Feeling in need of a fresh challenge and creative new direction after 10 years of establishing himself as one of the world’s premium chillout producers, Nick Brennan has been focused on exploring and developing a more dancefloor-orientated ethos whilst adding to his ever-growing catalogue of tracks and remixes over the past 4 years. Having locked himself in his studio for many months to develop this exciting new sound into something cohesive and uniquely ‘Tripswitch’, the resulting recordings proved irresistible for Denmark’s Iboga Records, a label with an exemplary record of breaking down barriers and blurring the boundaries between the progressive trance and house scenes. “Vagabond” is an elegant and refined collection of truly progressive house music, impeccably produced and full of the musicality and emotion that has cemented Tripswitch’s reputation and high regard within the chillout scene throughout 15 years of releases. DMCWORLD checks in…
Interview by Dan Prince
Nick, a huge welcome back to DMCWORLD, where on planet earth are you right now?
Thanks Dan, great to be chatting again! I’m enjoying some much-needed time at home after a really busy year … Actually, I’m at home for New Year’s Eve this year too, which is gonna be a bit weird, but I’m looking forward to it! Then it’s back on the move in early Jan, looking like it could be Mexico first or second week.
What is the best piece of new music you have heard today?
Not new and a bit of a curveball, but ‘Come Down To Us’ from Burial’s ‘Rival Dealer’ EP is on repeat right now. I’d lost touch with his stuff for a few years and was reminded of it when I got his new ‘Young Death’ 12” the other week. I realized I’d missed the last few years, so caught up. That track is a staggeringly emotional journey, impossible to classify, and just sums up everything I love about his work. As for new… a promo of the latest album from my buddy Glen (Geist) just dropped into my inbox. It’s called ‘A Million Shadows Before Dawn’ on Asymmetric and it’s great! A really interesting album – varied themes and ideas but tied together through his sound, and well worth checking.
You brought us your wonderful ‘Vagabond’ album in the summer and it saw you evolve from the world of chillout to bring us your new sound of deep melodic, progressive house music that was the soundtrack for many this year. And now to end the year in style you return with a superb 5 track Remix EP out this week. Please talk us through the reworks…
‘Glass Heart’ (GMJ Remix)
I’ve been a big fan of Gavin’s sound for a few years now, since I first heard some of his tracks and remixes popping up on labels like Particles. I met him in Australia back in January (actually we’d been hanging out for a bit before I even realized who he was) but we’ve struck up a solid friendship since then and we’re just finishing off our first collaboration now. ‘Glass Heart’ was my favourite track on ‘Vagabond’ and his remix is absolutely stellar and the perfect opener, full of impact. It’s been great to see it doing well in the Beatport prog house charts too.
‘Vagaries’ (Kosmas & Dio S Remix)
The original ‘Vagaries’ was quite a big room sound and the Greek lads have ramped it up a notch with a heavy progressive trance bassline and a really epic build. I’ve seen floors go nuts to this one!
‘The Left Bank’ (Nanoplex Remix)
Ben and Chris are my buddies and fellow British flag-flyers in the Iboga Records camp. Their progressive techno sound fits really well with the neo-classical arp arrangements of the original track, which again I think was one of the strongest on the ‘Vagabond’ album. I love what they did with it!
‘Big Time Line’ (Thankyou City Remix)
My Aussie bros Brent and Scott have turned ‘Big Time Line’ into the most elegant, sexy and seductive progressive workout. Those boys are on fire at the moment, I witnessed the Panama Club in Amsterdam totally go off when Henry Saiz played their ‘Three Pyramids’ track on Sprout recently. I’m expecting big, big things from them in 2017 and I’ve bagged a track from them for my forthcoming comp and also an EP for my new label imprint. Watch this space!
‘Divine Falsehoods’ (Tripswitch Hypnotherapy Remix)
My own rework of ‘Divine Falsehoods’ has been a real favourite in my live sets this summer … it’s a hypnotic, percussive tribal workout that really fits well in some of the glorious places I’ve played this year. Balearic sunshine vibes, but with a slightly ominous atmosphere to give it a little edge. One of my favourite productions of my own this year.
Listen to the ‘Vagabond Remixes’ EP here: https://soundcloud.com/tripswitch/sets/tripswitch-vagabond-remixes-ep
Now that the dust has settled, are you happy with how the album was received?
