Grateful Web recently had the opportunity to speak to Yoko Ono, legendary philanthropist, artist, author, peace activist and wife to Rock-n-roll icon John Lennon. Yoko told us a little about her new release, OnoMIX, the ongoing appeal of electronic music, and just ‘making good music.’
GW: ONOMIX collects a great amount of remixes over your career, but there are some notable missing pieces, such as the Pet Shop Boys remix of “Walking on Thin Ice.” What was the thought process in selecting these specific remixes?
Yoko: There we're so many request from musicians/bands to want to do the remix, I wanted not to give old remix repeats as possible..
GW: Your new albums feature many old songs that have been re-recorded to better fit the dance landscape. Why is this so? Did the old songs not sound up-to-date enough in their previous incarnation?
Yoko: They were never been made into dance music. It was such a thrill to see that now people can dance to them.
GW: Are there any artists you’re hoping to collaborate with in the future?
Yoko: No. I am just overwhelmed with the requests coming in from great bands, I don't have the time to think "what if…"
GW: Many of your remixes have become #1 hits. What does this recognition mean to you? As one of the more forward-thinking artists in the world, how does this recognition impact your work?
Yoko: Now there are many serious musicians of other forms of music such as rock, pop and classic discovering the dance music format, and decided to have fun with it.
GW: Often with your singing style, there’s a large amount of vocal affectations, such as quivering moans and unbalanced cries that sound rather improvised. How did you develop this as your singing style?
Yoko: It's life's sounds.
GW: As dance music gets more and more thrust in the mainstream, is there any desire to move away from it? Or is the public’s embrace of dance music something that should be celebrated more than shunned?
Yoko: Hey, tell me how long Rock lasted and is still lasting? Dance music will stay. It's good that we have many different forms of music. The door to the dance music is shining in gold!!!
GW: On the subject of dance music, the prevalent vocal style of these songs has centered around divas that can belt it out. Has this trend made you think about changing your singing style at all?
Yoko: I was always belting out. Take your ear plug off, and you'll hear me.
GW: We’ve seen many other avant-garde artists use modern technology, such as the internet, in exploring how music is delivered. Do you feel like you have to do something specific with technology as well, or are you content to just do as you’re doing?
Yoko: All I do is try to make good music. The rest of it just happens or not happen, depending on the world.
GW: What music is on your mind these days? Anything you’ve had on repeat lately?
Yoko: The son of I'm A Witch is being prepared now. I hope it will give you some fun. What I'm doing, music, art, and the most recent: FASHIONS FOR MEN are all my effort to give you fun and all of us to enjoy PEACE.
