My motivation for wanting to produce came from listening to music coming out on Warp Records, hearing the sound of Detroit techno and realizing electronic music can be beautiful, timeless and indeed soulful. I cant forget acid, personally i think acid was the first form of techno, you only have to listen to Phuture’s Acidtracks from 1986 to realize what a groundbreaking, pioneering, futuristic track this was.

2. What production aliases do you currently work under, and how would you define their separate styles?
I’ve made tracks under loads of various name over the years, but currently im recording under Hologram Hookers and girl_robot. I’d say the girl_robot tracks are a harder faster style of acid, where as my HH tracks can range from tech house, 90’s detroit sounding techno with pads and strings to straight up acid.

3. What is your current studio setup?
My current set up is the most basic i have ever worked with. Years ago i spent thousands on synth’s, drum machines and mixers etc, building a midi studio. Most of which is now gathering dust under my bed. I took a break from music production for a few years after i bought my own property and it’s only within the last 3 years i have started producing again, so currently my set up is software based. You could call me a ‘noob’ at producing with computers lol.

I’m from the old skool way of producing… spending hours trying to daisy chain synths and drum machines via midi, so when i first started using the pc to produce i went for propellerhead’s Rebirth and then Reason software. I could understand that and actually see on screen the connections at the back of synths etc, so got my head round it quite fast. I have Ableton and Cubase as well which are great for vst’s and plug in’s, but being coming from a midi based background i like the look and feel of Reason. So i gravitate to that when i switch the pc on to start producing. I use a Oxygen 8 midi controller keyboard with that and a usb mixer for dj sets.

4. How did you get involved with Afro Acid and Hypnotic Room/Elektrax Music?
DJ Pierre signed a few of my early acid tracks and released my Frequency Fetish EP on his Afro Acid label. This was within about 6 months after i started producing again. I was totally blown away at one of my heros, one the guys responsible for inventing the entire genre of acid would even listen to my tracks never mind sign and play them. Alot of younger producers from alot of different genres have no clue about dance music’s history and its roots or it’s pioneers. If it wasnt for DJ Pierre… electronic music today would sound very different. I have DJ M-Traxxx to thank for passing my tracks onto Pierre, he was Afro Acid’s A+R and thru signing that EP it got me noticed by other dj’s and producers and promoters who i have since worked with. Afro Acid is a family and im proud to be part of it.

A good friend of mine and fellow Scotsman Thomas McCluskey aka E383 had a release on Elektrax which motivated me to sent Simon/ DJ Hi Shock @ Elektrax some demos, one of which was played on Marshall Jeffersons radio show and indeed in his live dj sets. Simon liked it and suggested i send more. This resulted in the forthcoming ‘Wurx’ EP for Hypnotic Room, a sub label of Elektrax. With Simon’s network of producers he was able to get some amazing remixes done for me, some of which will be on the wurx ep and others will be released as wurx remixes. Im very happy to have this EP out on such a great label. Elektrax is a well respected label with some of the best producers releasing on it, the sister / sub labels have a wide and varied sound that crosses many genres.

5. What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon (positives and negatives)?
The positives are that it gives labels much less overheads in their business. So they can take more chances on what they release and also can release much more without the fear of it not selling. From an artists point of view its good that your music can get a much bigger audience and be made more accessable to alot more people from all over the world. Back in the day small labels who were pressing vinyl and cd’s needed a good distrobution deal in order to get their records into alot of shops/stores. I understand that today with digital, distribution still exists and it enables small labels to get on the most popular download sites, but small labels can easily get their music out there via digital. Digital downloads sites give artists the chance to release their music without even having a label to release it. Theres sites where you can make an account and sell your music for free, i dont see that as a bad thing. I have found some amazing tracks recently on smaller download sites which are not available on bigger sites like beatport (who in my opinion are too fussy on which labels they accept).

A lot of oldskool vinyl Dj’s still cant or wont accept vinyl is not as popular as it once was and they refuse to play digital, opting for time coded vinyl, which is fine if thats what you want to do, but i think by not embarrassing new technology and new media it can only hold you back. The same things were said when cd decks came out in the 90’s, but look how popular they became. The up and coming generation will bring the newest technology with them, things move on.

The negatives are piracy obviously! Some of today’s producers don’t make much money from their recordings but if they had been doing it 10 -15 years ago they would have been able to live well from it, that’s a sad but true fact. Not having a physical product i.e. a record or cd does take a bit of getting use to. When you care about something, your passionate about it and you collect it, you love flicking thru your 12 inch records or cd collection, you enjoy looking at cover art and track listings, all this has been lost with the ipod generation.

The real crime in downloading illegally is DJ’s who do this and play them out! That is unforgivable. In my opinion the roll of the DJ within the music industry has changed over the years, back in the day DJ’s would get promo copies of the record for free, play them out and promote them. These days the DJ’s are the people who should be buying the music and supporting the artists they play. So for a DJ to download pirated music and play it out….. that is a crime!

6. Which other artists/DJs have you played with, remixed or worked with and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
I played with DJ Pierre and Phuture303 (DJ Spank) at Inner City Acid last year. What an amazing experience! Pierre was part of Phuture when they recorded ‘acid tracks’. These guys invented the genre of acid!! Playing on the same stage as your heros is something you never forget. It’s like someone who is into guitars getting the chance to play with hendrix! They are 2 of the nicest guys you could meet, totally down to earth and i have huge respect for them. I spent a few hours setting up the equipment with DJ Spank, i got to hear a few stories about the old chicago trax records days and even an unbeleivable story about the original tb303 they used to make acid trax on, I’m a geeky 303 lover and cherished every moment. Pierre went on to rock the crowd that night pumping up the crowd with his unique brand of Afro Acid sounds which ranged from house to wildpitch to techno. Phuture’s set was so powerful the club got structural engineers in the next day to see if the building was safe!! lol

I remixed a track for Fast Eddie, another chicago acid legend, the track was by him and Steve Silk Hurley. Eddie played in glasgow a few months later and met him and his manager DJ Skip/ Shannon Syas. Skip is a real character, he is one funny guy :) Eddie was great, he’s another legend who proves he still has it and can still rock the crowd. I even got a personalised hookers rap which i recorded on my phone, im proud of that! :) There will be more things happening in the near future with HH and eddie, but i wont say to much about that just now. I’ve remixed for other producers like Plusdeep, Eight Minus Eight, Yakumo Love to name a few as well as my white label remixes. Also just remixed john barlez’s ‘a trip to the moon’ for Elektrax, i dont know if this will be released as there is about 7 remixes of this done, and all are slammin!

7. Where would you like to take your music from here?
I’m happy to just keep making the music i’d want to hear. I dont try to sound modern or new or use the latest sounds. I dont set out to make any particular style or genre, i make the track then decide which genre it fits once its finished. If i can release the best of the music i create then im happy. Although i do have plans for real live virtual hologram girls dancing on stage for my live gigs, lol joke ! I’m always nervous before playing live, not just in case i mess up, but the fact that people who haven’t heard HH before might be expecting girl dj’s or the someone like the pussycat dolls, and i turn up with a shaved head and a pair of adidas LOL.

8. How did your recording name come about? And tell us about the artwork and your logo.
I have recorded under a few diff names but when i started making my early acid stuff, i was looking for something that sounded dirty, as acid is a really dirty nasty growling sound. So i thot…. whats the dirtiest thing i know? Errr hookers? lol. Im a huge sci fi fan so i added hologram infront of hookers and it kind of worked. That led on to the concept that HH was a company to who offered clients downloads of holographic girls to the users personal holo-projector in their home. I can see this being a real possibilty in the not to distant future, or does that just show how perverted i am?? lol

I beleive artwork to be very important, im guilty of judging a book by its cover. Cover art is something that has been lost in the digital generation, there nothing more boring than ‘john smith’ who has no logo or font of his own. You see it online all the time, on myspace, facebook or soundcloud, some random name and a picture of his face, its like.. i dont give a fuck what you look like nor do i care about your real name, make an alais or band name at least! Maybe i feel this way thu my love of graphic design and art, or maybe its the digital ipod generation being used to no cover art on their non physical music products. Artwork and imagery draw people in and can be instantly recognisable and stay with you for a long time, look at pink floyds dark side of the moon, even if your not a fan you will recognise it, same with the rolling stones lips or even nirvanas nevermind artwork, it’s iconic.

The HH logo is a play on the American ’sports’ logo most major sport in the USA have a red white and blue logo, with the white part having a silhouette of what the sport is like the NBA, has a basketball player, NHL has a hockey player etc, so whats more fitting for HH than a pole-dancer!

9. A lot of techno producers refer to music released back in the 90’s. What do you think about those days and what labels did you like back then?
Without a doubt the 90’s saw the best techno ever to be released. Labels like Warp, Plus8, Planet E, Basic Channel, Tresor, Harthouse, Radikal Fear and R+S are amongst my favourites. Alot of their releases can and still do get dropped in todays sets and still sound fresh and motivational.

10. Tell us something about ‘WURX’ EP , what vibes can people expect to hear?
It’s alot different to my last ep. To me, Wurx sounds kind of detroit with loads of synths and pads. Theres 2 great remixes of wurx on the ep from Eight Minus Eight and Claudio Masso, i really like all the remixes, plus simon has about 7 more from great producers from the Elektrax family which will come out at a later date.

Destroy All Music is sort of tech house with a sci fi edge, phat bassline,robot vocoders and lush synths. A great remix from Yakumo Love takes this track into deep house territory.

Square Roots is dare i even say it, a minimal track, minimal in style but not in flavor would be more accurate, its not offbeat click clack minimal. A lot of people have told me this is their favorite on the ep. The remix comes from Andrea Festa, fresh after being remixed by the mighty ‘Hardfloor’ and Chicago legend ‘Mike Dunn’ he takes time out to work on an excellent HH remix.

2. What production aliases do you currently work under, and how would you define their separate styles?
I currently only produce under my name – ‘Orlando B’. My sound encompasses everything from house beats to tech-house and harder edged techno but 90% of my tracks have similar kinds of melodies and string harmonies, which is the running theme throughout my tracks. I occasionally produce harder more percussive techno but I still use my name as I don’t really feel like using a pseudonym.

3. What is your current studio setup?
Most of my sounds come out of an Akai S5000 sampler, which I have hooked up to my PC via USB to save the samples and I also recently added an emu E64 sampler. I use a hardware mixer (Spirit M12) and use compressors – Focusrite Compounder, DBX266 and a TL Audio 5021. I use Cubase SX3 to sequence and have lots of plug-ins but I still tend to use the sampler as I prefer the sound. NI Pro 53 is my most used soft synth’ though!

4. How did you get involved with Elektrax Music and the Sydney label Hypnotic Room, run by DJ Hi-Shock?
We made friends on Myspace, checked out each others music and then was approached by Simon for doing a remix for the label. This turned out to be the ‘Silent Hill’ remix for Seri which was out in august last year.

