He’s Strictly in Rhythm…
It’s arguably been Michel Cleis’s year. It all started at the Miami Music Conference when ‘La Mezcla’ first appeared – who was to know that it was to be voted ‘Best Ibiza Track’ at the end of the summer as well as making it into the Mixmag shortlist for ‘Track of the Year 2009’. Now Michel is firmly under Strictly Rhythm’s mighty wings. Let’s go…
Did you know that ‘La Mezcla’ has been short-listed for track of the year in MixMag?
“No! I’m very happy about that. Once again, I’m happy about that track. Since Ibiza, everything I’ve heard about the track has come as a surprise, and I really didn’t think it would do so well.”
So you didn’t expect the success of the track to be so big?
“No not at all, every time people tell me news such as having the best track of 2009 in Ibiza and now being short-listed in Mix Mag it’s like ‘wow – that’s incredible’. I’m very happy about that.”
Let’s talk about your new Strictly Rhythm mix. A great mix…
“Thank you. I think it’s a good mix too. I took a little more time to do it because I was away on tour in places such as Australia and the East. I took more time over the selection, and I’m very happy that all the people at Strictly liked it.”
Some of the records you chose are all available on the Strictly catalogue, but still, really difficult to track down – how did you find them?
“Ha! Well all these records mean something to me – the memories I get from them. They are really old records, but I’m 42! So I was there. I was in clubs when people played them so I have small images in my head for every track. They’re not clear, but these tracks sum up a period in my life and times such as my first after-hours party and my first year at University in Lausanne. These years were between 1987 and 1993.”
Tell us about some of the memories you get when you hear these tracks.
“The track ‘Celebrate (Dub)’ (1991) I remember a party in Montreux, a big party with Tony Humphries, it was the first time I’d heard of him and he was playing the record included in the mix. So I always remember this party when I hear this track. There’s also a track that reminds me of an Italian ambient house music and a party I was at with Kid Bachelor in Lausanne and in London too. So the mix definitely takes me back. I’m just happy about the mix because it focuses on a completely different period in the history of Strictly Rhythm. It starts with The Untouchables and their first work ‘Little Louie Anthem’ and then there’s a track from Kenny Dope. There’s some break-beat stuff, and there’s some disco-stuff from Roger Sanchez. So the mix does represent a very different time period in the Strictly Rhythm story and in the story of house music. I’m glad because I had to mix up these different styles and times and finally, the end result is good.”
A lot of the techo DJ’s and minimal DJ’s these days are playing a lot of straight house music at the moment. Would you say that house music has suddenly become cool again?
“Yes I think so. For me, it’s been cool for the last two or three years. Minimal music, as it suggests, is very minimal and it soon became boring after a few years. People want melodies now and they’re looking for something more and this is why house music is coming back because there is more in this music and there’s something in it that makes it happier. However I don’t think the New Jersey house period will come back. It had a lot of vocals and it was very soulful. It was very good and I do like the old stuff, but now I do find too much of it quite tedious because it’s just too much, such as when you get a Diva singing ‘Wohoooo!!’ I like house with some vocals – but not too much. Personally, I’m more into the dub, and if I choose an old record and it’s got a vocal version and a dub version I tend to always pick the dub version to use.”
Do you think this has been your best year in your career so far?
“Yes for sure. I don’t know if I will have another year like 2009, but I hope so. 2009 has certainly been the best year for me and I will remember it for a long time.”
What are you doing next year? Which projects will you be working on?
“I’m actually finishing a new project right now, it’s a remix for this singer called Courtney Tidwell, and then I’m going to be remixing a track for Gilles Peterson who has a new jazz project. I have also been asked by Strictly Rhythm to remix the track, ‘The Spanish Rituals’, it’s on the mix, so I will be working on that too. I’m also working on a Maxi for Rekids and one for Cadenza, and I’ve already started to work on my own album. I may have to cut down on the number of remixes I’m doing so that I can concentrate on my own production. I am doing a remix for Cocoon as well. It’s difficult to say no to people when they ask for a remix, especially when it’s someone like Gilles Peterson, Radioslave or Sven Vath. I love doing collaborations like this.”
Where will you be playing this New Year’s Eve?
“I might be playing in Geneva but I’m not sure yet. I may spend the first day of the year in my home town Lausanne or maybe in Berlin, either way, it will be a holiday and I won’t be working!”
