The French superstar hits London like a speeding Bullit. Qube Project here we go
Interview : Dan Prince
Dude welcome back to DMCWORLD…where on earth are you today?
“I’m in Amsterdam at the ADE.”
A really exciting start to the Autumn for you musically, let’s kick off with your tune that has been around ALL SUMMER!!!!! ‘Bullit’ – out this weekend on Spinnin’ Deep, please talk us through the sound and history of the track…it’s been quite a ride!
“I was producing for other artists in studio. I wanted to share my own music, so i started Watermat, creating a Soundcloud in October 2013. I made ‘Bullit‘ during the 2013 Christmas holidays. The track came to life by the mix of two peculiar sounds, the flute and the horns. I liked the weird result. I left it aside for a few days and then came back to it. I still liked it so I finished the arrangements and send the track to a couple of labels. Spinnin’ came straight back to me in a couple of hours and made me an offer to sign it…”
“This track is going to be huge. It is the kind of music you’ll listen to at home or in your car.” Tesito’s comments about ‘Bullit’. Who are the producers though that fill you with pride when they give you a thumbs up about your music?
“I feel very lucky, A lot of very big DJs gave amazing feedbacks on the track. Names like Tiesto, The Magician, Pete Tong, or Annie Mac played the track a lot, it really gave “Bullit” a big push.”
Did you know on completion you had created a monster?
“Not at all. I was just making my own music without wondering if it could be played by other DJs or not.”
Another piece of production that has got everyone excited right now is your remix of The Magician’s ‘Sunlight Do you have a specific approach to a remix? For instance, some people strip everything back except the vocal, some stamp their ‘sound’ all over their rework…or is it a case of every project is different? Surely there must be a connection to the song in the first place?
“For me there are no rules. I can only keep the vocals or even just some part of the music, but with this I really liked the original track. So I was more into keeping the essence of the track adding my own sound on it.”
The city of London is once again getting excited about your arrival, this time it’s the new The Qube Project venue that will be your playground. The club is the newest addition to a thriving London nightlife, it boasts state of the art 3D mapping, art installations and jaw dropping production plus a really experimental line up every week. What have you heard about this place?
“Well I’m very excited to played there. I was in London a couple of weeks ago to play at Egg and only heard good things about The Qube Project.”
We were driving past Radio 1 towers last week and saw you walking through it’s famous doors for a meeting with Danny Howard. How did that go?
“It went really well. I was invited for the Radio 1 dance charts and it was nice to meet Danny and to be told that ‘Bullit’ has a great support from Radio 1 DJs.”
How does spinning in London compare to other cities around the world, do you find the crowds are more knowledgeable about their music or has the rest of the planet caught us up now?
“The London crowd is great, very open minded. But I think you can find good crowd everywhere if you play in the rights venues.”
What are the big 5 tunes in your box this weekend?
Disciples – They Don’t Know
Tinush – Blue Story
Super Flu – Oooh
Dominik Eulberg -The Space Between Us
Kolsch – OMA
Studio time with Don Diablo a couple of weeks ago…what was all that about?
“It was during a Spinnin’ writing camp in Amsterdam last month. We’re working on something that I really like. I hope we’ll be able to finish it soon.”
What has been the tune of the summer for you…and no picking your own material!!
Ten Walls – ‘Walking with Elephants’
The proudest moment of your careers to date…
“When my 6 year old daughter heard ‘Bullit’ on the radio for the first time.”
The 3 best DJ gigs of 2014 and why…
– “Les Ardentes Festival/Belgium (crazy crowd)
– Parkbeats Festival/Belgium (small festival but a really good vibe and a very good crowd)
– Bakermat & Goldfish Party ADE 2014 (I played on a smaller stage, but the audience’s reaction was amazing).”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
De La Soul ‘Saturdays‘
…you wish you would have made?
Nirvana – ‘Nevermind’ – the album
…always gets you dancing?
Prince ‘Controversy’
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
Ugly Kid Joe ‘Mr Recordman‘
It’s that time of year again…the DJ Top100 Poll. Do you give a shit?
“No.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise…?
“I’m working on some new tracks and collabs at the moment, all will be revealed soon.”
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/watermat
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WatermatMusic?fref=ts
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Watermat will be spinning at The Qube Project on November 15th alongside Goldfish, Felon and Wankelmut. The Qube Project launched in October 2014 bringing a fresh aesthetic to the London’s nightlife carving it’s own niche and offering an all-angled clubbing experience. Pioneering the 360 degree clubbing experience, each weekend at The Qube Project, QubeOne will present three rooms of music spanning a plethora of sounds. Bespoke design runs throughout the stunning venue, with eclectic installations from outstanding London creatives, graffiti artists and designers spanning across the trinity of rooms, DJ booth and dance floor. Award-winning production company The Halo Group bring state-of-the-art 3D mapping and jaw-dropping visual displays to create the most immersive and forward-thinking of clubbing environments. A specially designed Martin Audio sound system brings The Qube Project to life as a hedonistic escape hidden in the middle of London. Artistic flair and an innovative take on decor will be present in every corner of The Qube Project.
Future dates…
October 25 / QubeOne
Copyright / Dale Howard / Weiss / XYZ
November 1 / QubeOne Halloween Hunt
Leftwing & Kody / Ashley Casselle / Credence / Ross Donworth / Th!stopic
November 8 / QubeOne
Bontan / Kry Wolf / Real Nice / Electronic Youth / XYZ
November 15 / QubeOne
Goldfish / Wankelmut / Watermat / Felon
November 22 / QubeOne presents Suara Label Party
Coyu / Finnebassen / Cristoph / August Five
November 29 / QubeOne presents ElectronicSessions + Lost & Found
Guy J / Guy Mantzur / Sahar Z / Sam Hedworth & Darren Lee Fenton / Ollie Holmes / Chris Lindsay
December 6 / QubeOne presents Listed
Special Guest TBA / Gotsome / Sinous / Datsdem / Christopher / Listed Residents
December 13 / QubeOne presents Prologue
Miguel Campbell / Dubspeeka / Saytek (live) / Louth & Hughes
December 20 / QubeOne
Phil Weeks / Krankbrother / John Monkman / Felon / XYZ
The Qube Project
191 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5NE
thequbeproject.com
facebook.com/thequbeproject
twitter.com/TheQubeProject
soundcloud.com/qube-project