5. What about your own label Eastbound Recordings, are you still running it?
Definitely. There was a long break whilst I had to recover from certain distribution issues, which put me off making records for a while although it didn’t put me off making music! I’ve recently sorted out new distribution through Rubadub and have released a new record ‘Mood Swings EP’ featuring a MR G remix. The record has had great feedback from Dave Angel, Colin Dale, Dave Mothersole etc…

6. What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon (positives and negatives)?
Positives: I can buy music from artists all over the world and listen to lots of new producers without having to leave my bedroom.
Negatives: There is a saturation in the market of dance labels, which makes it harder to find good music (trawling through pages and pages) and also to promote my own music.

7. How does digital download suit your own needs and directions?
I actually like making records i.e. a physical product with artwork and proper mastering etc. So for my own label I will be trying to sell vinyl for the time being. I might set up digital for the next release and see how it goes but it’s not currently at the top of my list.

8. Do you think digital download and digital files will eventually replace vinyl for DJs?
For mainstream DJ’s who play more commercial music/clubs/weddings/funerals etc then yes I do think it will replace vinyl (it pretty much already has) and it makes sense as you can carry a lot more music and the people listening are not necessary purists so won’t care if the DJ is using vinyl or MP3’s.

I think with techno, dubstep, DNB, deep house etc. there will always be a small core of people who want to buy this music on vinyl as they have a passion for mixing records and holding a record.

9. Some people hate the idea of digital download, and say it’s not “real” music. We only release vinyl. What would you say to them?
Real music is real however it comes!! Although were possible I think labels should make the effort to produce a physical product so record shops will have something to sell. As personally, I don’t want record shops to disappear as they have done in my home town. You can only buy music in the supermarket now were as when I grew up I had a choice of music stores with the latest Dutch Gabber records on the wall bigger than the chart section!!! (Those were the days).

10. Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with or remix, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
MR G. He says it how it is and seriously knows his shit, so it’s good for us to feedback off each other when working on tracks.

11. Where would you like to take your music from here?
I want to get regular vinyl releases going on my own label and develop my sound.

12. Tell us something about TWISTED DISCO EP, what vibes can we expect to hear?
Expect 4 tracks of slamming funky techno each with a different twist. Twisted Disco is a disco influenced funky track, Exlusion Zone has a dark hypnotic groove and heavy percussion, Shifting Gears has a really funky bass line and driving percussion with a bit of Detroit Deepness over the top and Secrets of the Soul is a deep and moody techno workout!

13. You are also releasing on Android Muziq, how different is your music on this label as opposed to Elektrax Recordings?
Disclosure is a stripped down atmospheric track in which I wanted to create a really dark vibe. It was all about the fx, delays and reverb and for once no melody!!

14. A lot of techno producers refer to music released back in the 90’s. What do you think about those days and what labels did you like back then?
Yes, for me this is when techno was at its best! Late 90’s to early 2000’s is my favorite period of techno. As the techno sounds developed it was very exciting and fresh and you could go to a record shop and it would be hard not to spend £150. Now I find it hard to spend £50 as a lot of new records I think, well I’ve already got 10 records that go like that and I don’t need a new one (credit crunch ‘n all)!

The music was more raw sounding, funky, experimental and had a lot more edge. My favorite labels were Drumcode, Conform, Purpose Maker, Primevil, Zenit and all that kinda stuff!

15. Techno artists like to say that they produce for the love of music, not for money and that these days digital releases are really more of a tool to promote their own name in order to score live gigs and tours because that’s where the real cash is…so here comes the final question…Why do you make techno music?
I love techno music and feel the need to make it, in the same way people feel the need to drink or smoke. If I don’t make music for a few days I start to feel restless and I can’t relax until I’ve made some beats. Maybe I should speak to someone!

Twisted Disco EP, out on Beatport

Growing up in Los Angeles, then Portland, Oregon, I was musically inclined from my early years, playing the flute in the Portland Youth Philharmonic, then in England at Eton College as co-principal in 1991-1992. As I became interested in music theory, I was also exposed to the blossoming electronic music scene in England at the time it was being offered on such labels as Reinforced, Formation, Suburban Base, and Moving Shadow. I came to England heavily influenced by legends like Chicago’s Fast Eddie, Tyree Cooper and Mr. Lee . . . I was fascinated by catchy rhythms and acid house melodies. In my dorm room at Eton, I remember watching the Concord taking off from Heathrow Airport while listening to Green Apple Pirate Radio, and the likes of Brenda Russell, Colin Favor, and Colin Dale playing what I would soon find out was called techno. My life was changed from that point on.

When I came back to the USA in 1992, I began my formal education at the University of Washington in the psychology department while at the same time continuing to buy music in the techno genre. My first DJ gig was in 1994, playing on a local radio station in Seattle. A well- known club promoter by the name of Mike Mercer heard me and called the station to ask who I was. Mike ran the biggest night club in the city and wanted me to perform. Gigs became more and more common from this point on and in 1996 I started throwing warehouse parties to showcase my own DJ skills alongside legends like Tyree Cooper, Mike Dearborn, Paul Johnson, Steve Stoll, DJ Skull, Adonis, DJ Dan and Terry Mullan. I brought producers and DJ’s whom I respected while educating the kids going to parties about real techno and house music. In 2002 I started producing with a good friend of mine, a talented sound engineer by the name of Anthony Moscatel in Seattle. He was working with Donald Glaude at the time and was just about to release a remix on DJ Preach’s Relic imprint. I basically lived at his studio learning the ropes from him, while gigging on the weekends throughout the USA and Canada.

After a couple of years in the studio working with Anthony and another talented producer and good friend, Adonis Ducksworth, I ventured forth to buy my own gear. At this point I began working with Chris Cowie in England running F1 Recordings alongside Gaz ( currently Dirty Planet Recordings A & R). When Proactive music went out of business a couple years back, I started up Reldz. Now I have a new label called Mad Hatter-HRD with Mad Hatter label bosses Carl Anians and Nick Hussey.

2. Have you been known under any other aliases or always Roman Zawodny?
Up until I started producing seriously in 2004, I was known as Roman or DJ Roman…but now I go by my first and last name.

3. What is your current setup and how do you achieve this funky, tribal, hard-edged, peak-hour sound?
I use a Dell PC with a good sound card, a Yamaha mixing board, two KRK monitors and a midi-controller. I achieve this particular sound by countless hours of switching sounds out in my sequencing program until I find that perfect combination. It’s all trial and error, a vision and a relentless internal drive to push for something interesting and catchy. Music is my life.

4. How do you master your tracks? Is it mainly hardware, software or a combination of both? Do you have any favorite plug ins?
I send my tracks off to Phil Caine for mastering at Mad Hatter Mastering and Recording Studio in the UK. Not sure what he uses but he has formal training in the field and pays attention to my specific requests. His contact is: philcaine7 (at) hotmail.co.uk
My favorite plug in would have to be the PSP Vintage Warmer. There are so many plug ins that I use. . . Waves are the best.

5. Do you play vinyl, digital or both? What’s your idea of the perfect DJ booth?
I play vinyl and digital at the moment. Its so lovely to mix in classic acid tracks with new material. People love it. My perfect DJ booth would consist of an Allen and Heath mixer, three Technics 1200’s, three Pioneer CD DJ 2000s and two Mackie monitors all at the proper height for a 6′2” DJ. Let’s not forget about the cooler as
well with some refreshments and a couch for the guests to rest comfortably while trainspotting.

6. Where do you buy your music?
Beatport, Juno and Trackitdown.

7. You have been part of Reldz, now you are behind MH-HRD, how different is the sound on those labels and what do you want to push on MH-HDR to stand out from other techno labels?
Since leaving Reldz I have focused on pushing a sound that is edgy, tribal and futuristic. I want to concentrate on this underground vibe and get artists that really jack the house back into the mix. Minimal and hardgroove techno have recently saturated the market and now I want to bring people back to the roots by featuring EP’s from techno soldiers like Lester Fitzpatrick, Wyndell Long, JC, Beatcompute, Jerome Baker, James Hammer, Steel Grooves and myself. I’m really into keeping it pumping and energized. Dance music with attitude. I’m not into the overproduced sound as much as I was with Reldz. I support what Reldz is doing now, but I feel it’s time for a large group of producers to get back out there again, and I want them to have a home to release their material.

It’s time to bring the jack and old school flavor back into techno. There are plenty of labels pushing hardgroove and minimal sounds . . . the market is saturated with these styles. I’m featuring artists that have more of a personalized sound. Artists should be encouraged to have confidence in their own musical style. Each person has a distinguishing voice within. Mad Hatter-HRD is the place for high quality artists to show what they are made of, without feeling pressure to conform to a popular style of the moment. We’re pushing creativity and individuality. There’s something special going on here.

8. How did you get involved with Elektrax Music and the Sydney label Elektrax Recordings, run by DJ Hi-Shock?
Last year Simon approached me to remix the great Spanish producer C-System. After accepting the request, a few more projects came about from the Aussie mastermind of Elektrax, and since then it’s been an ongoing productive relationship. He is not only a visionary producer but one of the most innovative and respected label owners to come out of Australia’s electronic music scene.

9. What vibes can we expect to hear on the upcoming Proper Agenda promo DJ Mix and how are you going to mix it?
The vibe is going to be intense yet smooth. My goal is to paint a picture or tell a story with the different tracks given to me. I’m going to take a few days to listen to the different compositions and come up with a set that effortlessly takes the listener from one place to another. I’m quite excited about this dj mix as the music is
all unreleased and the stakes are high. The pressure is on and honestly this is when I do my best. I will be using Pioneer CD players and a Pioneer mixer.

10. You have done heaps of tracks and remixes for Elektrax Recordings, tell us what’s coming up in the next few months?
I’ve done two remixes for Scotland’s E383 on two separate releases alongside Pacou, Alan Oldham, and Dj Hi-Shock, plus two other original tracks that are sharp and pack a punch. I like the direction that Elektrax is going at the moment and I am eager for the day when I will come to Australia to meet with its creator, Simon AKA DJ
Hi-Shock to share ideas about music promotion, distribution and to work on some joint projects in the studio.

11. Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with or remix, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
I particularly enjoy working with Beatcompute in Sweden. He’s a relatively unknown name at this point , but my goodness does he have talent. His drum programming and synths are raw and unpredictable. His music has strength and clarity that’s perfect for prime-time dance floor control. My good mates JC, James Hammer and Jerome Baker also from Relentless music in Minneapolis, Lester Fitzpatrick and Feedback in Chicago, Steel Grooves in Austin and Antony Dupont from France are also a great inspiration to me. C-System from Spain and Kenyu from Slovenia are also good mates of mine that I talk to consistently about techno from every angle. These are
knowledgeable and driven producers. Each brings something so unique to the table. Jerome Baker has such natural musical feel, rhythm and experience; JC, such intelligent production and enthusiasm with a cutting edge feel and hard work ethic; and James Hammer is the ultimate perfectionist who encourages all of us to achieve new levels.

Steel Grooves has also proven to be a major positive entity in the US techno scene, always pushing forward with his sound while reaching out to fellow producers to unite them. After meeting with him in Austin this fall, I brought him on board the Mad Hatter-HRD label to assist with signing new material and promotions. All these men are key players in HRD and have EPs coming out in the near future. It’s an amazing brotherhood we have here and I’m honored to be a part of it.

