Anyone who knows anything about mind-blowing, professional DJ’ing and superlative techno production on a global scale will skip right on by your bland, usual suspect superstar DJs, and head instead to one of the world’s most predominant and respected female DJ’s around…a long-time veteran…Gayle San, who left Singapore in 1990 to launch a career starting at London’s infamous Limelight club.
A residency at Germany’s Omen followed, along with productions for the Tribal Gathering compilations and records on XXX Records, Primate, Fine Audio, Compressed and her own Equator.
Not that she’s stopped to breath in the past 19 years. While she’s a consistent DJ at all the big parties and clubs across Europe, she’s currently also cutting tunes and mixes with the almighty Cari Lekebusch and DJ Hi-Shock.
We caught up with Gayle for a quick conversation on the eve of the release of her storming new EP, ‘Mania’, on Elektrax Recordings—to discover more about one undoubtedly talented and enlightening practitioner.
How and when did you first get into DJing and producing electronic music in general – and what motivated this commencement?
“I started DJing in Singapore, after spending a lot of time in clubs doing fashion shows when I was modeling. Eventually, I got more interested in the music side of things and how DJs were mixing behind the decks, and after I started hanging around with some DJ friends who finally got me into it properly, realized I had to go to a bigger city – and after that I got an offer to play in a London club for three months. Once I made the decision to move to the UK, my DJ career took off, and I’ve never looked back.”You’ve been working with music for all of the 1990s, and most of this decade.
How do you stay motivated?
“Listening to all types of music keeps me motivated, and seeing how electronic music has evolved over the years does so also; then there’s playing in all different countries, hearing all the variation of input from electronic producers worldwide, bringing in their very own local authentic sounds. Though I stay with my own style of playing my sets, I’m having to evolve with what’s new out there, and incorporate new directions within my style, and this stops me from getting bored. I’m always on the lookout for something new and fresh out there.” You’ve just released the ‘Mania’ EP through Australia’s Elektrax Recordings, and to my mind it’s a bass-driven thumper that wraps filtered synth-stabs around an absolutely slamming kick drum to deliver tough funk, and the remixes from DJ Hi-Shock and DJ Warp are fantastic.
How did you get involved with Elektrax in the first place?
“Well, that’s the wonder of MySpace. I got some tunes sent to me from them, which I thought were good quality stuff, and I started playing them out, and gradually Simon (Hi-Shock) and I got into contact and we got around to working together on the ‘Mania’ EP. Now we’re collaborating on my Equator label, for the Collab Project coming out later this year.”
Can you tell us something more about the tracks on this release in terms of your own impression—exactly what would you say people can expect from the original track by yourself, and the other two remixes by DJ Hi-Shock and DJ Warp?
“With ‘Mania’, I went a little higher with the BPM than is my usual style, giving the track a hypnotic feel, with dark elements and stabs, but keeping the pumping beats throughout the whole track. DJ Hi-Shock and DJ Warp have done a brilliant job cultivating their touches with the remixing of the track: Hi-Shock added a cool Latinoish rolling drumwork and played with some nice filtering in and out of the track, while Warp has given the track an old-school Detroit vibe.”
‘Mania’ is a digital-only release. What are your thoughts on the digital download phenomenon (positives and negatives)?
“In the beginning, when it all started, there were a lot of negative commotions about it – from artists not getting paid for their work, to artists being ripped off through all the illegal download sites, etc, etc. But gradually this phenomenon has found its ‘system’ in providing music worldwide through legal avenues, and through fast, efficient sites. So, people have started seeing it as the only way forward in getting and finding music without limitations. It’s definitely a positive.”
How does digital download suit your own needs and directions?
“With my lifestyle of constantly moving around, digital downloads work perfectly for me. Finding tunes has never been so easy for my sets at any given time or place, compared with having to drive off to a record store near me just to find tunes, like I had to do in the past. From finding new tunes, to collaborating with other artists, to running my own label, digital has been the only direction for me to get all of these things done, so it serves my needs 100%.”
Do you think digital download and digital files will eventually replace vinyl for DJs?
“As much as I love playing off vinyl, I had to switch to playing with CDs in terms of getting a lot more choices of music, as many labels have gone digital, and the choices in finding electronic tunes are now on a grand scale compared to vinyl, where it was limited in terms of labels and choices. Having my label and releases as digital-only, and seeing many other labels having done the same, I think eventually the ‘old school vinyl’ will be replaced.”
Some people hate the idea of digital download, and say it’s not ‘real’ music. What would you say to them?
“Music is music. How do you define real music, anyway? …Unless you’re listening to live bands playing, according to my musician friends! At the end of the day, if the music kicks, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s out digitally or on wax. What matters is that the music takes the roof off the dance floor; I wouldn’t care if I heard it from a digital downloads or from a spinning record.”
Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?
“I’ve been working with Cari Lekebusch for a while now, though we’re on the electro tip when we collaborate. I like his productions; his sound is always crunchy, he has his own sound and vibes, and his tunes are raw, dark, and groovy. I’ll also be doing stuff soon with Gunjack and DJ Boss.”
Where would you like to take your music from here?
“I’ll keep on doing what I’ve been, as well as doing collabs with artists, and taking them on tour, with my projects reaching the masses – that’s what I’m happiest doing.”
Who have been your favorite techno and electronic producers in your lifetime, and who rocks your world today?
“When I was starting out, Jeff Mills was my mentor – I remember standing behind him, watching him mix, and I got totally hypnotized by his fingers movements and the styles, and in those days of 1988 the underground Detroit sounds were mind-blowing to me. I got every release from his Axis label, and each one was like a gem, as they were often limited editions. Today – I don’t know if it’s ‘cos I’ve been doing this for 19 years! – I can’t seem to find a single artist that I can label as ‘the bomb’, or who rocks my world. That said, there’re a few out there who I respect, and whose work I love.”
© 2009 Amanda Wood @ Zebra DMC
