Felix Cartal is a Vancouver Producer / DJ and long time SalaciousSound favourite, with a penchant for vocal electro house, and a talent for making popular tracks out of the unexpected. He just released a fantastic full-length effort in March titled ‘Different Faces’ – you can pick that up on iTunes here.

He’s been touring on a hectic 2-4 date per week schedule with another Salacious favourite, Clockwork. It’s my great pleasure to present to you today an exciting new collaboration between the two which features the lovely vocals of Miss Palmer. The track is called Black to White, and is an absolute banger, as you will shortly hear. It will be released as part of the Black To White remixes release coming out May 29th on Dim Mak Records.

Finally, as the title suggests, I was able to sit down with Felix for a half hour to shoot the shit about his tour, the album, and what he’s got to look forward to this summer.

I’m grateful for the opportunity, and can’t wait to catch him at the festivals – look for him at Sasquatch, EDC Vegas, WEMF, and lots more. Full dates and more are available at his official site.

Cal: Hey Felix, thanks for the chat. Where are you right now?

Felix: I’m just at home in Vancouver.

Cal: Do you have a break in the tour?

Felix: Yeah, I’ve kindof been playing Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat, and been home late Sunday til Tuesdays.

Cal: What are you up to in Van between tour dates?

Felix: Well I’m working with a rapper who just got signed to RCA. She’s really talented. I just got introduced to her, and I think we both come from totally different places, and that’s sortof why what we have come up with works. I’ve been doing beats for her. It has been cool to get away from the usual.

Cal: Freshening up the ears huh?

Felix: You know it. It’s nothing that’ll ever come out as Felix Cartal tracks though.

Cal: You have some Canada dates coming up?

Felix: Yep, Victoria, Kelowna, and then Vegas.

Cal: Have you played in Vegas before? Your performance at EDC last year was great, by the way!

Felix: Yep, I’ve done the Hard Rock pool and rain. I’m doing a residency at the Hard Rock pool this summer, three different dates over three months.

Cal: Looking forward to seeing you at EDC and WEMF this year!

Felix: Should be fun!

Cal: So for the Different Faces tour, it sounds like there have been a lot of different production arrangements. What has been the most interesting so far?

Felix: The Avalon show in Los Angeles was really cool – they brought in some additional production, these giant triangles that have a bit of a Daft Punk pyramid vibe, and the stage was really commanding. I have this video loop that I use at the shows, and it looked great.

Cal: So you’ve had Clockwork supporting. How has the vibe been?

Felix: Yeah he’s great. Super chill, and he likes to party, and he’s an awesome DJ. Very flexible, and always plays different every night. It’s great to have someone on tour who pushes things forward. All his productions are on point too. I see big things in his future.

Cal: Any chances to collaborate while on the road?

Felix: Yep, we actually started something before we went on the road, and we just had the chance to finish it. It has a big vocal on it. It’s pretty different, and I’m excited for it!

Cal: On that note, there’s a perception maybe that you just make bangers – how do you think that was addressed by your album?

Felix: For me, records are a good chance to spread your wings in a way that you wouldn’t normally get to do if you did a group of singles. I think the biggest thing is that I had the ability to collaborate with a bunch of different vocalists at one time. That sort of, in one statement, can lay it down, in the fact that ‘Ok I’m not just gonna make thirteen versions of The Joker’ and make that a record because I don’t think that would make any sense.

Cal: So my roommate has really been in to the album, playing it on repeat most nights. He loves Don’t Turn on the Lights.

Felix: I’m glad somebody likes it. That one person out there likes it. I’m happy.. haha

Cal: Yeah it’s been really well received – we ran several pieces on Salacious, and the album review killed it.

Felix: Little songs have surprised me more than other ones which I thought would do well. It’s always like that with a record though. It’s hard to predict which ones will go off the most. It’s made me happy to see that people are willing to try something else.

Cal: I expected the Sebastien Grainger track would do the best, but there was a track last week..

Felix: The sounds?

Cal: Yeah, that had a huge response! I guess that speaks to the flexibility of the album, and like you say, different vocalists will have different effects.

Felix: Oh yeah.

Cal: Back to the tour for a second, you have a date in Vancouver on May 20th. Is that something of a homecoming?

Felix: Well.. it’s the official date for the tour, and I haven’t done one. It’s the long weekend, it’s the Sunday. It’s going to be a great vibe, and it’s a great party weekend for Vancouver. Homecoming? Not particularly, but every time I play in Vancouver it’s absolutely awesome.

Cal: I try to touch on Vancouver as much as I can with artists.. I was talking to, we’ll say a “well-known” producer, and he had nothing to say of the scene. Didn’t feel like he had access, didn’t know anyone, didn’t want to talk about it at all.

Felix: Was it ___________?

Cal: Yeah

Felix: So there’s a promotional company out of here called Blueprint. They’re one of the best that I work with, and I don’t mean that in a biased way. They grow artists. They bring them in when they’re young, and are willing to take gambles, bring them up through the ranks, and I think that’s really important in a promotional company. A lot of promoters just book you, the show happens, and that’s the interaction you get. I think the fact that Blueprint is like that is really positive towards our scene, because most of the DJs I’ve heard who play for them have nothing but positive reviews because of that.

Cal: To what extent is that because of their following, or the fans that they attract?

Felix: The best place to be is where your fans respect the company and know the events they throw is quality, so even if they don’t know a particular artist on a week, if they respect the curation they’ll be willing to take a chance because there’s trust there.

Cal: So on that note, with respect to how artists are earning a living these days, I mean musicians have this sort of relationship with their fans that’s much more personal than it is like they’re a product which is marketed. So if their favourite artist has a show coming up or news they’re excited about, they’ll share it with their friends.

Felix: For sure. Twitter has the ability to humanize people you wouldn’t see in that light. Even the way Deadmau5 wrote his latest song on ustream with people watching, that totally flips everything around. Back in the day, Metallica was in the studio for five weeks at a top-secret location, no connection to the outside world, no reporters. To flip that on its head and do it the opposite way is so cool.

The artist model now, even news, everyone gets it from their peers rather than the ‘official’ news sources. And you can apply that model to the music industry too. The effect is just that you don’t have more freedom to take different paths.

Cal: What’s the most insane thing you’ve ever had in a rider?

Felix: heh. On my own rider?

Cal: Yep.

Felix: I don’t know.. it’s not that crazy. I have a coke slurpee on my rider. So when I played in Taiwan once, they misread it, probably because of the language barrier, and they just bought me a bunch of coke.. and it was reallllly awkward. It’s really sketchy to get that stuff in Taiwan.

Cal: Ok well thanks again Felix. Can’t wait to see you this summer!

Felix: Cheers! You too Cal.

Related posts:

1. Listen to Felix Cartal’s 30,000 LFOs
2. Listen to Felix Cartal feat. Sebastien Grainger – H.U.N.T.
3. Felix Cartal – The Joker EP

During SXSW I had the opportunity to hang out with one of Dim Mak’s latest additions, Clockwork. He had just released his Squad Up EP, which was a big first release both in terms of the production quality and the remixers who were onboard – Dillon Francis, Torro Torro, and Botnek.

The show he was performing at on the night of his arrival in Austin was the Dim Mak showcase, featuring Porter Robinson, Cassian, Clockwork, Riton, and more. After an impressive set by Cassian, Clockwork took to the decks and proceeded to whip the crowd in to a frenzy. I’ve included photos here as evidence, but you really should read our awesome review from that night.

