Baltimore House Music icon Teddy Douglas has held down a hugely successful career as an international producer and DJ for nearly 4 decades. He’s largely known for his works as The Basement Boys with Jay Steinhour and Thommy Davis, responsible for dance classics including Crystal Waters’ 1991 Gold single, ‘Gypsy Woman,’ among many more. In the mid 90s,Teddy Douglas and Jay Steinhour opened Basement Boys Records and released club anthems from Teddy Douglas, Jasper St. Co., Ann Nesby, Those Guys, DJ Spen, Byron Stingly, Karizma, Kenny Bobien, Taja Seville and more. After such a rich career in dance music and creating a vast back catalogue to go with it, Teddy is finally releasing his first solo album, ‘I’m Here’ on Nervous Records. WWD checked in with Teddy for a Little Talk to find out all about it!
WWD: Congratulations on releasing your brilliant first artist album, ‘I’m Here’ on Nervous Records, what’s the inspiration behind the release?
The inspiration came from the 3 songs that I wrote after moving from Baltimore to Pennsylvania in 2006. We sold the studio and I was finished with the music business. The 3 songs were ‘Star in the Ghetto’, ‘Help!’ and ‘I’m Here’. I played the demo for Nervous Records president Mike Weiss and Kevin Williams who was A&R at the time and they loved the concept.
WWD: So you’ve been producing music for nearly 40 years now and responsible for enormous global hits with Crystal Waters, Ultra Naté, The Basement Boys, Jasper Street Company and many more. Why after all this time have you only now decided to make your own artist album?
It’s my time!! It’s the chapter in the book where I let the world know who I am… musically. ‘I’m Here’ is a story about musical freedom.
WWD: Are you pleased with how it sounds and what delights can listeners expect to hear?
I am very happy with the way it sounds! Musically it’s actually quite an eclectic album, where I’ve explored other genres including a little Funk, Rock and Jazz and my usual Baltimore House and Disco sounds. Herb Powers mastered it, he’s one of the best in the business and I also work with 2 very talented engineers Greg Lewis and Bill Pratt, who help me with my vision and all of my crazy ideas.
WWD: The album features all kinds of vocal talents from different genres. Who is involved in the project?
Yes, I love working with unique talent, like the soulful voices of Sipho and Pauline Taylor from England. The soul-drenched Blues singer Richard Farrell from Denmark who collaborated on several album songs. And there are also 3 Icons from separate genres – Hip Hop legend Buckshot from Blackmoon featuring as BDI Thug, dance diva Ultra Naté, and HIp House king Fast Eddie.
WWD: Have you got any favourite tracks from the album?
I love them all to be honest! But one track stands out as being very special is “Star in the Ghetto”. I wrote the rap and recorded the demo, it’s about my perspective on the music business. Buckshot felt it and agreed to record it. I was very happy with the results. Big shout out to him!
WWD: In what way does ‘I’m Here’ differ from your previous works and usual Teddy Douglas style?
‘I’m Here’ is slightly different. It still has the signature Teddy Douglas kick, lol. But, yes It’s different because most of the tracks were written on guitar, rather than a piano or organ.
WWD: And the album is out on vinyl too, you must be excited about that!? What are your thoughts on the vinyl market these days?
Yes it is out on both vinyl and all digital platforms, I am excited about it as vinyl appears to be coming back. I don’t know if it will return to its glory days, before we had digital files to share around, but the market seems to be healthy again.
WWD: So now you’ve finally scratched that itch of making your own artist album, do you have any plans for another one?
LOL!!! Who knows. I need some rest!! I have worked tirelessly on this record for 2 years. The LP has a clear message of angst, pain and disappointment, all the things that I wanted to express at that time when the demo was done. Full circle now….15 years later. Those songs are more relevant to my life than ever. I am very proud of this record.
WWD: What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?
The absolute biggest highlight of my career was getting a proclamation from the Mayor of Baltimore city for our 30 plus years contribution to Dance Music this summer. We have our own day on June 23rd here in Baltimore.
WWD: Your productions are usually always so very soulful musically and lyrically, who are your biggest musical influences?
My biggest musical influences are Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff of Philadelphia International records. 2 years ago I paid tribute to them with the ‘Baltimore Philadelphia International LP’ on Quantize Records. The other one is Quincy Jones. Similar to the tribute I did with Philadelphia, I recorded a 4 track EP celebrating the genius called Tribute to Q on Basement Boys Records.
WWD: You were at ADE this year – how was it, where did you play?
ADE was very nice this year. I played at the Nervous Records party and the room was magical.
WWD: Have you any pearls of wisdom for a producer just starting out and what’s your secret to sustaining long lived success in the music industry?
Always be yourself. Make music that you like. Make music that brings you joy is the secret.
WWD: As producer who has seen a lot of changes in the music game over the years, what are your thoughts on AI generated music, and have you been tempted to have a play around with it yet?
No, I have not played around with it…I actually have no interest in making music with AI.
WWD: What else are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
I am going to go on holiday for the Holidays. When I return in 2025, I will focus on touring the LP and I also have a Maysa collaboration in the works.
WWD: Happy Holidays! Thanks for the chat, Teddy 🙂
‘I’m Here’ is available here