The Parisian master of soul house continues to break down the doors – watch out 2016
Interview by Dan Prince
Following on from the imminent success of ‘Treasured Soul’, Michael Calfan serves up his next profound production which will continue to push the boundaries of a genre he has strived to craft. With ‘Treasured Soul’ having already clocked up 8 million hits on YouTube as well as a further 14 million on Spotify, Calfan has tapped into the minds of dance music fans and tastemakers alike, proving his worth in an industry that boasts such strong talent. At the forefront of a respected wave of house, his ‘soul house’ sounds delve deep into the hearts of music lovers worldwide. We check in with one of the nicest dude’s in the industry…
Michael a massive welcome back to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you right now?
Thanks for having me guys ! I’m in Paris, at home, working on some new records.
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after crawling out of bed?
I put my Spotify playlist and the first record was Mura Masa – Firefly, an incredible record.
So a really exciting time for you right now with the release of your brand new track ‘Breaking The Doors’ – loving the multiple layers, loving the melodies – loving the drops!! Please talk us through the history and production of the track…
The story is almost the same as Treasured Soul, I was on tour working on this track maybe two years ago. I’m producing a lot of electronic music like indie, experimental, deep, techno and this one was one of my experimental track. I was on my computer two month ago and re-found it, so I decided to rework it in a Michael Calfan way…and Breaking The Doors was born.
Can you remember where you first road-tested the track?
Not sure! You know what, most of the time I never play my new track until the release. The first time I played Treasured Soul the crowd reactions were so bad, so now I prefer to wait haha.
You asked your fans on Facebook last week ‘Which is your Sunday soundtrack?’…so if we come to your house for a lazy Sunday afternoon…what is the Michael Calfan Back To Mine 10 you play us to mellow the vibe?
You are more than welcome to my house!
#1 Maths Time Joy – Cerulean
#2 Darius – Hot Hands
#3 Snakehips, Kaleem Taylor – Forever (PT. II)
#4 Rudimental (Ft. Will Heard & Anne Marie) – Rumour Mill
#5 Secondcity – I Wanna Feel
#6 Ferdinand Weber & Fabich – Aaliyah
#7 Spada ft Anna Leyne – Catchfire (EDX Remix)
#8 Léon – Tired of Talking
#9 Autograf ft. Janelle Kroll – Methaphysical
#10 Broken Back – Halycon Birds
Okay let’s rewind for a moment. There are all sorts of names you are being tagged with at the moment – ‘the father of Soul House’ and ‘the most exciting producer in house music right now’ just two of the plaudits being rested on your shoulders!! But let’s go way back, what is your earliest musical memory as a child in your family home?
My father was a singer and musician so since my first step, I saw and heard people dancing, singing, playing but also which reactions people have in front of that. That’s probably why I wanted to make this in my life. My father still gives me advice on my music.
When did the strains of dance music first grab your attention – by what route and who were the producers/DJs/tunes that caught your attention?
I was at home and my brother played Modjo – Lady, I was like a kid in front of Santa Claus haha…
When did the idea of a career in music first start to form in your mind and what did your family think of your idea?
I always felt that I wanted to make music, so I started around 15 in my room – and to be honest with you, I was pretty bad at school. I preferred spending my time in my room trying to make music than going at school, so really quickly I decided to make a try in music. I’m lucky, I came from an artistic family so it was not really hard to convinced them. The goal is to be happy and I knew that the only thing for me to be happy was the music.
If you hadn’t have become a musician…what do you think you’d have ended up doing?
Probably something crazy like an astronaut!!
Who would you say has been the biggest influence on your career?
A lot of people from music to cinema, in France we have some legends like Daft Punk, David Guetta, Justice, Bob Sinclar, Air – so every time I heard something good or every time I saw something beautiful it gave me inspiration. When I was young my tastes were not the same, that’s why also my music is changing, I’m discovering amazing things every day and it has an impact on myself.
And your first big break into the music industry?
It was thanks to Resurrection on Axtone.
Since 2012 you have been making music under another name – what’s the story there?
