Where did you guys meet, and how did you start working together?

BS: Well, from my side I can say the truth, haha. Moved to Berlin in '06, was working with music projects/releases via Chicago with Jordan Fields, noticed over Myspace that Supa Dupa was back, so I sent a simple introduction mail over to Ty and then he phoned on the same day. Straight, no-chaser. And things just moved on from there.   

Jack The Box started as a radio show hosting artists from around the globe for joint live sessions. Can you tell our readers a bit about how that works, and which artists you're hosting?

BS: Well, since Tyree has his own monthly show on another station, the idea of working a weekly show just the two of us was too much, maybe a little overdose, so an idea came together quite quickly for a three-hour show from Berlin and another city while rotating our guest DJs over the course of a month. What I asked of these DJs was to act as "roving reporters" for their own cities scenes, show us what's hot etc. Bryan Agent Pepper for Paris, Joost Dulac for Amsterdam, Thomas Madvig for Copenhagen, DJ Upi for Helsinki (our newest entry into our JTB brotherhood) and of course Mr. Tyree Cooper representing Chicago and Berlin. All of our brotherhood has their own styles and deep love for their own cities, so the proof is definitely in the pudding.

TC: Also, it shows how much love Europe and the rest of the world has for their interpretation of what house music is.

Jack The Box is now a party as well, happening around Berlin in venues like Tresor and Kleine Reise. Is there a difference in concept between the nights? What guests are you planning for your nights?

BS: Jack The Box was born out of our own feelings about House music. Our mission statement is straight up house, no fillers — maybe our main difference is we try to put out positive vibes which have a total connection from where we are originally from, the musical history of Chi-town mixed and twisted up with the late '80s/early '90s UK acid house, and we try to focus on this aspect as best we can. Concerning Berlin, I feel our vibe is our vibe. We don't try to fake what we aren't. We just wanna give Berlin some L.O.V.E.

TC: Our thing stems from our deep appreciation for the genre of "dance-able" music. I mean if you continuously give the people in each generation the same type of music and expect them to appreciate what you do, then it's gonna be hard for them to follow you and what you do because you didn't educate them correctly. So here we are "Jack The Box," the teachers of good dance-able music or "good house music! Plain and simple! However you wanna conjugate the phrase, that's what we do.

BS: With the guests we wanna bring to our family, we take time over which folks we wanna pick. We do have close connections to several Berlin-based DJs who fit our JTB vibe and at the same time we are happy to be able to showcase DJs from abroad who we both trust and love musically and technically, so it's just a big plus we can work with both our Power family down at Kleine Reise and Diana 'n the folks from Tresor, too.

TC: This concept didn't just happen over night. We think everything through and with almost scientific precision, so when we book a DJ we know exactly if he or she will fit in our groove. And also the fact that we have great support from Kleine Reise and also from Tresor is evident that what we are doing is catching on in small steps but with rapid gratification.

You each have a label. Are they different in concept, and do you plan to make Jack The Box a record label as well?

BS:  STARRRecordings started due to good timing and chance late last year, while I started enjoying making tracks just for fun again. So my new project was born; fate played its card, and the project Blue Tone is just that. I hooked up with a pal Dennis outta Rotterdam, and things just clicked. We are making freestyle house tracks, from 117BPM upwards while keeping certain intensity that is growing into our Blue Tone style. We both want to do vinyl, and we both feel the time is getting right to launch something with a bang!

TC: I'm sure there is gonna be a few "Jack The Box" recordings by us (Bobby Starrr & Tyree Cooper). We've been recording for some time now and in the real close future we will start again, but now we have something going so we can integrate that into what we're doing at the moment.   

What do you have planed release-wise both together and as separate producers?

BS: Other than Blue Tone, my own releases have been put on hold, but it's about time I get my head down and do the do on some fresh bits for Parker Musicworks (label from Terrence Parker). Things are in the pipeline concerning Ty and myself working together again, although we are "always" working together since we play each other what we are working on all the time. Hahaha. Jack The Box will be showcasing tunes through the grapevine over the coming months. Keep ya finger on the pulse!

Taken from SLIM Mag October Issue

Jack the Box Live from Berlin will air Wednesday October 19th at 20:00, and repeat Thursday at 10:00.