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10 questions with Saeed Younan
One of the leading lights of the US tribal scene, Saeed Younan's tracks have figured in many a box for the last decade. We send our intrepid eye to DC to hunt the main man down.
With releases on the likes of Toolroom, Subliminal and Juicy Music, DC native and globetrotting DJ ubergod Saeed Younan was recently voted no.13 in DJ Time's influential America's Top DJs poll. His remix of Danny Tenaglia's seminal 'Music Is The Answer' propelled him firmly into the limelight and has seen him ply his craft in shores as far afield as Tokyo, Athens and Los Angeles. We tracked him down to his ultra-modern production suite to grill him with our burning issues.
How important do you think it is to have your music mastered commercially? Can you do it yourself as effectively and what tools would you recommend?
If you have the knowledge and skills to master your own music, I say go for it. But if you're just starting out making tracks using basic sequencing software, I would say it's best to leave mastering in the hands of professionals. Mastering is an important part of the final process. If it's not done correctly it could cost you 100s or even 1000s of unit sales. Just think, most people listen to music online before making a purchase, if your track isn't sounding great on someone's headphones while they are at work, chances are they're not gonna buy your stuff.
Who's currently rocking your world as a producer and why?
I'm really feeling the stuff that's coming out of Spain at the moment. There are lots of talented DJs and producers in places like Barcelona and Madrid (check out Wally Lopez - ed) pushing the envelope and bringing the tribal sound back in a whole new form, which is what I'm all about. Most people are calling it Tech-House these days, but it's really just Tribal-House taking on a new form and evolving.
Do you use mainly analogue or digital soft synth sources? Do you think analogue still really makes a difference?
I'm all in the box now. Nice, compacted, and clean. With the way soft synths are being programmed these days, you can't really tell the difference between analogue and digital. I've been a producer since the early 90s. I was all MIDI back then, and now all digital. To me, most high-end soft synth sounds just as good as analogue synths.
What's your opinion on processing the mix buss? leave it clean or drive it to the extreme?
try to leave the mix buss clean, now and then I add a compressor, but normally I don't touch it till I'm ready to master the project. It just works better this way.
For you, what is the key ingredient for a track? breakdown? style of production? bassline? and why?
I'm all about a solid groove, the track has to lock you in and not let go. Second to that has to be the bassline, after all, what's a groove without bass?
How do you see the dance music industry developing over the next 2-3 years?
Sounds and genres are merging, thanks to technology and software. I don't think we'd be where we are today if it wasn't for new DJ technologies and plugins. Time will tell where we'll be heading next, but I'm definitely excited about the future of electronic music. We can't know for sure where it's going - but it's going to an exciting place for sure!
Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? loud? do you prefer flat and boring speakers or headphones or big phat and chunky monitors?
Never work on a full mix using just headphones. You will damage your hearing in no time at all. It's best to start of with some decent flat monitors while you're working on tracking/writing and use the headphones when you're ready to adjust levels and do minor effects/compression before bouncing the track.
What do you believe is the secret to your success as a producer?
Staying true to myself and the sound that I like, not trying to get sucked in to what's hot today and gone tomorrow. Chasing the flavour of the month is not what I'm about and I think that's what true success is all about.
Which sounds do you find are the hardest to create from scratch?
Sounds for breakdowns to build on. I sometimes find it hard to get just the right elements to create a breakdown or build up that can stand out from others. I normally spend the most time constructing breakdowns and buildups on any given project. For many that can be the deciding factor in what makes a track special.
Describe your typical workflow on a track..
I normally start by playing around with loops and sounds to get a groove going, then I start constructing the bassline and build percussion using samples. Unlike most producers these days, I don't use templates when I sequence a new project. I start from scratch down to the numbers of tracks and Audio/Inst channels. You can hear that in my production because every track sounds totally different in the way it's constructed.
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More from Saeed Younan: myspace.com/saeedyounan
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