The interview paints a picture of a chill guy, comfortable with his early successes and optimistic for the future. And he has every reason to be, for the many successes of his debut release, and the myriad shows he’ll be performing at this summer. Do check him out if you get the chance – he’s also a great DJ!

No related posts.

Tim Mason is a Progressive House artist that has currently been making a name for himself with massive singles like “Anima” to even bigger remixes such as his remix of “Stars Come Out“, “Pressure” or “After“.

Having gotten worldwide support from names like Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, David Guetta, Laidback Luke, Steve Angello (to simply name a few) Tim Mason is a artist to keep your eyes on. I managed to catch up with him recently after his set in London Ontario to talk with him about his latest productions, starting off producing, and much more.

Salacious Sound: It’s great to have you talking to Salacious Sound Tim, thanks for doing the interview. To really start from the beginning at what age did you really becoming interested in producing music and when did you start producing music?

Tim Mason: Well since I was really young, maybe about 16 years old. I remember my buddy would always bring me to raves and I just got addicted to the music and the crowd and that was it! I then started making music.

SS: Did you always start off as electronic or were you in any punk/rock band before hand?

TM: I was producing for bands before I really starting working by myself but I was always into dance music so I felt I had to do my own thing which is how I started becoming a DJ.

SS: Did this help shape you growing up? Did producing have a huge impact on you in school life?

TM: Oh of course! growing up listening to music, going to the age clubs, going to the “Minstry of Sound”, all of that really inspired me and give me ideas for my own sound so it definitely had a huge role on me.

SS: What was your first release, and was that really monumental for you?

TM: Well my first release was “The Moment” and when I first released it there was something about that track had people everywhere going crazy. Steve Angello heard it, then the next day I got a call and that was it. I became part of Size family.

SS: What’s your favourite production to date?

TM: Well I love the remix that I did for Zedd of “Stars Come Out” but also my “Anima OMG mix” since it wasn’t meant to be. But I went back to the studio and I starting playing around with the keys and I ended up with a new version to “Anima” that I was really happy about.

SS: So on the opposite of that note what is your least favourite production? Would you change anything?

TM:  I can honestly say I don’t have a ‘least favourite,’ as a producer you’re just really happy with everything you make and you learn everyday. I mean you go back to your old sounds and you might change some things but that new sound will just shine even more on your next piece. All my productions and remixes I’m just so happy are out and I might go back to them to listen to them again but I’m only learning from my mistakes.

SS: So one of your most popular singles to date is “Anima”, how long did you really spend working on that track and how much time did you put into it?

TM: Well after “The Moment” was released people really started to notice me and I really needed to keep that momentum going with another massive track. I love working in the studio so it was a pretty smooth transition and I really liked how it turned out. As for how long it took I couldn’t even tell you to be honest.

SS: Heh, it’s quite alright. So your currently signed to Size Records which is Steve Angello’s record Company, has that been a lot of work? Do you enjoy working with Steve?

TM: Oh definitely, Steve Angello is a bro, I love the guy and working with something as big as Size Records is a huge for me, the production behind it, the shows, it’s all just incredible. I wouldn’t change it for anything; it’s a great label and the artist involved are all great, Size Records is a huge family and I love being part of it.

SS: So if you could work with anyone outside of EDM who would you work with?

TM: Well i have some collab’s right now which I can’t really talk about. Originally I didn’t think I was going to work with anyone because it’s still so early for me, and I’ve just got so many singles and remixes I’m currently working on. It is a little hard to juggle but, what I can say is the people who I really wanted to collab with, I am collabing with right now which is so awesome to be a part of.

SS: What was one of your best experiences playing at a show?

TM: Easily one of the best experiences was playing at Creamfields with Size Matters but another great show that I’ve done was actually with Size Matters again and it was at the Phantom Blue in Miami that I did a couple of weekends ago. People just went absolutely crazy there. Ministry of Sound back in England was another amazing show that I’ve done. Those 3 would probably be my top 3 best shows that I’ve ever done. But don’t get me wrong, every single night is a new and amazing experience. Being in Cananda so far has just been.. well wow.

SS: What do you have coming out on Size Records that you can talk about with us?

TM: My new single is a work in progress that I’m really excited about, and I’m doing a remix for Steve Aoki that’s going to be a amazing track.

SS: Awesome, can’t wait! On a finishing note do you have any final messages to fans?

TM: All I can say is that I really appreciate every single fan that follows my music and listen’s to my work. I do it always for the people and the reaction I get from the crowd whenever I play that amazing first track always gets me so excited and I hope to see every single fan in a club soon enough!

Make sure you check out

• Size Records on Beatport
• Tim Mason on Beatport
• Tim Mason on Facebook
• Tim Mason on Soundcloud

Related posts:

1. Mason – You Are Not Alone
2. EE2 Interview
3. The Friday Interview: Ant Brooks

Vancouver moombahton ambassador Ziad from 110BPM here. One of the pioneers of moombahton, Munchi, recently played a show in Vancouver and wanted to share the experience (along with exclusive excerpts from my interview with him) with Cal and the rest of Salacious Sound. 

If you’re not familiar with Munchi (shame on you!), here are a two of my favourite tracks to get you acquainted:

The first thing I immediately noticed when I got to Republic was that a lot of the people there definitely weren’t from the moombahton or even EDM scene. With $12 cover the night before a long weekend there must have been a lot of door traffic. I know what you’re thinking and yes, I know that $12 cover for a normal Canadian club is ridiculous. This is Vancouver.

...and this is Republic's light-up bar

To my disappointment the opening DJ didn’t play a single moombahton track, but the performance that followed more than made up for that. Arriving straight from the plane, Munchi got behind two shiny CDJ 2000s right away and put his CDs in. Singing and dancing along to every track, Munchi’s energy immediately transferred over to the 400 shuffling club-goers and got them moving right away.

If you’ve never seen a Dutch man with a giant ‘fro and an ever bigger grin on his face jump up and down, shouting “Mother-fucker!” along with lyrics… it puts a smile on your face. What I loved at this show was that instead of the typical ‘build and drop/melt your face’ off’ style that I’m accustomed to hearing at most shows he pulled off one hell of a rhythmic, high-energy set.

Now, I’ve been to a lot of shows in my 22 years of life and this was the first time I’d ever seen 6’3″ Persians with silver chains and girls in little leather jackets all dancing alongside each other and enjoying the music equally as much. In fact, instead of the usual situation where the line is dead by 12am-12:30am, it was constantly busy whether it was 1am, 1:30am, 2am, and even later people were still flocking to the club… I guess that’s what word of mouth can do for a show.

Hands down favourite point of the night? An unreleased remix of The Final Countdown. I don’t use this expression often, but people seriously went ham. Two days later, I sat down with Munchi to talk about the experience:

First off, I was at the show and I don’t think there’s any question that people loved it.

Munchi (M): “You were there? Why didn’t you come say hi. After the gig I was talking to everybody at the show.”

Ziad (Z): “Haha, well I tried talking to you, but Jason said you just got off the plane so I wanted to give you some time.”