12. What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon (positives and negatives)?
The capability to download music is a brilliant technology that allows people to share music faster and more efficiently than ever before. However, there are many variables involved which make it difficult to gauge the financial benefit to producers and labels. It’s a well know fact that file-sharing and piracy have devastated the
incomes of music producers in all genres. Another negative aspect is that unfortunately the quality control and mastering are not as consistent as with vinyl releases.

13. Do you think digital download and digital files will eventually replace vinyl for DJs?
I don’t think vinyl will completely go away but I see no reason why digital downloads will slow down in sales. The reality is that digital makes sense. It’s easy to distribute, produce. store and play.

14. A lot of techno producers refer to music released back in the 90’s. What do you think about those days and what labels/producers did you like back then?
In the ninety’s I was into material like Essit Musique, Profan 3 by Mike Ink, Afu #2 Ides Sweet and Sour EP, DJ HMC, Djax material, and Drumcode releases with Hyperactive. These guys were making amazing techno tracks ahead of their time. I would say my favorite track was Armando’s Land of Confusion.

15. Techno artists like to say that they produce for the love of music, not for money and that these days digital releases are really more of a tool to promote their name in order to score gigs, because that’s where the real cash is anyway…so…here comes the final question. Why do YOU make techno music?
Techno is the rhythm of urban life today. For me the reward is in creatively crossing that space between observing, feeling and producing the record of that rhythm.
A new track can speak about where we’ve been and suggest where we might go. There are many stories to tell, many tracks to write.

- Interview by Elektrax Music

He runs several labels including two I’ve worked with myself (Elektrax Recordings and Hypnotic Room) and two I haven’t but which I really dig (Android Muziq, Elektrax Progressive and the newly-established Gynoid Audio imprint) – as do a lot of other people, if you check out their comments pages and the responses they’re getting to their new releases.

Probably it helps that he’s pushed through tracks, remixes and EPs by the likes of Dave Tarrida, Patrick Pulsinger, Luke’s Anger, DJ Warp, Donk Boys, Steve Stoll, Wyndell Long, Ben Pest, Jammin’ Unit, Si Begg, Shin Nishimura, Paul Birken, Orlando Voorn, DJ Wada, Captain Funk, Bill Youngman and V1NZ among others.

Hype, hyperbole and biased plaudits aside, you’ve got to hand it to Nielsen for his tireless perseverance in an industry that’s pretty much flat-lined sales-wise over the past year. Luckily for us he’s currently branching out from digital download and back into the loving embrace of vinyl, with some killer wax out this year from Takashi Watanabe, Wada, Bitch Shift and DJ Hi-Shock himself, and a lot more planned for 2010 – including some juicy mixes by Justin Berkovi and James Ruskin.

Simon is also a hard task-master to work with at times; he’s not the kind of guy who lets inferior fodder appear in his catalog listings on Discogs, and if he thinks your latest demo is crap he’ll let you know it – which means that some of my own inferior numbers were actually tweaked into far better shape than they would’ve been if I’d released ‘em through IF?

Anyway, enough already. With the Naughties almost over and 2010 sitting on our lap, I decided to pitch a bunch of questions at this label head-honcho to find out things to come.

Over all, how was 2009 for you – for Elektrax Music and for its associated labels/artists?
“2009 was a really busy year for me and the labels – people think that running a digital label is easy, but believe me it’s much harder and time consuming than it seems. The good thing is that 2009 was over all a positive experience and the labels and artists have started to receive recognition for pushing the sounds we believe in. Getting our tracks charted by guys like Luke Slater or Dave Clarke really means a lot and gives us the belief that we are on the right path.”

How many labels will you be running next year and how do you define each one?
“With 2010 you’ll see five labels under the Elektrax Music umbrella, and we’ll also continue to work together with the super-cool Tokyo label IF? Records. It’s not always easy to put things into genres but I’ll will try my best:
Elektrax Recordings is hard-edged, funky, tribal, dark, heavy, acid techno with a typical BPM in the range of 130 to 140.

Elektrax Progressive is progressive house, Goa, uplifting ‘non-commercial’ trance ranging around 120 to 135 BPM.

Hypnotic Room deals with more tech-house, deep house, slower techno sounds, with a BPM averaging 118 to 128.

Android Muziq focuses on deep, minimalistic, dark, futuristic, cyber, artistic, emotional and techno – typical BPM 120 to 128.

“Finally, Gynoid Audio will be dark, phat, dubby, dirty techno and electronica that ranges in BPM between 120 to 130. Yes, a new label is coming in 2010 – Gynoid Audio is the sister label of Android Muziq, but it’s not as minimal as Android; instead it will be slightly fatter and dirtier in sound.”

What would you most like to achieve in 2010?
“Continue on with where we left off in 2009, pushing the sounds we love and keep on supporting our supporters. 2010 will see the beginning of our artist agency Elektrax Bookings, so one of the big tasks will be to get this off the ground and get our artists some gigs! I also have a wish for 2010 – less music piracy!”

In which directions do you foresee techno, electronica and dance music in general taking itself over the next 12 months?
“Well, I don’t see that much change and I’m sure the usual suspects will keep on appearing in the charts as they did throughout 2009. It is a bit disappointing that a lot of buyers and DJs don’t spend enough time to search for their own unique sound, but just give in to whatever is right in front of them – and at the same time give up on being original. However, there’s a vibe in the air that the serious, proper techno will be finally making a come back; the darker sounds are also being much more appreciated. This is definitely something to look forward to in the next 12 months.”

Who’s lined-up for 2010?
“This year our labels did a lot of work with DJ Wada, Dave Tarrida, Roman Zawodny, Steve Stoll, Gayle San, Virgil Enzinger, DAVE The Drummer and Ree.K amongst others – so for 2010 we have a lot of fresh material lined up from the same guys, plus tracks and remixes from Chris Finke, Bas Mooy, James Ruskin, Go Hiyama, Glenn Wilson, Dave Angel, Ken Ishii, Space DJz, Commander Tom, Octave, Audio Injection, Pacou, Justin Berkovi, and… a few other surprises.”

Who’re the ‘resident’ artists you work with most and are keen to develop?
“The list keeps on growing but across all our labels the resident artists who release most regularly are Takashi Watanabe and Dich on Hypnotic Room, DJ Warp and DJ Hi-Shock on Elektrax Recordings, Stereo Underground and Nicky C on Elektrax Progressive, Virgil Enzinger and V1NZ on Android Muziq – and then there’s of course the local [Australian] crew with guys like Little Nobody, Bitch Shift, Koda, Enclave, Alkan, Son Of Zev and Zen Paradox.”

What do you look for in fledgling artists hoping to sign up with you?
“Firstly, quality tracks and top production skills; a good fan base and web presence is also a must these days for any artist, but also an awareness of the current musical trends, how the scene operates, and of course the right attitude.”

Who were the real movers-and-shakers, musically speaking, in 2009?
“Takashi Watanabe was stealing the show for us in 2009 – he can turn any track into gold; same goes for his alter ego DJ Warp. Other highlights on our labels were the amazing production skills of Stereo Underground, the emotions found in tracks by V1NZ, the funky grooves from Dich, our latest discovery Raditz Room is top quality, and I can never get enough of the darkness produced by Virgil Enzinger! Finally, our own Bitch Shift [Ben Mill] also deserves a mention as he’s really found himself as a producer at the end of 2009. Expect big things coming up from Ben in 2010.”

Digital download vs. CD vs. vinyl. You’re now doing all 3 formats. How do you differentiate between them, decide which releases appear in which format, and which one is set to be Number 1 in 2010?
“Digital will still be the main format for our releases. Let’s face it, digital is here to stay and – the piracy aside – more DJs are trying out the latest gear and are falling in love with that format. We will still continue to push vinyl, mainly out of respect for the format and people who still haven’t abandoned wax. CDs are not doing very well – not many distributors are interested in this format – but we might still do a couple of DJ mixes and few promotional projects with our label artists.”

What DJ Hi-Shock releases, tracks and remixes can we look out for in the new year?
“We’re getting the remixes of ‘Asama Express’ released on Elektrax, so I will be working on a new version of that. I have also started on a collab project with Gayle San for her Equator label. I’m also hoping to finally finish off my new EP, and there’re a dozen or so remixes to finish off…”

What keeps you motivated?
“I really enjoy seeing our artists go up in places and getting noticed for their hard work, having them as part of the ‘crew’ and exchange ideas and demos also means a lot… Then there is the music, music and more music… honestly, that’s my main motivation.”

© Andrez Bergen 2009

Of the tracks inserted into this scintillating mix, the man has a few personal favorites. “Well, mine of course, but from the others I liked Flag 75’s ‘Over Again’ track a lot – it’s very old school, kind of Fine Audio sounding.”

The last time we chatted was about 10 years ago, when he’d just released the ‘Barndance/Warehouse Rock’ 12-inch through Bionic Orange, as well as the first record of his own label Hydraulix. Bionic Orange seems to have folded in 2006, but Henry Cullen – the human entity behind D.A.V.E. the Drummer – is now up to #39 on his own imprint.

You get tired of asking the same questions, especially to the same people, no matter how interesting or inspiring they may happen to be – even after a decade has passed between words of wisdom – but sometimes it’s one of these dreary, mundane queries that’s necessary to get the ball rolling.

Thus it is when I ask Cullen what inspired him to start making music?
“Oh dear,” he instantly agrees, “that is a bit of a yawn question isn’t it? But to be brief, my musical parents and Kraftwerk inspired me at the beginning.”

There’s more to come: Where in the UK was he born, and what’s it famous for?
“(I was) born in Lewisham, South London – famous for being a shit-hole and not much else.”

Why does he continue to use the moniker D.A.V.E. the Drummer instead of just plain Henry Cullen? – especially given the fact that others like Luke Slater and Luke Vibert have eventually used their real names?
“I do use my real name too, for minimal techno, and D.A.V.E. the Drummer is reserved for acid and hard techno,” he advises. “People know me under that name so that’s what I use for gigs mainly.”

Any other aliases?
“I used to have some, but now it’s pretty much one of the names mentioned. I’ve had hundreds of collaborative ‘band’ names – Creeper, Kektex, Dynamo City, etc. – but these days I just keep it simple.”

Biggest influences on his own music?
“Alcohol.”

Cullen has been producing music and interacting within the music industry for quite a length of time now, so it would be enlightening to understand what keeps him motivated and what integral changes he may have noticed over that time period.
“It’s very hard to stay motivated at the moment,” the man shoots back. “The industry is a tough place and I’m not finding it easy to stay afloat but I’m doing a lot of studio work to pay the bills, and the music is inspiring me and the people I’m working with are too. A new guy in the studio is Tom Rox from Brighton – he’s making some cool minimal, and it’s really good fun for me to help put it together.”

In an interview with Jonty Skrufff, Cullen was quoted as saying “I think it all comes back to Julian Liberator; he was saying once ‘I’m sick of people calling our music acid trance, it’s not acid f**king trance, is it? Why don’t we call it acid techno?’ We all agreed and the phrase was born then.” Would he like to expand upon this debate?
“Well there’s not much to add really, we just didn’t want to be lumped in with commercial cheese at the time. Some of our music might sound cheesy now, but back then it was harder than most, and definitely not Euro trance, which was all strings and pianos.”

