I love loops. There is something magical about them. But I prefer to put them in Ableton live, chop them in pieces and make new grooves out of them. Unless the loop is super hot I rather don’t use it in it’s original form.

What is the key ingredient in a track? Breakdown? Style of production? Bassline?

I am a bass type of guy. The first instrument I bought was an old wine red bass with black strings. With a bone shaking bass line on your side you gonna conquer any dance floor in the world!

Do you mainly use analogue or digital soft synth sources? Do you think analogue makes a difference?

The work flow that I have developed throughout the years is all around Ableton Live. Most people don’t take their time to find out about the mad digital
possibilities this program offers. But I use analogue devices to add the special touch to my productions. Analogue machines have definitely a third dimension to them.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors?

I am one of those guys in the studio that need to feel the club vibe during the production. But right before the final bounce of the track I reduce the volume so I can barely hear the signal. When I still can hear all the details then I am kind of happy. But I also have the privilege to be able to play out new tunes on big sound systems in great clubs and then fine tune the track later in the studio.

What are the biggest barriers that new producers face?

I guess the biggest problem is to get your stuff to the right label. There are so many people out there making “beats” and most of them are copying others. So if you want to get attention make sure your production sticks out of the mass out there. There are plenty of great producers in the recent years that made it to the top by following their own path and giving their best. A good example is Amirali. Unfortunately lots of newcomers today just wanna get up there as fast as possible. I think the great part of being an artist is enjoying the journey rather than being impatient about the arrival.

Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?

I think the crew around Claude Von Stroke is totally amazing: Each one of the artists have their own sound but still fit into the sound of Dirtybird. Justin Martin, Eats Everything, Worthy, Cats ‘n Dogs, Ardalan… I just can’t wait for their next tracks to be released! Top job!

As an international touring artist who can regularly find themselves on different continents in the same week, how do you strike a balance between your touring schedule and time in the studio?

I must admit that I kind of produce every day. Even if it is for half an hour, before sleeping or during the flight: I love to experiment with sounds. Therefore I hardly know any difference between tour and studio time. In February I was in Brazil where I met Fabricio Peçanha and we just sat down and made a track that now is featured on his forth coming album on Mood Music. Back home I just needed to run it through my studio and send the well mixed premaster for mastering!

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While some of my other packs are available on the site, this was my first exclusive title for Sounds To Sample. I knew I wanted to include a little bit of everything, loops, one-shots, synth presets, etc, so I tried to focus on providing a balance of styles & content while maintaining flexibility between the parts. There’s a lot of interplay between complimentary tempos (70/140, 85/170) which allows for some interesting cross-pollination of styles/genres.

Beyond that, my only major guideline was to offer comparable amounts of clean vs. effected material. I love a sliced/distorted/mangled sample just as much as (probably more than) the next guy, but a lot of those types of decisions I find to be key parts of the creative process and best left to the end user.

With any luck I struck a nice balance between pristine & filthy.

How did you approach the creative process of this pack?

I wanted to experiment with combinations of hardware/software that were new to me or techniques that I hadn’t used in a previous EVAC library. To get some fresh options, I traded gear with close friends (Bent Kawai K4r, Nord Lead 2x, weird outboard fx), incorporated some new software into my process & spent a couple months creating source material. I spent a lot of time processing hardware sources through software & vice versa. From there I grabbed the best one-shots, loops, & patches & did a final pass of editing, clean-up, & finalization.

Toward the end of the process, I decided to create a small collection of composite fx using Twisted Tools S-layer. I had recently developed audio content for the S-layer ensemble & loved how easy it became to mangle groups of samples into complex layered one-shots. I did a few small sessions layering, effecting, & merging a variety of one-shots together, choosing my favorite composite-fx for inclusion in the pack.

When ‘writers block’ sets in, what do you do to get inspired again and flowing back through the production process?

My go-to response is to try a new instrument/approach. It’s definitely easy to fall into a routine with production techniques/process or to simply be overwhelmed with the option anxiety of it alI. For me, it helps to shake things up & get outside of my everyday workflow.

