The man from Israel produces a piece of beauty for Diynamic
Interview by Ian Fleming
Guy Mantzur is the Israeli DJ/Producer with a number of brilliant years experience in the game. With his recent track ‘Trees Of Eden’ on Diynamic’s latest release, we caught up with the man to find out his opinion on the Israeli club scene and his hopes for 2016…
How has your year been so far? Do you have any big hopes, goals and dreams for 2016?
Hey, good to be back here on DMCWORLD! My year started really good with releases on Systematic and Diynamic and now I’m working on some original solo EPs to release later this year. I’m also finalizing my upcoming USA and Japan tour dates, I can say things are going well at the moment and I’m really excited to see how it will all come out.
How did you get into dance music in Israel? What’s the scene like there and what parties and labels or maybe radio got you into it?
I have been making music all of my life, starting with playing piano and guitar, then moved forward to be a singer /songwriter. They then got into the chill out and trip hop music and composed some sound tracks for films and TV. Even though I did all of those I felt something was missing. I remember myself as a young musician going to the clubs and there was something in this dark hypnotic beat of the house music that captured my heart. It had such a strong influence on me till I decided one day that this is where I belong.
What’s the most popular dance style there – is it psy trance or EDM? Is there a good underground scene?
The scene in Israel has always been good, I’m not so connected to the EDM here, as you know: EDM is popular everywhere but mostly with a younger crowd. As for underground music there are really cool house and techno parties almost every day and the local DJs are really good. Of course there are also the great Israeli producers /DJs who are playing here often, you can find them at the clubs such as Chicola, Lonya, Khen and Sahar Z. So I can sure say that the musical standards are very high in the Tel Aviv scene.
Tell us about your label, when you started it, what the aims are, what artist you for with and what are some of the best relies, do you think?
I started the label in 2009 with Yaniv Tal from Munich. Having my own label gives me the freedom to release music I love to play and things I believe in. I’m usually playing and testing the tracks before I sign them, another thing that is also really important for me is the person behind the music. I consider Plattenbank as family and most of the artists are already close friends of mine. I’m trying to make a mixture between known artists and less known artists in a way that everyone could have the same option to expose their music. We have some really exciting releases coming up such as: Gomera EP from Roger Martinez, a beautiful track from Lopez a house name that crosses and angels with a Guy J remix, EP’s from Dmitry Moloosh with Marc Poppcke and another EP from Juan Deminicis to name a few.
How did you hook up with Diynamic? What is the sound of the label to you? Have you learnt much from working with them?
Over the last year Solomun supported some of my tracks in lots of his sets and charts, I didn’t know him before personally but always loved his sets and the way he managed Diynamic. After I had finished my track Trees of Eden and tested it at some gigs I started to think about the best home for it and Diynamic felt like the right one. I sent it to Solomun and he loved it and came up with the idea to include it in the great FTTF EP which look liked a perfect place to release the track. I’ve been working with the Diynamic family for a few weeks already now and I can tell you that I’m very impressed with the way they handle everything from the mastering to the PR and to the personal care of every need. They are just a great team to work with and to learn from.
Do you make music to fit with the label or does your sound naturally fit there?
While working in the studio I always really try to be 100% natural and true to myself without thinking of where it should fit or how it should sound. Sometimes when you know where its going to be released its bit tricky but still I think that if the artist loves some part in the track he should never give up on it, even if he thinks its not 100% the labels sound, that’s the beauty in music. The most important thing for me is that the working process will always excite me. I think that the beauty in our music is sometimes to release on labels that are not 100% your sound and bring them to your own musical agenda. For example: Epika that was released on Kompakt is not 100% their sound but still they believed in the music and did amazing work with the track. I think that labels should “bet” on some tracks and artists once in a while because it can make miracles for both sides.
What are your aims when making a track, where do you start, do you love the bass most or the synths or are you a melodies man, maybe?
Lately I found myself more and more to start with the melody, I even sometimes write the main idea on my old acoustic piano and only after finalizing the idea I open the computer and start producing it. I love all the instruments in music from the fattest bass to the smallest percussion, everything is important and has it’s own special place in creation.
You have done some big remixes recently – how do you approach them? Are they much different than an original?
Totally yes, working on a remix is taking someone’s idea and sharing your world into it. It’s like taking someone’s painting and making you own over it with different dimensions and colours. Usually I’m uploading the parts I love from the remix, make a master loop or idea that sounds good enough, add my input into it and then start to edit the track. I love taking parts from the remix package and use them in a different way, for example, taking the bass and make an arp out of it or take the clap and use it as the hi hats.
What’s your studio like – do you use hardware or software and why? What are some of your favourite bits of kit?
These days I’m using more and more in outsource gear, I have the Polly Evolver by Dave Smith, I have a Juno 106, Virus TI, and some external efx and pedals like Eventide, envelopes and delays. Touching the gear and to play with it on real time is something that really helps my creativity. I also think that working with outsource gear can help you create your own sound signature.
What else you got coming up/are you excited about?
As I told you from the beginning of this interview, after doing around 8 remixes in 2015 I have decided to focus now on original/solo EP’s. So that’s basically what I’m working on at the moment, I still don’t know on what labels it will be released because I’m waiting to see how it will come out. I also will do another collaboration EP with Nick Warren and I’ve started one with Robert Babicz at his studio in Koln. As for gigs I have a long USA Tour in March and then a debut tour in Japan. In between some exciting European shows. 2015 has been really good for me so I’m really looking forward to see what 2016 has to offer.
Guy Mantzur’s track ‘Trees Of Eden’ is part of Diynamic’s ‘Four To The Floor Series O6’
Grab it here – https://pro.beatport.com/release/four-to-the-floor-06/1690806
