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We met in 2018 at his house in Portugal. Two years later, during Covid, we spoke about his debut and being a DJ during a pandemic, when the project techno-club.net was born. This week in the series MY FIRST GIG: Portuguese DJ/producer Cisco Ferreira, a.k.a. The Advent. "We used a distorted clap. People had never heard that before."
“I came into contact with music at a very young age through my father’s side of the family. At that time, we lived on the Portuguese island of Madeira, which had a huge folk music tradition. For example, my father and his brothers all played the accordion. Interestingly, the pressure of that folk music was a 4/4 rhythm. So, it was drilled into me from a young age.” (laughs)
Dictatorship
“In 1974, a revolution took place in Portugal, which brought about a dictatorship. That’s why we moved four years later, when I was seven, to England. As a teenager, I became interested in hip-hop and everything associated with it: graffiti, New York, the anti-culture. That’s how I first came into contact with electronic music. I was about thirteen. Hip-hop is the genre that represents my youth.”
Pause, repeat, pause, repeat
“At that time, I didn’t have turntables but cassette decks. Of course, I made mixtapes for myself and friends with them. I would pick it up exactly on the beat, press rewind, and pick it up again on the beat. I kept doing this over and over. This was how I first got into producing. Pause, repeat, pause, repeat. By the way, at that time, I was also part of a hip-hop crew with a friend, where we also did breakdancing.”
Sound engineer
“During high school, I was sure of what I wanted to become: a sound engineer. That was my dream. I wanted to mix bands. I thought what those sound engineers did was amazing. They gave the music that extra push, the final touch. So, to fulfill this dream, I went to college to study sound engineering. The program involved two years of school and then two years of internship at a studio. I ended up at a studio run by musicians, the band Asia. They had a few progressive rock hits in the late seventies, early eighties. Here, I learned the tricks of the trade. I also worked with other well-known names like Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Bonnie Tyler, and Adam & The Ants. It sometimes felt really surreal! Later, soul and reggae were added to the mix.”
Jack Trax
“It was around that time that I started producing myself. I was inspired by a record label that rented one of the offices: Jack Tracks. It was one of the first acid labels ever. I became fascinated by the music and got into it! I went to countless illegal raves, listened to house music in black gay clubs, and because I was in the same building as Jack Tracks, I got to know all the Kiss FM DJs like Evil Eddy who came to pick up their new music.”
CJ Bolland
“At that time, the thought of performing live never crossed my mind. I enjoyed being in the studio and making house music with my friends. Sometimes I produced together with the Belgian producer CJ Bolland, whom I’ve known since 1980 through R&S Records Belgium. We produced all sorts of early stuff together. CJ was already a well-known name at the time and was often booked for live performances. We also did some gigs together under his name. I didn’t call myself The Advent back then.”
The Orbit
“Through one of those bookings, we ended up in 1991 at a club in Leeds (UK) called The Orbit. It was the first ‘temple of techno’ in the city. Jeff Mills, Joey Beltram, LFO, they all played there. I consider this my first real gig. And the most impressive one. The Orbit was the template for how a club should be. I had never performed at such a venue before and experienced such energy, and I really thought: what the fuck!? So, to this day, it’s the best experience I’ve ever had! This was largely due to the audience. The further north you went in the country, the friendlier the people. In London, dancing was an individual, personal experience. Londoners are miserable motherfuckers and full of negativity. This was different! The crowd was going crazy, everyone was screaming, hands in the air, there was an incredible interaction with the DJ. There was an amazing positive vibe.”
“And now I was about to perform live with CJ Bolland. There were about thirteen to fifteen hundred people, and it was packed. The area’s size is somewhat comparable to the main area in Berghain, Berlin.”
Distorted clap
“We weren’t nervous at all. On the contrary, we couldn’t wait to play our music! We were especially honored and happy to introduce people to our type of grooves for the first time. However, later in my career, I did get nervous regularly. As performing became more and more work, I also felt more pressure to perform. We were still at the beginning of the dance scene at that time, and everything was new and original. Unfortunately, nowadays everything sounds the same. For example, we used a distorted clap. People had never heard that before.”
Ministry of Sound
“I can’t remember making any major mistakes that night at The Orbit, but I do remember another real blunder. In 1996, under my alias The Advent, I was performing at one of London’s most famous clubs, The Ministry of Sound. And that’s where it went wrong. I had forgotten to plug in my laptop with the cable. You can probably guess what happened next, suddenly the battery died. I heard ‘dzzzz’ and everything went off. I was pretty annoyed about that. You never make such a mistake again.”
