Lauren Flax is one of New York’s most sought after new names. A hugely talented DJ and producer, her skills are heavily in demand by both dance and indie alike. Heavily tipped for stardom by the likes of Fader, Urb and the New Yorker in the US, her new single ‘You’ve Changed’ featuring Sia is tearing it up.
My Current Big 10 Tunes I’m Spinning…
1) Todd Terry, Del – Special Feeling (Inhouse Mix)
2) Gregor Salto, DJ Gregory – Push In The Bush (Main Mix)
3) Justin Martin – The Sad Piano (Charles Webster Remix)
4) Wasted Chicago Youth – I-Speak (Neil Bainbridge Remix)
5) Gramaphonedzie – Why Don’t You – Original Mix
6) Visti, Meyland – Yes Maam (All Nite Long) – Trentemoller Remix
7) Isolée – Beau Mot Plage (Freeform Reform Pt. 1&2)
8) Dennis Ferrer – Sinfonia Della Notte – Original Mix
9) Farley Keith – As Always (Full Vocal Version Mix)
10) Andre Lodemann – Where Are You Now? (Original Mix)
Hi Lauren. So you have lived in three of America’s most musically dominant cities, explain the move to New York from Detroit and Chicago?
“Well I left Detroit in ’99 and moved to Chicago. I felt I really needed to be surrounded by close friends of mine that had been producing music. I went to the recording institute of Detroit, but that did little hands on training so I picked up and moved to somewhere where I could learn using real gear. After doing that for almost three years, I had then decided to move to New York where to me, music was more eclectic. I just felt it was where I needed to be.”
Obvious question, but we’re gonna get it out of the way, tell us about the bondage bar you used to live above across the street from the prison – what was the weirdest piece of bondage you ever saw in there?
“Well basically I was living on my own when I was 17 so my choices of where I could afford to live were limited. Luckily I did know the owners of the bondage bar because I was the door bitch for them at their Goth bar in Royal Oak, a suburb north of Detroit. I’ve only been inside the bondage bar a few times but what I remember the most weirdest piece would be the Cross with shackles. It was all very dungeon-like, everything you’d imagine.”
So going back…Three blocks away from where you lived was the legendary nightclub Motor Lounge, but at this time you were more interested in playing a guitar – then one Sade mixing moment with your friends on the decks changed things for ever, tell us the story…
“I was already DJing by this time but, well I’ve got a hard head. I didn’t want to believe I could have a career involving the use of turntables. So yes, I’d sit around and play my acoustic guitar and be all la-dee-da. But eventually I went to my friend Ian’s house where he had a couple of belt drive turntables and a mixer set up on the floor. I grabbed a Sade record and put on ‘Sweetest Taboo’, then picked up a jungle record and continued to try to match the beat. I remember bringing it in and having everyone in the room stop and be like “Woah!” I understood at that point what it was about.”
How important was Carl Craig in your early career, back at The Motor Lounge – and also, what do you think are his major qualities in music?
“It was amazing having the support of someone like Carl. I looked up to his genius very much. His production then and even now is inspiring and even though I haven’t seen him in years, he’s still someone to look up to. His use of strings in Innerzone Orchestra is amazing. He might be the reason I use strings in most of my production these days.”
Best club you have ever played at?
“Hands down, it would be Motor Lounge. It could have had everything to do with that time in my life, but maybe not. I miss everything about it.”
What is the best and worst thing about living in New York?
“New York is exactly what you make of it. It can be a huge party 24/7 or it can be quiet and relaxed. That has to be the best thing about it and the fact that everyone supports each other here. We all attend each other’s events, book one another, and remix each other’s songs. It’s very supportive. I think the worst thing about it would be that you can get wrapped up in the party too much, too quickly. There is always something to do here, somewhere to go, people get wrapped up quick and sometimes can’t hack it. There’s a balance you need to maintain here and once you lost it, chances are you won’t be staying much longer. I’ve seen a lot of friends come and go.”
You remixed some great (and really cool) artists over the years such as Fischerspooner, Heartsrevolution, Turboweekend and MEN – what do you think has been your best ever rework?
“I think they are all so different. I go about every remix differently and I try to reach a certain personal goal with each mix. I couldn’t give you a favourite. Sometimes I will use just the entire vocal and rewrite the entire song, like I did with ‘Telepathe’. Or even just take a vocal snippet from the original and that’s it. With MEN and Turboweekend, I ended up using a bit more of the original, which is rare. The Fischerspooner remix came together with a vocal snippet of Casey singing ‘Fascinating’, a loop of the bells used in the breakdown and a 1 bar loop of the cello part. I shaped a new song around those three things. I know this doesn’t answer your question but I like the outcome of them all.”
What twisted you onto the sound of Electro that led you to your first remix of ‘Much Finer’ for Le Tigre?
