Uncompromising in her approach to remaining independent and free as an artist, The Angel’s projects are not limited to niche/genre markets; you can find her various works reaching broader audiences on film scores, global radio stations and massive music events. Step inside the sound of The Angel...who knows where it will take you? It’s like tuning in on different radio frequencies, one channel to the next. Different vibes, colors, voices, rhythms...

Dig in as she tells her story in her own words...

Back in '92, '93, I did a deal with Delicious Vinyl and I was still based in London and we were trying to find a good name to use over here because there were so many artists called Angel, so many people called Angel, that we had to find some way to distinguish myself from the many, many Angels in the City of Angels. So, with a bunch of brainstorming and really bad ideas going back and forth, we finally settled on The Angel, which was in fact, their suggestion and not for any pretentious reason. It was the only way we could kind of find that was simple and would help distinguish myself from everybody else.

I couldnít really tell you what makes me the Angel. A lot of what defines an artist, I believe, is the audience and the definition that they put upon you rather than the one you would perhaps define for yourself, so I'll have to leave that one a little bit vague and up-in-the-air, I'm afraid.

The a.k.a. 60 Channels came into play recently when I decided to do another artist project. I have done several and they all have their own flavor and theyíre quite different from each other. And I believe that most artists decide to do these aliases, mainly because they have more than one idea and more than one flavor to what they do. And itís a good way to help distinguish, again, between the different projects. For me, 60 Channels is essentially much more of a group flavor, even though yes, I am 60 Channels and I do choose to incorporate other players and other vocalists and it is my vision but I see it more as a group project, rather than as kind of a stale solo project. Because of that Iíve chosen a name that I felt would be a good umbrella for me to reinvent it, be able to do whatever I want with it, involve anybody I want in this project. As off-the-wall as you could possibly imagine, to people you might expect me to collaborate with. The great thing for me about 60 Channels is that it has allowed me and afforded me the opportunity to work with some of the great talent that Iíve come across over the years and involve them in my project and itís been such a good vibe. People like Navigator, Angie Hart from Frente!, Monday Machiru, Cockney OíDire, you know, these are all people that I have either worked with in different guises before or some of them Iíve never had the chance to work with before but itís given us a platform to do that. And itís so diverse and eclectic, that itís almost amazing that it does work so well but somehow it seems to work and itís a great thing that it does. Itís given us each an opportunity to try something within the scope of something much freer, probably, than in the usual scenario.

There ís no doubt that Iíve picked up a lot of different flavors and a lot of different vibes from the many cities that Iíve lived in. They each have something quite unique and special about them. Itís kind of hard to say though, hard to define what it is exactly about a place that influences you--the people, the surroundings--no question. New York and Brooklyn, growing up there, definitely I was so influenced by hip-hop and beats and always wanted to put beats together, that was the first thing. Moving to London I think broadened me out to the idea that I could do more with my beats than just program beats and work with that. I could do anything with them. And so thereís such an open-minded approach to doing new music and pushing boundaries and not necessarily worrying about what it is you call the music over there, that Iím sure I brought a lot of that ethic back to my work when I came to L.A. L.A.--the lifestyleís easier and the weatherís good and I crave to be outside more and that has a different effect on my head space. And actually I feel a lot healthier here. But I tend to just have a very odd organic way of putting music together and I guess I take that with me wherever I go, regardless of where I am at any given point.

There are definitely things that I feel that I can communicate through my music that are just nicer to communicate that way. I never feel like I have a problem communicating with words but there is something just different about communicating a feeling to somebody without using words and creating an atmosphere. Thatís the greatest thing about music is that it has the ability to completely change your environment. You could be sitting in an empty room and feeling lonely or happy, or whatever it might be. As soon as you put on a piece of music, regardless of the style of music, it immediately changes your environment and it can easily change your mood and all your feelings about what youíre doing and what may be coming later. Itís quite a powerful thing. So I think that there are things that one can communicate with music that just go so far beyond what we can do with our words.