So – would this particular producer explain away his own music as simply acid techno? Or would he prefer to add a few more words to the description?
“I think acid techno is a great turn of phrase, but unfortunately many people tend to think it just means screaming 303s, which it can be, but it can also include quite dark, funky techno too. It’s more a term for the musical movement rather than the actual music in a way. If you listen to Cluster Records, for example, you won’t find many 303 tracks in there… but it’s still referred to as acid techno.”

What gear/software is he making most use of in the studio at the moment?
“Ableton Live 8 is superb! And I’m getting back into Logic now too, and my Virus C and some new Stillwell audio plug-ins I just got.”

Which parts of this studio set-up are the most vital facets?
“My Adam speakers, my chair, my Banksy pictures, my little fluffy bunny. I lie.”

Then what food and/or drinks keep him fueled throughout production time?
“Coffee.”

On a different level entirely, which current crop of artists and labels are grabbing Cullen’s attention?
“Joseph Capriati and Len Faki, making techno, techno again; they are fantastic producers. Dusty Kid and Pattrix are making some great new tunes too.”

D.A.V.E. the Drummer’s name has often been associated with the anarchist squatters scene in the UK. Would he lump himself with them now, has his personal mentality changed – or has it always been different?
“I don’t like being lumped in with anyone much, never have. I’ve been on the squat scene for years, that’s true, but essentially there’s much more to me than that. I love ambient music and folk and reggae and all sorts of music. The squat scene can be a bit stifling in certain ways. But as far as being a bit of an anarchist, I haven’t changed much.”

What was Back To The Planet all about when he formed it in 1989? – also how long did the concept last, and do the people involved feel it achieved its goals?
“BTTP are still going actually, we reformed a couple of years ago and play a handful of gigs in the summers. It’s fun and we’re hoping to write some new material soon too. We never achieved our full potential in any recordings we did years ago… Maybe my experience now will help us do that.”

Over the years Henry has released stuff through Hydraulix, Yolk, Infectious Records, TeC and Smitten – so what’s the relationship been like with these integral labels?
“I run Hydraulix, which is still going OK. We are up to release number 39 now. All the others are now defunct for various reasons, but Smitten was very important for me in the beginning, and TeC too.”

What new D.A.V.E. the Drummer releases can we look out for?
“Hydraulix 13.8 is coming out soon and #39 is out now on 12-inch; new tracks with A.P. will be out sometime soon too. My Tekno Toolbox sample CD is out now [www.loopmasters.com], and Mutate To Survive 7 is about to be released: a killer track called ‘It Distorts’ by me and Pattrix. Also Stay Up Forever are starting a download webstore called www.london909.co.uk and it’ll be up and running soon. Hydraulix will be releasing exclusive digital tracks through it.”

A fair amount of people are cutting back on vinyl production these days because they say it just doesn’t make back the money invested, and CDs have almost disappeared…
“I did release a Hydraulix mix CD a couple of years ago, it took a few days to put together and I don’t think I got much out of it money-wise, bit of a waste of time in that respect,” Cullen muses. “I think physical CDs were never that nice as a product anyway, so now as downloads have come along everyone does that instead. Store it on your iPod or whatever and away you go – artwork and everything, simple. Vinyl is much more collectible and even though as a new format it’s pretty hopeless, it does sell secondhand and that can be good money. And records are just nice things to own, aren’t they? CDs look crap in comparison.”

Is vinyl dead?
“It’s on its last legs as an option for small record labels – larger labels who can afford to lose a bit may press a few for the collectors, but smaller dance labels are running out of money. So vinyl will probably get the chop at some point.”

Then do DJs really need to continue to use vinyl, or instead construct entire sets out of stuff they’ve downloaded off the Internet?
“I play CDs now, most people do, vinyl is too expensive and not up-to-date enough, especially for the current techno market. There are still records coming out, though, and good ones too. It’s not completely dead, but it’s certainly not the only option any more.”

Has this particular DJ/producer heard any of the music coming out of Australia?
“Yeah, bits and pieces, Men At Work, things like that.” He laughs. “I used to get Simon Digby’s stuff on Wetmusik, that was cool, and there’re a few guys in Oz who have always impressed me like Steve Syndrome from Virus in Melbourne and Vic from Swarm in Sydney.”

How about Japanese producers like Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, DJ Wada (Co-Fusion), HIFANA, DJ Warp, Shufflemaster, Merzbow, Alone Together, Gadget Cassette, M-Koda, Polygon Prompt, et al?
“I love Co-Fusion, I got their Beetroot EP on Reel Musiq and a few others a few years ago, I used to play them a lot. Shufflemaster is another great one, and DJ Warp’s tracks have been turning up here and there. Japanese music is always really different to European music; it just seems to have no rules at all. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don’t get it, but it’s always an interesting experience. The first Japanese producer I bought was Ken Ishii – he made some really abstract but very melodic techno. I love his sound.”

Lastly, and drifting back to the vapid beginnings of the interview, how does Cullen like his mushrooms cooked?
“Sauteed with garlic, on wholemeal toast with a cup of tea – one sugar. It’s 11:00 pm on Sunday and I’m going to bed. I hope I didn’t waffle too much.”

- Interview by Andrez Bergen

After years of jazz and classical guitar training, Youngman decided in ‘94 to put the strings aside for a bit of electronic dabbling. Being influenced by instrumental music, drum ‘n bass, hip hop and bleep techno resulted in his take to be coined “electrostep”.

In 1995 he met producer John Selway from Serotonin Records, for which he would release his first EP in fact entitled ‘Electro Step’. This debut EP displayed Youngman’s hybrid of drum ‘n’ bass tempo, breakbeat chops with the tonalities and bleeps of classic electro. Youngman started to perform live in New York and released a couple more EPs for Serotonin. In 1998 Youngman met Neil Landstrumm (Scandinavia Records, Tresor) and soon after an exchange of tracks – the ‘Zooted’ EP – was released, which contained innovative cuts that well complimented the Scandinavia Sound. The ‘Bad Box’ EP followed in ‘99. Landstrumm and Youngman collaborated on further tracks experimenting with the machines and broken beatboxes.

Keep it simple, I say – my new self-disciplined look.

I love Youngman’s work, and have done for years – ever since I picked up ‘Zooted’ back in Melbourne. And while his live work with Tobias Schmidt inevitably smites my senses, he also just did a sizzling remix of a track I made with Japanese artist Kana Masaki, called ‘Because It Pays So Thin’, so I’m thoroughly swayed by the man’s talent anew.

What was I saying earlier about simplicity? OK, without further ado nor unnecessary rambling, hereafter follows a Q&A that Bill and I just conducted via e-mail, bouncing between Berlin and Tokyo. I love modern communications technology. Beats the telegraph hands-down.

Yawn question. What get inspired you to start making music?
“Watching DJs play breaks after finishing my Sunday matinee hardcore shows at my local youth center.”

Where in the US were you born, and what’s it famous for?
“New York City… famous for bad air, stress, suit and tie guys.”

When did you move to Berlin, and why?
“Made the move in 2001; it wasn’t planned… I was offered a German tour, did it, and fell in love with the city in the first week. Simply stayed with my gear, and the shirt on my back.”

You’ve been producing music and interacting within the music industry for quite a time now – how long exactly? What keeps you motivated, and what integral changes have you noticed over that time period?
“I’ve been making music since I was a young one. Studied guitar for many years, did loads of four-track recordings until the day came where my boss, Dr Rhythm,
became more useful than simply a back-beat for the guitar-shredding. My motivation comes from exploring new ways to translate my immediate emotions into sound. The constant attempt at innovating to keep my ears happy…

“I can safely say that is my mental goal; I pay little attention to what’s happening in scenes. I’m always afraid to be subconsciously influenced by anything other than what comes natural to my character.”

What gear/software are you making most use of in the studio at the moment?
“Always changing – trying out new kit that I don’t know always results in randomness, sometimes for the better. If i had to narrow it down to my favorite pieces, it would be the MS-20, MPC, and Digital Performer.”

Which part of your studio is the most vital facet?
“I have a rare Siemens mixer from the mid ’80s, a gift from Jamie Lidell. It looks like a spaceship and is an inspiring centerpiece even when not in use…”

What food/drinks keep you fueled throughout production time?
“…food? Sand and chocolate keep me alive… and scraping the remains of a human life out of the studio when session is done…”

Your first releases came out through John Selway’s Serotonin label. How’d that happen?
“John and I attended the same music school – he had already finished during my run there, but had visited from time to time and I bumped into him after partying in the wee hours and played him some of my breakbeat experiments. He didn’t believe that I made the music, so I had to explain to him my method. After a small chat, he decided to give me a boost and help me shape my ‘electrostep’ sound.”

The ‘Zooted’ EP was the first release you did on Neil Landstrumm’s Scandinavia imprint, right, in about 1998? How did that come about?
“Another fluke… I met Neil for about a half minute in New York at Satellite Records as he was scrounging around for an Akai S-1000 to borrow for his evening gig. I asked for his address, which was then scribbled illegibly on a sticky note. I sent him some bits and pieces, and he was actually debating a move from Scotland to N.Y.C, so we linked up as soon as he touched dry land. I presented him ‘Zooted’ on our first meeting, he dug it, and then he put it out.”

Here’s the mandatory inane question: If you were pressed into a corner and forced to confess under great duress, how would you define the sounds/styles you’re currently making?
“Low attention span theatre, I would say… I’m always jumping around and bending genres together. What I would like to say, if asked, is that my style is simply ‘electrostep’.”

You’ve released stuff through Tresor, Serotonin, Scandinavia, Feinwerk, Input-Output Inc., and Neue Heimat. What’s your relationship been like with these labels?
“For the most part good. I have always, in my opinion, found the right homes for my compositions, and work with people I like personally, or simply stand behind the music.”

Biggest influences on your own music?
“Hearing random bits of music and not knowing who made what. Trying to avoid my soul being tainted.”

In the latter ’90s you, along with Cristian Vogel, Si Begg, Dave Tarrida, Subhead, Tube Jerk, Neil Landstrumm and Tobias Schmidt were basically life’s blood for me as a fan and DJ. What do you think of the “newer” guys coming through like Luke’s Anger, Ben Pest, and Donk Boys?
“I’m thrilled to see that this slightly experimental leftfield take on techno is kept alive by the newer producers.”

Which current crop of artists and labels are grabbing your attention, and why so?
“I honestly don’t pay too much attention to what’s coming out, or hip/cool for that matter. There are so many producers these days, and affordable, easy-to-use software has made it possible for anybody to piece together a track. I hear lots of brilliant work from unknown new producers on the Internet, but due to the mass amounts of producers, it would be impossible for me to say one small handful of artists and labels has grabbed my attention. The mind is overloaded from so much creative output.”

What new Bill Youngman releases can we look out for?
“I’m slowly working on a new album which will pretty much cover all of my styles and emotions. It has been a long time in the making, and will be a while before it’s ready. I never felt like I have finished a complete book; who is Bill Youngman? I’m always finding myself, and have been writing chapters of the story along the way.

