All For Free: Turner Club on Creativity, Connection and Club Culture

Turner Club return with their third EP, All For Free, released via Beijing based label Adeen Records.

The four track release sees the North East, UK duo continuing to develop their distinctive take on deep, soulful house, while turning their attention towards some of the frustrations and contradictions of modern life.

Having spent years immersed in underground club culture, both behind the decks and through their own events, Ross and Nick bring a wealth of experience to the project. All For Free feels like another progression, balancing warm, emotive grooves with more introspective lyrical themes, from the pressures of social media to the realities of navigating the modern music landscape.

With a remix from Dublin producer Glenn Davis, and a home on a label whose catalogue includes names such as Chez Damier, Marcellus Pittman and Robert Owens, the release feels like an important moment for the duo.

We caught up with Turner Club to talk about finding the right home for the record, the stories behind the lyrics, their evolving relationship as a musical partnership and what comes next.

Q&A

1. “All For Free” feels like a step outward from the personal themes of your earlier records, touching on social media culture, modern frustrations and the wider music landscape. What was happening around you that made you want to explore those ideas on this EP? 

We don’t use social media a lot, and we assume like various other people who make music, art, film, or have a business of any form, it’s sadly a necessity and you are almost forced onto it with the way of the world now. Neither of us would be anywhere near it otherwise. I can remember scrolling down for two minutes one day and it felt like an 80s sci-fi film, just noises, bleeps, and adverts. Enough to make your head explode.

It just made me think about how we give these sites so much of ourselves for free: our information, thoughts, and data, as well as our mind, body, and soul. 

2. Landing on Adeen feels particularly significant given the label’s history and the artists who have released there. What was it about Jason Wilkins and the label that made Adeen feel like the right home for All For Free? 

Not only is Jason a great guy, but what he has built with Adeen is something very special. The freedom he allows his artists, he has built a real family, and that comes across in the music. Adeen is a label which is run from the heart and by someone who adores and lives for music. We were so proud to be part of it.

To be next to some of the artists who we have booked for our parties in the past and other legends of music was a no-brainer. We are so excited for our next chapter with Adeen. 

3. There’s an interesting contrast across the record between the warmth and escapism of the music and some of the more uncomfortable ideas in the lyrics. How important is that tension between what the listener hears and what you’re actually saying? 

I think if someone’s on a dancefloor listening to it out of their mind, that’s likely the last thing they are thinking of! 🙂

But yeah, I think the juxtaposition between the music and lyrics seems to create an interest, differentiates us, and makes people wanna dig a bit deeper perhaps. What people take from our music is down to them really. Music is a feeling and can be interpreted in whichever way someone wishes it to be, as long as they enjoy it. And [cough cough] BUY IT. 

4. “Hard Lovin’ Me” is described as having a Balearic, almost sun-soaked feel, while the lyrics come from a colder emotional place. Without giving everything away, what can you tell us about the story or feeling behind that track? 

Sometimes it’s not always best to reveal how the sausage is made. Less is more. What the listener takes from it means more to us. It’s a personal track. 

5. “Find A Way” closes the EP with duelling vocals and a much more uplifting, soulful energy. Does that track represent a sense of resolution after the frustrations explored elsewhere on the record? 

Yeah, you could say that.

We wasn’t overly sure about it at first, but the more we listened to it, we loved the light, bouncy tones and vibe of it. Always loved a proper soulful house vocal record and hopefully this is one of them. Alexander Barck from Jazzanova has said in his feedback that it’s going to be played on Jazzanova’s Kaleidoskop  radio show, so that means more than anything. 

6. You’ve been friends and creative partners for many years now. Has making music together changed the way you understand each other outside of music, or do you deliberately keep Turner Club separate from your friendship? 

I think it all kind of goes into one. Wouldn’t say we separate it as such, but we are good at not talking about the music constantly and just having a laugh so it’s not all “business”. It takes quite a lot of time and effort, so it’s nice to have a break from it. You do learn to understand each other’s quirks more. 

7. After three EPs, do you feel there are now certain things that are unmistakably “Turner Club”, whether that’s lyrically, musically or emotionally, that you wouldn’t have recognised when you first started making records together? 

We think from the off we have had a bit of our own style with those warm basslines, 80s synths, and the melancholic vocal, if someone likes us or loathes us. It sounds a lot more polished now though, and complete. You can hear on the first two EPs, much as we love them and wouldn’t change them for the world, it sounds a bit more raw and not as complete as this EP.

I think you can tell all three are our records though, not just because of the vocal, but the mood, feeling and emotion of them. 

8. You’ve spoken before about finding it difficult to engage with the social media side of modern music. Given that All For Free actually addresses some of those frustrations, has making the record changed your relationship with that side of the industry at all? 

It’s not changed our views, but we both accept that this is the way of the world now.

We will never be social media gurus by any stretch, but we have learned to realise that if done in the correct way and true to who we are, it’s not the end of the world. Key is just to not spend much time on there, which is also famous last words. Roman Flügel is a DJ who I think uses social media in a really interesting and artistic way from the right place. We got to know him a little when we booked him in 2014 for Werk, and he is one of the nicest, most interesting, and talented DJs around. We got on great. 

9. The record seems to sit somewhere between the analogue influences you grew up with and the realities of the world you’re living in now. Are there particular records, artists or moments from your younger years that you hear differently today and which have found their way into Turner Club? 

We think all artists you love eventually find some way into your music, even if it’s not a direct, obvious way, in some form or another. You could go on all night with this one, but here’s two: 

New Order – Technique was a big one for me. Used to listen to that on repeat. Got into New Order before Joy Division oddly, who I also love. A great crossover album between alternative indie and electronic music. The way New Order have that hook chorus and strong basslines are just two things I love and that have influenced us for sure.

Stevie Wonder – Music of My Mind is obviously a magical album that stays with me. The production quality for the early 70s among everything else is something that inspires us. I sometimes get an inner urge where I have to hear “Seems So Long” once or twice a year. The Rhodes piano, synthesizers, and cymbals all sound crystal clear in your headphones like it’s being played right in front of you.  A beautitul album on many levels. 

10. With the Adeen release out in the world and TurnerClub continuing to evolve, what would you genuinely like the next chapter to look like? More records, playing live, collaborations, or perhaps something neither of you has considered yet? 

We feel like, much as the self-releases we put out were brilliant stepping stones for us and got us out there, being on Adeen has elevated us even further and given us some incredible exposure.

We want to continue with our 4th and 5th EPs, which are both more or less ready now. We will be working with Mark Hand, who is a musical genius, as well as working on a new radio/mixshow in the new year called Hearts and Minds. We are both excited to see what the future holds.