[Exclusive Interview] Hooked in with Hook N Sling

Australian producer, Hook N Sling (yes, it’s one person) may not be the most well known, but you should know him. This guy is super talented and has firmly cemented his place in today’s dance music with hits like “Take You Higher” and his latest release on Spinnin’ “Surrender”  We had a chance to sit down and chat over the holiday at http://www.arrivalnyc.com/
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First, I want to thank you for your time.

No worries man.

So who is Hook N Sling, how did you come up with that name?  It’s a pretty awesome name.

Well Hook N Sling is just one guy let’s just clear that one up straight away.  The name came from an old funk record I use to sample when I started producing.  It was this old funk record I used the kick and the snare when I put together my first little release.  Nothing came of it but I was like “shit, I need a name”; So I just flipped through my vinyl collection, saw that and thought that it kind of made sense.  I didn’t think it would stick and that it “work for now”, but it stuck.

Well thank you; compared to some of the answers we’ve gotten, it’s cool to hear an actual story behind the name.  Now, you’re obviously here in New York City, and you’re playing around the world, how do you feel the American dance music scene is different than say your homeland of Australia or the UK or Europe where it is much more part of the culture?

Well I’ve been over here three times this year, so it was Miami, a tour in February and so this is my third time, and now I’ve relocated to LA.  I realized how much there was over here, and it was too much to go back and forth [to Australia], so I thought I’d move here for a little while.
The difference of here [the US] to Australia? Today, this reminded me of Australia, with the outdoor, summer thing.  Summer in Australia is all-about music, very similar in that way.  Club wise here, dance music has this exciting, new, fresh feeling which is cool.  I love playing here, and Australia has that, but here it’s new.  It’s exciting.

So you first broke out with “The Bump” a couple years ago; then you broke out again to Internet sensation and with “Take You Higher” and you’ve gotten support from some of the world’s biggest DJs.  You’ve gone from just choosing the name Hook N Sling,  to playing in NYC now, and then also the prestigious mixes for the Ministry of Sound; what has that transition been like for you?

Well, I don’t know, the transition hasn’t changed much.  I don’t keep check on how I am perceived and I do what I have to do.  I just keep going, and then the size of the crowd changes.  You do bigger and better things.  I still struggle and nothing has changed in the studio.  It’s not like I have 20 people in the studio with me that write my music for me.  And you know, there are people like that.  As soon as they get success, they hand off all of it to other people do the hard work for them.  It’s still me writing music, working on a plane with my laptop and headphones and I suppose I just travel more.  I was up at 4AM to get here this morning from LA and then tomorrow I go to Vegas and then back to LA.

So you recently collaborated with the band Evermore on your new single, “Surrender”, how did that come about?  Evermore isn’t dance music so I’m curious how that happened.

Well that track, “Surrender” has been sitting on my hard drive for over a year.  Maybe only 8-10 months, but I got a lot of projects, works in progress.  I wrote this instrumental and had this idea and thought Evermore would be perfect for it.  A lot of the stuff I do works great with indie vocals and just something unexpected.  I don’t like doing obvious vocals.  I see the difference and enjoy it.  So I sent it to their manager and they put the vocals down straight away and it sat on my hard drive for at least another 6 months before I finished it.  So then I got the idea and then finished it within a week.

You said you like the difference that Evermore brought with the vocals, than standard vocalists.  Are there any other vocalists or producers that you’d like to produce with?  Anyone that comes to mind?

Yeah, I’d like to collaborate with vocalists, but specifically it’s hard to tell.  Good vocals are hard to come by, and it’s the kind of thing that is hit or miss.  You can be in the studio with someone who has never written a hit but they bring something special.  Vocals are so hit or miss.  It’s really hard to know so I don’t think, “oh I’d love to get in the studio with them and write a smash”.  It’s more about feeling out where people are in their career and then writing the sound that you want.

So I have a obligatory question here, any advice for aspiring producers or DJs?

It’s kind of cliché, there’s no secret to it.  It’s just a shitload of work.  You’ve got to have a hunger for it and be obsessed with what you’re doing.  Like if you’re not passionate or obsessed by what your doing.  If you’re not obsessed with music or  with dance music, constantly listening to new stuff, then you shouldn’t be doing it.  In other words, you’re going to give it up in a couple years.