“At that time, music by people like Adult, Ectomorph and Dopplereffekt ruled my life. They influenced everything I did musically. I liked the idea of Electro music with real instruments, and that’s what I did with Le Tigre. I added some dark guitars and Electro beats and it began to take shape. That remix definitely gave me my start.”
What Motown record always makes you cry?
“Oh that would definitely be ‘Superfreak’ by Rick James. It gets me every single time.”
What car do you drive coming from motor city?
“Oh I don’t own a car anymore. In Detroit you have to have a car in order to get anywhere on your own. But I enjoy not needing one to get places. Detroit has no real public transport aside from sporadic buses and the people mover, a monorail that goes in circles to places you’ll rarely go. Both Chicago and New York have mass transit so it’s nice not having the responsibility of a car.”
Best album EVER made?
“Dan, you and your impossible questions! Off the top of my head it would be a toss up for me between Portishead ‘Dummy’ and Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumors’. They’ve both stood the test of time for me and continue to influence. They’re two albums I doubt I’ll ever live without.”
Where has your musical passion / ability come from – was there someone in your family that influenced you?
“It was always with me from a very young age. My dad also turned me on to some great bands that I wouldn’t grow to appreciate until much later in life. Foreigner, Journey, and of course Fleetwood Mac. When I came into my own, there were certain women in music that influenced me greatly, such as Shirley Manson, Courtney Love, PJ Harvey, Siouxie Sioux to name a few.”
Moby. You have worked with him. Weird dude or cool dude?
“I DJ’d with him at the infamous now defunkt Motherfucker party in NY one year. He’s a chilled dude, really down to earth.”
Madonna. You have supported her. Give us a great Madonna story…
“I DJ’d at a television show for her a couple years ago and it was what I expected. She wasn’t even there. We also sat next to each other at the Fischerspooner show in Brooklyn but didn’t exchange a word, which is also what I expected. But she’s Madonna! I mean, MADONNA!”
The best ever producer in the world?
“Timbaland. From the 90’s until now, he remains my favourite. The man is a genius. Others might argue and say Prince. I could go between the two on any given day though.”
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
“If you can’t find happiness in yourself, you’ll never find it with anybody else.”
One artist you would really want to get into the studio and make a track with?
“Bat for Lashes. I adore her voice, musicianship and style.”
Tell us how the whole Fischerspooner tour DJ role came about and what were the highlights?
“Well Fischerspooner needed a new DJ to start working with. They had reached out to Hercules and Love Affair for advice and they had suggested contacting me. That’s when I had heard from Warren Fischer via e mail. I then sent him a mix of house music, followed by him sending me about 10 songs to mix that would be considered a “Fischerspooner DJ set”. After doing that, he gained faith in what I can do and had me meet up with Casey to see how we’d get along. We had a vibe immediately. It’s been almost a year now working with them and I love it. So much fun! Casey is the ultimate front man. We just opened for the B52’s and it was shut down halfway into their set due to lightning storms; it was outside on Governors Island. We started to DJ in hopes it would pass so they could go back on, but it didn’t. Lightning everywhere! About half the people left and half stayed and danced thru the downpour. At one point, Casey had every single person out there doing jumping jacks. Now that’s a front man! Ha ha!”
Best DJ ever?
“DJ Heather. She’s a very technical DJ and always on top of her game. We’ve known each other for many years and I’m not just saying it because we’re friends but because I truly believe it. She’s an insane DJ.”
The wonderful Sia of Zero 7 fame sings vocals on your new tune ‘You’ve Changed’ – remixes from the likes of Larry Tee and Junior Sanchez – talk us through the track, you wrote it whilst flying through the air…
“The start of most of my songs begin whilst I’m travelling. There’s a lot of down time when en-route to a gig so it’s the perfect time to get going on something new. That’s basically what happened with ‘You’ve Changed’. I wrote the meat and potatoes of it on a plane, even the trumpet parts, which I later had re-recorded with real trumpets. I had sent the original version to Sia to see if she’s like to do the vocals for it. I couldn’t have been happier when she said yes! Then she basically came over to my apartment where we recorded the vocals in my bedroom in about 20 minutes. When you listen to the song, keep that in mind and it’s pretty unbelievable.”
What did you think about Sia’s performance on the David Letterman show last year?
“I was blown away. It was visually stunning and her performance was beautiful. She can use so little and make such an impact. I find that the most difficult to pull off and she’s so good at it.”
What’s next from Lauren…?
“An album is in the works. I have the performance aspect in mind for the writing of it. Live strings and horns, visuals, the works. You’ll be able to see much more than a DJ set in the future out of me.”
Lauren Flax ft Sia ‘You’ve Changed’ is out now on DJsAreNotRockstars.
