David Guetta Beatport Exclusive Interview

BACK TO BASICS: DAVID GUETTA TELLS US ABOUT HIS JACK BACK LABEL AND BLURRIN THE LINE BETWEEN THE DJ AND POP WORLDS


David Guetta is pretty much the model of success when it comes to electronic music infiltrating the pop world. Last year’s double-disc set Nothing But the Beat featured Guetta producing tracks with Nicki Minaj, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Taio Cruz, Akon, and will.i.am, and those tunes cut huge swathes through both the radio and club worlds, arguably making the Parisian house-head the world’s premier producer and DJ. So how does he keep grounded amidst it all? By starting a back-to-basics dance-tracks-only label called Jack Back (which now counts Nicky Romero, Daddy’s Groove, and Spencer & Hill among its growing roster).
We recently chatted with Guetta to get the lowdown on his Ibiza summer season, what’s in store for the new label, and why old-school house isn’t really that old.


How was the Ibiza summer for you, and how do you keep from burning out while you’re there?
[Laughs] It was really extraordinary, but actually, I live there during the summer, so it’s like my home. What happens is, when people go there for the first time, they go for one week and go out everyday non-stop because there’s always a party going on. I can’t do this anymore. I did it the first year, but I just live a normal life there now.


So what are the more relaxing things you do to retreat from the party life there?
Well, Formentera is very beautiful.

James Brown Is Back (Club Mix) - Spencer & Hill

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve heard you say that Jack Back has no intention of selling records or making money, and I guess I want to know firstly, are you serious?
Of course! I don’t do this for the money. I have no commercial ambition with it. I do this for the love. Yes, I want DJs to buy the tracks on Beatport and play them out, but Jack Back is not about making radio hits. Because I play a lot of those beats that I produce or co-produce with friends or hear something that I really love and want to be able to put out. That’s what it’s about—sharing this music with other people, and also being able to show a different side of me. I’m also happy to be able to push people like Nicky Romero or Daddy’s Groove. This new record ["1234" by Spencer & Hill] is huge when I play it—it’s one of the biggest records that I’ve been playing this year. And it’s from Spencer & Hill, the guys that are making some of the best synthesizers and sound banks in the world—Vengeance Sound. It’s exciting.


How did you find Spencer & Hill?
I think they found me. They just sent me their record and I really, really loved it. The reaction was so insane, so I decided to release it on Beatport.


Are you afraid that anyone will confuse it with Laidback Luke’s “1234“?
The thing is, this track is called “Uno Dos Tres Cuatro.”

1234 (Original Mix) - Spencer & Hill

 

 

 

 

 

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I guess that’s a fair enough distinction. It seems pretty clear that starting Jack Back is a return to your DJ roots, and I wonder, what other kinds of small projects are you planning with this—I’m not gonna call it a new direction exactly, but what is the next plan?
Well, it’s not a new direction because a lot of people, when they hear me play, they’re surprised. I’ve always played a combination of electronic beats and my big records. And even my big records I play in a way that’s not like what you hear on the radio—it’s different. So it’s a way to show maybe something they didn’t know about me. And my album Nothing But the Beat was a double album—one was all electronic, and one was only songs. I’ve always had two sides, and to be honest, I don’t even believe there’s two sides, because for me, there’s only two types of music: good music and bad music. I don’t really make a difference between the emotion that I can have when I make a song or when I make a club beat.


So in terms of Jack Back, are there other small projects on the horizon?
Yes, actually, I’m going to be in the studio with Nicky Romero for four days, so I’m sure a lot is going to come out of that.

Metropolis (Original Mix) - David Guetta, Nicky Romero

 

 

 

 

 

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With wanting to keep a foot in the DJ world, but having such huge success in the pop world, too, do you ever feel like you struggle with that?
Well, I don’t feel like I’m struggling. My DJ shows are some of the biggest of any DJ in the world—I wouldn’t call this a struggle.


No, I mean more in relation to the old-school guys—amongst other DJs do you ever feel like you get any pressure to push back from the pop world, and sort of remain more in the DJ world?
I don’t see any opposition between the pop world and the DJ world, and not only that—it’s probably the opposite. Every DJ, including old-school DJs, as you call them—people that created house music—a lot of them come to see me and thank me for opening the doors, and I think that is making life easier for all the DJs, including underground DJs, so I never really felt that kind of reaction. When I feel something like that, it’s never from professional DJs; it’s from kids that are not actually from the scene, who are just starting to buy records.


