Fehrplay

The Norweigan genius returns with a Progressive House masterclass on Zerothree

Interview by Dan Prince

Jonas a big welcome back to DMCWORLD! Where in the world are you today?

“Thanks, always a pleasure! I’m in New York, working on setting up my studio.”

 A stunning start to 2015 for you with the double whammy release of ‘Rattata’ and Pandora on Zerothree. Pete Tong has been all over ‘Rattata’ on the radio, please talk us through the sounds and history of the two tracks…

“Sometimes you feel like making something dirty and dark. And that was the mood I was in when I started working on these tracks. I had also gone to quite a few warehouse parties in London at the time, and felt very inspired by that. I had Rattata on hold for a bit, since I felt it was missing something, and about three months later I finished it. With Pandora I wanted to make my own take on a techno/prog track that would fit into my sets. Very happy with the result.”

A huge night for London town looming on March 13^th when you headline the mighty Anjunabeats party at The Ministry of Sound. Can you recall the first time you ventured inside this world famous club and your first thoughts?

“Yeah Ministry of Sound is an amazing club! The crowd is always crazy in there. First time there, I think was with Eric Prydz for his album release party. I was shitting bricks.”

What is your favourite city in the world to play in and why?

“Very difficult to answer, as the gigs can vary. But I’ve always had a great time in New York. I think a very close second would either be San Francisco or Toronto. All these cities have an amazing club scene, and the crowd is always very educated…and into the music.” 

Also on the studio front we hear on the grapevine there’s soon to be some more underground releases under your Moffe moniker. Tell us more!

“Yes! I’m very stoked about this. It’s great to have an outlet for my more deeper stuff. Sometimes I’ll produce something for the Fehrplay sound, and it will end up sounding much deeper and darker that first intended. So instead of shelving it, I can release it as Moffe!”

What are the big 5 tunes in your box this weekend…?

Maceo Plex – Conjure Dream

“Still blasting this. Such a great groove. And it sounds huge in the club.”

Richard Knott – Ghost

“Unreleased gold from Richard. Hope to see a release on this soon.”

John Digweed – & Amp – 3B3

“Crazy retro weirdness.”

Steve Angello – Isabel

“Never gets old.”

Pig&Dan – Sandstorm

“Awesome weird techno track.”

Last week saw you give your fans a 30 minute live Twitter Q/A. What were some of the questions you daren’t answer?!?!

“None actually! 90% were studio tech questions, that I always love to answer.”

You started the year over in the States, spinning at Kingdom Austin in Texas and the massive Avalon in Hollywood. Los Angeles was once upon a time not known for it’s musically educated clubbers…it’s on fire now right?

“Definitly. LA has some amazing clubs. And Avalon is on top of that list. Such a great club, with a dark atmosphere. And they just installed some crazy new subwoofers that sounds insane. I have never had a bad experience playing in LA.” 

When was the last time you pressed rewind and listened to a track over again because it was so damned good?

“Last night; Sebastien Tellier – ‘L’Amour Et La Violence’. Just go listen to it, you will rewind it to.”

Tell us 3 bucket list adventures you wanna do before you die?

1. “Go to space. Hopefully they will have those chartered trips ready before I call it a night.

2. I want to go to Svalbard. It’s an ice-block of an island far up north from Norway. It’s full of polar bears, deserted Soviet mining cities and glassier caves.

3. Also I’d like to live on a beach in Brazil or something for a year or two, and just slob around.”

A tune nestling in your set that just won’t go away from last year?

“Heartik – ‘Orphan Planet. Love this track.”

Loved the photo you posted on Facebook of you putting the finishing touches to your mix for Pete Tong’s Evolution radio show. Laptop, headphones and a nice glass of wine! Are you a wine connoisseur per chance?

“I try. I love wine though, and I think only time can make you a real connoisseur.”

A young producer we should be watching out for in 2015…

“Faust, German guys who’s been sending me a lot of cool stuff lately. He still haven’t releases anything, so label owners, heads up!”

You cannot open a music magazine at the moment without reading that 2015 is the year of Progressive House. What’s your take on that statement?

“As long as it’s the right type of progressive house its great. I kind of doubt that though.”

Some very interesting things you said in your Daily Beat interview recently. My favourite part was when you explained you thought that northern clubbing is so good in the UK because the clubbers “are fucking nuts.” Do you miss those days dripping with sweat on the clubs around Manchester all those years ago?

“Haha yes I do. I go back though occasionally and re-live those moments all over again.”

9You also suggested that perhaps when you first started in the industry you were a little naïve, which is commonplace. Are you finding the dance music world more cynical as time goes on and more and more corporate business gets involved?

“Yes and No. I think it’s very important to work and surround yourself with competent and trustworthy people. This isn’t always easy though. So many talented young people will do anything to have there music signed…and a lot of people will take advantage of that. With the right people though, it can be amazing.”

Where are some of the big festival dates you are looking forward to this summer?

“My highlight from last year was Mysteryland, so really hope I’ll be back there again this year. Same with Electric Zoo. Amazing festivals.”

And finally, what is coming out next from the Fehrplay studio…

“This month I have a remix of Indiana – ‘Only The Lonely Coming’. And next month there’s a very special release for me coming out on one of my favorite labels. Can’t say more right now!”

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