‘Dark Disco’ – a huge slab of dancefloor delirium from one of London’s finest
Interview : Dan Prince
Dale welcome back to DMCWORLD – where in the world are you today?
“London…which is surprisingly sunny at the moment! Only problem is I’m only getting studio tan, working away on new tracks for my label CDRY.”
Well you have done it again, smashed up the world’s dancefloors thanks to your music. This time around it’s your wondrous ‘Dark Disco’ that is doing the damage. Please talk us through the sound and history of the track…
“The basic idea behind ‘Dark Disco’ was to take a leap and try something a bit different. It’s always a risk doing this as people are sometimes stuck in the sound of the moment and can overlook music that’s cut from a slightly different cloth. I’m really pleased with the result and having some major players like Tiesto backing the track makes it all worthwhile!”
One of the magazine reviews of the track claims…“He is not taking too much notice of the current hypes and next trends”…is that something you are conscious when you enter the studio each time, to just do your own thing?
“To be honest you can’t help but hear the latest trends when out in clubs or listening to the radio, there’s nothing wrong with popular trends it’s just a lot of labels, producers and DJ’s just jump on the bandwagon of what’s hot and it gets completely saturated. You find yourself hearing the same sound in tracks just slightly tweaked but essentially it’s the same song! I guess I just try to switch off from the trends when working in the studio, I love to be inspired by other artists but often than not it’s from a completely different genre to what I’m probably working on.”
It was another poor World Cup for England again. What are your thoughts on the whole debacle?
“The word ‘debacle’ pretty much sums it up haha!”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
- 1.Corderoy – Dark Disco
- 2.Nilson – Freaks
- 3.Deadmau5 – Avaritia
- 4.Corderoy – Open Up Your Eyes
- 5.Junior Jack – Thrill Me (NEW_ID Remix)
- 6.Corderoy – No Choice
- 7.Alex Metric & Oliver – Hope
- 8.Mason – Exceeder (Corderoy Remix)
- 9.Marcus Schossow & Arston – The Universe
10 10.Paul Oakenfold – Ready Steady Go (Corderoy Remix)
A recent quote from a certain superstar DJ…“I believe true DJing is actually an art, but it’s a dying art, as everyone is pushing the sync button…it’s a real shame when you see a ‘DJ’ plug his laptop in and call this DJing. Music will always evolve but sometimes not in the best way.” What are your thoughts on that?
“It’s a fair statement, DJing is an art but it’s all about working the crowd the right way on any given night or event. To be honest a lot of wasted talk goes on about DJ’s syncing their sets, preplanning and what not. If the DJ in question can get the crowd going crazy then at the end of the day that’s the most important part, even if he’s using the sync button or whatever. I think the art of DJing is so much different now to what it used to be, technology has given artists the tools to perform sets live, create edits and new arrangements on the fly all. This ability to be spontaneous and add extra interaction with the crowds can only be a good thing.”
“Even when I was a child I always wanted to be involved with music in some shape or form. At an early age I was exposed to so many different genres and styles, and it really helped to open my mind to new sounds.” What are your earliest musical memories?
“Due to my dad being a huge vinyl collector I had access to such a wide scope of music in the most varied genres, I remember listening to one-sided test pressings of strange David Bowie records and rare extended mixes of Pink Floyd, early Genesis and Jean Michel Jarre. I became a huge fan of lots of bands that most of the kids my age hadn’t even heard of and this exposure kick started my obsession with music. I guess my earliest memory was watching Jean Michel Jarre performing live from the London Docklands in 1988, I think that was the moment when my fascination with electronic music became apparent.”
What is the biggest compliment you have ever been given for your music/ability? Being asked to remix Paul Oakenfold’s ‘Ready, Steady Go’ must be up there?
“To be asked by one of the artists you followed and loved for years is a great honor, no questioning that. Outside of dance music it was huge moment in my career working with Ewan McGregor and then most recently James May.”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
“Anything by Queen.”
…always get you dancing?
“Michael Jackson – ‘Thriller’.”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
“I don’t really have a record that reminds of this to be honest. I can’t seem to associate music with bad memories or thoughts, just always makes me feel great!”
…you wish you would have made?
“Michael Jackson – ‘Billie Jean’.”
Tell us about your studio set up?
“Currently run a setup with Logic as the main sequencer, though I’m finding myself doing a great deal in Ableton nowadays as it’s so good for quick workflow. However I always do finals mixes in Logic, it just feels more natural to me and perfect for scoring. I don’t have much hardware, the only piece of hardware I have is a Virus Snow and that’s half virtual! My favourite plugins are by Slate Digital, Fabfilter, Native Instruments and FXpansion. For monitoring I use a combination of the Focal Solo 9’s and Yamahas HS-80s.”
A quote from Faithless’s Sister Bliss this week…”I think people will become bored with the stock crude generic sounds of EDM and the artists themselves may be somewhat musically bankrupt (David Guetta even admitted as such in a recent interview) as there is only so much touring you can do before it impacts on studio time and having space to think creatively.” Thoughts on that?
“I think Sister Bliss nailed it perfectly with that comment, you can actually hear it already in EDM music that’s currently being put out. I can see David Guetta’s point but I guess at the end of the day it’s what’s important to you as a musician. Lots of huge bands and artists tour around the world constantly but always make sure they take time out to get in the studio and write fresh new music.”
What is the last GREAT album you listened to?
“Vampire Weekend – ‘Modern Vampires of the City’.”
You also produce music for films with the BBC and IMAX, you worked with Ewan McGregor on one project. Did you go on the piss with him???
“Haha no, though I reckon he would have been a great laugh on the lash, it was all quite professional but he’s a really interesting and talented guy.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“Quite a bit in the works at the moment, Dark Disco is about to come out on CDRY and that is due to be followed up by a few summer bangers. I’ve just remixed Mason ‘Exceeder’ for Armada and I’m currently working with a rock band in LA on an exciting collaboration. Outside of dance music I’m just about to start scoring a new piece for the National Geographic channel, quite a beast of a project but should be a lot of fun!”
