. But mostly you just pick up on each other’s attitude.
James: I’m very pessimistic, but Nic is a lot more laid back and upbeat.

James, do you get called Jay-Z?
Yes, the fans refer to me as that quite a lot on the websites.

Are you worried that actual Jay-Z might be annoyed, like with P. Diddy and producer Richard “Diddy” Dearlove?
If he is I’ll ask people to call me something else. They can call me monkey boy if they like.

How does the creative process work with two DJs?
Nic: It’s fairly organic, we come up with our own bits and pieces and see what fits together and what doesn’t. A lot of it is put together on the fly. James: We made our first single in the back of a Range Rover using an iPod mixer set up on Nic’s Daft Punk kitchen table.

A Daft Punk kitchen table?
James: It’s Nic’s and it’s a very rare table with a big print of Daft Punk on it that I really want but Nic won’t give it to me.

It’s wrong to expect him to just give it. Perhaps there’s something you might swap for it?
Well. I have two Daleks at home, and a real Starwars Stormtrooper called Greg. I’m getting a Street Fighter 2 arcade game too. My room is becoming a bit like Tom Hanks’ room in Big.

Words: Leo Batchelor

From: May 2007 Issue

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