Uppers
Loco Dice

Loco Dice bestrides modern techno like a behemoth.  As a DJ he blazes a trail across the globe playing 8 hour sets in intimate clubs to under 300 people, smashes it at huge, 10, 00 people festivals or plays on and on and on at Sven Vath’s Cocoon night out in Ibiza. 

As a producer he’s no slouch, either, often working with Martin Buttrich to craft deep, house flecked but chunky grooves always more than tinged with a little tribal energy.  On July 10th he headlines  Cocoon in the Park at Temple Newsam alongside Sven, Villalobos and Adam Shelton.
We caught up for a brief chat….
 
You also seem to have a good family at Desolat can you tell us about that why you started it and what it means to you?
I started Desolat with my friend and partner Martin Buttrich. So the “family” thing already starts there. For us as artists, it was almost inevitable to create a platform for music we receive or we find, to keep it going on, release records.. It means a lot to me, it’s a way to add something to the music, give known and unknown artists a platform, treat them and their music well. Desolat is, at the end, our vision of record label become reality.

How did you discover tINI and Guti who seem good friends now?
I heard tINI when she played with me in Munich and I was instantly hooked. Her style and energy are quite unique and it feels good to see her grow as artist and receiving deserved attention. Guti… there was a track from Guti on Raum…Musik that I really liked and used on one of my compilations and then he gave me a bunch of unreleased material. Guti is a musician, inspirational character, friend and he moved to Düsseldorf recently. So here we have a family thing again

What did you make of the under 300 tour? Why did you do it?
It was important to go back to small clubs, feel the energy and interact with people on a more personal level then when you have to play on big stages and festivals. There is no “why”. It is all about saying “yes” to club culture, sweat, dance, love, excess…

How did it go when you played at System (Desolat) Mint club, Leeds?
The roof was on fire! This room with those people…. sooo much energy . There is actually no way to describe it – you should have been a part of it!

And will you do it again? Or anything similar?
I love it there I will come back 4 sure

What do you make of minimal now, looking back, as one of its main players (I’m thinking of the Mixmag minimal explosion CD you did)?
I don’t think I was ever minimal. Steve Reich is minimal, Robert Hood is minimal, that list is endless – the list of minimal musicians before Mixmag and the rest re-discovered the word to describe music that was happening at that time. I was never in record stores wearing blinders – I came from hip hop, I love house and techno music. Dub (…). There is so much amazing music out there and I would never be able to play just one style of music. But to go back to your question: there is good minimal and there is bad minimal now.

And how would you describe the sounds you play now?
Something between Techno and Deep House (raw ,chunky but sexy )

Do you have any more plans for another album yet?
I always have plans, make music, and when it feels right for me and when I have something to say on album format, there will definitely be new Loco Dice LP.

What can people expect from your set at Cocoon in the Park?
A big party !!!

How different are your sets at an open air festival this Cocoon or in, say, a smaller club?
Well…. I rarely play dusty crackling underground deep house record in front of few thousand people at an open-air festival because it simply does not sound right in such an environment.

What else are you working on this year?
Well after Guti´s move to Düsseldorf, Livio & Roby will follow . The Artist Alife family is getting bigger and we need new studios … That’s just a bit on what I’m working on with my team. Of course we got some amazing music coming on Desolat., there will be my mix  CD “Amnesia underground 10!” and I will go back to the studio by the end of the year .
www.cocooninthepark.com

Buy tickets from here
http://www.ticketarena.co.uk/affiliate/J7J3W6X6/leeds/cocoon-park-2010