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DJ Alixir from HKClubbing.com Interviews Dave Angel...
First noticed and quickly signed for his classic bootleg remix of The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" that eventually became a legitimate release, Dave Angel has moved from strength to strength over the years with his unique Hard Tech Funk sound. He's played almost every country and club worldwide and had many successful releases to date as well as being regarded as one of the Godfathers of the UK techno scene. HKClubbing's DJ Alixir caught up with Dave just before the release of "DA03", the third instalment in the "Dave Angel" mix compilations.
Q: Hi Dave, what kind of feeling are you expecting to instill into the listener with "DA 03"?
A: I hope I instil a reflection of a full on club environment to the listener.
Q: There's a lot of international talent on the CD, which artists would you love to collaborate with or remix off of "DA 03"?
A: I would love to collaborate with Danilo Vigorito, and do a remix of Olav Basoski remix of Noel Nanton’s track, El Ray.
Q: On "the mix" side of things, what forms of technique do you use to smoothe transitions from track to track? EQ? Cutoff filters?
A: I use EQ and volume, I try not to use filters when recording a cd as not everybody may like the sound it is ok in clubs.
Q: Mixers, less onboard functions or more onboard functions? Do DJ's have enough toys to play with these days? How easy is it to go overboard with decks and effects in your opinion?
A: More on board functions, if you have the facility and are willing to experiment, yeah it is great. When a DJ is using these effects its almost like he is remixing on the spot. It is quite easy to go overboard.
Q: Have you ever felt that you've ever gone a bit overboard with any productions or live mixes?
A: I do not think I have gone overboard with any own my productions this is for other people to say.
Q: Can you think of a country, place or club that you have yet to play but want to?
A: I have never played in Egypt; I would love to play in a party in front of the pyramids.
Q: If you hadn't been noticed for your "nightmare mix" of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams", do you still think you'd still have aimed at getting into the music industry?
A: If I had not been noticed for my Sweet Dreams remix I would have kept on going I have been in this industry since 8 yrs old.
Q: What's been the main "high" of your career so far, and what has been your personal "low"?
A: The high point in my career to date is the Sweet Dreams remix and the low has been the last two years, I had a new computer that has given me nothing but trouble for the past 2 yrs but now it has gone a new one installed that works perfectly.
Q: Music career and family life, easy to juggle or a case of compromise sometimes?
A: With everything in life you need to compromise.
Q: Can you tell us about who has primarily influenced your approach towards the tracks you write? Do you have a structured approach towards starting a piece eg. bassline first etc.
A: I do not have an approach to the tracks I write I go into the studio with whatever vibe I have and it goes from there, I always start with the kick drum and the rest flows.
Q: Do you engineer your own tracks or leave it to another studio. If you do, what's your favourite tool for engineering be it software or hardware?
A: I do all my own engineering in my own studio my favourite thing is my Mackie mixer.
Q: What in your opinion is the ultimate synth of all time? Digital or analogue?
A: The ultimate synth is the Waldorf wavestation.
Q: I heard a rumour (i don't know how true this is!) that somebody stole all of you studio kit by floating it up a canal. If this rumour was true, how long did it take you to rebuild? Did you lose many tracks that were under progress?
A: Do not listen to rumours, this is all lies. Bit funny though.
Q: What are you going to concentrate on next? Are we to expect a studio album from yourself or a another mix album? Any remixes in the pipeline for other artists?
A: Next from me will hopefully be my third album and a mix compilation on my own Rotation Inprint. And many other projects that I am working on.
Q: Where can we catch you over the summer? Any plans on coming to Asia in the near future?
A: I will doing the normal DJ circuit over the summer you can get my dates on my web site, www.daveangel.com. I hope to be in Asia in September.
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