A stunning year for the Berlin producer continues. Ibiza watch out
Interview : Dan Prince
Oliver welcome back to DMCWORLD young man, where in the world are you right now?
“Hey, thanks it’s good to be back!! I’m currently in Montreal. Over the weekend I had a party at Bijou in Boston and then on the Saturday night a party at Circus Montreal all Kraftek showcases so I played with Pleasurekraft, which was awesome. Now I’m chilling in Montreal for the day till I leave for LA later on where I’m staying for the week, hanging out with some friends, working on some music then next weekend I’m off to Calgary for Habitat Living Sound and then LA again for Avalon with Defected.”
The last time we spoke last year you mentioned you were working on a collaboration with your mate Jimi Jules, well life has certainly gone crazy since the ‘Earl’ EP huh…?
“Yeah since then we’ve released ‘Pushing On’. It’s gone completely crazy, the pick up was amazing and totally unexpected. It was number 1 on Beatport for over 4 weeks and is still in the Top 10 now. For it to be played on the main radio stations in the UK by DJs like Pete Tong has been so good and 100% helped with the success of the track.”
It’s a beautiful piece of music giving a nod to classic Chicago House…talk us through the making of the tune…
“Well where Jimi and I worked together on the ‘Earl’ EP for Hive Records and were both really pleased with the result we thought it would be a good idea to work together on something else and so we did. We knew we both worked well together, so we worked the same way as we did before. First of all we worked around the vocals from the Quantic Soul Orchestra then I gave him a structure and then he built it up from there. We both wanted to keep it in line with classical house and Jazz and so we had the same idea for the end result.“
Having Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra behind you – incredible for you?
“It’s amazing. Like I said before the plays from the BBC in the UK have definitely helped towards the success of the track as where they have so many listeners around the world, it’s spread the record to such a wide audience. The pick up from such influential DJs like Annie Mac, Pete Tong etc has also been a massive factor; the support from them has been overwhelming and definitely given me a leg to stand on after so long of putting my own records out there.”
The track has had people comparing it to vintage Frankie Knuckles. How much of an influence was this inspirational legend’s music to you?
“Frankie has influenced everyone who produces house for so long now so it would be impossible to think he hasn’t inspired me, even it isn’t direct. Every house track has come from his influence where he had been producing for so long and so is the foundation for most tracks.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning…
1.Oliver $ & Jimi Jules – Pushing On (Defected)
2.Doc Daneeka – Walk On In Ft. Ratcatcher (Numbers)
3.Chris Nielsen – Jungle Love (Play It Down)
4.Jimi Jules & Oliver $ – Soggy Cereal (Hive Audio)
5.Jesse Rose & Mike B – Good Wife – O&A Warehouse Remix (Play It Down)
6.Dimitri Max – Work That – Oliver $ & Sqim Refix (Sampled Recordings)
7.Chube Ka,The Deepshakers – Let The Rhythm (Snatch! Records)
8.Borrowed Identity – Dans La Nuit (Quintessentials)
9.Cajmere & Doorly – Money (Cajual Records)
10.Ed Ed & Mathew K – Booty Cabbage (Moodmusic)
We were poolside for the Used + Abused party at Miami WMC, a great party! What were your ‘take home’ moments from the craziest week on the dance calendar…?
“The whole week was a ‘take home’ moment for me. When it’s a week as crazy and busy as WMC it’s hard to just think of a few moments. I played 4 parties that week and seeing so many people you know in one place is one of the best things about the week as so many mates in the same industry as you means it’s hard to keep up with all of them when everyone is in different places of the world all the time. One of the best moments though was finding out Pushing On was number 1 on Beatport Deep House chart at the end of the week, was a wicked end to a sick week.”
The Ibiza season seems to get earlier and earlier…how was the Defected night at Booom! the other weekend?
“It was the pre-season party with Simon Dunmore and Sam Divine to warm up the island and it was awesome. If the rest of the season is anything to go by that weekend then it’s going to be so crazy. With Ibiza you know it’s never going to disappoint, everyone just wants the same thing and that’s to party and to have fun, the atmosphere and the hype is always huge there so I’m always excited to go back.”
Where can we catch you on the white isle this summer?
“The parties with Defected will be at Booom! which is a really cool place, it’s run by a partnership of Giuseppe Cipriani and two of Ibiza’s best-known club industrialists with the first ever custom made Pioneer Sound System so you know the nights there will be huge.”
Give us a tip for an up n’coming producer for 2014…
“My best tip would be to stay focused and make music that you enjoy listening to. Some producers make music that they know will sell but don’t even like listening to themselves and goes completely against their taste and that’s not the point of producing and takes the fun out of it.”
Who are some of the artists away from dance music you are listening to at the moment?
“Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Both because of everything they’ve achieved and how they’re each legends in their own right. I’ve always said that if I could work with anyone in the world it would be them. They’re both at the top of their genre and have been influential for so many years now.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“I’m working on a MFTN compilation with Jesse Rose, hopefully ready for release in September. I have a lot of fun working with him and the end result is always good. Other than that I’m just working on individual projects that I’m excited to show everyone.”
https://www.facebook.com/oliverdollar
