Name, Location, What You Do:
II: Ivan Ivanovich, Barcelona, I co-run Rocafort Records with my cousin Philippe Rocafort a.k.a Phil Rock, although lately i don’t spend as much time on it as i should. I’m also the concert programmer and one of the resident dj’s at Marula Café in Barcelona where i started hosting a Rocafort Records party over a year ago, every other month, guests have included Skeme Richards, Nik Weston, Nick Recordkicks, Tobias Kirmayer (Tramp Records), Boca45, Dj Format, Florian Keller and Smoove.

PR: Philippe Rocafort aka Phil Rock from Lausanne, Switzerland, record label manager, co-founder of Holy Groove Festival, occasional DJ, uncle, absurd humour enthusiast, nap expert.

Influences:
II: I’m not a musician but musically the hip hop i started listening to when i was a teenager, and as a dj i’d say definitely all the dj’s and musicians that opened my ears to the funk sound almost 20 years ago, Keb Darge, Ian Wright, James Trouble, Jason Stirland, Florian Keller, Miles from The Breakestra, Mr Finewine, and the first bands I got to see live, The New Mastersounds, The Mighty Imperials.. too many to mention. My tastes have broaden over the years and I enjoy different musical forms now but that was my main influence.

PR: My older brother listened to a lot of rap, blues and latin music at home. He was my main music provider at that “pre-internet era” time. And then after him came my cousin, Ivan. We’d lost contact for over ten years, then I met him again when I was 17 in Barcelona. I had just started Djing and I was really into hip hop. I went to his place where I found stacks of vinyl everywhere. He was a DJ and had a residency at a big club called “Apolo”. I spent the whole day playing his 45s and LPs I found in every corner of his apartment and every song I played seems to have something I liked. I realized I had a real passion for Soul, Funk and the whole spectrum of black music. Besides these two close people, of course there are all the DJs around the world who share their mixes/radio shows on internet and open my mind every time a little bit more. Lately, I’ve been blown away by DJ Koco from Japan. He’s so creative and his skills are insane! Check out his videos on Instagram.

Favorite Records at the Moment:
II: Some tunes I’ve been enjoying recently are Gavin Turek’s “Good Look For You”, an excellent cover of Lyn Collins’ “Think” by Barbara Tucker, Odia Coates’ previously unreleased “Chump Change”, Fernando Mendes’ Nao Vou Mudar, and Andy Cooper’s The Layered Effect LP, out on Rocafort Records, of course 😉

PR: A famous French rapper just released a song that samples an album by Colette Magny I bought a few years ago. So I’ve been listening to it these last couple of days and it’s beautiful. Favourite track of that album: “Rock Me More and More”.

And the last acquisitions of course :
Funk : Sisters Love – “Ha Ha Ha” (45)
Rap : Andy Cooper – The Layered Effect (LP)
Jazz : Tony Burkill – Third Of All Numbers (LP)
Soul : Honey & The Bees – Make Love To You (45)

We post a playlist of our 10 favourite tracks at the end of each month. If you like what you hear, check out our FB page or Youtube channel.

Best Digging Story:
II: I fly to Brazil every two years to see the family and i always take the opportunity to go diggin there. I was once in a shop i always go to, and the owner had more records in a loft so i went up there. The ceilling was low, five foot tops, no windows, and it was hotter than hell so the owner gave me a big fan to take with me. I plugged it in and started going through the records, mostly soundtracks, but after 5 minutes the fan broke down and it started to burn, there was heavy smoke coming out of it and spreading fast because the blades were still rotating, i started having serious breathing problems but i managed to get to the exit. I had to wait for like an hour for the smoke to clear, then i went back up and finished the job. I found and original New Love Ltd And Interstate 95, a rare brazilian only disco Lp amongst other delicacies. It was worth risking my life for it.

PR: Let’s be honest, when you live in Switzerland and you are looking for some black music, mostly made in the US, mostly on 45, you’d better have a good internet connection at home and a comfortable chair. However, the first thing I check when I go abroad are the record stores. By the way, I’d like to thank Rodolphe Lajudie for opening his great shop in Lausanne called YoudooRights. Great selection, fair prices, good turnover and last but not least: very nice guy!

Favorite Mix and Why. Any Genre, Any DJ.
II: Music man Miles’ fot the funky stuff, or Red Greg if i’m in a disco mood. It’s skills and taste what I look for when I listen to a mix and both DJs have the two.

PR: I like when a mix reunites different styles of music and everything is well put together. Everything flows so the expert will enjoy it as much the regular listener. There is so many but these are the first that come to mind (maybe because I have them on CD) :

– DJ Miles Tackett – Funky Sole vol. 1 (thanks to Ivan for using postal services in 2004 and mailing it to me)

– J.Rocc VS J.Man

– DJ Format Live At The Fabric

Besides that, anything by Mr Thing or any latin mix by DJ Timber.

LP, 12”, or 7” format?
II: 7″ preferably

PR: I really like and buy the three of them but 7” have something really special. Plus if you DJ, you only have a 50% chance of playing the wrong track. At 5am in a club, that counts.

Junk Food You Can’t Live Without:
II: Donettes, they’re Spanish only chocolate mini donuts, they’re so good sometimes I steal them from my daughters’ hands.

PR: Candiiiiiies.

Most Memorable Gig Played:
II: Not one but the night we hosted at Clandestino in Barcelona with DJ Machito, it lasted for a year every Friday until the police shut it down because we didn’t have a license.

PR: A gig at the “Clandestino” in Barcelona with my cousin. It was an illegal club under a restaurant at the famous Plaça Reial. A small place full of people who really enjoyed the kind of music we played. A few weeks later, we were there and Mr Fine Wine was the guest. The police came and shut the place down.

There’s another memorable night but not for the same reasons. I was part of a crew of 7 DJs called “Les Tontons Funkeurs” . Each DJ played 5 records in a row and then the next followed, and this went all night long. After waiting for his turn, one of us (not me) had to pee but wanted so badly to play his records that he took the decision to pee on himself while playing his records. That’s how big the love for music can be!

Record That Never Leaves Your Record Box:
II: There isn’t one but there’s always a James Brown record in my box.

PR: Melvin Sparks “If You Want My Love”. DJ Mr Thing played it at Holy Groove Festival. I asked him what it was. We managed to properly reissue it on 45 and since then, there’s always someone who asks me what it is when I play it.
Breakestra “Live Mix Part 2” on Stones Throw. The perfect bridge between Hip-Hop and Funk.

Shout Outs, Last Remarks, and Gig Info:
II: Thanks to Flea Market Funk for doing nice reviews on Rocafort Records, and to Phil for sharing the label with me. To all the djs, producers and musicians that make me do what i love by playing their records.

PR: I can’t thank enough Jazzman Gerald for his great advice when we started this record label thing four years ago. INFINITE thanks to Beatrice Venturini for her constant help, support and motivation! Ivan of course for introducing me to my addiction. Tobias Kirmayer at Tramp records for his kindness but mostly for his help on a current project we’re working on. Manon Richard for giving her time doing illustrations for us. Ludo Jaccard at Imajack for his creative videos. To all the artists who trust us and even became friends with us. To my Holy Groove team (past and present members) for creating this lovely festival in the middle of nowhere. Finally to all the people who support us around the world, family, friends, customers, bookers and especially you Jamison for opening the parcels we send you and supporting us since the beginning. There is so much good new music out there, thanks for sharing it with your readers.

Dig Deeper!