Fear of flying
“I had been traveling back and forth between England and Belgium for quite some time to perform and produce with CJ. I mentored him a bit. My own mentors include Adonis, Fingers Inc., and Marshall Jefferson, among others. Yes, I know, those are quite big names. I was clearly at the right time, at the right place. After that gig in Leeds, things went quickly. I visited many countries with CJ to perform. We played at the Mayday Festival and various Love Parades. In 1992, we even had a gig in Japan. Spoiler alert: we never flew there. CJ had a massive fear of flying. Half an hour before arriving at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, he was sweating with fear in the car. ‘I’m sure the plane is going to crash,’ he said. I made some jokes about it and told him to just have a whiskey or something, but he was really too scared to fly. Fortunately, I’ve been to Japan many times since then. The first time was at the legendary Liquid Rooms.”
Really?!
“Since 1994, I’ve been using the alias The Advent. Pete Tong’s record label FFRR took me under their wing and felt that I should come up with my own concept and name. I couldn’t believe my ears when they wanted me. ‘Really?! At sixteen, seventeen, I never thought I would get paid for what I love doing most: being involved with music. However, this suddenly became a reality when I was twenty-five.”
No music
“My family didn’t understand my music at all. They are quite religious and felt like I was wasting my time, especially when I didn’t earn any money from it in the first few years. I once played Jack Your Body for my father, but he didn’t consider it music.”
Sound like YOU
“I also have a tip for upcoming producers and DJs: don’t listen to others! Nowadays, so much music sounds the same. Find your own style, listen to yourself! Don’t sound like me! Sound like YOU! I think that’s super important. I didn’t spend thirty years refining my own craftsmanship for nothing.”
Techno-club.net
“I currently don’t have any gigs, and neither do most of my colleagues. That’s why I, along with some friends, developed an idea that benefits the industry. Last Friday, the concept techno-club.net was launched. Basically, we have ten virtual techno clubs online, each with its own visuals, DJs, and atmosphere. You pay 5 euros to listen to high-quality DJs for 5 hours. For ten euros, you can listen for 600 minutes, and for 20 euros, 1200 minutes. We stream live nonstop every week from Friday 9 PM to Sunday midnight. Both well-known names like Cari Lekebusch, Mark Broom, Robert Hood, and myself provide sets, but we also want to give lesser-known talents a platform. We believe that with the disappearance of all possibilities to go to clubs, a gap has emerged. After all, step 1: nobody has gigs, and step 2: probably everything will still be canceled in 2021. It just takes time to completely eradicate such a virus. But what should we do then?! Just sit back and wait? Governments are not helping the industry at all!”
“In that regard, I feel second-hand embarrassment for the Dutch government. The Netherlands was the leader in the number of festivals but also in their professionalization. On-site first aid personnel, experienced staff, etc. The Netherlands showed how to run a festival. It’s a disgrace how the government is treating the scene now. It’s clear that it’s all about money. Fuck them! That’s why we started techno-club.net. We’re doing it ourselves again. And 70% of the earnings go directly back to the DJs, so they can have an income too. Support them on techno-club.net!”
This interview with The Advent was originally published on This Is Our House in October 2020.
Black & white photos by Sven Scholten
Who is The Advent?
London based Cisco Ferreira, or The Advent, can be described in many ways: a musician, a pioneer, a sound designer, a steady force, one persistent m*therf*cker, a rebel, an icon, an outsider, a great live artist…
Mostly though, The Advent is known for his interpretation of what we call techno. Ever since young Portuguese Cisco discovered acid house in the London clubs he frequented, his journey has been about making his mark on the electronic music scene. The Advent is everything about techno you’ve learned to love, without the circus you’ve learned to accept.
In 1994 The Advent signed a record deal for 12 EPs and 3 albums together with Colin McBean. This was the beginning of an era during which the duo set a worldwide standard for high quality underground electro and techno. They hit the world with a refreshing sound, both as The Advent, and ‘G Flame’ (Cisco) and ‘Mr G’ (Colin).
Nowadays The Advent is a solo project, bombarding crowds around the world with its trademark raw, energetic sound. A sound that grants The Advent yearly slots at festivals as Nature One, Kompass, and Bonusz, as well as regular shows in clubs as Berghain and Tresor in Berlin, Lehmann in Stuttgart, and Madrid’s Fabrik.