Sometimes I find that it helps to put limitations on sessions in the early stages to help keep the ball rolling. By limiting things that complicate my process (obscene track counts, heavy automation, micro-edits, etc), I’m able to stay focused on the bigger picture until things are more established musically.

On a good day, it’s as simple as taking a short break & coming back to it with fresh ears. That said, I’m not always so lucky.

Do you prefer working with software, hardware or both?

I still use both, though I’ve been a bit heavier on the software side the past few years. But each has it’s benefits for me. I love software & the infinite control/flexibility of it all, but double-clicking dots & lines on a grid all day can be a bit much sometimes.

Hardware can be really inspiring simply as a result of the interface, tangibility, & physical interaction between the player/instrument. Not to mention it’s still a blast to tweak cutoff knobs & make ugly faces in response to the sonics.

What is your preferred synthesizer of choice?

In the hardware realm, I’ve always been a pretty dedicated Access Virus enthusiast. I’ve owned/used a ton of different kit over the years & there’s still just something about the Access sound that I’ve always been drawn to. It sits naturally in the mix for most music I write & the synthesis engine is a beast. The layout/interface also makes it very accessible for dialing in sounds or tweaking parts on the fly.

In terms of soft-synths, Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere is definitely one of the finer instruments I’ve had a chance to check out in the last couple years. It sounds incredible ‘as is’ & the level of sonic flexibility is pretty tough to beat. Tesla Coils & Burning Pianos? . . .Yes Please.

When I started making music, I was mainly using loops. Nowadays I do this less and less; most of the time I just cut a particular sound.

What is the key ingredient in a track: Breakdown? Style of production? Bassline?

The story you want to tell.

When building a track, how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

Usually I start with a kick drum, write a bass around it, and then a synth. Once I am happy with the melodic part, I build the rhythm and then work on the flow.

Do you mainly use analog or digital soft-synth sources? Do you think analog makes a difference?

I don’t have any hardware toys, but judging by the impressions I’ve gotten from people [who use analog gear], it does make a difference.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones, or big, phat, and chunky monitors?

I always try to keep my monitors at a reasonable level, but in the end I find myself turning them up! I definitely don’t like flat speakers! I have a pair of Alesis M1 Active MKIIs, which are far from the best monitors on the market, but I totally love the warm sound that comes out of them!

What are the biggest barriers that new producers face?

Getting your name out there. Thousands of records are being released each week and it’s very hard to stand out, especially if you are too focused on writing the chart-topper rather than concentrating on developing your own sound.

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?

It’s essential. Unfortunately that’s not one of my strong qualities, but I like Waves plugins.

What’s your opinion on processing the mix bus? Leave it clean or drive it to the extreme?

Definitely leaving the bus a bit clean—let your music breathe.

What do you believe is the secret to your success as a producer?

I cannot really say I’ve had spectacular success as a producer so far, but I am not afraid to create whatever I like without caring if it’s trendy! I just have fun and try to think out of the box.

Any advice for aspiring producers out there?

Don’t be afraid to sound different!

A bit of both…I usually start out programming everything, then if i’m not happy i like to go through loops and get some sonic and groove inspiration, then i can go back to programming based on that, or even take the loops and tweak them to adapt to whatever it is I’m doing.

What is the key ingredient in a track? Breakdown? Style of production? Bassline?

Feeling. Some tracks barely need a breakdown, same goes for the bassline, the track must be a translation of your feeling while making it, and if that will work on the dancefloor, or on sales, it’s a whole other story. i think if you follow your own developed feeling for production, the style comes naturally, and eventually that can make you and your work stand out

When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

Sometimes, yes, but usually that’s harder for me. I like to play around with my synths and vsts, most of the time I get inspiration to build a track from that, sometimes even the silliest effect session could inspire a whole track. Using the Maschine to program my beats made my production workflow much faster though.
 
Do you mainly use analogue or digital soft synth sources? Do you think analogue makes a difference?

I like to use both. It does make a difference, a big one…but you have to pick right. Some analogue gear have a very distinct and special sound, which most soft synths don’t. I like to use the vst version of some of the classics, I can get pretty close to their sound without having to invest my whole income on those.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors?

