The legend returns! Exclusive interview with Rob Roar on the rebirth of ‘Flashback’
Interview : Dan Prince
Rob welcome back to DMCWORLD. Well, the monster is back! 8 years after the likes of Pete Tong, Erick Prydz, Steve Lawler, Deep Dish and Roger Sanchez all cited ‘Flashback’ as their record of the summer… the anthem returns with some mighty remixes. So the obvious question to kick off, why now?
“Leiam and myself have been asked so many times when we would revisit it, originally we had discussed doing a new version ourselves but always felt ‘Flashback’ is what it is. It took a while to decide on the right remixers, everyone involved were fans of the original, so who better to bring it up to date than these guys. And to be fair Dan, they’ve all done a sterling job.”
So, 5 big remixes causing mayhem all over the world. Please give us a few words on each of these massive reworks…
Pirupa: “Beefs things up nicely, using snippets of the vocal, the original breakdown and a driving bassline. Currently being hammered by the likes of Mark Knight.”
StereoJuice: “Is the mix I’ve played most, the first time I dropped this was on the We Love Space Sunset terrace, nobody was expecting it and it tore the netting off! The guys have done a great job.”
Daley Padley: “Did his mix a little while ago, it’s proven to be a firm favourite with leading Tastemakers and is a Techy tribal’esque affair with a serious groove and hot percussive elements.”
D33P: “This guy is responsible for some real quality mixes, spacious solid production, giving the track a whole new feel and definitely the sound of now.”
Vanilla Ace & Dharkfunkh: “We had the pleasure of releasing VA’s ‘Grandeur Boogie EP’ on Phonetic and instantly became fans, this new kid on the block is already causing some pretty serious damage. They bring the original feel up to date.”
The record has such an incredible story behind it, for our younger worldwide readers not familiar with the tale, take us back to that Ibiza breakfast and the moment Keithen Carter started telling this now infamous story…
“It’s quite mad how this all materialized, which made it all the more special. We wrote our Max Linen ‘The Soulshaker’ track in Chicago at Mark Picchioti’s Studio (LaTour – Blue). I had penned a few lyrics and a rough concept down and we needed a vocalist. Mark kindly hooked us up with the Grammy Award winning Keithen Carter, who took the idea and completed the lyrics with devastating effect. The track went on to become the big Ibiza record that year. We had the honour of performing it live at the closing parties of We Love Space and Manumission, with Keithen being suitably impressed with the scene we were causing trouble in. We took him to breakfast the next morning and he started telling us about his wife (now ex) who without telling him, used to put parties on in Chicago at his loft warehouse whilst he was away touring with a theatre production company. He had arrived home to find a queue of people outside his front door waiting to get in. Keithen then mentioned the DJ hosting the parties, some guy called Knuckles…We couldn’t believe what we were hearing, turns out these were some of the first Chicago Warehouse parties, later shortened to ‘House’ as we know it. ‘We have to tell the world about this’ was our reaction…the result is ‘Flashback’. We decided to write the production as if it were a book, if you listen carefully there is all sorts of stuff going on in the background relevant to the story as it unfolds.”
How did you first hook up with Keithen, the guy has worked with the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan, has won a Grammy for his work with Philip Bailey and even was asked to fill Lionel Richie’s shoes when he left The Commodores!
“You’ve obviously done your homework Daniel…fair play. I remember going for dinner with Keithen after we had finished The Soulshaker in Chicago, he was telling Leiam and I about some of the stuff he used to get up to (without name dropping)… I’d dig deeper and he’d hit me with some names, I turned round to Leiam and said “You don’t believe half of that stuff do you?” How wrong I was. Keithen is nothing short of legendary, he also performed with Madonna on her True Blue Album and wrote and performed the Mazda ‘Zoom Zoom Zoom’ advert. His ex missus was Evelyn Champagne King.”
WOW! An interesting thing Keithen once said in an interview…” I particularly dislikes DJs because all they ever do is take a song, rip it apart and reproduce it like it was their own creation. “ He also strongly opposes the idea of sampling stating it as a big “no-no”. Did that ever cause any interesting studio chats?
“Yep, we’ve had some interesting debates alright. Keithen comes from a whole different world, where music and production consisted of a string of live musicians and vocal performances. We’ve had plenty of discussions where Leiam & I give him the heads up on how the House Scene works…but he’s not impressed. I’m thinking of giving him my Karaoke rendition of ‘I Will Survive’, that should sort him out.”
You were in Ibiza at the time performing ‘The Soulshaker’, another monstrous classic that had Manumission and the Space Terrace rocking every week. Rob, you are still a stalwart on the We Love…Space terrace, how do you compare the two dance temples then…and now? It still has the magic!
“Without a doubt…Darren and Mark know their shizzle when it comes to programming We Love. They have their finger seriously on the pulse, to be part of the We Love family is an Honour and pretty much every DJ’s dream. Making it all the more important to deliver when you play there. I still get a flutter and jump around the office every time I’m asked to play.”
What were your thoughts when you heard that the Broadbents are retiring from club promotion and setting up exclusive guest houses?
“Mark has been such a star over the years, god knows how many times I’ve asked him for a guest list, they’ve always been great hosts. I blame Mark for a lot of dance floor pickles I’ve got into. Obviously a big part of me was a tad sad as he’s been such a big part of We Love, but at the same time chuffed for him and Sarah. It’s great they have an idea of what they want to do and it goes without saying…I’m sure they’ll make it a great success….We Love…Guest Houses?”