M: “Aw, naw man, that’s not that big of a deal. I just like talking to everybody. I could tell that there were a lot of people coming that weren’t in the moombahton scene or weren’t used to going to Republic and everyone came together and had a good time it looked like. That’s why I went out into the crowd after to thank everybody for coming out because I could tell that a lot of them came out of there element and had a good time regardless.”

That’s actually something Republic is trying to get past, this perception that it’s a Top 40 club or a club for a select group of people.

M: “For real?!”

Z: “Yeah, recently there’s been a big push to expand their audience. They’ve got a successful reggae night on Sundays, and Tuesdays they do drum n bass/jungle, and now they’re really pushing new artists to come do Thursday shows.”

M: “That’s good shit, it’s always good to bring different crowds together.”

And what do you think of the layout of republic?

M: “It was weird, it’s in the middle of the air. Downstairs was crazy, upstairs everybody was judging and I felt really peer pressured, you know?”

What was Fortune like? I know that you weren’t on the bill until the last minute, was it strange playing for people that don’t know your music?

M: “Aw, no, it’s all good, dude. I actually prefer to play in front of people who don’t know my shit and then I try to convince them… but sadly, it didn’t work this time…

Z: “Really?!”

M: “I mean, it worked up until a certain extent, but when I started playing moombahcore they were like ‘nah, fuck that shit,’ haha. I don’t mind though, I was like ‘fuck it,’ you know?”

————————————————————————————————-

I hope you all enjoyed my expose of Munchi’s debut show in Canada. If you want to read the rest of the interview it’s all on Moomba+ for your viewing pleasure, and if you live in or around Vancouver and want to talk moombahton (shows, tracks, whatever) don’t hesitate to send me a message through my Facebook page.

The Republic show was made possible by the great guys at the Donnelly Group, as well as 110BPM, Winnie Cooper, and Vancouver’s Very Own. To see more photos from the event, head over here.

Lastly, Moombah+ has a swell Facebook group that you can keep up with us on:

- Ziad

Related posts:

1. Show review: Nadastrom, Torro Torro, Toddla T, Diplo, Dillon Francis, Nicky Da B, and Bro Safari [SXSW2012]
2. If It Bleeds It Leads — Knife Party at Ministry of Sound [Show Review + Photos]
3. Porter Robinson, Adventure Club, and The M Machine at Fox Theatre, Oakland [show review]

Over the last decade British singer / rapper Eliott Gleave has been through a lot of change. In 2000 he was a film student moonlighting as an MC at garage parties in order to make bills, and he had released a few white-label vinyls. Now, he’s a laureate of the UK rap and electronic music scenes, and has made Example a household name across Europe, Asia, and Australia which is associated with huge arena tours sporting swelling + euphoric audiences of 15,000.

Ask him about his US-debut in NYC on March 26th however, and you can sense his excitement for what’s yet to come. He has made what will be his first of many moves which will capture the attention of North American dance music lovers.

Where did it start?

By 2006 it was pretty clear that Gleave was destined for success, although his early work would belie the musical direction in which he’d find the most success. With a couple jobs working in film and music-television under his belt, he released a few singles which gained the attention of The Streets’ Mike Skinner. Gleave proceeded to cut a full-length effort on Skinner’s late label ‘The Beats’. A few short months later, Skinner killed off and held a funeral for The Beats in 2007.

Not one to be dissuaded, Gleave forged on. He self-released his next single in early 2008 and shot a music video in 4 days for a thousand quid. And in mid-2009 he released his first chart success ‘Watch the Sun Come Up.’

The pivot

My interview with Example focuses on this 2009-2011 period in his career, because to me and many of his fans it marked a turning point in his career. That shift from rap towards house, dubstep, and the stadium electronic sound that characterizes his latter releases was the move that, I predict, will see him headlining North American arenas and festivals in 2013.

Cal: I’m more interested in asking you today about your music and some of the changes I’ve noticed, and try and stay away from some of the typical stuff that people pick at when they interview you because I don’t think my readers are going to find that interesting.. we aren’t a tabloid.

So first subject is what you’re doing in the U.S. You had your debut U.S. performance last night, right?

EG: Yeah man. I mean, I was in Miami a few years ago, and I jumped on a few peoples’ sets. But last night was the official sort of first performance, you know, headlining sold-out show. It was interesting.. pretty exciting.

Cal: That theatre, the Gramercy in New York, is pretty big too right?

EG: Yeah it’s like 700. For what we do in the UK that’s kinda tiny, but for a first gig it’s kindof a cool place to start out.

Cal: I mean you have that arena tour in the UK coming up, so,..

EG: Yeah we’re gonna be playing to 15,000 people a night.

Cal: Definitely a different scale. So I think that, and you tell me, that there are a lot of people over here that are really receptive to the sound you’re putting out right now. So what was the crowd like last night, and what was the stage arrangement like?

EG: The crowd was mixed! I mean, we played a similar set to what we’ve been playing on my European tour, across 17 cities in all foreign language countries. So, it starts off a bit rocky, grungey, and in the middle it goes dubstep, and then the last fourty minutes is like a big house set. So all my biggest singles all mixed in, with remixes. We kinda play like a DJ might perform, but by a live band. And we don’t really stop at any point to chat or for silence. The whole show just keeps going, a bit like when I used to watch Faithless. They didn’t really have breaks.. they just kept playing through everything with segues, it was all just mixed in but played by live drums and keyboards and guitar. I think it keeps the audience’s interest, and allows the set to just keep building and building.

Cal: Am I right in thinking you toured with Faithless?

EG: Yeah I supported Faithless about 18 months ago on their last arena tour, and then I was lucky enough to do a song with them on my current album Playing in the Shadows, it’s a song called ‘The Way’.

Cal: So you mentioned that your set starts off kinda grungey. Playing in the Shadows sorta had a theme was inspired by grunge music a bit right?

EG: Yeah. What I used to love about Pearl Jam, and Nirvana, and the Smashing Pumpkins is that the lyrics were really honest, and they were almost.. I mean, when Eddie Vedder or Kurt Cobain sang, they were almost a bit fragile. They were opening up their hearts either about relationships or their life, or their friends, or politics, or drugs and addiction. So, when I was trying to write Playing in the Shadows, I wanted to tell people about my life, things I’d been going through with my girlfriend, dealing with fame and shit, all the stuff that’s thrown at you.. the women, parties, drugs, alcohol. So I kinda turned to grunge music to find my voice and my sound, and I think there are certain tracks on the album like Skies Don’t Lie, or Under the Influence, the title track, and Natural Disaster as well. The melodies are very grungey, you know? It’s quite melancholic, and bittersweet, but still uptempo at the same time.

Cal: So let me ask you – what’s the concept for your upcoming album that you have in the works? And it’s coming out on Mercury?

EG: Yep, it’ll be out in the UK around the end of the year, like November. So I imagine it’ll be out at the beginning of next year on Mercury/Def Jam.

So I’ve always tried to do something different with the albums that I put out. I’ve always liked rap, and rock, and dance, but I’ve focused on different things on different albums. You know growing up, I listened to Wu-Tang, Snoop Dogg, and Jay-Z, and I also listened to Prodigy, and Faithless, and I went through a massive grunge phase. I was a big fan of Sublime and Green Day.

So my first album was purely hip-hop, because that’s all I really knew how to do. I only knew a hip-hop producer. I had only ever rapped, and never felt comfortable singing.