It all depends on your studio. If it’s a home studio, I’d go for a small, faithful system, that’s what I have at home, and that’s where most of my music has been coming from in 2012, and I’m very happy with my sound this year. I like to work with near field monitors for the most part, but when it comes to post-production in a proper studio, i believe mid-range is a no brainer. I also don’t really agree with a fixed level for working, I like to switch between quiet and loud, and work most of the time on an average level…it’s good to check for balance on various levels to make sure you got it right.

What are the biggest barriers that new producers face?

I believe the pressure of “making it”, and “chart topping” nowadays has put originality on the side for most new producers. There are still plenty of cool stuff coming around, but the excess of access to labels, artists and information in general makes me feel like people is getting dumber and more accommodated.

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?

I think it’s of the highest importance, as long as the mastering company or person in charge is commercially ready. I used to work with mastering for electronic music myself, but have been off the game for about 2  years now, and most of my stuff has been mastered by someone else. I like to have control over my mixdowns, but when it comes to mastering, it’s cool having a second pair of ears to take care of stuff I might have “overlooked” or haven’t thought of.

What’s your opinion on processing the mix bus? Leave it clean or drive it to the extreme?

It depends on how you want your sound. Most mastering engineers ask for an uncompressed mix, so they can work their magic. There is such a thing though as artistic compression, which is art of the production process, and usually that goes for the mixbus (or sub-mix busses). I compress a lot my sub mix busses, and use a light compression on the mixbus to make it sound like, well, me.

What do you believe is the secret to your success as a producer?

Hard work, manageable ego, open mind, versatile skills.

Any advice for aspiring producers out there?

Find your style and stick to it. It doesn’t mean you have to stick to any specific music style, just your own, within whatever it is you are doing. Do it hard and do it for the love, the money might come slower, and might not come at all, you can always get a second job to support your love, ain’t that what we all do one way or another?

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Vission didn’t leave the clubs behind: he continues to DJ more than 80 shows every year. New Year’s Eve 2001 he played at the L.A. Coliseum for more than 35,000 screaming fans – and the polar opposite of the party spectrum, at Madonna’s private birthday party at her house for 60 people. That comes close to performing with her at the Grammy’s, the same year he received his Grammy Remixer of The Year nomination in 2000.

That Grammy nod kicked his remixing into high-profile gear, with everyone wanting a little Richard Vission twist: recently The Killers, The Bravery, Usher, Sting and Felix da Housecat. Already under his belt are over twenty #1 hits on Billboard’s Dance Music Chart. His DJ mix compilations have made him one of the best selling American DJs, with SoundScans exceeding 700,000 units, numbers usually unheard of in electronic music, much less DJ mix compilations.

Please tell us about your most recent projects

I’ve recently remixed Will.i.am, Madonna, Cheryl Cole and I have a new single with Luciana called When It Feels This Good that just entered the Billboard Dance Chart.

What do you like best from the production you did?

What I’ve been concentrating on as of late – is the over all mix. I’ve been kind of obsessed by it!

Can you briefly tell us about your workflow and how you achieve the end result of your mixes?

The way I’m getting my results is by programing in Logic first and doing a rough mix. After the rough mix I then bounce out 12 stems to do a final mix in Ableton Live. Within Ableton Live I bounce out the final mix from the 12 Logic stems. We then take the final mix and create another Ableton session just for mastering. We’ve been using Izotope’s Ozone to master final mixes.

What is your preferred DAW of choice and go-to instruments / plug-ins for creating music in the studio ?

Logic 9 and Ableton Live are my preferred platforms for writing and mixing. I use Nexus, Massive, and Sylenth for most of my synth sounds and I create my own drum libraries from sampling. I’ve been using the Waves SSL channel strip a lot as of late for dynamics and EQ on individual tracks or busses.

Any tips or advice for DJ’s moving into music production?

Tips for DJ’s…Test your production in your sets before sending out to people.

What was your most recent project?

Coldplay “Charlie Brown” (Dave Audé Remix)

If the project is an original music production and or remix, what do you like best from the production you did?

I like the fact that I kept the integrity of the artist in tact. I didn’t blow the song to pieces, I just helped it translate to the dance floor.