“I’m overly critical about my own work and the bigger part of it stays in my home. I don’t release many of my compositions for the sake of simply putting them out. Every one of my releases has a true personal meaning for me. I’m not in a rush, but have a mixed plate cooking up in the kitchen.

“There will also be a new audible album on the way early next year. I’m feeling this at the moment. I’ve also been back on my metal guitar and have almost an album’s worth ready of weirdo electronic hardcore madness. I find joy in confusing myself!” (laughs)

You’ve worked extensively with Tobias Schmidt over the years – what’s happening in that department?
“Toby and I meet a couple times a year and work on bits for our live sets and tracks. We have a few releases worth of material ready to go, but it’s difficult to find the right home when the scene for our style of music barely exists. I would sometimes rather not put it all out than simply do it on a label that has no relevance – kind of like a painting that stays on your wall, you can enjoy it forever… but I certainly want to share with all. Maybe they will all end up in the great Internet museum. We are currently debating the next steps.”

(And now the pseudo-toughies…)

CDs seem to be a disappearing facet of the electronic music industry, and a fair amount of people are cutting back on vinyl production these days because they say it just doesn’t make back the money invested. How do you feel about this? Do you agree?
“CDs and players have become a fairly dead medium. The digital road makes audio simply easier and more obtainable. Vinyl is expensive and the latter part of
DJs I know have switched over to digital DJing. Vinyl is still special; you can’t beat the sound of of a hot cut, but at the same time the convenience of digital and mp3 has made it possible for the masses to create, produce, and share music. There are many positive and negative points, too many to get into.”

Is vinyl dead? Or just becoming more of a select option?
“It’s not dead. I appreciate the people who still press and buy vinyl. I love having an actual physical product in the hand – it’s such a joy to get a test-pressing back and wait for the finished release… every vinyl release is like a birthday present. I have seen a rise in small labels who have decided to do strictly vinyl and no option for digital, as well as artists/labels making special limited-edition vinyl runs. For me it’s like owning a piece of art, every vinyl is unique in its own way. If you really want to have the tracks, then you have to make an effort to find them.”

When we decided to switch some of the IF? Records back-catalogue to digital download, I got an anonymous email saying “You’ve sold you’re [sic] soul to the devil!!!” (I kid you not). So… have we…?
“As I said before, digital makes it possible for a wider audience to hear and obtain music on the whole. At the same time, there is no risk in releasing only digital music, making it harder to stand out in the pool of labels. Making vinyl from the heart and financial side are two separate issues. I love vinyl, but plan on releasing remastered versions of all my earlier works in a digital format. It’s an unobtainable idea for me to press a record of niche music, only to lose all the money put into the product and get nothing in return. I want the music to be available for all, no matter what the medium is.”

Do DJs really need to continue to use vinyl? Or can they instead construct entire sets out of stuff they’ve downloaded off the Internet?
“I’ve seen/heard people play sets on all mediums and platforms. I make the effort to bring gear to my shows as a live performer – I could just as easily play back pre-recorded material, but I have a very purist attitude about what my performance means. I have to satisfy myself, even if the bulk of the public doesn’t know the difference. They only listen, as they should.”

Have you heard any of the music coming out of Australia?
“Very little – would like to hear some more… Any tips?”

What do you think of the Japanese producers like Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, Co-Fusion, HIFANA, DJ Warp, Shufflemaster, Merzbow, Alone Together, Gadget Cassette, et al? Do any of these people stand out for you, and why do you think the Japanese scene is so vibrant and charismatic?
“I know very little about these producers mentioned. I’m always interested to hear the sonic influence of different cultures – and again tips would be most appreciated. I’m fascinated about Japan and its people. I have yet to go, but looking forward to it someday in the near.”

What’s your day job – and is it fun? Does it foster your music output, or hamper it?
“I mostly work on my music, do some sound design, and beta test software the other half of the week. I really enjoy beta testing programs because it keeps me on the cutting edge of the software industry. At the same time, it can often be tough to switch back into music mode as one has spent the day using the same tools that would be used for work and production. I try to take at least one day off in the week from all sound/computer related activities.”

Lastly – how do you like your mushrooms cooked?
“I would need to know the type of mushroom first. In the next interview?” (laughs)

Care to add anything else?
“I will be taking over Serotonin Records. Jason and John have very little time to deal with the label due to their own endeavors. It would be a shame to see it die. There is a lot of meaning there for me, as it being my first musical home. Funny how life can take you full circle sometimes…”

“Oh, and send me some good sake… I’m getting thirsty over here in Berlin!”

- Interview by Andrez Bergen

He comes highly recommended by none other than Proper NYC label manager and one of the best proper-minimal techno producers around, Steve Stoll.

When we first heard his music it became clear that Vin shares the same vision as our labels and loves techno music as much as we do.

How and when did you first get into producing electronic music in general – and what motivated this commencement?
It all started back in the late nineties. Growing up in the heart of NYC when the rave/underground party scene was really starting to make a presence with a large number of promoters eager to throw parties. These guys were throwing parties all over the city; be it in clubs, warehouses, empty parks, and other venues scattered across the 5 boroughs. After this I started to attend more parties and saw the likes of Jeff Mills, Adam Beyer, Dylan Drazen, and The Advent to name a few. I then really started to read more about this stuff and soon enough I couldn’t resist sketching out my own rhythms.
Of course at the time my setup was quite limited. I was running a Roland R-70 drum machine through a grunge distortion pedal into a guitar amplifier (leftover from my previous stint with a band in high school).

What production aliases do you currently work under, and how would you define their separate styles?
Everything thus far has been released under V1NZ…. As far as styles go it really does depend on the label/remixer/remixee I am working with. Although everything does fall under techno for sure!

What is your current studio setup?
I’ve worked with Logic for years as my sequencer. Recently I am starting to use Ableton a bit more. I tend to use Ableton and Rewire along with Logic when working on remixes. As far as outboard gear goes I really love to throw down patches from the Novation K Station. Something about that real time hands on sound sculpting. But I have to admit that I have been using a large number of software synthesizers (both free and purchased) . SURGE by Vember Audio is pretty nasty.
I have a lovely spectrum analyzer that is rack mounted that I keep an eye constantly when in the mixdown/master process. Everything comes out into an Allen And Heath mixer before hitting my BX8 monitors.

How did you get involved with Elektrax Music and the Sydney label Elektrax Recordings, run by DJ Hi-Shock?
I was introduced to Elektrax by Steve Stoll. Steve introduced me to Simon and it all went forward from there. I checked out all of the artists and sounds on the Elektrax website (spectacular design btw); and with news of the new minimalistic-futuristic-deep-techno toned sub-label Android Muziq; I knew this was something I really, truly wanted to be a part of.

What about Proper NYC? How did you get those tunes out on Steve Stoll’s label?
I shot Steve an email and asked him to take a listen to my tracks. Steve hit me back with some proper feedback and information regarding my first release and things moved forward from there.

What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon (positives and negatives)?
I think its great that we can search through near infinite supply of music out there on the Internet and discover new artists/sounds that we might have missed otherwise. It’s great to have immediate access to music in this way.

Some say this has resulted in less income for artists than when vinyl was pressed back in the day. But the result has been much more interesting live performances at clubs and festivals.

How does digital download suit your own needs and directions?
I come from a production background. So for me being able to grab tracks and tie them together and cut them up and create new sonic sculptures in similar methods used when writing a track is really helpful as I continue to move forward and continue to plan out and develop my live performance.

Do you think digital download and digital files will eventually replace vinyl for DJs?
Well, in a way yes. I think that this has been happening for quite some time now. Technology is constantly changing/improving. I’m still not sure that vinyl will disappear like the dinosaurs did but I do think with the constant improvements in software such as Trakktor, Ableton, Serrato , etc digital is really becoming the primary medium of live performance.

Also; funny enough; answering this question I just got off of a 4 hour flight from Detroit; and I would have to say that travelling with my music all available on my laptop is most definitely less of a burden than if I were to carry around an equivalent number of tracks on CD and vinyl. I’m not sure that turntables will diminish in presence such to that of VCRs being replaced by DVD players. There are indeed venues in Europe and elsewhere that only allow DJs to spin records.

Some people hate the idea of digital download, and say it’s not “real” music. We only release vinyl. What would you say to them?
Umm. Well I would say to those people that before that “real music” they have on their records got:
– cut to vinyl OR
– burned to CD
it was indeed a 24bit 44100khz WAV file. I understand the argument that vinyl provides a warm sound but with the way technology has advanced I don’t think most people can tell the difference when dancing their butts off at a club, party, festival, etc… Besides I don’t think the medium should dictate the quality of the music. There is plenty of crap music out there on vinyl that should not be considered better just because it’s cut to a physical record.
Lastly I remember when DJ’s started to use CDJ’s and that was looked down upon by DJ’s spinning records. So to me somebody using CD’s should not in anyway point the finger at somebody performing live using Ableton or Traktor. Beside music is something we hear and feel… Not something we visually observe.

Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with or remix, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
I like to work with techno artists who seek to provide proper, dark, bangin, minimalistic grooves. To name a few:
Max_M – M-Rec (Milan, Italy)
Thanatos (Milan, Italy)
Miro Pajic (Berlin, Germany)
Steve Stoll – Proper NYC – (USA)
Wyndell Long – Chicago –(USA)
I have worked remix projects with these guys and its really been great sharing ideas/sounds.

Where would you like to take your music from here?
I want to continue what was started in the nineties as far as techno goes , preserving that hard dark vibe. I also would like to continue to push new directions as technology advances. I want to get my music to as many people as possible to heard; be it in the car, at the office, or on the dance floor!

Tell us something about Dionysus EP on Elektrax Recordings, what vibes can we expect to hear?
All of these tracks aim to tell a story and carry the listener along.. I wanted to take each kick and bassline and combine to form a sonic wave to move people on the dance floor. There is a good deal of twisted synth parts complimenting some classic proper percussion. Lots of reverb and delay space created here.
Thanatos throws down a great bomb of a remix, which is sure to rock the night. Schematics was something I wrote to capture that vibe I felt back in the day in NYC at outlaw/warehouse parties in the Bronx.

You are also releasing on Android Muziq, how different is your music on this label as opposed to Elektrax Recordings?
The music on Android Muziq project is toned down slower than the stuff on Elektrax Recordings. Yet still maintaining a dark vibe.. Android provides more sci-fi techy futuristic sounds… yet full of crisp percussion.. more of a minimalistic approach.

A lot of proper techno producers refer to music released back in the 90’s. What do you think about those days and what labels did you like back then?
I absolutely loved that time period and that is truly what has inspired me since. Surgeon, Jeff Mills, Dylan Drazen, Adam Beyer (early Drumcode, Code Red), Frankie Bones, Heather Hart, Neil Landstrumm, The Advent, Joey Beltram, to name a few. During that time period a lot of what I heard came in the form of mixed cassette tapes of DJ sets… to name a few labels:
Axis, Proper NYC, Drumcode, Tresor , Counterbalance, Dynamic Tension, Code Red

Techno artists like to say that they produce for the love of music, not for money and that these days digital releases are really more of a tool to promote their own name in order to score live gigs and tours because that’s where the real cash is…so here comes the final question…Why do you make techno music?
It really is great as an artist to come up with new ideas and create tracks and hear from people their thoughts on the tracks. Ultimately I love to get my stuff heard. It is nice to reap some rewards via sales/performances. After all we put a lot of time and effort into creating this music.