Really happy, and more than a little relieved too! It was a bit of a leap of faith, taking a different direction to the chillout I’d been most known for – I didn’t want to alienate my older faithful fans who’ve come to love my chillout sound, but it had to have enough balls to make it in the house market. I guess it succeeded as it’s still identifiably ‘Tripswitch’, just repurposed for the dancefloor and with the benefit of quite a lot of production and clubbing experience.
Listen to the ‘Vagabond’ album here: https://soundcloud.com/tripswitch/sets/tripswitch-vagabond-previews-iboga-records
The obvious question, are you leaving chillout behind?
No, not at all… I’m actually half-way through the next Tripswitch chillout album, which should be ready for next summer, all being well, and I’m still doing the odd chillout remix, and so on. I still enjoy writing chillout, and dabbling in other styles too, I’m just enjoying writing progressive house more than anything else at this point in time, and it’s been really nice for me to be able to return to the music that got me hooked on dance music and club culture in the first place.
Okay let’s rewind for a moment and find out where this musical journey began. What is the earliest musical memory from your childhood?
I grew up in a very old-school, Catholic household, and my earliest memories of music are actually of being made to feel like anything more modern than classical music was a sinful, guilty pleasure. Which of course made it instantly exciting and appealing! So when I hit my teens I gravitated towards the more alternative end of the music spectrum, probably initially to get a reaction from my parents. But I always preferred music that challenged you a bit.
When did electronic music first appear on your radar?
It was probably Jean Michel Jarre… that Rendezvous Houston concert in 1986. It all seems pretty cheesy now, looking back, but it was such a spectacle at the time and pretty groundbreaking. Through that I dug back through his catalogue and discovered ‘Oxygene’ and ‘Equinoxe’, which I think still stand up as excellent electronica albums. I was more of an alternative indie kid really at the time, and a bit of a goth for a while, but through those more mainstream ‘progressive’ acts like Jarre, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, I developed an interest in stuff like New Order, and also the more industrial end of things – stuff like Cabaret Voltaire, Ministry and Front 242.
Early influences?
So many… all of the ones I’ve just mentioned, also everything on 4AD – Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Pixies, Dif Juz… Then, moving closer to the present and what’s relevant to what I’m doing now… Future Sound Of London, The Orb, Orbital, William Orbit – now you mention it, anything with ‘orb’ in the name! lol – also Sasha and that early B.M. Ex stuff, BT, Renegade Soundwave, Banco De Gaia …
Was music always going to be your choice of career, was there ever going to be anything else?
I remember my mum (bless her) telling me when I was very young that she’d disown me if I ever became a pop star. Like most kids my folks had very different ideas of what I was going to become. But in my mind I was always going to be working in music. It’s not an easy path to take, I do believe it really is a calling and that means you just have to do it regardless of how easily success comes. I’m a stubborn sod and I was never going to give up on the dream… it’s been a long game for me, but the truth is it’s a long game for the majority of artists, whatever the perception of their glittering careers might be.
Your worst ever job?
I’ve had a few pretty shitty ones in my younger days… but probably, spot-welding wire baskets takes the prize.
Best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Be realistic. Remind yourself sometimes why you’re in this business… because it’s something you love and that you’re compelled to do, regardless of the financial returns. Youth reminded me once that for the vast majority, the path of a musician involves hardship, heartache and frustration. So that advice stayed with me, it’s made it easier to handle the drier periods and once you take that pressure off yourself you generally write better music too.
We’re loving your new ‘Harmonics’ @ Frisky Radio. Tell us about the show?
Thanks! Yeah, it’s turned out to be quite a success. It’s my 6th edition this Friday 17th Dec, and I’m loving it! 2 hours every month is quite a commitment on top of everything else I’m doing (when you factor in sourcing all the music, getting familiar with it, working out the flow), but 2 hours allows me enough room to really create a journey. It’s got be back into DJing again after being almost solely a producer for quite a long time. And it also helps me keep on top of what’s going on in the scene, what other labels are doing, and not missing those vital releases. I’m far more in touch now than I was before I started doing the show – I’ve certainly been guilty in the past of being quite insular and focused only on my own stuff or that of the label.