My second album was me more experimenting with melodies, pop, and it kinda ended up like an electro-pop album.

And then the third album was me going more dance, like house, dubstep, but retaining the honest and rocky vocals, singing about real life.

So with the fourth album now, I want to kinda retain some of the rocky attitude with the vocals, and I want electronic production, and go to the same producers I’ve been working with and a few new ones as well. But the production will be all guitars. It’ll be kindof a stadium dance album. Very epic guitar riffs, but produced with electronic drums, synth, and bass.

Cal: Is that where the Kasabian influence appears?

EG: With Kasabian, they have an attitude I want to recreate. They’re very British, very lad-y. You know, real lads. Almost like terrace chants, you know, that you hear in the terrace at the football stadiums. That’s the kind of thing I want to replicate. Seeing them live, they blend elements of rave music, especially with their lighting and their sound, and then with guitars as well. That’s what I want to replicate with this album, although the lyrical content will be very different from Kasabian.

Cal: So you tour pretty widely, doing everything from foreign language countries like you mentioned, the UK, Australia, and you’re hitting the U.S. now. Do you notice differences in crowd responses to your sets?

EG: You know what? I don’t really. My biggest songs in the UK are my biggest songs in Asia and all over Europe. Like last night in New York, the biggest songs were probably Kickstarts, Changed the Way You Kiss Me, Watch the Sun Come Up, Stay Awake.

People got the dubstep, but they didn’t react to it as much. I feel like dubstep is kinda awkward to dance to. The tempo and the sort of rhythm of it is awkward to dance to compared to house, which is very easy to jump up and down to.

So I saw the crowd enjoying themselves and going a bit more crazy to the house tempo stuff, and all the big singles. It’s pretty much the same all across Europe, it doesn’t matter whether we were in Germany, or Italy, or Scandinavia. People kinda went crazy at all the same points, and reacted to the same stuff.

So you notice a difference in cultures, when you go out in the world obviously, and maybe in the way the kids dress, or when you go to the local radio station how they play different music. But my fans all kind of want the same show, and come for the same reasons. To bounce, to sweat, to scream, to shout.. you know, euphoria, put their arms around their friends and dance up and down. It’s kind of nice that the whole world reacts to it the same.

Cal: It must be rewarding as an artist to have a piece of consistency even though you’re in these disparate places?

EG: Yeah, like in Korea where they don’t speak English as well, they know all the words to my songs which is just a really weird concept..

Cal: So you mentioned in a previous interview that your writing process usually considers the melody of what you’re writing before the lyrics or the raps.

EG: Yeah?

Cal: I’m interested to what extent, and I could be off base, but to what extent was the collaboration with Skream a turning point towards more dancefloor oriented melodies backing your vocals?

EG: I mean the Skream record wasn’t really that for me. I suppose from a public point of view it was, because kindof, off my last album I’d had Kickstarts and Won’t Go Quietly, and Watch the Sun Come Up. And then there was a quiet period, and Shot Yourself in the Foot Again came up. But by that time, I’d already written Changed the Way You Kiss Me and Stay Awake and Midnight Run. I was already leaning towards a more dancefloor or dance arena, hands in the air, anthemic kind of singing.

But Shot Yourself was a turning point because, as far as I could tell, it was one of the first mainstream dubstep songs with a mainstream artist singing over it, by an underground producer – one of the guys who sort of started it…

Cal: Originator?

EG: Yeah, I mean, even Skream will say that he didn’t start it, but he brought it to the public’s attention.

So that was definitely a turning point.

But the way I usually write songs is I write the song title first, and then I’ll give that song title some kind of melody in the song. I’ll have a tag line before the drop, and that becomes the song title, and I’ll work backwards from that tag line, I’ll give the chorus it’s melody, and then I’ll write the raps as you say.

Cal: On that note, I’m interested in your thoughts on how easy or difficult it is for artists to pivot, and change their sound these days?

EG: I think it totally depends on the artist. The only way you can have integrity with what you do, and make new choices and decision about changing or evolving a sound – the only way you can do that, for me, is if you understand the music, you’re a fan of it, and you’re a fan of what you put out yourself.

I know for a fact that there are artists out there who release songs they’re not proud of, or they didn’t believe in, but maybe it was their manager’s decision, or their producers’ decision, or their record label pressured them to do it. I’ve never been in that position, but I kind of found it easy to move from rap to singing, from hip-hop to dance music, because I was always a fan of dance music anyway.

It’s not like I was a rapper, and wondered what was this new house hype, and wanting to jump on that. It happened more naturally for me. I was a massive Prodigy fan, and a massive Rage Against the Machine fan, and decided I would try singing. I liked the dirty bass, and prefer it to the hip-hop stuff. The hip-hop stuff was too slow for me when I sang it.

I think as long as it comes natural to the artist, you can make any music you want. There are always going to be DJs who stick to purely house, other producers who stick to purely dubstep. But even Skrillex was in a rock band before he made dubstep.

For me, I kind of feel like even though my first album was rap, I feel like that was just a learning a period, a transition period. What I’m doing now is kind of what I should have always been doing. You have to go through those moments, your evolution I suppose, to end up on the other side.

Kanye was originally just a producer, and ended up one of the biggest rappers in the world. People kind of forget about his amazing production skills.

Cal: So you’re a little outspoken about this kind of stuff. Maybe we could call it “making music with edge?”

EG: Yeah!

Cal: Do you want to talk about who’s making music with edge?

EG: So I don’t think edge means it has to be underground or “cool”. For me, there is some music that you just hear in the charts, and think “they can’t possibly be a fan of that.. they’re just jumping on the bandwagon.” I’ve always just made music that comes natural to me. I don’t really want to start pinpointing people, it’s too obvious now.

So Kanye, what he does is really exciting. Every album he’s done something kind of different. He had like a pop album, and then a singing album, and back to some pretty underground hip-hop. He’s not afraid to be controversial and speak his mind either, and I really like that.

I’m big on Chase & Status, and Nero. They’ve got really distinct sounds. They have set themselves their own ground-rules that they’re strict to, which I like. You know, there are certain people they won’t work with, and there are certain types or genres of music that they won’t fuck with. They stick to what the like, know, and understand, and that’s cool.

There are other people out there that aren’t afraid to change their sound with every album. A band like The Horrors, where every album sounds different. It’s experimental.

Same with people like Damon Albarn. He’s got all these different projects going on, like one minute he’s Blur, next minute he’s Gorillaz, then he’s The Good, The Bad, and The Queen.

Jack White is the same, just experimenting with different sounds and projects all the time.

They’re the people I really admire.

Cal: So one of the guys I was interested in hitting on was Diplo – you’re going to be doing a bit of work with him on the next album right?

EG: Yep.

Cal: Are you in to Moombahton at all?

EG: Yeah I did a song with Dillon Francis on my new album!

Cal: Right he did a remix of Daydreamer?

EG: Yeah, I actually did a song with him too though, on the new album.

Cal: Oh! Sick!

EG: Yeah the new album has Dillon Francis, Kill the Noise, Dirty South, Diplo, Tommy Trash, Laidback Luke, Benga, Feed Me. It’s pretty cool!

Cal: A who’s who of producers!

Well that about wraps up what I had. I appreciate your thoughts, because we try to focus on what we like – there’s so much out there that’s great that we can’t possibly talk about it all. It feels like a waste to talk about what we think is crap.

