Page 11 - Zone Magazine Issue 020

FEATUREINTERVIEW
Who’s been your most recent influences?
I’m always looking for inspiration all the time never ending. Mostly listening to dj mixes on my travels and getting ideas for mixes and Moonface Productions. The most recent is Flembaz, I have been into their sound for a few years now. I also like some of
Boris Brejcha style and his tracks with his energy and melodies, also DJ DepGlobe from Amsterdam, I’ve been a fan of for well over a year now and he constantly delivers awesome solid progressive mixes you can find them all on his SoundCloud.
Which plug-in is your favorite in the Moonface studio?
My studio is out the logic box, no extra toys except a reverb plugin I’m really not that good with all the software gimmicks. The studio computer is not on the internet so I keep it clean from any other use... I use Synthwerks loads as love all the kraftwerk style sounds. All my real toys are my old outboard analogue gear that I have had since about 1995.
Is there anything in the pipeline that we should be looking forward to from you?
The Tulipa compilation mix out now Feb 2018 featuring two Moonface tracks along with other rocking melodic, techno, proggy hypnotic, uplifting tracks. From summer 2017 until Christmas 2017 Brendon and I were looking for tracks asking on social media for producers to send in music for us to check out. Asking mates for unreleased tracks. As they came in it was great fun bouncing feedback of each other carefully selecting the right vibe we were working towards. Finally we had enough that we both thought would work well together. Brendon got them mastered, then I worked on the playlist for a couple of weeks. Once I knew what order I want them to be I just hit record and play them live in one hit. I love to keep it as spontaneous as possible. I believe you can keep the energy in the mix if its recorded live like a real set would be. I then added an intro and messed around with the last track for a bit of an outro. All good fun I really enjoyed doing these label compilation mixes so if any other labels are reading please keep me in mind. As soon as this was released I was asked to mix another label comp for Astir records. A relatively new label run by Simon Huxtable AKA Real Gone Kid. This is a similar project as the Tulipa one and the Gibbon before that but a much faster turn around. Released just in time for the Miami Winter Music conference.
The scene in Southampton has pretty much put the South Coast on the map and you've been at the forefront of this since the early 90's. Tell us what was the turning point in your career?
Something must be in the water here because there is a long list of local talent from Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth from across genres. Some made chart success like Artful Dodger now the Original Dodger, Craig David then moving onto local dj/producers James Zabiela who’s just done an awesome Balance Mix, Alan Fitzpatric on Drum Code, Reset Robot who just released on Sasha’s label LNOE, all international names now. Sousk who also runs a really cool underground label Wolf Trap, Operator, Junior Gee, Jonathan Gurd, Big Bud, Shadow Child. The list is very long and all local lads that have been into
the underground dance music scene from many years ago. We were always out every weekend at the only club in Southampton called the Rhino Club playing uplifting underground dance music. I was djing there every weekend alongside Dan Reid and Gary Bennetton AKA (Collective States). All the time I was still working on tracks and building a stock pile hoping at some point a record label might notice me yet I was useless at sending out material (nothing has changed there).
" The turning point was Sasha playing “U Get so Give” on one of his Radio 1 essential mix at the time that’s now seen as a classic Essential Mix. Lee Burridge was playing some of my tracks on dub plates and Sasha heard “U Get So Give” and started to play my tracks from there on. "
Then Danny Howells, then Digweed. Then most of the international djs at the time including Danny Tenaglia, Deep Dish even Boy George to Brandon Block were all Moonface fans back then. Getting my first tracks signed to Bedrock was the real beginning to the global audience. I had been working in the studio solidly on my ambitions to be full time dj / producer for at least 8 years before it all kicked off doing my homework, all before the days of the internet.
Have there been moments when you just felt like giving up?
Yes, many, many times nearly selling all my studio gear at one point being so disheartened with the music industry and how artists are disrespected these days in general even if your massive. It’s near on impossible to live off your music these days. Having to be a social media guru and constantly plug something on Facebook or you get a message telling you people have not herd from you in the last 5 minutes so you should post something. Once upon a time if you were a musician or an artist, you were seen as a highly talented human being, a star amongst the people with unique skills. Now days we are not taken seriously at all, nearly everyone is a dj or a producer with technology making it so easy to make some noise good or bad. After a while you become numb to it and try not to take it all too seriously you cant stay in a negative place with the music industry it will just destroy you if you let it. If you love something and have a passion for it, the money side of things is just a bonus if you receive any at all. I’ve never really given up over the years, just had times where I have not been motivated to lock myself in the studio for hours at a time and loved getting out on my mountain bike into the woods escaping the madness of our current world we live in. Followed by times that you really get excited again and start making music with a fresh new look on things after a nice break from the relentless studio routines. Kick Drum, Hi-hat, Loops, Baseline, Melody, Arrangement...... Zzzzzz. Even if one person leaves a message for you somewhere about your music it really helps to keep you going. Even more so when working with newer smaller motivated, hungry independent labels that support you and respect your skills, give you freedom to be creative and include you in communications and creations that benefit all who are working together as a team.
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