Dan Prince gets the exclusive interview with the producer on everybody’s lips as he announces the launch of his new Edible brand…
So loving the big news regarding your new Edible brand. Four club dates around the UK that your new press company informs us that…“Edible is a consolidation of the different facets of Dan’s buoyant personality and eclectic taste in music which will be manifested in numerous ways and turned into a movement.” So Mr Pearce, in layman’s terms, what the fuck is Edible all about?
“Ha ha ha!” Well I am kicking off with a series of club nights in London, Bristol, Cardiff and Brighton featuring some of my carefully hand picked guest artists…all of whom I am really excited about. The emphasis is on the music but the aim is to just have a load of fun. We are going to dress the venue accordingly, the artwork is hilarious and really it’s all about not taking myself and the brand too seriously. I have gone down that route before and it didn’t work, but now weirdly, the tongue in cheek avenue is working really well.”
Ah yes the artwork. I was going to mention that. Cold meat splashed all over the advertising, you must be loving all of this horse meat fiasco, your timing couldn’t have been better.
“I didn’t want to go down the route of posing for the camera like David Beckham or something. We DJs have the best jobs in the world and I can’t be doing with moody photo shoots. And that Dan is why I am doing my new press photo shoot in a butchers shop on Monday.”
Love it. So tell us about the guests on the tour. Why did you pick them…
Catz & Dogz – “They gave me my first leg up in the industry by signing ‘Entrance Song’, they are brilliant DJs and producers and they are really nice people.”
Waifs & Strays – “Known Amos and Rich for years and really support what they are doing.”
T Williams – “A great producer. I wanted to make the line up as eclectic as possible and he was a must to include.”
Jackmaster and Oneman – “Two of the best fucking DJs out there with great ears for music. Guarantee a mental dancefloor.”
Tom Trago – “I played with him in Amsterdam a while back. My friends have seen him live but I haven’t yet so I’m really looking forward to seeing him. I love all of his records and he is a top guy.”
How has the tour been received?
“The opening night at Solus in Cardiff is over two months away and it is already 90% sold out. It’s amazing.”
What are the plans for Edible after the club nights…?
“It al depends how much time I have really. With Eats it’s all about the music, with Edible the possibilities are endless. There may be a record label, who knows. I’m just having fun with it right now.”
You are getting to the stage of your career now where you are playing gigs that a few years ago you could only dream of playing. Where has lived up to the hype recently?
“There are loads, but the one that has stood out recently is Cielo in New York . I got to play for 4 hours and played a real broad spectrum of music instead of one and a half hours of pure Eats Everything. And they fucking lapped it up. And it was the best sound system I have ever played on.”
Miami is around the corner, how will you approaching WMC differently this year? You are now of the most exciting producers on planet earth…what will be different for you this year?
“Well I won’t get turned away from one of my own gigs for wearing shorts like I did last year, that’s for sure. I’m doing something like 7 parties this year including the DJ Mag party which I hear was insane last year, the Dirtybird party at Villa 221, Pets Recordings at Treehouse and James Zabiela’s boat party which I am really looking forward to.”
Have you any idea how messy James’s boats parties are?
“I’ve heard. I played with James a couple of weeks ago in Southampton and we DJ’d back to back, great fun. A lovely guy and I can’t wait for that one.”
The last time we spoke you were about to embark on a US tour with your father figure Pete Tong, someone who has really taken you under his wing. You were mighty apprehensive about the Las Vegas leg of your trip. We all told you would have to change your set and play stuff you wouldn’t normally, so what happened?
“Well I played the same kind of music I normally play, but the bigger records. I stuck to my guns as much as I could but yes, I cleared the fucking floor. Funny looking back, but it’s Vegas and that city is a law unto itself.”
So will you be going back to Vegas?
“Of course I will. The place is rocking, you’ve just got to gauge it right. That was my first time there, I know what to expect and the next time I’ll have them all jumping.”
What are your thoughts on the whole EDM scene in America right now?
“It’s all changing. The whole EDM sound has peaked and thankfully the clubbers out there who have just discovered dance music are now looking at other sounds. Dubstep which is the main influence to EDM is on the slide, you only have to look at the music people like Skrillex and Skream are making now to see that. It’s all gone full circle just how it did when hard house took over the UK in the late 90s. All of a sudden people started digging funky house acts again and hard house died. It’s the same over in America. They’ve done EDM and music is getting housier again.”
You are on tour all of the time these days. Most producers use their time hanging around airports making music on their computers – you aren’t a fan of that though?
“I can’t really because of the whole tinnitus ear problem. I have to wear ear plugs everywhere – on planes, at the cinema – which means I can’t get to grips with the sound quality I get when I am in the studio. Whenever I do anything on tour and get it back to the studio it sounds shit, so I don’t bother. Maybe the odd edit here and there but that’s about it.”
So what do you do in those long lonely hours sitting around in airports and hotel rooms on your own?