EG: For sure!

Cal: Great to pick your brain today. I hope your UK tour goes great!

EG: Appreciate it! Alright Cal, cheers for that. Take care.

Related posts:

1. Interview With Cilla K
2. Interview With Brick-Saavy
3. Lifelike Interview

In advance of his first full-length effort I interviewed Alex Syse, aka Basic Physics, so that you guys might get a taste of the man behind some of 2011′s biggest and baddest blogosphere bootlegs. That’s often a dirty word – bootleg – in this industry. It usually connotes a lack of originality, and almost invariably a lack of production quality.

But Alex is breaking that mould, and constantly pushing the talent behind his very popular work forward. In just a year, he’s come from receiving over a hundred thousand plays on his Ghost on a G6 mashup to releasing a 16-track album loaded with both originals – a big step – and the quality bootlegs we’ve grown used to. I’m taking my first listen now, and I’m impressed. There was obviously a ton of care and attention to detail that went in to this album.

Download the full album for free at the bottom of the interview, and support Basic Physics on Facebook.

Cal: A/S/L?

Alex: Alex Syse, The Northwoods aka Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cal: What is your background in music? How were you trained?

Alex: From an early age, I was interested in how music was made. I had a brief stint with the piano, guitar, and drums in middle school but the simplicity of being limited to one instrument was always a turnoff to me. However, this helped lay a foundation to know what was in key, how to play certain notes, and how composition worked. After middle school, music took me on a journey from hip hop to jam bands (I saw Umphrey’s Mcgee nearly 100 times) to indie rock and finally electro. As college began in 2007, MSTRKRFT, Daft Punk, Justice, and Pretty Lights were in constant rotation on my iPod. After listening to countless electronic artists, it gave me the itch to dive into creating my own music. After acquiring Ableton Live, I began sifting through the manual and the whole trial and error process. It was during this time that Girl Talk was blowing up. I had the opportunity to see him at Summercamp in 2008 and that sparked my interest to not only listen to more mashup music, but create music of my own.

Cal: How would you describe the genre of music you make/perform?

Alex: The genre of music I create would be categorized as Electro / Hip Hop / Pop Mashup, but I don’t want people to be afraid of that word (“mashup”). Like all genres, the mashup game is saturated with lots of artists and various styles. When I’m producing a mashup, I want it to be big, memorable, worthy to be considered one of the best, and in most cases, should make you want to dance your ass off. Some people like to do it for fun. I want to do it for more than that.

Cal: In your opinion, which is the manliest instrument? (physical/virtual/corporeal)

Alex: The “Magic Pipe” that That 1 Guy uses during his live sets. (If you don’t know, get familiar!)

Cal: I noticed that there is a bunch of rocketship / space / blastoff type imagery and language surrounding the album launch – any particular reason?

Alex: The first album I released was “Nightlife in the Northwoods” in April of 2011. The goal with that project was to get my name out there. With the album titled “Lift Off”, I’m hoping it will do just that, lift off my career. I would like to think I’m one of the best in this genre and I hope that this album gets the attention of many. Besides taking my career up to different level, I thought it would be fun to run with the “Lift Off” concept. Apollo 13 was one of my favorite movies as a kid and once I found soundclips from the film, I had to use them! The album art, created by the great Joshua Bull, was his interpretation of “Lift Off” and I thought he did a phenomenal job.

Cal: How many tracks have you made which haven’t made their way on to the internet?

Alex: Roughly 20, including 3 original productions. Patience is critical when transitioning from mashups to originals.

Cal: So your name is Basic Physics – which of Newton’s laws is the best? Why?

Alex: Newton’s Third Law: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I think this one is the easiest to understand so it is my favorite. Anything with an equation (Newton’s Second Law) is in a league of it’s own.

Cal: The genre-space you are making music in is competitive, wouldn’t you say? What do you think Basic Physics brings to the table that gives you a leg up on the competition?

Alex: Absolutely. The amount of mashup / DJs that have sprung up in the past year to year and a half is staggering. The emergence of a DJ being a “rockstar” has turned a lot of people on to EDM and producing in general. Since I started in the Spring of 2010, I have learned so much from a musical standpoint and a marketing standpoint (graduated with a Marketing degree this past December). At the end of the day though, my drive and passion to succeed in music will be my greatest attribute. I have so much more planned then just mashups and I can’t wait to release it to everyone.

Cal: Any goals for your production career that you’ve set? (short or long-term)

Alex: Transitioning to more remixes and originals is in the short term goals. I’m ready. As far as longer term goals, I would love to collaborate with some of my favorite producers down the road, get official support from some of those artists, climb the Beatport charts, meet Pete Tong, play at the likes of EDC, Ultra.

You’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make it come true.

Related posts:

1. Basic Physics – Winter Warmup EP
2. Daily Tracks: Dirtyloud x Dada Life, Lazy Rich, Basic Physics x Mord Fustang x Daft Punk x Mike Posner
3. Streetlab Releases Full Length Bootleg Album

Behind every conspiracy theory there exists a modicum of truth. In the case of the Midnight Conspiracy, however, you should believe everything you’ve heard. Spread the word; this isn’t a fire drill.

They surprised fans recently with an unannounced preview of their new “Eye Live” laser light show during a sold out headlining event at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. “We’ve been working on the new stage setup over the winter and just wanted to take this bad boy for a test run,” said Louis Kha of Midnight Conspiracy. “We don’t quite yet know how to drive this sucker nor are we done building it, but the lights turn on and the engine revs up so that’s a start.”

The “Eye Live” setup features a 15-foot LED structure in the shape of their mysterious “Eye of Providence” logo, accompanied by an equally eerie laser light show. The official debut will come on March 2nd at the 5000-person Congress Theatre in Chicago with Zeds Dead, Dillon Francis, and AraabMuzik.

In collaboration with Lucky Date, their ‘Veyron’ Remix EP has taken temporary shelter on Beatport until it can find a nice home with sufficient wattage. This firmly packed bundle of remixes is not to be overlooked, check Beatport!

Remember, until Jan 31 every “Like” on my Fb page results in a .50cent donation divided between Oxfam, Save The Children & The Salvation Army. Change the world!
Cheers,
Corey

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Michael Woods is a Londoner, DJ/Producer, classically-trained musician with a penchant for analog devices, a Ministry of Sound resident, and many other things which, in short, have made him a dance music sensation over the last couple years. He’s remixed and collaborated with heavyweights Deadmau5, Mark Knight, and Funkagenda to name just a few, and has a recent release on Calvin Harris’ label Fly Eye Records:

…And I have managed to get in a short, yet very cheeky interview with the star that is widely admired by the dance music elite and his global fan base. In it, I uncover some of his deepest weaknesses and misgivings, and his willingness to have sex with a bug lady.

Cal: Forums: love em, hate em, or just ambivalent?
MW: I don’t really use forums to be honest, unless I have a problem with my Mac in which cases they are extremely helpful!

Cal: What song did you end your last set with?
MW: I like to end my sets with ‘First Aid’ but it always depends on the gig.

Cal: If you could instantly master another language which would it be, and why?
MW: Spanish – I’ve been trying to learn for years now but I never seem to have the time it takes to master. My mother speaks Spanish so would be cool to have a conversation in Spanish with her!

Cal: How many pizzas would you estimate you have eaten in your entire life?
MW: I estimate 7576 pizzas.