It’s a simple story, as I said, the goal in life is to be happy. I’m happy now because I can produce what I want, but because of the industry and of few people, when you have a name you can’t release something else. It was hard to release Treasured Soul after Resurrection and some people are still chasing me to make progressive house. You know I’m not producing to make people happy, I’m producing what I love, and we trust with my team, if we love it, we are not the only one to be able to like that. So I decided to create an other name (now I have a third one) to make music I love, I’m not saying that I don’t like what I’m doing with Michael Calfan, but music is so diverse it’s sad to keep only one genre. Also the good thing when you are producing another kind of music is your mind stays open and ideas come easily then.
‘Treasured Soul’ – did you know on completion you had just created something REALLY FUCKING SPECIAL???
Absolutely not, I knew that it was really cool and fresh, but you can’t expect something like that.
Tell us about your video team and direction…
I have an amazing team, my director Michael Johansson is a young Swedish guy. He is just amazing, he knows what I have in my head, he knows what is beautiful, he knows trend etc. When he is on tour with me he always see the beautiful girl or the crazy expression on a man’s face. That’s why I think my videos are powerful. Before each video I send him the track, he thinks about it and we meet all together to work on it. Most of the time videos are made in one week and he is making everything alone.
What are the 5 big tunes in your club box this weekend…
– Thomas Jack – Booka Shake.
It’s a free download from Thomas Jack, one of his first track. I still love it, the vibe is so good, a mix between sexy and dirty – I love that.
– Blonde ft. Karen Harding – Feel Good (Ferdinand Weber and Fabich Remix)
I love this version, it’s a cool version to start your set and warming up people. UK vibes are so good!
– Michael Calfan – Breaking The Doors
My last release! I have played it maybe only 4/5 times and reactions are crazy. People don’t really know it yet, but when you see them dancing on it, it always give me goosebumps.
– Watermat – All My Love (TCTS Remix)
I discovered this version a few weeks ago and TCTS has succeed to bring an other emotion to the track. With a good sound system it’s incredible.
– Major Lazer – Powerful feat. Ellie Goulding & Tarrus Riley (Michael Calfan Remix)
My remix for Major Lazer is working EVERY TIME, people know the song, they are all singing along.
Tell us about…
Your first show at Tomorrowland…
It was crazy, it was I think 3 years ago and everybody told me ‘you’ll see, it’s incredible’…and it was. The atmosphere is so cool it’s like a big amusement park for electronic music.
Your first Ultra…
I had the chance to play on the main stage. I think it was the biggest stage I ever made. This was also an amazing experience, I was the second of the stage, so I didn’t had the chance to play at a peak time, but it was so cool.
The festival in Hawaii
I think it was Wonderland Festival, I didn’t expect something like this. I play in front of the see in front of 10 000 people crazy about music. I didn’t know that Hawaii was such a good spot for electronic music. The vibe is different than everywhere else, I can’t explain why but there is a kind of freedom in this city. After the show we went to with some fans to Jaws (one of the most famous beach there) crazy night!
…and the Christmas in Haiti…
One day my manager called me to say ‘do you want to spend Christmas with me in Haiti?’. I said why not?, so we went there for Christmas! It is an amazing country, the people are so nice, rich and poor people are mixed to celebrate Christmas outside, I loved that feeling. I never seen something like this somewhere else.
Your big tune of 2015?
Treasured Soul (unpretentious)
Your most memorable DJ set of 2015?
Martin Solveig at his own party at Pacha Ibiza and Carl Cox at WMC.
Not many people know this, but Michael Calfan is really good at…
Kissing?
A record in your collection you’d rather us not knowing about?
Claude François – Comme D’habitude
An up and coming producer to watch out for in 2016…
Fabich – the German producer
What does your family think about your music these days – do they come to your gigs?
They love what I am doing, I think my music is listenable for everyone from 10 to 70 years old. But when they are listening to EDM, their face is totally different haha. I’m not playing a lot in France so unfortunately they are not coming that often.
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
Come to my studio and I’ll show you. From experimental to house. Thanks for having me Dan…
For more information on Michael Calfan…
https://www.facebook.com/michaelcalfan
https://twitter.com/michaelcalfan
https://soundcloud.com/michaelcalfan
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