With your involvement in French house over the years, and how it remains a big influence on the music you make now, I wonder, do you have any interest in, say, assembling a compilation of the classic tracks to further introduce the sound to new ears?
To be honest, I’ve always looked toward the future. So for me to put together a compilation of old French house, it would be almost crazy because it’s not even old [laughs]. I was a DJ before house music existed. I was playing funk, new wave, reggae—there was no such thing as house music. So if I was gonna do a compilation one day, it would maybe be of stuff from that moment—when I was playing soul, etc. For me, it’s more exciting to release records from Nicky Romero than stuff that’s been released already.


You played Electric Zoo recently in New York and I was wondering, how you do feel the vibe differs from big festivals in the US these days to the ones in Europe?
Things are changing a lot in the US. You know, a lot of the festivals, they feel a little bit like old UK raves, which is kind of fun—people dressing up and using DayGlo and stuff. And the really banging sound, you know—the harder stuff. But it’s fun to me; it’s not a problem at all. I’m just saying it’s a little bit like what we had in the ’90s. It’s changing right now, but in America, when you do something, you do it big. So it takes you a while to get there and embrace the culture, but when you do, you do it big, big, big. It’s wonderful. But it’s funny—that music was born in the US, and I can remember playing the first house music records in ’88. I started one of the first house music parties in Paris, actually in France, and I would play all these records coming from the US, and some coming from England, but house music and techno was American music. It stayed really, really underground in the US, and then it evolved into something more mainstream in Europe. And now it’s coming together and it’s incredible.

Exclusive Interview with xKore

Hello everyone, we had the chance to interview xKore. If you are a fan of Dubstep/Drumstep you most likely already heard of him. Most of his tracks have landed in the tops on Beatport.
He just released an EP called "Stabs" on Inspected Records. xKore will be touring with Datsik for his Firepower tour. 

xKore Biography:

xKore (Real name: Matt Cavender) is a young but extremely talented house/trance/drum & bass producer from Kent in the UK.

In his own words: “My name is xKore and I make dubstep, drumstep, moombahton, electro, and basically all things bass music. I’ve been producing for around four years, started when I was 14 . Only really got into it seriously for about six to nine months now, and it has kind of taken off recently.”

      His first tracks were released on Newgrounds, and, with his unique style, he’s managed to gain a lot of support from the dubstep community, and has been featured on UKF. He’s also made guest appearances on Skream and Benga.

    Presently, xKore is both a composer and a DJ; he has mixed his own music with that of other artists, and has generally received favorable feedback from doing so.

A big thanks to xKore for taking the time to answer our questions! 

Q: What other producers, songwriters and/or artist do you see as your primary inspirations?

A: Knife Party, Sub Focus, Redlight, Congorock and Bart B More at the moment, but it's always changing and I often take alot of inspiration off random tracks by random people.

 

Q: Did you first started producing music or Djing?

A: I started producing first and DJing became neccesary after popular demand, and it's quickly become my favourite aspect of being a producer.

Q: Where & what venue was your favorite performance?

A: I played Toulouse earlier this year alongside Captain Crunch, Engine Earz, Emalkay and the local DJs, it was around 1500 people and the first time I had played to so many people. Everything was good about the night, the venue had perfect sound and the crowd was awesome. Ended up crowd surfing a few too many times.

Q: What software do you use to produce your music? Do you have any extra equipments in your studio?

A: I use FL studio, mainly with Massive, Sylenth1, the Waves, SPL and Sonnox kits. I'm pretty much totally software based in my Desktop at home. I use Dre Beats Pro headphones aswell. They're pretty dope for production.

Q: Who is the one artist you would like to do a collaboration with?

A: Freddie Mercury

Q: We see that your latest EP has been getting a lot of great feedbacks, how did you get in contact with Inspected Records?

A: They picked me up after I got my track 'Hello' uploaded to UKF for free release. We worked on the EP for about 8 months all together.

Q: Do you have any advice for young people who want to start producing electronic music?

A: Produce for the sake of enjoying producing. If you go into the mindset of doing it just to be a super successful producer, you will find yourself getting impatient with how long it actually takes to get good.

Also, producing to a standard is only the first step, having your own vision is what is going to set you apart from being a normal small to mid size producer. 

Q: What can we expect from xKore for the rest of 2012?

A: We have some pretty big things lined up for the rest of the year. I'm doing the Firepower tour alongside Datsik, Terravita and Getter on the West coast of the US, then an Australian tour at the end of the year. Both of which are in perfect time to build up to my next EP release which we are hoping is going to take me to the next level, forthcoming around November/December.

Thank you very much for your time, we wish you the best of luck moving on. 

Make sure to check out his social networks and beatport page!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/xKoreOfficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/xKore

Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/artist/xkore/201866

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/xkore

[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.