Cal: Would you rather lose your hat or your watch?
MW: Lose my hat – I’m always losing them anyway!

Cal: Would you rather have sex with a girl who had a bug head, or a bug who had a really hot face?
MW: Someone’s been reading my Tweets! I’d have to say the former.

Cal: If you could revive any dead musician for 24 hours, who would it be and why?
MW: It would have to be Chopin so I could ask him about a piece of music I had to play for my grade 8 piano exam.

Cal: What did you do the last time you took a rest/vacation?
MW: Watched TV and ate a pizza…in bed.

Thanks Michael, and best of luck in 2012! See you at the festivals and in Ibiza!

Related posts:

1. Michael Woods – First Aid
2. Loud All Night recap video ft. Northend, AutoErotique, Chris Lake, & Michael Woods
3. Daily Tracks: Michael Woods, Guy J

[UPDATE: The track previously attached and included in this post was mis-titled "Avicii & Alesso - The Rules Has Changed". This latter track is actually titled "Archie.V - Magic Is Timeless". I sincerely apologize for the error, i did not do my homework and this consequtial lack of research has made my blogging credibility seem worthless. In the future i will make it my mission to check the facts. My whole-hearted apologies once again.]

 
While he made the biggest of strides in 2011 it seems dazzlingly comforting to imagine what Avicii and the At Night family have in store for us in 2012. I’m thrilled! Perhaps its time to take the reigns behind the decks of another BBC Essential Mix (wink, wink, wink). Kicking off the new year with the single most selfless act i’ve seen in the EDM industry so far Avicii and the team are at the forefront of the love movement that accompanies our culture. The House for Hunger Tour hits cities around the USA beginning Jan 5 and aims to raise $1,000,000 for those in need of one of the most essential things: food. We were given the very kind opportunity to catch up with Tim during the holidays and here’s the result. I hope you all are having the best of holidays so far, be safe and…have fun!
 

Related posts:

1. Dose of “At Night” (Avicii)
2. Avicii – Sweet Dreams (Mick Kastenholt & Andrew Dee Remix)
3. Download Harvard Bass’ remix of Avicii – Levels

Few artists come close to doing anything as exciting or innovative in 2011 as Pleasurekraft. My introduction was a sort of baptism by fire – after a VIP shuttle with Skrillex’s tour manager and visual productions guy, and a golf cart ride backstage, I came upon Pleasurekraft playing for an audience of several thousand at this year’s Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas.

I’ve spent my time in Ibiza, and I agree with the criticism that tech house can sound pretty homogenous sometimes. Not with Pleasurekraft though. Their unique blend of hooky-vocal-sampling and hedonist aesthetic lends itself to instantly recognizable AND lasting, substantive, memorable tunes.

Pleasurekraft will be in Toronto on New Years Eve, playing at Loft 5 Eighty! I’m also super proud to announce that I will be supporting the night. Tickets and comprehensive information here.

Full tour listing at the end of this article!

Pleasurekraft Official Site | Soundcloud

The Interview:

Cal: The artwork for Satyr Song looks vaguely like a penis with wings, am I right? What’s the backstory there?

Pleasurekraft: Actually we had no say on the artowrk – in fact what I actually suggested to 1605 (Umek’s label) was something along the lines of a Satyr – the half man half goat beings from Greek mythology that were all about pleasure – but the artist who does all of 1605′s artowrk doesn’t take art direction from anyone (including Umek) and just delivers what he wants – so that being said – I personally never looked at the Satyr Song artowrk and saw a penis with wings, but perhaps the fact that that’s what you saw maybe says more about you! ;P

(Cal’s note: my favourite track of the year!)

Cal: If you had a clay phallus hung outside your front door would you hope it would bring you luck or fertility?

Pleasurekraft: We don’t need any more fertility on this planet – there’s already too many of us here – give me the luck baby

Cal: What does the word hedonism mean to you? What bearing, if any, does it have on your life and music?

Pleasurekraft: Well – unless the Hindus & Buddhists are right, in which case we’ll keep coming back and living this life over and over again until we get it “right”, it looks like we only live once. But who knows. If we do only live once – you certainly want to make sure you make the most of this one chance you have been given to experience this amazingly beautiful, sometimes disturbing, and always interesting thing called life. Experiencing everything life has to offer full on is what hedonism is about to me.

Cal: Wine or nymphs?

Pleasurekraft: no comment but isn’t that kind of like the chicken or egg question?

Cal: I have a bag of marshmallows. Do you want one now or two in the future?

Pleasurekraft: Depends, is there a fire around? I only like toasted Marshmallows, otherwise I don’t want any.

Cal: Aside from phone and laptop, what is the most important item in your travel bag? Why?

Pleasurekraft: Deodorant, and ear plugs! I think both for obvious reasons!

Cal: What country has the best beer?

Pleasurekraft: Belgium + Germany have the best beer. HOWEVER – as far as a simple beer just to be had with some simple food – nothing too cerebral – I personally love Mexican beer (and I’m not talking about that Corona bullshit)

Cal: Wrapper on or off?

Pleasurekraft: I don’t even know what that means lol.

Cal: You are charged with presenting 3 awards to edm artists for 2011: rookie of the year, most improved, and mvp. Who are your picks?

Pleasurekraft: Fuck. I wish you hadn’t said EDM artists, it would have made my choices so much easier. To be honest I really don’t listen to much EDM when I am not going through promos or listening to things on Beatport – I think it does a disservice to the music you make if you listen to that very same genre all the time. The best EDM is made by producers who draw their inspiration from non EDM sources in my opinion – but lets see if I can give this a shot…

1. Rookie of the year – defining rookie in terms of a timeline is tough – but I’ll say for this case Mike Vale
2. Most improved – again difficult one here – as improvement for me here would be just change of production genre – for me I would say Miami’s Jesse Perez – who used to have a more prog/electro sound, but as of this year has been churning out some great techy numbers on his fine fine label called Mr Nice Guy
3. MVP – Again a toughy here – but I find myself playing alot of Hungarian producer Belocca’s stuff lately – so maybe him?

Cal: Which are more fun: dive bars OR swanky clubs?

Pleasurekraft: def dive bars. I like it dirty

Cal: Pick up lines: art OR science

Pleasurekraft: no contest : Art

Cal: What three songs from 2011 have the most memorable hooks? OR what are your top three most memorable hooks of all time?

Pleasurekraft: I don’t like to do All time things cuz they’re always too much pressure – so for 2011 – if you mean EDM? Style of Eye & Magnus the Magnus “The Antidote” has to be in there. I personally LOVE Format B’s “Country Girl” little hook. Simple but so great for me. And probably this Belocca bootleg I have of Earth Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” that just smokes everytime I play it out. Easily one of my fav tracks to play out. Non EDM? Pretty much anything Kanye West did this year.

See you all NYE in one of my favorite cities on the planet : TORONTO!!!!!