Listen to Tripswitch’s Harmonics Radio Show here: https://www.friskyradio.com/show/harmonics/
We are hearing that you have all sorts of new collabs and remixes going on. Let’s kick off with the Nick Warren project…
Nick and myself had been talking about collaborating for a few years and finally got round to it this year with our remix of Joey Fehrenbach’s ‘Wolves’ for The Soundgarden label. We came up with a really groovy nu-disco chugger and it turned out to be a winner, so we’ve got straight back on it. We’ve got a couple more coming through, the first one I can’t talk about too much right now but which should be big news, and the second will be the first release on my new imprint, onedotsixtwo in early 2017. I’ve also got collaborations in progress with James Monro, GMJ, Jossie Telch, and more stuff in the pipeline.
What’s the lowdown on your new label onedotsixtwo?
Over the years, my Section label’s output has been pretty eclectic – reflecting my own personal tastes – I really liked the idea of a no-holds-barred, open-ended label concept, but the reality is that it’s quite hard to establish a clear label identity when you’re putting out all sorts. Despite the fact that we’ve released quite a bit of progressive stuff over the years, the perception of Section is very much that it’s a chillout label at it’s core, and I guess that’s correct. It’s also largely been album-focused, with a lot of the EPs and singles we’ve put out being supporting releases to those albums. The idea with onedotsixtwo is to remove that schizophrenic element to Section and allow it to really focus on what I think it’s good at – sourcing and bringing to market quality downtempo albums and EPs – and to create a fresh, dedicated platform for progressive, deep and tech house under the Section umbrella. It will be almost exclusively single and EP-based, with a very clear house style, digital-only, and the releases will be a lot more regular than they are with Section. It will be far easier for us to market each release in a manner that’s appropriate for it this way, and the hope is that in time the imprint really establishes itself as a trusted brand for progressive house in the same way as, say, Sudbeat or Hope.
With so much studio time going on you must be the perfect person to ask for some new studio gear you are finding inspirational at the moment? Give some tips for the up and coming producers reading this…
I picked up a Moog Sub 37 this year… that thing’s just crazy good, really hands on and instantly gratifying. It totally kick-started my inspiration again after getting a bit stale “in the box”… Sometimes you just wanna get your hands on some knobs and tweak ‘em! I also got a Native Instruments Maschine recently, which is a really powerful platform that I’m really just scraping the surface of at the moment. But I’m starting to get used to the workflow and enjoying it!
2016 – a good year for dance music?
Hell, yes! Particularly for the corner of dance music that I operate in… it’s been a real revival for great, melodic progressive house in the classic sense, and I’m looking forward to seeing this renaissance continue in 2017! And being a part of that, of course…
Tune of the year?
Kenton Slash Demon remix of XYZ’s ‘Solution’ on their WAA Industry label. Just stunning – I’ve never had so many people ask me what a track is when I’ve played it out.
Favourite album?
Ooh, tricky…part my own and the ones I had a hand in(!)…Dave DK’s ‘Val Maira’ was pretty special, Joey Fehrenbach’s ‘Fear Of Falling’ was great too, and of course Sasha’s ‘Scene Delete’ was pretty stunning… and beautifully packaged in the box set. Love a good box set, me!
Producer of the year?
Stephan Bodzin’s been elevated to the next level since ‘Powers Of Ten’ came out in late 2015, and rightly so – I was lucky enough to catch him at ADE with Maceo Plex, and it was a stunning show! On the progressive tip, Luka Sambe is the guy who’s caught my attention most, I’m really excited to see how he develops into 2017.
Best night on the razzle in 2016?
Sudbeat / Hope at Panama, ADE in October. Belting night, great DJs all night in both rooms and a classic A-grade Warren / Cattaneo back to back. Top night!
And finally…Christmas shopping all done?
Ha, not by a long shot. Wouldn’t be fun without a last minute trolley dash!
Tripswitch Info:
https://www.facebook.com/nicktripswitch
https://twitter.com/nicktripswitch
https://soundcloud.com/tripswitch
Artist: Tripswitch
Title: Vagabond Remixes EP
Label: Iboga Records, Denmark
Tracklist:
- Glass Heart (GMJ Remix)
- Vagaries (Kosmas & Dio S Remix)
- The Left Bank (Nanoplex Remix)
- Big Time Line (Thankyou City Remix)
- Divine Falsehoods (Tripswitch Hypnotherapy Remix)
Purchase Digital: https://www.beatport.com/release/vagabond-remixed/1885694
Artist: Tripswitch
Title: Vagabond
Label: Iboga Records
Purchase Digital: https://www.beatport.com/release/vagabond/1749776
Purchase CD/Vinyl: https://section.bandcamp.com/album/vagabond