The creative process is so delicate and it is definitely transformed when youíre working with another artist, regardless of what kind of artist--if itís another vocalist, or musician. The dynamic that exists between a collective, even if its just one other person or a couple of people, is so electrifying. I mean that sounds really corny but the truth is that it creates something so large in the space that it really blocks everything out. I find that when Iím working with other artists, itís a very intimate process and somehow I guess the collective vision that we all throw into the pot, as it were--it just creates something so much larger than all of us and it creates a certain bond I think, as well, that is really unique. You know, I donít think thereís anything romantic about it or sexual about it but the intimacy is almost, to me, on that level. Itís very intense. And itís really satisfying.

I discovered Angie Hart through her work with Frente!. I was asked a few years ago to remix ìWhatís Come Over Meî for the band. And through working on that remix and working with her vocal, I realized that I really love the quality of her voice. We then met after a couple of her gigs and she subsequently wound up moving to L.A. from Australia. And we developed a really good relationship and so we started working together. So the both of us could do something that we had never done before. She could try something way outside of her normal area of music, which was quite rock oriented and then I could work with a vocalist, another female vocalist who I feel has a different flavor about what she does. Thatís how we wound up working together and I think the fact that we really have a good friendship sparked off a lot of my reasons for wanting her to be involved in 60 Channels at the level that she is. The same can be pretty much said of everybody that Iíve worked with, in terms of relationship being incredibly important to me. I mean the talent, obviously, has to be there but if thereís no rapport Iím not interested, truthfully. I think thatís a really important part of what makes something gel and really work.

When it came to Navigator, he and I were both being managed--and this goes for More Rockers as well--we were all being managed by Simon Garth, who looks after Roni Size in the U.K., and Simon had played Navigator some of my stuff. And when it came time to do some demos for BMG--this was a few years ago--he asked if Simon could bring me over to produce the demos for him. So, thatís how we first met. And from there we just kept up contact and kept up our relationship and heís become also practically like part of my family. Weíve done quite a few things together, some that have not been released yet. His talent is just enormous. I mean really, heís got something really special. I mean, the nice thing is that everybody involved I could say that about. Theyíre all individuals and have a very unique and individual style and yet practically, right across the board Iíd say everybodyís incredibly humble with their talent, which is that much nicer.

Tre Hardson and I used to be labelmates over at Delicious Vinyl and I first was able to work with Tre, I guess it was just before I did the remix for ìOther Fishî for the Pharcyde. We tried a little something; we tried to just put his vocal over an instrumental that I had, we were just experimenting and it didnít really work but we knew that we liked working together, so it just took us all these years to figure out what that other thing was going to be. And so when it came time to put a CD5 together for 60 Channels, I called him and said, ìLook, I want to do something really different with you. How you feeling?î and heís so open-minded and really into trying different things, he was just like, ìYeah letís do it.î So thatís how it goes down and came about and thatís how his involvement in this project came about. Again you know, weíve a really good relationship, heís somebody I really admire and support.

The situation with More Rockers is we, again, started out as artists that were being managed by the same manager and actually it was Simonís idea to put us together as two production teams with very different styles. Thatís basically how Jaz Klash was born and me bringing the jazzy hip-hop end of the production and the programming to the table and Robin Peter bringing the jungle to the table and us fusing those elements and programming together and on top of each otherís programming. It was quite an interesting process, actually--first time I had ever collaborated on such an equal footing with other producers. And it was really satisfying to do that.

As far as favorite musical instruments and technologies, hmm.... I like things that are user-friendly. I use a lot of computer-based technology; Iím surrounded by computers, basically. I run software on a Mac and I have two O2Rís, the desks are fully automated and digital. They facilitate my being able to do really weird little tricks in my mixing and kind of spurs on the whole mix as a separate creative process from the recording and the entire production. It just becomes a big part of how you can take something and make it so much larger or broader or smaller--whatever youíre aiming to do. I love my desks ëcause I can have a lot of fun messing around and using them as toys to achieve all sorts of unique effects. I have lots of different gadgets that do different things, like I really like working with the Virus, which is an analogue synth, and itís really hardcore--get a lot of really crazy sounds out of there. Those are the most fun things for me. I like messing around with the computer, so programming to me, is almost like a second language. I probably spend as much time with my Mac and my Qbase software as I do with people--itís kind of strange but true.