Pleasurekraft in your city:

Dec 16 | [Elektricity] Detroit, USA
Dec 23 | [The Mid] Chicago, USA
Dec 29 | [Beta] Denver, USA
Dec 31 | [Loft 5 Eighty] Toronto, CANADA
Jan 7 | [BPM Festival] Playa Del Carmen, MEXICO
Jan 5 – Jan 29 | —–South American Tour——
Jan 27 | [TBD] Bogota, COLOMBIA
Jan 28 | [TBD] Cali, COLOMBIA
Feb 2 | [Mosquito] Guadalajara, MEXICO
Feb 3 | [H2O] Mexico City, MEXICO
Feb 4 | [Centro Convex] Monterrey, MEXICO
Feb 6 | [Monday Social - Playhouse] Los Angeles, USA
Feb 16-20 | BRAZIL TOUR
Feb 25 | [Dokk Club] Budapest, HUNGARY
Mar 10 | [White Club] Toulouse, FRANCE
Mar 15 | [Cobra] Toronto, CANADA
May 25 | [Bullitt] Munich, GERMANY
May 27 | [Airport] Wurzburg, GERMANY

Related posts:

1. Pleasurekraft – Carny [Video]
2. Pleasurekraft – Satyr Song
3. Pleasurekraft – The Main Ingredient

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Besides being influenced by artists, can you think of any other elements in life that you draw your inspiration from?
StrobeHypnoticz
Besides other artists, I draw inspiration purely from friends family and fans of my work. i love them all and they are my fuel. Moving to Toronto last November (2010) definitely made me realize 100% that this is what i want to do, even though I’ve always knew i would do something with music. The move really got me going and i started focusing on my music a lot more and taking things more seriously.
ReySon
Ah yes, focus & seriousness, some essential keys to success! Do you have a musical background at all? Did pops make you learn the harmonica as a child, haha, or were you all self taught?
StrobeHypnoticz
I’m completely self taught all out of my own interests. Never owned any instruments in my life but if I’m somewhere where there is any sort of instrument I’ll always pick it up and try to get something out of it relentlessly. Im purely Kinesthetic.
ReySon
Self teaching seems to be the way of the new era! What tips can you give to the beginners and knoobies out there who have enrolled into the same self-teach program? Any key resources or sites that you have found to be very helpful?
StrobeHypnoticz
Honestly Google is the greatest weapon for finding literally anything i have needed to know or wanted to learn. If you have an idea, stick to it and don’t ever let it go, make sure you get what you want and you’ll always be happy with it. Show people and get opinions, thoughts and idea’s from others, in doing that you will be able to appeal to many different audiences and gain new idea’s constantly.
ReySon
Ah Google, life’s swiss army knife for information. Priceless advice. You mention appealing to different audiences, is that your goal as an artist? Do you want to be classified as just a progressive house producer, or just an electro producer, or are you aiming to be unbounded by only one style?
StrobeHypnoticz
The last thing I ever want to happen is to be held down to one genre, I love too many different styles to ever be held down to one, although it’s hard to escape your own signature sound for instance deadmau5, who has been constantly coming up with new and crazy sounding stuff but you just always know it’s him soon as it comes on, just by subtle details that you pick out.
ReySon
That’s the key right there, having a signature sound but never limiting yourself. On a slightly different note, how important are your fans to you? I recall you mentioning to me that your able to draw another common similarity with Deadmau5 in that department.
StrobeHypnoticz
Well, i just swore to myself and friends that i would never let any potential fame blind me to what’s most important, and to me that will ALWAYS be family friends and fans, they are the driving force that keep me going every single day. Giving someone the time of day for a quick and simple chat goes such a long way and can make such an impact on them which can do nothing but help things in the long run. I know i will always remain real to everyone no matter what happens in the future.
ReySon
Well put. Your heart’s in the right place.

Devon, I’ve gotta ask, what’s on your playlist at the moment? Any artists that have been making you tingle lately?
StrobeHypnoticz
Ahh I’m all over the map all the time listening to a dozen different artists all the time but in the last week or so I’ve been listening to a lot of Eric Prydz, Gui Boratto, EDX and Calvin Harris, artists that have all inspired me in different ways. Prydz and EDX for their uplifting flawlessly polished melodies, Calvin Harris and Boratto for non stop musical innovation, can’t get enough!
ReySon
Lethal playlist! I went through a mini Boratto crush over the summer myself, haha.

Well my friend, I think that’s it for this time around, any last words? What can we expect from you in the upcoming months…anything in the production tank?
StrobeHypnoticz
Always stuff in the production tank my friend! You can expect some pretty intense new sounds from me soon! Ive been getting amazing feedback on 2 tracks in the works and I’ve got something special coming as well no one has heard. Its been a pleasure chatting with you guys and I look forward to future endeavors! Thanks for having me
 

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LV: Autumn
NW: Cider
LV: Mansion
NW: Pool
LV: Steve Jobs
NW: Oh…sad…
NW: Thanksgiving
LV: Turkey

Listen to the interview
Nancy Whang interview by lvaughan

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As for the EP, we’re really taking our time. We have some really cool collabs in the works. Some stellar vocalists coming from all different scenes, all of which we are stoked to work with.
ReySon
Wait a tick, what airlines you flying with mate? All these Canadian airlines seem to have nothing but old men when i fly (hmm) Haha. You mention some cool collabs and some stellar vocalists coming from all different scenes…are any of these collabs/vocalists going to be coming from your native Hardcore scene? Is there an upcoming Bring Me The Horizon collab perhaps?!?
Adventure Club
I don’t know what Canadian airlines you fly… Old men must be by special request. We don’t want to disclose any collabs yet. We can tell you that a veteran hardcore band/vocalist will have a special place in the EP…
ReySon
Haha, fair enough, It looks like i’ll wait it out like the rest and see we what you lads have in store for us. I read in an interview somewhere on the interwebs that the proudest day for you boys was when you racked up 30hearts on HypeM for the Daisy remix. What do you believe could be your next proudest moments? Perhaps sold-out arenas, scooping countless #1 Beatport slots, or even University graduation (since it is being added back on the plate), haha?
Adventure Club
I think we’re just really looking to hit up some next level festivals, meeting the people that go along with it you know? Tbh, we don’t really have much of an interest in scooping up #1BP slots… nor do we have much interest in labels. (generally) We have awesome blogs such as yourselves already putting out music. We’re just not interested in a % of a 99cent download.

Graduations on the other hand… would really settle our parents uneasy feelings about us going into a genre of music that they don’t comprehend. I believe one of our parents thought Dubstep was actually called “Fubtap”
ReySon
I don’t think any of our parents truly understand what dubstep is, but Fubtap, haha, now that’s a new one! As for these “next level festivals”, what would be your top 5 festivals to have crossed off?

In addition, as artists in the music industry, i’m curious to know what your biggest pet peeves are?
Adventure Club
Oh man,
EDC, Bonaroo, Coachella, Osheaga andddddd let’s say Electric Zoo? There’s plenty of others of course, but you only asked for 5… no point in wasting anymore e-paper.

We’ve grown to really get annoyed with the overuse of M-Talk. Besides that, we’re pretty dubzen.
ReySon
Glad to see you have EDC as your first! A personal fav out of all festivals, so far. I am positive with just a little elbow/ear grease, you boys will be headlining those said festivals in little time. However, along the path to riches most bands sometimes face a few speedbumps…What has been the toughest obstacle to overcome – either as a group or personally – so far?
Adventure Club
Hopefully man! We have an awesome team behind us, pretty much like family at this point. They’re really helping us out on this journey. I can’t really say there’s been any super tough obstacles yet… A couple minor administrative headaches, some arguments here and there. Writers block would be at the top of the list though, haha.
ReySon
On that note, i won’t make you suffer too much more, haha. Any final farewell words for your Salacious fans?
Adventure Club
Respek. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmJbJs-9ST0
 

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Support Guti on Facebook | Official Site

To call Guti an up-and-comer would describe the start he got just a couple years ago on his techno and house project in Germany.