‘Flashback’ is centered around the early Chicago warehouse days when Frankie Knuckles was just emerging as a superhero. When was your first encounter of Chicago, the Chicago sound and those seminal DJs…?
“Funnily enough Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’, Fast Eddie, Adonis, Sterling Void, Marshall Jefferson, Joe Smooth & Lil Louis were real head turners for me. I’ve been lucky enough to remix ‘Promised Land’ for Joe and also recently worked with Sterling on new mixes of his seminal ‘Runaway Girl’ & ‘It’s Alright’ with Paris Brightledge. In those days we used to Cruise around the M25 looking for the next party in a muddy field, either that or we would be wearing out our Wallaby’s on the Sin Astoria dancefloor courtesy of Nicky Holloway.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning…
1. Rob Roar Ft Stella Attar– Rockerfella (3AM Mix)
2. Max Linen – Flashback (Stereojuice93 Mix)
3. Berto Mene – Warriors
4. Rob Roar Ft. Keithen Carter – What’s Happening?
5. Made To Move – Perfect Lady (Phonetic)
6. Luke Larrell – Back 2 Cali
7. Rob Roar Ft JLG – Chick’s On Acid
8. Darren Bouthier Ft. Joe Le Groove – My House
9. Stereojuice93 – Just Feel It
10. Berto Mene – I Funk
Your partner in Max Linen, Leiam Sullivan, has been responsible for some great productions over the years, his Dave Lee, James Mowbray and Mr Pink projects all rocked our worlds. How did your partnership begin?
“I was introduced to Leiam by D.Ramirez at the Hilton Fontainebleau in Miami at the Winter Music Conference. I was Head of A&R at Global Cuts/R&S Records Belgium at the time, Leiam and I started chatting and had a lot in common, he was recording as Mr Pink and producing some killer disco fuelled anthems. He did a few remixes for me on the label all of which were excellent. R&S had just signed Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’ and the new mixes hadn’t been that well received, Renaat the owner asked me to check them out and I could hear why the responses hadn’t be as good as hoped…everyone had given it a different twist, but no one had brought it up to date. I asked Renaat to let me and Leiam have a bash and that’s how Max Linen started. Joe came into the studio in Chicago and loved it, saying it was his favourite remix to date whilst feeding Leiam with donuts. It then went to No.1 in the Club & Buzz charts and off we went…I still kick myself that we got to remix it with the original parts.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lpc8nJtd_A
As 2013 draws to a close it gives us a chance to look back at a remarkable year. So Mr Rob Roar, what are your thoughts on 2013’s greatest…
Tune: “Ok, so I feel a bit uncomfortable about this, but genuinely my biggest track of the year from a dancefloor reaction point of view has been my ‘Rockerfella’ tune. The instrumental has been creating havoc globally, it hit No.1 in the USA House Charts and featured in the DMC Buzz & MW Coolcuts. We’re just about to unleash a new mix and vocal from Stella Attar of The Freaks/Creeps fame. Hot Since 82’s Planes & Trains has also been really big for me.”
Festival: “I think Bestival takes some beating…”
Breakthrough Producer: “Hands down it’s my ol’ mate Hot Since 82 (Daley Padley). We’ve released quite a few of his productions and remixes on Phonetic, he’s always delivered quality product. I’m chuffed to see the success he’s had and quite rightly so.”
Remix: “The Nice 7 remix of Jon Cutler ‘It’s Yours’ has been doing the bizz for me, nice and deep but with a twist.”
DJ: “As far as reading a dancefloor and getting a crowd going two DJ’s stand out for me, JC of StereoJuice93/KuJay DaDa Ibiza fame and our Phonetic Pacha resident Luke Sawyer…Check ‘em out.”
Club: “Without doubt it has to be the mighty We Love Space Ibiza, nothing short of an educational yet entertaining experience. Wherever I go in the world, people always rave about We Love…That place hold some serious memories for a lot of people.”
And finally, what is coming next from the mighty Rob Roar studio…
“Next up is Rob Roar Ft. Stella Attar ‘Rockerfella’.
https://soundcloud.com/phonetic-recordings/sets/rob-roar-ft-stella-attar
We’re just about send out my new ‘What’s Happening’ featuring Keithen Carter track to Tastemakers:
https://soundcloud.com/phonetic-recordings/rob-roar-whats-happening-to-me
And new mixes of ‘Chick’s On Acid’ in January:
https://soundcloud.com/phonetic-recordings/rob-roar_muzik-low-res-demo
I’m back in the studio in a few weeks time working on some brand new bits for next year. Watch this space….”
Max Linen – Flashback (The Remixes) http://www.beatport.com/release/flashback-remixes/1191036
Download Rob’s Live set from We Love Space this summer:
https://soundcloud.com/phonetic-recordings/rob-roar-live-we-love-space-1
Rob Roar Newsletter: http://www.jakedavisdesign.co.uk/eflyers/robroar/index.html
Twitter: @Rob_Roar @phoneticlondon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobRoar
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/phonetic-recordings/sets/rob-roar-productions-dj
DJ Bookings – Dave Seaman’s Two Point Zero Agency: http://twopointzeroagency.com/portfolio/rob-roar
Phonetic Tour enquiries: agency@phoneticrecordings.com
