British DJ/producer Paul Mac has been one of the most consistent and more innovative people we’ve had our eyes on (and ears out for) well nigh on almost two decades now.
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
