The Liverpool trio absolutely smashing it
Anton, Tim, Scott welcome to the DMCWorld. All three of you are stalwarts on the northern house scene with millions of records sold under your belts. Tell people who have been living in a cave your musical backgrounds…
Scott – “As the elder statesman, I go way back to the Hacienda days where I spent most of my student life in Manchester. I was doing crazy rave tunes at the time and in 1992 got signed by Dead Dead Good Records, my first deal! The ‘big break’ however came in 1997 when we started the Dario G project. We got signed to Warners and it went off big time. It was also at this point that I started my relationship with 3 Beat because Jon (3 Beat boss) became our manager!”
Anton – “I’ve been a club DJ in and around Liverpool for the past 10 years, also I’ve presented the dance radio shows on Juice FM for that time, just recently I moved to Radio City 96.7 where I’m on air Friday & Saturday nights to the north-west and north-wales. Also along with Tim, I work for 3 Beat Productions and as well as releasing the Cahill tracks have also released hits from Duck Sauce, Martin Solveig, Alexandra Stan, Sak Noel, Skepta, Sway, Inna & many more.”
Anton, before we go any further and as a fellow Evertonian who loves the reason behind the band’s name, bit of good news getting rid of Bilyaletdinov eh?
“Love the fact you are a fellow blue Dan! I think David Moyes was the first person to sign a Russian Winger with no pace! The poor lad had a nightmare at Everton, he just didn’t cut it, although to be fair he was never played in his favourite position.”
So a massive tune smashing it at the moment ‘Can’t You See’ – tell us about the tune…
“It’s a nice continuation from our previous single ‘In Case I Fall’ that did really well for us in the clubs and the likes of Tiesto, Sander Van Doorn and Laidback Luke were big supporters. With ‘Can’t You See’ we’ve moved the Cahill sound forward yet still keeping the familiar Cahill vibe to it. And with the addition of Chrome (from Dizze Rascal – ‘Holiday’ & ‘Dance With Me’ fave) who’s done a wicked vocal, were really pleased with it.”
What is each other’s best qualities in the studio?
Scott – “I’ve learned that being patient is important, waiting for the right idea to come along can take days but it’s vital to be able to piece it together quickly when the magic does happen! I don’t DJ so am virtually 24/7 in the studio. I’m a bit of a geek and come from the old skool way of doing things, big desk, tape machines, lots of outboard fx etc. Having Anton and Tim’s younger influence on proceedings helps keep things current and of course their involvement in the label is invaluable. I’ve recently reverted to the ‘in the box’ method (which has been a task in itself) but I love the fact that you can now produce a great sounding track on a laptop. The kids have never had it so good!!”
What is each other’s most annoying habit?
“Everyone’s pretty cool with each other to be honest, although Tim loves to moan, we’ve pretty sure he’s a younger version of Victor Meldrew. He also loves to destroy everything too, especially during important meetings, when he will quite easily empty the salt and pepper onto the table and set fire to the toothpicks – strange boy!”
What producers from around the world are you giving props to right now?
“There is no one better than Calvin Harris, and that’s been the case for a long time, he sets the benchmark for others to reach. Also Avicii is the boy at the moment, his melodies and big room sound is just massive. Axwell is still a god, and the likes of Michael Calfan & Nicky Romero are finally getting the recognition they deserve.”
Best gig of 2011 and why?
Tim – “We had two tours of Australia, taking in gigs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. I think the ones over the New Year were the best as it was summer time there and they were outdoor events so they were special gigs.”
Anton – “Highlight for me was playing the Swedish House Mafia at Creamfields. It was the second time I’ve done it and to DJ to 9,000 crazy ravers in the middle of the afternoon in a field 20 minutes from my house was bonkers!”
And best tune of 2011…
“Biggest tune by a mile was Avicii – ‘Levels’, Martin Solveig – ‘Hello’ and Afrojack & Steve Aoki’s – ‘No Beef’ a close second and third.”
Finest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“Think it’s agreed that the classic Mory Kante – ‘Yeke Yeke’, has special memories for all of us, and still goes off!!!”
How would you describe your sound?
“Dance Music for the radio, we try to make records that will sound good at 2am on the dancefloor but also 2pm in the afternoon on the radio!”
What is the state of Liverpool clubland at the moment?
“Liverpool is always a party city and we are really spoilt for choice as we have some of the countries best club nights; Cream, Circus, Chibuku, etc. However none of these are weekly anymore, and bar culture has taken a firm hold, but for one off events, Liverpool is the place to be.”
What are your thoughts on the current state of play in dance music release wise?
“It has never been healthier. There are many stalwarts who continue to make amazing music, Jacques Le Cont, Guetta, Solveig etc. There are new genres likes dubstep filling dance floors, stadiums and radio play lists, there are commercial dance hits topping the charts (Sak Noel, DJ Fresh) and there are superstars adding their touch of class to the genre (Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Madonna etc, There seems no signs of this momentum letting up. It feels good.”
What is your worst claim to fame?
Scott – “In the Dario G days, I appeared in the Hitman and Her TV series once and was asked if I was the actual Crewe Manager Dario Gradi!”
Best album ever made?
“Daft Punk – ‘Discovery’.”
Best night you have ever had out in Liverpool?
Scott – “Cream nights were classic in the late 90’s. I remember blagging into the VIP area one night and seeing half the Liverpool football players ‘getting involved’ in there. Lucky for them camera phones weren’t around at the time!”
Anton – “I put on my birthday event in Garlands a couple of years ago, we did a DJ & PA performance and over 3,000 turned up, the place was rammed and it was one of those goosebumps nights.”
So we come back to Cahill towers, what is the Back To Mine mash up top ten you spin us…
Air – All I Need
Deep Forest – Sweet Lullaby
Chicane – No Ordinary Morning
Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy
808 – Pacific State
Olive – Your Not Alone
Massive Aattack – Teardrop
Groove Armada – At The River
Black Science Orchestra – Sunshine
Rokysopp – 49%
What record do you always turn off if it comes on the radio?
“LMFAO – ‘Party Rock’, can’t believe radio are still playing it!”
Who were the early DJs you were following around back in the day?
Scott – “For me it was the guys who relentlessly kept pushing dance music to the masses; Jeff Young, Tongy, Rampling and then onto Oakey of course. They shaped the lives of a generation and it’s great to see they’re still relevant in 2012.”
Anton – “Pete Tong and Danny Rampling for me too. I was into the handbag house vibe so I loved the likes of Alistair Whitehead and Jeremy Healy but the local DJ’s had the biggest influence on me…Stu Allan, Dave Graham, John Kelly, Graeme Park, Lee Butler, Chris Lyons etc.”
A cracking list of remixes completed, which rework are you most proudest of?
“The most important mix was the first one that really broke us as remixers back in 2008, Chris Brown – ‘Forever’. After that offers came flying in, especially from the US. It was a mixture of a funky house bassline and big trancy type riffs which sort of shaped the Cahill sound for the next few years. Since then and most recently being asked to remix ‘the big 2’ was a real honour and were really happy with our mixes for Lady Gaga and Rihanna.”
Who is the funniest person on your mobile?
“Neil Fitzmaurice from Phoenix Nights, Peep Show, The Office – very funny guy (for a Liverpool supporter).”
And finally, what is coming next from the studio and label this year…
“Plenty more original new music from us and also some killer remixes to come too!”
ttp://www.facebook.com/Cahill.Remixes
