words: elizabeth mitkos

Jesse Houk The Scumfrog New York

There are some nicknames that never quite go away. Turntable masters with teenaged tags like "Baby Hec" Romero, Harry "Choo Choo" Romero (no relation), and "Little" Louis Vega were unforgettable (among them having stellar spinning skills) in the early days of swarming schools of DJs. Those handles have apparently all been dropped in recent years for personal and business reasons. But for of-the-moment producer Jesse Houk, his nonsense nickname from DJing in Amsterdam in the late-'80s ended up becoming his tag for success a decade later.

After moving to New York in 1997, Houk used said nickname, "The Scumfrog," as an alias for his first single "The Watersong." The track became a hit, the name stuck and his productions soared to the top of charts. The classically trained eccentric has since rocketed to remixing Annie Lennox, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Missy Elliot, and dozens of dance DJs and producers.

Nominated as Best Remixer and Breakthrough DJ at last year's DanceStar Awards, Houk is gearing up for this year's Winter Music Conference in Miami in March with a long list of singles (check www.thescumfrog.com for select free downloads). But it's his debut artist album, Simmer, out on his label Effin Records - featuring him on various instruments and vocals, and steeped in new wave - that's attracting much attention.

How long in the making was Simmer?

The concept of an artist album had been on the drawing board since I signed to Roger Sanchez's label R-Senal in 2000. Back then however, my rough album consisted of a scrambled selection of instrumental tech-house tracks made on my home PC. As my sound evolved, I kept having to ditch songs and alter the outline of the album. In 2003 I decided to actually take time off from remixing to finally write and produce enough songs that would justify an album.
Why switch gears from remixing to produce an artist album?

I wanted to do an artist album because I love songwriting and recording without anyone giving me direction. In the remix business, you're supposed to take direction from the record company that commissions you for the remix.  The biggest perk and challenge of my career at the moment is to have complete freedom in making an album and to be solely responsible for its success or failure.

What is Simmer about as far as rock 'n' roll, experimentation, and your vocal performance goes?

I can't really name one particular style that the album would fall under. This is both the album's blessing and it's curse. [It's] about my personal perception of today's music industry, mixed with my personal tastes [and vocals]. Some DJs seem to be disappointed about this album because I didn't make it for them. Much of my career is built on making other DJs look good when they play my records. Many DJs thought this album would be a selection of instant crowd-pleasers, and some frowned when they found out it was all about me. Fortunately for them, I have a few new crowd pleasers saved up for this year's WMC.

Simmer includes a reworking of your early remake of the Rolling Stones' "We Love You"—without the Stones sample. Why the remake and why include it?

I wanted to re-record [it] because I've never been completely satisfied with the production quality. It was made early in my Scumfrog career on crappy PC software without any outboard gear. Even though [it] became a big hit, I always wanted to record it properly. I took out the Rolling Stones element to make room for other vocal parts that needed a place on the album.

You say David Bowie has had a significant influence on your music. After your hit remix of Bowie's "Loving The Alien" (2002), is there another song of his you'd like to remix?

I identify with Bowie because he has always made the music he wanted to make, reinventing himself and experimenting with different styles throughout his career, and survived like that through so many decades. I can only hope I'll get that lucky. I wouldn't want to remix another Bowie song; I dream of getting an email from him asking to produce his next album though. Somehow Madonna is not in that dream, it's always Bowie.
What have you been working on since completing the album?

[For the] WMC there are many new productions planned. "Domino" will come out as the next Scumfrog single with a music video and remixes. My label Effin Records will present a track I did with Cevin Fisher called "Let The Sun Shine." Also lined up are a new Dutch record and the new single by Chocolate Puma with a Scumfrog remix. I just finished a remix for UK label Azuli, a remix for American Idol Fantasia, and a remix of the Japanese group M-Flo. [Whew!]