It would also belie the incredible productions he has released under Desolat this year, and the support he is receiving from the likes of Carl Cox, Ricardo Villalobos, Stacey Pullen, Loco Dice, Luciano, Marco Carola, and Nic Fanciulli, to name just a few.

Photo Credit: Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

No doubt he’s had such a rise – combine his own incredible skills as a classically-trained jazz musician with the mentorship of his close friend Loco Dice and you have one heck of a start!

Though he doesn’t care for the label much, or labels at all really. As he said in the interview “I don’t know what is house or techno, and I don’t want to know.”

Photo Credit: Bennett Sell-Kline for ElectricZooFestival.com

Guti’s attitude towards music is great, and it was rewarding for us to capture this chat on camera!

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Support AN21 and Max Vangeli:
AN21 on Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
Max Vangeli on Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud

Despite knowing what this pair of artists have been up to over the last nine months better than I did about any other artist at the festival, I was probably the most nervous for this interview. Two on ones are so tough to do well, and I guess I was feeling a little starstruck by these guys, who have racked up near 100 gigs each this year, according to AN21.

I wanted to dwell on some of the incredible moments they have had this year, such as their set at Sensation White or their second Creamfields appearance in as many years. I wanted to talk about their big collaborations with Kim Fai, and a still-to-be-named vocalist for their next single off the forthcoming album.

We got that in, to be sure.

Photo Credit: Scott Kowalchyk for ElectricZooFestival.com

I also got a couple moments out of these gents – big moments on camera for which the response “sick” is a gross understatement. That and they’re entertaining guys too; they really like the word Salacious!

I think that’s the future of music

-Max Vangeli

I crushed a ton of information in to five minutes with these gents; I hope you guys find it as interesting as I did!

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Connect with 12th Planet online:

www.12thplanet2012.com
facebook.com/12thplanet2012
twitter.com/12thplanet

12th Planet Mothership Tour with Skrillex, Nadastrom, Foreign Beggars

I flew down to NYC at the beginning of the month after receiving my Electric Zoo press accreditation for the second year running, armed with my DSLR, audio recorder, and drive to cover the festival from a different angle than we usually hit.

The week leading up was correspondingly intense, trying to schedule the nine interviews we managed to capture while down there. Indeed, Monarch and I had to turn down some pretty big names just so we could keep our ragged two-man operation intact.

Photo Credit: Scott Kowalchyk for ElectricZooFestival.com

John Dadzie, aka 12th Planet, was an obvious short list choice given our base here on SalaciousSound, but it wasn’t the first time I had spoken with the guy. When I confirmed my second interview with him after spending over 30 minutes on the phone just two weeks earlier, I wondered seriously if my background with him would help or hinder the interview.

Now that I’ve committed my edit, I hope you’ll all agree it had the former effect.

The whole affair was actually very strange, to be honest. After visiting New York four or five times in the last 3 years I had an idea about the city; that because of the size you could expect never to run in to anyone you know.

So when I ran in to 12th Planet at a small, dimly-lit, old-Canal-Street-sewer-shaped bar in Brooklyn, during a surprise Drop the Lime DJ set the night before my big interview with the guy, I was taken aback.

Even more surprising though was that the guy actually wanted to hang out, chat, and get to know each other; an opportunity I almost never get, as most people I’ve worked with immediately turn off when they figure out I’m a writer/press. After chatting with him and his pals, I came up with some seriously hard hitting interview questions for him the next day.

Photo Credit: Scott Kowalchyk for ElectricZooFestival.com

When I finished the interview I had a solid buzz going as though I’d just captured something really special, and I still have that feeling. This look in to 12th Planet’s character and history reveals a charismatic and thoughtful individual with a genuine passion to back up the talent he puts on display in his productions and live sets.

Thanks so much to the folks behind Electric Zoo and 12th Planet’s team for making this one happen.

12th Planet has a major tour coming up with Skrillex, Nadastrom, and Foreign Beggars. If it’s in your city you NEED to see it!

Photo Credit: Scott Kowalchyk for ElectricZooFestival.com

12TH PLANET: FALL 2011 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES THE MOTHERSHIP TOUR

(*Indicates dates outside of The Mothership Tour)
Sep 26 El Paso, TX @ Buchanan’s Event Center
Sep 27 San Antonio, TX @ Club Rio
Sep 28 Dallas, TX @ The Palladium Ballroom
Sep 29 Houston, TX @ Stereo Live
Sep 30 New Orleans, LA @ The Sugar Mill
Oct 01 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
Oct 02 Raleigh, NC @ Longbranch
Oct 04 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Oct 05 Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live!
Oct 06 Washington, DC @ Fur
Oct 07 Richmond, VA @ The National
Oct 08 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Oct 09 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Oct 10 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Oct 11 Syracuse, NY @ NYS Fairgrounds – Center Of Progress
Oct 12 Portland, ME @ State Theater
Oct 13 South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Oct 14 Montreal, Canada @ New City Gas
Oct 15 Toronto, Canada @ Kool Haus
Oct 18 Saskatoon, Canada @ Tequila Night Club
Oct 19 Calgary, Canada @ Flames Central
Oct 20 Edmonton, Canada @ Edmonton Events Centre
Oct 21 Vancouver, Canada @ PNE Forum
Oct 22 Vancouver, Canada @ PNE Forum
Oct 24 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Spokane
Oct 25 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
Oct 26 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
Oct 27 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
Oct 28 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield
*Oct 29 Los Angeles, CA @ HARD Haunted Mansion – Shrine Expo Center
Oct 30 Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater
Oct 31 Broomfield, CO @ First Bank Center
Nov 02 Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
Nov 03 St Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Nov 04 Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Music Hall
Nov 05 Knoxville, TN @ The Valarium
Nov 06 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Nov 08 Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub
Nov 09 Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion
Nov 10 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
Nov 11 Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
*Nov 12 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Nov 23 San Diego, CA @ Voyeur
Dec 09 Denver, CO @ Beta
Dec 10 Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater
Dec 11 Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird Live
Dec 12 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
Dec 15 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
Dec 16 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Theatre
Dec 17 Miami, FL @ The Fillmore

Related posts:

1. Free 12th Planet EP + 28 Date Tour
2. 12th Planet, Flinch, & Crizzly tour video feature, shot by Salacious Sound
3. 12th Planet @ Wrongbar

The Monarch had a chance to sit down with UK bassline Producer / DJ Sub Focus in the artist pavilion at this year’s Electric Zoo, and I got it all on camera. For a guy who just came away from this crowd he’s pretty relaxed!

I am really happy to finally have featured this chap in a Salacious interview – both Monarch and I have been following him for ages, and I still regularly throw his tracks down in my live sets.

Photo Credit: Jordan Loyd for ElectricZooFestival.com

The guy has had a busy year touring the world, so to pick his brain on the level we did is a rare opportunity! Monarch was particularly interested in how he perceives people perceiving music (inperception), and got him talking about the influence of blog culture, especially on changing North American tastes in dance and popular music.

Sub Focus on Facebook

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