I make this music in an effort to get these creations out to the world and beyond. It’s great to build sounds and piece them together to build a musical collage and get people to dance as well as listen and enjoy. Its what I always wanted all these years when its 6AM and a bomb track comes on in that club and everyone jumps. I’ve always wanted to move people with sound.

Both for his individual work and his cuts with Ben Sims, Mac has scintillated most people’s senses, kept abreast of the changing times, and set his own musical standards, on superlative labels like Bush, Axis, Kanzleramt, Wetmusik, Primevil, and Sims’ Ingoma and Theory Recordings.

Now add Elektrax Recordings to that indomitable list.

How and when did you first get into DJing and producing electronic music in general – and what motivated this commencement?
“I began DJing in around 1987, and production around ‘93-ish, I think; not sure of when I began making tracks. It was basically a natural progression from DJing. I was kind of obsessed with doing tape deck edits and the like, before I even had turntables.”

You’ve been working with music for all of the 1990s, and most of this decade. What keeps you motivated?
“Motivation has never been an issue really – it’s something I love, and am driven to do. If I didn’t make my living doing this, I would still be in the studio as much as possible.”

What production aliases do you currently work under, and how would you define their separate styles?
“Right now I’m only really using the Paul Mac name. In the past I’ve had up to 12 different aliases, but frankly that just confused people and there really isn’t much point in it now.”

“What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon – both the positives and negatives?
“It’s a really long and complex subject, I think, especially for people coming from the old way of doing things like myself – but in a nutshell the leveling of the playing field was a great thing early on. The ability to get music out there without having to be part of a “system” was (and still is) cool. On the downside there is very little quality control; a near complete lack of mastering from most labels makes, I’d guess, something like 15% of most downloads basically unplayable. And let’s not get started on the piracy issues. I could rant about this all day, but finally the good/bad divide about equals out.”

How does digital download suit your own needs and directions?
It’s nice to have complete freedom to do what you want. Primarily with my own label, Sula Muse, I concentrate essentially on very deep material which traditionally never really sold in the vinyl market. Now, it’s true to say it doesn’t really sell in the digital market either [laughs], but at least you can put it out there with very little risk financially.”

Do you think digital download and digital files will eventually replace vinyl for DJs?
“Obviously more and more people are moving to downloads, but there is still a definite hardcore of people who like to use vinyl – I guess market forces will kill vinyl eventually. iI will be a sad day, that’s for sure; even though I personally use Ableton myself now, I’m still a vinyl guy at heart.”

Some people hate the idea of digital download, and say it’s not ‘real’ music. We only release vinyl. What would you say to them?
“Nah, I don’t agree with that – music is music, regardless of format. If something is a great piece of music, people will like it and play it. Again, my main problem with digital is the loss of the intrinsic quality control system – that’s not to say bad music was never released on vinyl; of course it was, and plenty of it, but at least there was the process of getting past an A&R guy, mastering , distribution, etc. As I said earlier, initially I thought this was a positive thing, but as things go on I’m starting to miss those things more and more.”

Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
“The only people I’m working with at the moment are Ben Sims and Vince Watson. Ben and I have worked on various projects over the years, with pretty good success, as we both have a similar ear for things and our styles in the studio seem to mesh quite nicely. Working with Vince is much different as he is far more musical than myself, and I tend to be a bit more tech-orientated, but we also seem to manage to get nice results when working together.”

Where would you like to take your music from here?
“I have no idea, really. I think I’d like to complete another couple of artist albums before that concept dies completely. They’re always a lot of fun, but I’m happy just doing my thing and hoping others dig it also.”

- Interview by Elektrax Music. Edit by Andrez Bergen

“Before someone threatened to kill me to make talk, I guess I would say it’s techno!” he laughs.

Pulsinger harks from Austria, and being Australian myself, I always had a special affinity for the breed since we’re always mistaken for one another when we travel overseas, despite the complete differences in native language. Besides, my favorite film is The Third Man, shot in late ‘40s Vienna.
My own interest in Patrick Pulsinger, however, has different origins.

From 1994 I had a radio show on community station 3PBS FM in Melbourne. It was called ‘Cyberdada’, and it was my other baby aside from my record label IF?, and in 1995 the most-played record on the show – amidst awesome 12-inches and tapes from Relief, Axis, Tresor, Trope, Sativae, Mosquito, Ninja Tune, Force Inc. (and IF?) – was actually a double-CD from Austrian label, Cheap Records.

The title? 90 Minutes in the Eyes of iO. It was produced by label bosses Patrick Pulsinger and Erdem Tunakan, with mates.

The release quite literally decked me, and Pulsinger has continued on as a mainstay influence in my own musical reference palette ever since, via the Austrian producer’s own output (on labels like Disko B, Compost, Studio !K7, R&S, and International DJ Gigolo), as well as some of his brilliant remixes of people like DJ Hell, Chicks On Speed, Tosca, Tanzmusik and Ken Ishii. He certainly seems to have an eerie knack for a shnazzy remix.

“I try to keep the good stuff from the original, twist it around a bit, and attempt to create something exciting and new,” Pulsinger says now, some 14 years on from the first time I heard that iO record. “There’re so many possibilities and paths you could go after; I think it’s important to grab the essential vibe of the track and shift it in a surprising but respectful way.”

Unlike many artists from his generation who have lost interest, dropped by the wayside, fallen out of relevance, or just plain lost the plot, this Austrian is still right on top of the game, and seems surprisingly far from disenchanted with the music biz.

“My approach always revolved around meeting my personal taste, and I wanted to try out as many different styles as possible – but of course, that doesn’t really help you when you want to have a professional career in music,” he muses.

“I never considered myself a songwriter; the technical side of things was always more interesting. Making the music is one side of the business, but the other side always seemed a bit boring to me.”

That other side, it turns out, was the business of running a record label. Since its inception in 1993, Cheap released some sensational records from people like Pulsinger and Tunakan, Robert Hood, Khan Oral, Christopher Just, and Dez Williams – but by 2007 Pulsinger had had enough of the accounting and A&R bit.

“Doing a label is pretty much the same as selling vegetables or furniture: Once the product is out there, you spend so much time telling other people why it is a good product and why people should like or buy it. While this can be interesting and challenging, it’s not what I wanted to pursue in life. That was also the main reason why I left the label [Cheap] after 12 years – it was time to move on. Today I can concentrate on studio work, producing for other people, bands, and my own stuff or mastering… As long as it’s music and sound.

“Our general guideline with Cheap was that we wanted something that didn’t sound like all the other releases, we were always looking for artists who’d have their own ideas about sound and music, and would fit in with the sound of the label in general.

“My former partner, Erdem Tunakan, is still doing stuff with the label – not as extensively as during our time together in the ‘90s, but he’s putting out good stuff. The latest release from Tin Man is a real good one! Besides that, he founded a sub-label called Cheap Record Rocks for, well, rock music. I’ve just produced an album for him by this band, Freud; good band, good songs, and it was fun to record and work with them. I produced some rock bands before that, and found it very refreshing. It draws the attention to fields other than working with electronic music.”

Over the years, Pulsinger has worked extensively in his own name, of course, but also under aliases like Showroom Recordings, Sluts’n’Strings & 909, and Restaurant Tracks with Erdem Tunakan, along with iO – with Erdem, Gerhard Potuznik, and Herbert Gollini.

“For me, those projects are something from the past,” Patrick reports.

“It’s a good and joyful past, but just not what I’m interested in continuing today. My colleagues and I had a blast doing so many records together, and we’re all still good friends, but each of us has a new approach to things and I’ve needed the flexibility to change to stay interested in music for so many years. It’s healthy.”

The interest in music, it seems, is the continuing thread that keeps the man involved and interested in its various tangents.

“I was always interested in sound from a very early age on,” he confirms.

“When I was listening to the radio or my parents’ disco tapes, the tunes that had some synthetic sounds were the ones that got my attention. I was always wondering what kind of instrument would produce a sound like that. Then, when I got older and found out that I could produce some of those sounds with cheap flea-market keyboards and drumboxes, I started to collect and repair them and recorded my first experiments with a cassette recorder – it’s hard to listen to that stuff now!” he laughs.

“There’s a wide range of music that inspires me. It’s really hard to pin down, but I’m a fan of big band jazz from the ‘60s, as well as dub and disco, so you can imagine what kind of contemporary music would grab my attention.”

The gear and software he uses in the studio certainly reflects this diversity and open-mindedness.

“I use all kinds of stuff from different time periods, from vintage synths to software, from tape machines to computers; it really depends on the sound I’m looking for. Recording-wise, I try to go as original as possible, using vintage preamps, mics and outboard, but the most important thing for me is limitation, being able to concentrate on a minimal amount of gear and trying to squeeze the best out of it. It doesn’t really matter what you use, so long as you can produce a unique sound.
“The environment I make the music in will contribute a lot to the way my music sounds, acoustically and artistically as well. If I feel good, have good monitors and a trouble-free workflow, then I can let myself go and just concentrate on the music.”

Which brings us up-to-scratch – and my own cantankerous Funk Gadget project persona.

There’s a Funk Gadget track I recently did called ‘Blah Blah’, which owes a great deal to the inimitable Paul Birken, and when it came to choosing a remixer for the track, Pulsinger’s name was at the very top of the list.

Why? Because the man continues to do my head in, in completely cool Pulsingerian ways, a decade and a half after I first heard his mischief.

“I had a good feeling about the track and an instant idea for a remix,” he says now, after having finished off the grand master challenge (it’s set to be released through Hypnotic Room Special Edition on July 10).

“Since the original has a good, funky rhythm track, I tried to keep that and give it a more four-to-the-floor approach. The klonky stuff is all cut-up from the original; I just added a Juno and a Moogbass, and here you are. I was aiming at people who go out to clubs, listen, dance, enjoy a big bass, a drink, a smoke, nice company, are nice to animals, love peace – that sort of thing!”

Again the grin – Pulsinger also has a new swag of his own original sounds about to hit the big wide world.

“I’ve produced some twelve EPs together with DJ Glow, from Trust Records, and stuff together with Diskokaine. Those 12-inches should come out pretty soon on vinyl.

In Autumn I’ll release an album under the name of dp-S – a duo project with Werner Dafeldecker playing double-bass, and me playing modular synth; it’s cool, improvised stuff with guests Sir Alice on vocals and John Tilbury on piano. No drums! And it’s a vinyl-only release. Also at the moment I’m working on a new album for Disko B, which should come out later this year or early next: More dance stuff.”

Pulsinger has a rather huge history, having released on vinyl and CD through various labels like Cheap, Disko B, Compost Records, Studio !K7, and R&S. CDs seem to be a disappearing facet of the electronic music industry, and a fair amount of people would appear to be cutting back on vinyl.

