An incredible year for the West London producer as he takes the US by storm
Interview : Dan Prince
Hey dude, welcome to DMCWORLD. You are in the middle of your debut US Tour with Chicago, New York and Miami tucked under your belt and Detroit coming tomorrow. So how is it going, how are those new breed US clubbers taking the sounds of Vanilla ACE?
“The US is great, the clubbers are into the music, it’s great that they know some of the tracks also and request their favourite releases of mine.”
What has been THE tour highlight so far?
“So far the best party has been the Rinsed It warehouse party in Brooklyn! Amazing crowd, vibe, Crystal Waters did a PA. Got to road test some new tracks which went down great. Even Michael K Williams (Omar from the Wire) was dancing in the DJ booth!”
Where was the No. 1 city you were dying to play in…?
“I’d have to say Brooklyn, NYC as it’s somewhere I had never played before, Manhattan I’ve done but I had a feeling BK would be special and I was right.”
You admitted once that the only DJs you would pay to see would be Jazzy Jeff and Grandmaster Flash – a big love of Hip Hop at an early age per chance?
“Indeed I was, I grew up on mid 90’s house, hip hop, R&B, Drum & Bass, Garage etc…I had the honour of playing with Grandmaster Flash earlier this year and it was great to see him perform up close and personal. Jazzy Jeff is incredible, you could just stand and watch him for hours. Hip Hop culture and breaks in general are a huge part of my music. All my teenage digging in the crates days are paying off!”
You have been DJing in London since the age of 17, then a couple of years ago you suddenly became inspired by deep house and nu disco and the Vanilla ACE project was born. Well that’s what your press team would like us to believe, was the Vanilla ACE story as simple as that?
“It was really, I wanted to start a clean slate making music I liked and would want to play. I had so many ideas for tracks it was easy to knock out the ideas once I got going. I’ve still got a huge ‘to do list’.”
Your new track ‘Higher’ with Sharam Jay and Chad Tyson is out today on Beatport – talk us through the track…
“Me and Chad started the track a few months back and immediately thought it would be something Sharam would be into. We sent it over to him and he finished it off saying he would love for it to be on the new Bunny Tiger compilation. It definitely works well in the clubs.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
In no particular order…
Pete Griffiths feat Cevin Fisher ‘Chicago’ (Vanilla Ace remix)
Vanilla Ace ‘Mirage’ (Patrick Podage Remix)
Fat Sushi & Roland Clark ‘My Place’
Julio Bashmore ‘Peppermint’
Ante Perry ‘Turbolized’ (Tube and Berger Remix)
Heston ‘Get Down’ (Andy Lee Remix)
Lazaro LS ‘Pyyzical’
Sonny Fodera feat Amber Jolene ‘Hold it Down’ (Cause and Affect Remix)
Sharam Jey, Vanilla Ace & Chad Tyson ‘Higher’
Keine Moniker feat Erly ‘Dreaming’ (Marco Tegui & Legendary Boy Remix)
The music press called your signing to Toolroom a real game changer. How important have Toolroom and the team been for you…?
“Toolroom have been great as they were the first label to release the new batch of my tunes, the first track was ‘Follow Me’ on last years Toolroom Ibiza comp, then came Layer Cake and Hypnotic…I’ve just done a remix for Pete Griffiths new track ‘Chicago’. ‘Hypnotic’ has had some great support this year, it even ended up on Juan Maclean’s Radio 1 Essential mix and Tiesto’s radio show….love the diversity of the people playing it…”
One of the skillz we love about Vanilla ACE’s production is the masterful use of vocals and basslines. Looking around the dance globe today, who are some of the producers you are rating or cite as influences? If any…
“Obviously the likes of Maceo Plex, Solomun, Hot Natured, Dennis Ferrer, Kerri Chandler, Round Table Knights, MK…when I was younger I’d say Masters at Work, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Boris Dlugosch, Armand Van Helden, The Neptunes, DJ Premier, Teddy Riley…”
You mentioned your Remix of Pete Griffiths feat. Cevin Fisher ‘Chicago’ which is out tomorrow, it follows your rework of Polar Dear’s ‘You Can Handle It’. What do you do to counter balance the intensity of studio life and travelling from gig to gig…how do you chill out?
“I like to chill out by going the movies, hitting the beach (if I’m in a warm country), taking a long walk in the park, doing something sporty…or sometimes just good old sleep!”
So we come back to your Ladbroke Grove gaff on a Sunday after the club. Who are some of the artists you spin us to mellow the mood?
“I’m a massive rare groove, funk fan, so we would mellow the mood with some Patrice Rushen, Gap Band, Ripple, Isacc Hayes, George Duke, Prince, Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Ohio Players or classic 90’s hip hop like ‘Luchini’ by Camp Lo.”
You getting sick of that famous Vanilla ACE bastard child quote yet?
“I wrote that myself when I set up my Facebook fan page and Twitter etc. Had to say something interesting right?”
You have had a truly astounding year dude, massive congratulations. Let’s have a quick look back at the year. Your favourite…
Tune of 2013
“Emperor (Maceo Plex Last Disco Remix) – Ali Love.”
Best Club
“Rinsed It 3rd Birthday party – Brooklyn Dec 2013.”
Producer of the year
“MK followed closely by Claptone.”
Remix of the year
“I Can Tell (By The Way You Move) – Paul Woolford Remix – George Fitzgerald.”
Proudest Vanilla ACE moment of 2013
“Having my track ‘Bring it Back’ in the Beatport deep house top 10 for 7 weeks.”
And finally, what is coming out next studio wise from you?
“Lots of exciting releases and remixes for 2014! It’s going to be a continuation of this year…”