“I’m shit hot at FIFA 13 if you fancy a go Dan. I can remember from the Scream days in Bristol you were pretty nifty on the arcade games.”
If you want. You still play your beloved Man Utd then?
“Of course.”
Ok, well bring it on. Everton v Man Utd here we go. What is coming out next from you studio wise?
“I’ve got my new tune on the Dirtybird Players EP called ‘The Withywood Walk’ which I love, it’s named after a really shit area of Bristol. My main concentration this year though is the project with Justin Martin, we are in the middle of putting together an album full of bangers. Well that’s the aim. I’m also doing a lot of writing for people such as Sinead Harnett who has appeared on a Disclosure single…we are working on her first single. I’m about to go into the studio with Catz & Dogz too and there’s also a track I’ve done with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs which will be coming out on Crosstown Rebels soon.”
What do you think is going to be your anthem of the summer?
“To be honest Dan, I have so little time to listen to all of the great new music that is released every week, I’m just concentrating on my own music. If a great record comes along great and I look forward to playing it.”
Well let’s not avoid the question completely, what is the biggest record in your box right now?
“Well the first track that has got me excited in a while is out on Defected, Supanova ‘The Bridge’. Not a massive hands in the air track but it’s rocking.”
Who do you trust the most to give you honest feedback on your new music?
“Five people. Justin Martin and Claude because they are honest and will tell me if the tune is shit or good. As will the Catz & Dogz boys. And also my wife Leah.”
That’s good to hear that you listen to Leah…
“Dan, you’re married…you have to! Seriously though, she is a good judge of my music and if she gives me the thumbs up, I know I am onto a winner.”
Tell us about Ibiza. Sankeys came in with a great offer for you this year, but you decided it was perhaps twelve months too early. One of your mentors Claude Von Stroke and his Dirtybird label then stepped in for the available night. What was the reasons for your decision?
“Just what you said really Dan. I don’t feel I am big enough or ready to take on a whole residency in Ibiza. I was flattered by the offer from Sankeys as it is a great club, but I feel I need to really experience the whole of the island and all of it’s clubs to be ready to take it on. Watch out 2014!”
So where can we find you this summer on the white isle?
“I can’t confirm everything just yet Dan. Let’s just say if you are going to Ibiza this summer I will be there.”
The last 18 months must be very surreal for you. When did you discover you had won DJ Magazine’s Best of British DJ Award – and when did that sink in?
“I found out a couple of days before. It was about the same time I found out I’d come 13th in the RA 100 Poll which really blew me away. I was up against some incredible artists in that one. With the DJ Mag one I thought I stood a good chance, but still, this is all so surreal for me.”
Who are some of the new exciting producers we should be looking out for in 2013?
“There’s a couple, my studio partner Lukas who is a superb producer and is going to be massive and there’s also this guy called Kaytranada who I discovered whilst over in Paris on Valentines doing a romantic one. We were in this great little bar near the Champs-Elysees and this DJ started to play all these really cool house remixes of late 90s and early 2000 R&B tracks. Artists like Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot and TLC. I went over to find out who it was and it was this guy. Check out his work on Soundcloud, perfect summer lying by the pool music – all around the 110-115bpm mark.”
As mentioned earlier, you are big buddies with Pete Tong now. Is it true you even want to buy the same car as him?
“He has a nice car Dan, yes. But I can’t afford a fucking Bentley.”
So what is the most extravagant thing you have splashed out on recently for yourself?
“I just bought a new sofa. Will that do?
I love something you said in an interview recently concerning the question you get asked the most during an interview which is ‘what is the last thing you have eaten?’. To which you replied, “it’s my own fault for choosing such a fucking stupid artist name as Eats Everything.” So what other names were in the running?
“The only other one was Thieve which I used for a couple of releases, then Eats took off and that was the end of that.”
When was the last time you had a chance to get wasted at a club on a night off?
“I’ve taken the whole of the month of February off, so the first weekend I went to the football with my mates to watch Bristol City v Notts Forest. We then headed off into town and then to a house party and it got very messy.”
And finally Dan. You used to be an electrician. I am having all sorts of problems with a light in the bathroom. Can you pop round and fix it?
“No I fucking can’t Dan. I’m colour blind for starters. Why do you think I packed it in and started making records?”
Edible Tour dates:
3rd May: Cardiff, Solus
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Eats Everything, Catz & Dogz, T.Williams
4th May: London, Fabric
Eats Everything, T.Williams, Tom Trago Live, William Kouam Djoko
17th May: Brighton, Audio
Eats Everything, Richy Ahmed, Blond:ish
25th May: Bristol, Motion
Eats Everything, Jackmaster, Oneman, Waifs & Strays – special guest to be announced
*Tickets for the tour & an Edible USB stick featuring an exclusive Eats Everything Edit are available to buy from eatseverything.com now
http://eatseverything.com
https://www.facebook.com/eatseverythingmusic
https://twitter.com/eats_everything
https://soundcloud.com/eatseverything