“I don’t really see it that way,” Patrick interjects.

“It’s getting hard to sell any kind of product – CDs, vinyl, books – that are not distributed digitally. The CD suffers much more from that problem than the vinyl. As a matter of fact, labels are switching back to limited editions on vinyl. The biggest problem is the distribution. Here in Europe, some of the major players have dropped out of business and left a big hole for small labels. Most of them had poor performances and a totally wrong approach to selling music, and that was the main reason for the failure. Just having hundreds of labels and thousands of releases does not do the job – you have to know what you’re selling and where your market is. The return policy was the big problem, and it broke everyone’s necks.”

So is vinyl’s future limited?

“It is, and will stay, the format for the music lover. You can’t get rich selling vinyl, but if you play it right, cut out the middle man, and deliver a beautiful, outstanding product, people will go for it.”

Meanwhile, Pulsinger has a decent, growing presence on Beatport and other online digital carriers.

“That’s OK! If someone wants to buy music in that format, totally cool. I think it’s an extremely competitive but important market. Just because you haven’t been around long enough to get the original 12-inch doesn’t mean that you’ll enjoy the music any less. There are sound issues, no doubt, but music should get around.”

In October this year, Pulsinger is gearing up for another tour of Japan, one country he rates exceptionally highly. This is the place, after all, that reared such diverse and talented producers like Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, Co-Fusion, HIFANA, DJ Warp, Shufflemaster, Merzbow, Alone Together, Gadget Cassette, Ken Ishii, Polygon Prompt and Y.M.O.

“The Japanese music scene is totally unique,” he raves, and now he’s beginning to sound just like me.

“There are so many different approaches to Western music there, as well as classic Asian, that it created its own context. Whether it’s jazz, noise, electronic, rock… Japanese music is always a bit different, sometimes more radical, precise, or crazier than other music of the same genre from around the world. Why? Well, I could think of many reasons, the most important being that the country has had a strong identity for many years and it stands out.”

- Interview by Andrez Bergen

How’d you get inspired to start making music?
“That’s simple: Prince and Mike Dearborn. I’d been a huge fan of all kinds of music, R&B, classic rock, and alternative. Prince really opened my eyes to one man being able to be a full band. Taught myself how to play piano, but didn’t do much with it until I got to college. Ran out of money so I got a midi keyboard, a rack synth, and connected it all via midi to my Amiga. I started making rap beats and R&B trax for the campus NIU American Idols. I enjoyed producing stuff, but it would only go so far. I met Mike [Dearborn] a couple years later and he opened my eyes to a few things. He was releasing stuff on Djax and had a crate of records that amazed the shit out of me. His own Djax trax, [Joey] Beltram, [Neil] Landstrumm, Steve Stoll… just genius after genius. He let me hold the crate for a week or so and I dived in and listened to everything. I had no idea techno ‘n’ house was still going on. Much of the scene we had in Chicago had vanished, due to the labels and promoters constantly ripping off the artists. I guess the artists started getting calls from promoters and labels overseas, and the rest in history. I buckled-down and started recording tracks. I sent demos to a few contacts I had got through K-Alexi and I got calls from Peacefrog and Primate. That’s basically how it started.”

You’ve been producing music and interacting within the music industry for quite a time now – what keeps you motivated, and what integral changes have you noticed over that period?
“14 years, off and on. The ability to sit down and create something unique is always going to be the central motivation. It most definitely isn’t the money. You don’t make a lot of money doing this kind of music – therefore you have to have a real motivation for doing this kind of work, and it’s good to be versatile. I do a lot of music in different styles, also audio mixdown and mastering, sell the occasional beat here and there, and now I’m getting back into making trax and DJing. Keeps me busy.”

What gear/software are you making most use of in the studio at the moment?
“I used to use a lot of hardware. Never could afford the Access Virus, Akai or Roland boxes so I always had ‘lower class’ gear. Kawai syth racks and Zoom samplers. I switched to a PC-based system a few years ago. I tried a few of the studio-in-a-box programs and found Reason to be the best answer, along with Sonar. I know gear-happy, Pro-Tools and analog-loving producers frown down on Reason, but really, they can stick a thumb up their ass with that shit. Reason sounds as good as the person who is using it. If you have a basic understanding of creating and recording audio, then that’s what your trax will sound like. If you have skillz, then you trax will shine like a Radiohead track. I had no problem importing my custom sound sets into Reason, and once you get pass the presets and get into the Combinator and programming, you can make some timeless stuff. It sounds better than any of my hardware setups did, and it’s so much easier to route audio.

“With my custom sound banks and a few refills, I’m able to create just about anything I need to, and for multi-track vocal work I can export everything to Sonar. It’s truly amazing what you can do with a fast PC – just don’t let your music PC touch the Internet. One of the things I’m trying to do is work with arpeggiators in my techno productions – getting back to that old analog sound. I never used them for any of my vinyl releases. I’ve always admired artists like Steve Stoll who could turn a great synth-sound into a classic six-minute track, without overloading it. It’ll be one of my goals for future trax work.

“For my hip hop and other types of music I do, I tend to stick to sample libraries, programmed synth-patches, and try to never, ever use presets. Less is more these days, so I try to keep the productions easy on the ears. Much of it is being an audio engineer as well as a music producer. Knowing how frequencies interact with each other, knowing when to compress or limit, et cetera.”

So which part of your studio is the most vital facet?
“I have the entire collection of the classic albums video series, as well as the Beatles Anthology on my music computer hard-drive. When I need to take a break, there’s nothing like looking at how The Dark Side of the Moon or Aja were recorded. My hat goes off to those bands of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.”

What food/drinks keep you fueled throughout production time?
“Bubblegum and water. All I need.”

Which current crop of artists and labels are grabbing your attention?
“To be honest, I’ve been less-enthused about today’s techno ‘cuz it all sounds like it’s coming out of the same studio to my ears. I do like what’s coming out on some of the netlabels out there – I find them to be a great source of trax that try to innovate instead of bullshit with presets and special FX. I’m amazed it’s all available for free: good-quality music that 10 years ago you’d have had to pay for. Thinner, Epsilonlab, Archipel, One Bit Wonder, Clever Music… all put out great stuff. Some of my all-time favorite labels are Synewave, Proper, Novamute, Tresor, Peacefrog, Djax, Torema, Elypsia, Drop Bass Network, Sm:)e Communications, Axis, Primate, and Majesty, just to name a few. I like the stuff that’s on stompy.com as well. Good, jackin’ house music. I purchase from there a lot too. Big fan of Moodymann and Leon Louder.”

Mandatory inane question #101: If you were pressed into a corner and forced to confess under great duress, how would you define the sounds/styles you’re currently making yourself?
“Retro-future Chicago Jack. I’m trying to make tracks that don’t have that over-compressed, overproduced sound I hear now; my stuff is geared towards making people dance. With my hip hop ‘n’ trippy productions, I’m trying to keep it musical, which can be hard in today’s market.”

You also have your own awesome outlet through nosleepmusic.com. What’s happening in that department?
“It’s more like a Jeff Mills/Axis thing, an outlet to release my own productions. There are a lot of people downloading music from my little netlabel; I can see the statistics on my web control panel. I just wish they would reach out and give me a shout. Send me a DJ mix. Something. Hope they’re enjoying the sound.

“It’s a lot of fun to do the releases. I learned after being bent over and entered a few times by labels that you do this kind of music, #1, because you enjoy it – not to make money. I would like to work with more artists; hopefully I’ll get the time to do it in the near future. Last artist I did a release with on nosleep.com was Martin Mueller, who went on to get a release on a Neuton-distributed label (on the Exacta.udio imprint) and is doing a lot of work now. Unfortunately, Neuton closed its doors last year.”

Biggest influences on your music?
“When it comes to tracks, its the Chicago instinct to make music for the dancefloor, first and foremost. Something that makes me move. I was drawn to Chicago house cuz it was always focused on dance, no matter how warped a sound might be. Sub kicks, crisp hats, dirty samples. It’s all Chicago.

“For my other productions I’m influenced by a wide variety of artists, ranging from R&B, alt-rock, and classic rock. I can take in Steely Dan, Velvet Underground, Parliament, Radiohead, Prince, DJ Premiere, the Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, all in one sitting, and bring all that to my music. It might effect how I play a bassline, or EQ drums, or emulate guitar. I will always be a big fan of music. No ego here.”

What new Wyndell Long work can we look out for?
“I’m getting a lot of remix work, so most of my output will be from there. I don’t really send demos and stuff like that anymore – I wouldn’t even know who to send to. I’ve had some labels request demos, so I’ll probably cook up some new flavor and see where it goes. Otherwise I’m quite happy just putting out new tracks on my netlabel.”

You’ve released through a lot of respected labels like Peacefrog, Primate, Djax, Reel Musiq, Subspace, Majesty, Elypsia, Pro-Jex and R&S. CDs seem to be a disappearing facet of the electronic music industry, and a fair amount of people are cutting back on vinyl production these days because they say it just doesn’t make back the money invested. How do you feel about this?
“The music business, on a whole, is dying a slow death. Pretty soon, the way it’s going, it will just be a hobby anyone can do. Soulja Boy is making hits with one finger and fruity loops. His target audience doesn’t care how the song was made, they don’t care about hearing expertly-played chords, bass riffs, minor major changes; they want a slamming beat and loud vocals. Again, less is more today.

“The way music is listened to, as well as how it is obtained, has changed a great deal in the last five years. You could be a music noob, go buy a 80GB mp3 player, then go over to a friend’s. He’ll take it and fill it to the rim with music. Thus you went from having barely any music to having a collection it would take a lifetime to obtain – that’s what’s happening now. Downloading was a problem before, but people have been collecting so much stuff over the years now. In fact, if they shut-down file sharing today, it wouldn’t matter. The damage has been done. The collectors out there have enough stuff to last them four lifetimes and will continue to pass friend-to-friend, pal to pal. The music business must have been too busy snorting yayo to foresee the damage the mp3 could do to their business model. On top of that, in some genres of music the quality of the songs suck ass. Most of the hip hop I hear sounds like thugs who never finished high school. Not good, cuz that market dries out fast.

“All these factors are making it less and less productive to press these records. For the trax scene, eventually all of the labels that had a successful catalog will go to digital format. It doesn’t make any since to press vinyl today. How many people other than DJs do you know that own turntables? It’s not enough to support a business. Hell, most rappers and singers out now are trying to become actors in order to get a steady paycheck. The market has changed so much.”

Is vinyl, then, dead?
Not dead – just hanging on. It will end up being a nostalgia-type thing. Something for labels to do to celebrate 10 years in the business, or something like that. I sold a lot of my records recently. Not a lot of buyers like you would think. Folks are feeling the digital trend. The days of carting heavy crates to gigs, or your records being stolen or lost at an airport, are over. I bring about 30 records with me for sets cuz I still like the feel of it, but at home it’s all audio CDs (no mp3s).

“The cost to press vinyl makes it hard to turn a profit from what I’ve been told, and those that still do only do small, limited runs. It’s sad, really, cuz vinyl is the best way to DJ. No doubt. Nothing like seeing what you’re playing. But lets face facts here – the CDJ-1000 MK3 is a beast, and technology determines what’s standard now.