The most challenging part of being in this industry for an independent-minded artist or producer is that that way of thinking is not encouraged. Weíre basically in a big industry full of very scared people, who will only back something that they think is a dead cert, I mean everyoneís jobs are on the line and itís all about bottom-line and money. So little of the industry is about creativity. I guess the biggest challenge for me has been to be able to just stay in the game at the independent level that I am, and still expose what I do to a large number of people. And to do that in an uncompromising way.

It's hard to say how women are changing the face of electronic music. Iím not so sure that we are, necessarily. However itís really good to see more women doing it. And as far as being inspired by the work of other women, Iíd say that Iím inspired by many different things and I tend not to be gender-specific about what Iím inspired by. In fact, I generally donít even check for that kind of information about something if I hear something I like, it really doesnít matter where itís come from. By the same token again, I am very pleased to see that more women are not being intimidated by the process and not being intimidated by the fact that we are most definitely working in an incredibly male-dominated environment. So, as far as encouraging other women to do this and not to be afraid and not to compromise their dreams or their goals, I would say go for it. Donít ever let anybody put you down or make you feel like you canít do something.

The reason why I dedicated Give Me Your Love, the CD5, to Curtis Mayfield is because this is his song originally; a lot of people have not recognized it as being such ëcause it is so recontextualized that it hardly sounds anything like the original. But Curtis has been such a tremendous influence on myself and so many artists and producers. And I have the good fortune of meeting him through a closed-circuit TV scenario. One of the last New Music seminars in New York, we all in an artistsí panel together and he spoke about his experiences in the industry. His whole manner was so incredibly up and uplifting and for someone whoís been through as much as he has, he only had positive things to say. I was really inspired by his energy which was incredibly... uplifting is the best word I can use. This industry can be so damaging to oneís soul and so soul-destroying and to hear someone whoís been through the many changes that have occurred throughout the music industry and record industry and who has also experienced some very challenging things in his personal life, just completely blew me away, so I really take my hat off to this man. And it makes me feel really good that I was able to make a record and dedicate it to him.

As far as Jaz Klash goes I think itís unlikely that More Rockers and myself will be able to get together to make another Jaz Klash record, at least in the near future. We each have so many other projects on the go that itís so prohibitive. But you know, anythingís possible down the line.

As far as 60 Channels goes, Iím doing a series of DJ dates and supporting the record. Occasionally Iím joined by various guest vocalists from the project--sometimes Angie Hart, sometimes Tre, sometimes Navigator or Cockney. Iím just keeping that loose for the moment; it seems to work quite well for all of us, since we all have very hectic schedules. But Iím getting involved in starting the second album now and figuring out how Iíd like to record it, who Iíd like to involve in that and thereís a really interesting bunch of people that Iíve approached already who are very interested. Iím also in the process of finishing up the foreign license for this project, so that the album thatís currently out now, Tuned In, Turned On, should be getting worldwide distribution within the next couple of weeks. In fact weíre very close to finishing our deal, so the next things youíll be hearing undoubtedly, will be the remixes that weíve been working on. E-Sassin has done a drum & bass remix of ìGive Me Your Love,î and Vinyl Syndicate have done a drum & bass remix of ìHigh Timeî from the album. Weíre also working on remixes from the CD5 as well, thereíll be 12ís coming out pretty consistently. And weíre setting up another single from this project. The presence of 60 Channels in itís various guises will be out there over the next year and then hopefully weíll be coming with a second album in 2000.

Now shout-outs and big-ups are a really interesting thing, because 9 out of 10 times you will always leave somebody important out and then you want to kick yourself for it! However, I have to say, thereís a big olí shout out to the girls that have been really super supportive up in the Bay Area. These are: Emily and dmarie from Eklektic, and Karen Deer, whoís working over at the Hieroglyphics camp and what up to all of that crew, including Mystic. Most of the people that deserve my love feel it on a day-to-day basis, so at least they wonít feel like theyíve been left out of something here. But Kevin deserves the biggest shout-out of anybody, WorldDom, ADA. I think thatís going to have to be it for now, ëcause otherwise I could go on forever. So take good care of yourselves and keep up the good work up there.