Super-Tronic return for this techno giant
Christian, welcome back to DMCWORLD, you have yet again got the Buzz Chart office jumping around thanks to your new Carambola EP – talk us through the tunes?
“Bedrock is a label that I’ve liked and played out for many years. The Carambola EP is my fourth release for the label and I delivered two musical techno tracks. I’ve played them out a bunch of times already and the reactions have been immense! There are so many people doing the same thing over and over and its nice to see that John Digweed has a wider taste in music and supports musical techno on his Bedrock label.”
LISTEN HERE: http://soundcloud.com/bedrock_rec
Ah yes, John Digweed’s seminal Bedrock label – how long have you been a fan of the label, what tunes over the years have you been smashing out?
“I’ve known and followed the label since its inception and I got to know John about 5 years ago. There have been so many big tracks on the label over the years, one of my all-time favourites is a remix Josh Wink made for Tom Mangan back in 2001”
What are the current Top 10 tunes you’re spinning?
01. Adam Beyer – Be Quiet – Drumcode
02. Christian Smith – Systemwide – Cocoon
03. Technasia – Heart of Flesh – Cadenza
04. Christian Smith – Keep On (Rodriguez Jr. Remix) – Strive
05. Slam – Vespula – Drumcode
06. Sinisa Tamamovic- After All Bad Things (Pirupa Remix) – Yoshitoshi
07. Parallel 9 – Magnetic Reversal – Music Man
08. Alex Tepper – Breathe In – Saved
09. Nic Fanciulli – Movin On – Rejected
10. Dave Clarke – Red 1 – Bush
Your musical roots lie in techno, however your sets are sprinkled with touches of funk and big room euphoric bursts – what DJs were you looking up to as your career began?
“I always appreciated DJs that were able to play longer sets and venture into different styles. It’s so easy to just play peak-time for 2 hours and play the big tracks, what is more challenging is to play proper long sets and go up and down. Laurent Garnier was, without a doubt, one of my favorite DJs growing up and I still respect him immensely. It’s really a shame that most of the most famous DJs don’t even want to play longer than 2 hours! It seems they don’t know how to venture out of exactly what they do all the time. Another DJ I love is Francois Kevorkian, when he plays at his residency in NYC. He plays anything from House to Soul to Dub, Techno etc. and its really inspiring. I love all styles of music, as long as it’s delivered well and with integrity.”
June 13th sees a brilliant line-up you have put together for your Tronic Treatment party at Cityhall, Barcelona, part of the Off-Sonar festivities – what are you most looking forward to about that night?
“It gives me the greatest pleasure to be able to showcase the talent that releases music on my Tronic label. This night is not about me, but about everybody on the label and I’m really looking forward to spending a full night with my friends because we’re going to have a great party together! I’m going to be joined by 2000 And One, Kaiserdisco, Funk D’Void, Dosem, Marko Nastic, Wehbba, Bart Skils, Psycatron, Santos, DJ Anna and it’s going to be amazing! So, if you’re in Barcelona come along, all the details are on my Facebook:
www.facebook.com/officialchristiansmith
The world is awash with festivals, what makes Sonar so good?
“Sonar is much more alternative, which is great, their aim is not to just attract as many people as possible, but also to book artists that no one has never heard of and include cool workshops and educate clubbers. They have really cool showcases during the day as well, plus Barcelona is a tough place to beat when it comes to nice weather, food, and vibe.”
You used to live in Barcelona – what is the best and worst thing about living there?
“The best thing is the food, I really have had some of my best culinary experiences in or close to Barcelona. Catalunya, the state in which Barcelona is located, basically invented molecular cuisine with chefs such as Adrian Ferra, who totally dominated the world with his techniques. The worst part is the tourists! I lived in the lovely neighborhood of Borne, but the thing that really got on my nerves was that Barcelona is always packed with tourists. Generally, I have nothing against tourists, I also go on holidays, but when you constantly see people throwing up on the streets, being wasted drunk, well, after a while it becomes very annoying.”
What is your favourite personal memory from Sonar?
“When I had my first club4 party together with Paco Osuna, Marco Carola, and Adam Beyer, and we had to turn away several hundred people at the door because the club was so packed! It felt nice to totally sell out a venue, considering many of the other events that are half empty. My worst experience was when I was drugged during dinner before my own gig. That was rather unpleasant!”
What is the best club you have played at in 2012?
“So far, it was at Crobar in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I played for 5 hours and the night was magical, with 3000 people going absolutely mental from beginning to end! However, I’m playing at Womb in Tokyo in a couple of weeks and that club is also always incredible. I know I’m very lucky to do what I love for a living and have all these amazing experiences.”
What is coming next in 2012 studio wise?
“Besides the Carambola EP release on Bedrock, I’ve recently signed tracks to Cocoon and a single for Richie Hawtin’s seminal plus 8 label. I always like to keep busy and make music, I really don’t understand how some artists just DJ and make like 1-2 tracks a year? That would drive me insane! Producing music keeps me motivated and energized for my gigs on the weekends.”
What tune hasn’t left your set this year?
“Bushwacka! – West Side (Christian Smith & Wehbba Remix) on Tronic. It really destroys the floors!”
Not many people know this, but Christian Smith is really good at…
“Sitting on planes.”
What is your favourite UK club ever?
“Pressure @ The Arches in Glasgow and Shine in Belfast from a few years back. There are many great clubs in the world, but it’s the vibe of the crowd that differentiated these from the others. Ultimate Base in London also used to be amazing, it was a small Thursday night and Carl Cox was heavily involved.”
Who are the producers from around the world you are currently giving high fives to?
“Wehbba: because he is very open-minded, talented, and ambitious. I also really like Dosem and I think you will hear much more coming from him in the next year. Other than those two, I also support newer artists such as Steve Ward from Australia, and Jewel Kid from Malta.”
And finally, you have had a remarkable career – what one piece of advice can you give to the thousands of aspiring DJs and producers wanting to follow in your footsteps?
“Don’t jump on bandwagons and current hypes. You need to do what you feel and love the most and once you have identified this, you have to work your ass off and produce many tracks and release them on known and respected labels. It’s harder than ever to have a successful career in the music business these days, but if you have the passion, talent and discipline, you can do it! If you are in it mostly for the money, it would be better to just become an investment banker.”