“The CDJ-1000 is an amazing piece of technology as well, it’s about as close as you can get to using vinyl with CDs. I use a couple of Denon DNS1000s for my mixes and they’re a wonderful thing. When you factor in how lightweight it is to carry a crapload of CD-Rs, versus the bulk-weight of a crate of vinyl, coming to a set with CDs or a 4GB USB thumb drive… the future is freaky, for sure.

“I don’t buy vinyl anymore. It’s easier for me to either download trax, or create my own stuff. Now I can make something with the dancefloor in mind (which is a better way to approach creating trax for me) on fire, burn it and play it. No cost of pressing up acetates or sending a dozen demos in hopes of getting the trax pressed by a label. CDs are lightweight and convenient. The sound is much better; I don’t fall into that crusty view of the whole vinyl vs. digital argument. Sonically, CDs cover the full spectrum of sound, and to me that’s important. I remember the first time I heard Parliament’s Flashlight on CD. I had no idea there were hi-hats in the damn song. With vinyl you lose high-frequency response as the record goes further to the end. Flashlight was the last track on Side B, so a lot of the high frequencies and clarity were lost. It was like hearing it for the first time on CD. This is what CDs bring to music production – a CD is as good as the recording and mastering engineer makes it. You can take out the digital harshness of a song with simple EQ-ing, or a nice tape saturation plug-in. Give it that warmth you hear producers bitch about. I always remaster tracks I intend to play in DJ mixes as well (if needed), so if something sounds too shiny, I can put that dirt and thump in it so my set has a universal bounce to it.

“This is the day and age when everybody is a DJ and can download Beatport’s Top 20 and do a DJ mix with Traktor, with the computer doing all the work for you. With all this technology, the one thing that will always weed out the bullshit DJs from the real ones is what they play, especially now. Everyone is going to the same spots to get music now, so chances are everyone will play the same shit sooner or later. If I go see Mark Farina, Derrick Carter or DJ Heather play, I know I’m going get shit I ain’t heard yet. The kind of stuff that most DJs won’t get to because they want to sound hip, and play two hours of trax that all sound the same from the same source. So many mixes I’ve checked out over the past year have bored me to pieces. In fact, the last great mix I heard was a nice funky house mix on some blog page which was done with Tracktor. Go figure.”

So do DJs really need to continue to use any vinyl? Or can they effectively instead construct entire sets out of stuff they’ve downloaded off the Internet?
“Why not? I do, and it’s great going between the formats when playing live. The only thing I don’t like about digital is the non-user friendly nature of blank CD-Rs. When you burn enough of them, you end up having a CD wallet resembling Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans painting. They all look the same, the CDs. How do you know what the hot shit is? Colored stickers? Doesn’t work. With vinyl you could look at the record and know what’s on it, or look at the record label and know what style you were grabbing. Too bad you can’t do that with CD-Rs. I burn six to eight tracks per CD-R, and in reality that can get messy when trying to find that hot track you want to bang at the right moment.

“I saw a video with Ritchie Hawtin, mixing four tracks at once with Traktor along with some funky controller. The songs were blending themselves. He could Skype or check his e-mail while spinning, it looks like. Opens up a whole new area of possibilities, especially for DJs like me who love to hold blends for a long time. When he was looking for tracks, he had picture covers to represent the EPs. Nice.”

Where in Chicago are you from?
“Born on the South Side, Marynook, near Stoney Island Ave. Moved to the south suburbs during the wonder years. Had the best of both worlds.”

Chicago has such a cool history with house and techno, taking in people like yourself, Curtis Jones (Green Velvet), Mike Dearborn, DJ Sneak, Glenn Underground, Gene Farris, DJ Rush, Emmanuel Pippen, and Boo Williams, just for starters. Who do you most respect from the city, and who have you worked with?
“Mike Dearborn will always be a favorite of mine – not just because he re-introduced me to the music, but more so because people like him, Sneak, Curtis Jones, K-Alexi, Mills, Armando, Stoll, Gene Farris, Paul Johnson, DJ Skull… these guys make stuff I can’t. That’s what draws me to them.

“As a music producer, I’m limited to what I can come up with. I can’t make a decent acid track to save my life, but Mike [Dearborn] can take acid and make it something new every time he fired up the 303s. I never figured out how to use an appregiator or pattern-programmer, so when I listen to Steve Stoll, I’m listening to a master at a work. Sneak makes jams that are for the floor, to get your groove on with. None of that experimental stuff. Classic jams. I can put on Latin Seoul from Sneak and just close my eyes and smooth out. Never gets old. I also loved Armando’s (R.I.P.) acid tracks. Good shit.

“Chicago needs a revival. Needs to come back strong. Innovate. The rest of the world has been stepping it up.”

So what’s the scene in Chicago actually like these days?
“I really don’t know, to be honest. Most of the underground clubs are closed, and the ones that are open tend to cater to the same names year after year, so it’s hard for new talent to get noticed. Plus it pays shit here to DJ, so you don’t get a lot of action. I don’t know which labels are still keeping it up in Chicago; I’d like someone to e-mail me on that. There are a couple spots to buy vinyl, like the legendary Grammaphone’s, but not a lot of labels are releasing it anymore, so go figure.

“A lot of track producers I loved in the late ’90s and early 2000s don’t sound like themselves anymore, that includes Chicago guys. They changed their sound so much just to stay relevant and it’s a shame that you have to do that. Of course, you can’t make a track using the soundsets and samples from the ’90s anymore, and expect to be taken seriously. Hell, with the cost of fuel rising, it’s been harder for US DJs to travel overseas and spin on a regular basis the last few years. As a consequence, they have developed their own styles now overseas, whether it be schranz, minimal, glitch, ghettotech, whatever. They don’t really need Chicago or Detroit music anymore. It’s a natural progression. It’s progress.”

What do you think of veteran British producers like Neil Landstrumm, Tobias Schmidt, Dave Tarrida, Cristian Vogel, Subhead, Tubejerk, Surgeon and Si Begg? Do any of these people stand out for you? Who do you currently dig cutting tunes over in the UK?
“I loved Neil’s work before he went all laptop-tech. I still bang his early Peacefrog jams. You would have thought he lived on the South Side of Chicago with what he was dropping back then. Surgeon makes quality stuff as well. Great producer. I DJ’d once with him and Marco Bailey way back. Fun times. Tobias makes nice stuff as well. There’re a lot of track-makers and labels I loved that came out of the UK that recorded on Ipcress Communications, Missile Records, Primate.”

Have you heard any of the music coming out of Japan?
“I’ve heard some hip hop coming from Japan. Much better than the crap that passes for hip hop here in the ‘States. I always liked Sublime Records out of Japan. Much respect for their stuff, very funky and innovative. Fumiya Tanaka’s Torema label as well. I don’t know if they’re still releasing. Fumiya once sent me most of his catalog to me. It’s a treasure I still adore. Great, funky trax.

“I think the Japanese have a handle on making trax ‘n’ beats that kind of gets lost in Europe and here in the ‘States. Innovation is no good without soul ‘n’ funk. Otherwise it’s music that sounds like a computer did it for another computer, not another human being. I swear when I hear what’s available on Beatport (the new stuff, not the catalog stuff) I’m thinking every artist up there has to be using the same gear, same studio and same mastering engineer. Where is the funk? Why does every track have the same kick sound? How am I suppose to nod my head to bleep-bleep or another large VST synth saw-tooth chorused bassline? That’s what I love about the work of Fumiya, Co-Fusion, DJ Warp, Toshiyuki Yassuda… It’s major tech, but used in a way that sounds different each time and designed to make you move. I hate trax that I’m supposed to ‘figure out’ or understand. It has to move me.

“I mean look at the funk you get with Hifana. You don’t need to speak Japanese to groove to those jams. I remember when Farley Jackmaster Funk mixes would be played over WBMX, a Chicago radio station from the early ’90s. You would hear Liaisons Dangereuses’ Los Niños Del Parque and Peut Etre… Pas (one of my all time favorites) being jacked; couldn’t understand a word of it, but bobbin’ your head to the funk. That’s what’s been coming from Japan for the last few years. Hope to visit there someday. Keep jacking that shit, Japan!”

How would you define the remixes you’ve done for us, of Jass Muzak and Compulsion, in a nutshell?
“Just trying to combine the old with the new, without relying on the same sounds everyone else seems to be recycling. They are strictly for the dancefloors. I’m not trying to create some new form of synthesis.

“I found that people responded best to my mash-ups and ‘emotional jacking’ tracks the last time I played out live. I’m trying to incorporate that into my sound and DJ mixes now. Also trying to keep the amount of elements I use to a minimum. Less-is-more, trying to get better at that. Besides, those Reason Combinators will eat up your CPU in no time.”

What kind of listener/audience were you aiming at with them?
“Hot skinny chicks in the white tank-tops and pigtails. No really, that’s kind of what I imagine when creating trax now. Girls like to groove, and they generally don’t like to have the shit scared out of them by some massive VST synth plug-in. Guys tend to stand around and stare at the speakers. The chicks get them to jack, and all is good.”

Not looking a gift-horse in the mouth at all, but is there any particular reason why you decided to do these mixes?
“It’s a lot easier than creating from scratch. I can take a jam, feel it out, and try to add some jack to it if needed. I try not to get all experimental with it, I want the remix to have the same elements it did in the original. Remixing is fun, and it seems to be a genre on its own. Besides, no one is satisfied with the original mix anymore it seems. Might as well have fun with it.”

Care to add anything else? Pet peeves apply here.
“I can recall when there was only ‘house’ music in Chicago. In a mix you would hear techno, house, deep house, disco, hip hop, jazz tracks, all in one mix. Things have gotten so categorized that often people only want to hear one narrow singular type of music. Kind of sad, and I hope things change. Variety is the scary spice of life. Technology, no matter how deviant, is a wonderful thing. Embrace it. I could have got into computer recording long before I did but I was too pig-headed and fossil-like to make the effort. Racks and racks of prehistoric gear for someone like me ain’t a good way to make music. I should have moved to an all-computer setup a long time ago. I had no recall with my setup. Now I can open up something I did eight months ago in Reason or Sonar, and it’s just how I left it, right up to the last patch I was editing. Now I have sounds beyond sounds. I can take a shitty track I did a year ago that I left on the ‘to do’ shelf, and remake it into something worth listening to, burn it, and play it live. This is the way to make music. Embrace technology.

“Same thing with DJing. CD turntables have been on the market for over a decade now, but I just got into them in my own studio maybe a year ago. I could pimp-slap myself in the face for being so late coming into it, because the benefits are so big. I’ve sold most of my vinyl and I only have one Technics 1200, which is covered most of the time. I went from having a crate of about 120 records for six years to having thousands of digital tracks in a few weeks. It’s so nice. Learn the new toys and network, network, network. All my remixes will be posted on my site for listening. All my netlabel releases will be available for download from my site as well, and feel free to contact me to talk shop, remixes, whatever.”

- Interview by Andrez Bergen