Today Decibel Festival announced it’s first wave of artists for 2013. In addition, the new site has been launched. This is a special time for Decibel, as it’s celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary. There have been so many memorable moments for all involved with the Festival, as well as countless inspiring performances from artists worldwide.
I want to quickly profile the names that really stood out to me…
There’s been a lot of activity on this blog in 2012. Not having a search bar on here, I feel that some interviews have been overlooked. I want to highlight 10 conversations I’ve had in 2012 that left a lasting impact. I also want to say how much I appreciate all of you that read and support Disco Droppings. WordPress sent me my annual statistics report for this blog, and in 2012, people from 135 countries came through; America being number one, followed by the UK and Canada. I haven’t traveled outside of America, besides Canada and Mexico. It’s inspiring and humbling that my features have reached people as far away as Mongolia, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Onward and upward..
10.Distal (Atlanta, Georgia) – We talked about his acceptance into RBMA 2013, his fantastic Boiler Room set, his label Embassy Recordings, along with books and films he’s been into recently.
9. Bosstone(Melbourne, Australia) – Started off this post with his epic tune “Lean”, off his Gun Club EP via Paradisiaca Recordings. Also profiled his remixes of Pryda’s “Miami To Atlanta” and Amerie’s “1 Thing”.
8. Alex Bau (Germany) – I was super hyped to talk with Alex, as he’s my favorite techno producer. We discuss his huge output of releases in 2012, where to go out in Germany, why he calls his remixes “Repaints” and what “The Holy Bassdrum” means to him.
7. Jonny Dub / Hoya:Hoya (Manchester, UK) – Jonny is a resident DJ and co-founder of Hoya:Hoya, one of the top club nights in the world, which has hosted Kode9, Actress and Hudson Mohawke to name a few. I loved his “Hoya:Hoya Podcast Mix #2”, and chat with him about the club night, who he’s inspired by and the dynamics between Illum Sphere (co-founder of Hoya) and himself.
6. Mosca (London, UK) – It was quite a challenge, coming up with questions for such a razor-sharp producer like Mosca. He gives advice to young producers like myself, and talks about his Eva Mendes EP for Hypercolour.
5. Slick Shoota (Oslo, Norway) – I had such a good time talking with Slick back in May. For the rest of the year I’ve watched his tunes be exposed to more and more people, through his touring schedule and support from high-profile artists. His tracks were featured on “Diplo and Friends” for BBC Radio 1 and Machinedrum has been regularly playing his remix of Bambounou’s “Alpha”. We talk about his “Percussion Skank” EP, his favorite juke phrases and his “Windbreaker” collaboration with Cedaa.
4. Ghostdad (Brooklyn, New York) – This dude put together some of the coolest visuals I’ve ever seen for Porter Robinson. When I traveled to Las Vegas back in June for EDC, my favorite set hands down came from Porter. At 19 years old, he played the main stage (which was the biggest stage in North America to date) on the third day. Ghostdad’s visuals for the show combined anime, video games, nature, space and mayan/egyptian imagery. He also accompanied Porter Robinson as a VJ on his Language Tour.
3. Lucid (Melbourne, Australia) – By far the most in-depth interview I’ve done so far. I got to know Lucid for weeks through AIM leading up to the interview. This is pretty close to his life story, documented on Disco Droppings. Everything from Tupac to N64 to his “cry/lovemaking” dream set is included here.
2. XI (Berlin, Germany) – This conversation flowed so easily. Christian is a very special man; he talks passionately about Actress, videogame soundtracks and what a game soundtracked by XI would look like.
1. Alana Watson of Nero (London, UK) – The beautiful and lovely Alana. I got her perspective as the vocalist for Nero. She talked with me about her headlining show in Seattle for Resolution 2012, Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 show and her favorite Nero track.
It was inspiring to go through Mosca’s catalog and just get enveloped by it. A search of his past interviews will show a focus on releases such as the Square One EP (Night Slugs), The Wavey EP(3024), and Tilt Shift (Fat City). In this interview, Mosca gives some sound advice for young producers, and chats about his new “Eva Mendes EP” set for release on Hypercolour this month.
DDHi there Mosca, thank you for stopping by Disco Droppings. What are you doing right now?
M I’m on my way to a rave in Edinburgh then off to Helsinki.
DDYou’ve created some astounding tunes, I won’t go back to these releases, but one thing I want to chat with you about is mindset and individuality. For all these young producers, who are genuinely interested in establishing themselves and contributing to the world of music, how would you challenge them? Many of the artists I’ve featured on Disco Droppings have incredible potential, and could learn from your perspective.
M I would say that the internet is a blessing and a curse. You know about the upsides, but it also means a trend is in one month and out the next, and it’s easy for people to send stuff they want you to hear, and write about the next big thing. It’s easy to get sucked into all that and I see people making identical music and playing identical sets. My advice would just be concentrate on music you love. So once you’ve read this blog, stop trawling blogs, stop facebooking, just immerse yourself in your own world of music. Put the time in.
DD In honor of this feature, i’ve included your “Sing” remix, “Nike (Club Edit)” and “Square One” in my upcoming 2 hour set on Cinco De Mayo. Many people in the audience may be hearing futuristic/unconventional club music for the first time. Do you remember playing specific shows where the crowd knew they were hearing something fresh and were ready for you to take them somewhere new?
M Generally the dances where the crowd doesn’t know the music are the dances that I clear floors at. It’s a slow process and maybe not as romantic as you’re making out!
DD I’m hyped on your forthcoming Eva Mendes EP for Hypercolour this month. Disco Droppings interviewed 214 aka J.Alvaraz, who has a forthcoming release on Hypercolour. Also, the Maya Jane Coles Essential mix from last year has been played sooooo many times in my car, I love sharing it with people. What do you find most inspiring about this label/group of artists?
M They know they don’t have to be Jamie Jones to get on in the house world.
DD Incredible that you worked with Robert Owens on “Accidentally”. This new Hypercolour release seems to cover the past, present and future of house seamlessly. Do you feel that?
M Robert Owens isn’t the past of house music. He’s as active now as he ever was, with DJing and performing as well as recording. I would say that yes, the EP is something along the lines of the present state of house music, but nothing more. There’ll be a lot more house from me, some deeper stuff, some techier stuff, as well as all the other genres I’m into.
DD Will there be a “Eva Mendes” EP launch party and tour on the way? Any plans to make it out to the west coast? Seattle would love to see you!
M I’m constantly playing shows so a tour is always happening, I’m always testing new Mosca material that people don’t know is me yet. But no plans for an Eva Mendes tour or anything stateside for now.
dd 