Can you tell us how you got that end result?

I started with a giant kick drum, added some claps and a little orchestral percussion to make it sound big. Then I laid out the arrangement and gave the original guitar line some support with some synths. I added some strings to make the mix big because it’s a big fucking song isnt it? It’s Mother Fuckin Coldplay. My job is a lot easier when the song is as good as this one!

How do you normally start an original production or remix and which DAW is your preferred platform? Do you have a favorite synthesizer both Hardware and software?

Pro Tools is my DAW, just because I’m fast on it and know how to get around the MIDI flaws. It’s a truly amazing editor compared to other DAWS. I have a bunch of synths I love, but this week Im loving the U He “Diva’ synth!

Do you have any favorite patch preset libraries?

It seems everyone is over-using the Vengeance library, so I’ve recently downloaded it to see what the fuss is about.

Have you ever used sample packs from Beatport Sounds / Sounds To Sample?

Sounds To Sample is definitely an up and coming monster and I’m very intrigued by what they have going on. I don’t use software samplers too much but I’m leaning more and more in that direction. What I’ve heard from STS has been pretty cool.

Any tips or advice for DJ’s moving into music production?

Any tips? Well, its pretty simple. I love what I do. Truly and whole heartedly. Thousands of hours later, here I am still spending most of my time in the studio (when I’m not DJing) and I still love the technology and I love the challenge and not knowing whats coming next. Listen to as much music as you can from as many genres of music as you can. Vinyl, CDs, digital, whatever. Get that music knowledge, background and have that in your head when you sit down to make music, no matter what genre you choose. Dance music is only one small part of the big picture, and it’s exploding at the moment, and we are all lucky to be part of it!

What is the prognosis for the music industry: terminal decline or steady recovery?

I strongly believe that recovery is the only way to go and sooner or later the music industry, and especially the dance music scene, will bounce back more than people seem to think. I look at developments in some areas, such as the proliferation of new music making and DJing gear, and that makes me think things are going to take off again very soon.

Does the industry these days dictate that artists need to be both creative artists and businessmen in equal measure?

It’s a path that you have to walk I think. Being both an artist as well as a label owner, for example, creates a more prolific image and helps spread your sounds and productions further. 99% of all key players have their own label. So in a way yes, it’s as if the music industry dictates artists should be djs/label owners/producers and so on all at once. It just hope that soon it won’t mean that producers must be club owners as well [laughs].

Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?

In a world of 7 Billion people you can imagine that there are a lot of great newcomers who I love, but if we are talking about already established names then I would say that Maceo Plex / Maetrik is a top gun. He can produce whatever he likes from Techno to House with such an easiness that gets every track into charts. There’s also that the legend called Mark Broom is a producer that’s like a fine wine.

What one piece of kit or plug-in can you not live without?

I cant live without my latest purchase: Dave Smith eVolver! PHAT!

When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

I have a specific way to work. This starts by listening to samples every single day. This can be drums, synths, riffs, vox, anything. I put vinyls on and search for loops that I might be interested in, DJ Shadow style. When something catches my ear I immediately open Ableton Live and fire up the MPC. Then hopefully the magic happens and everything seems to come together.

Do you prefer to use loops or one-shots? Do you use samples or sound design from scratch, or a mix of both? Do you like to record your own sounds?

For me there are no rules. Sometimes I can find single shot samples and work them into my own loop, other times it can be that I use a loop directly from a vinyl and work with that or other times it’ll be a loop from a sample pack – that is why I love Sounds To Sample.

In my studio I have a Shure x300 Mic where I record my own vocals which I then heavily process with effects.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors? Do you reference on multiple systems?

I always remember Carl Craig’s reply on the same question. It doesn’t matter which monitors you might use. It doesn’t matter how you use them or if they are passive or whatever. All that matters to me is that you are familiar with the sound coming out of your speakers. For the record, I produce with Genelecs but sometimes I can even produce on my HiFi speakers.

What are the biggest barriers new producers face?

The biggest barriers for new producers today are to do with the development of the technology. Technology now means that most of people can have the tools to produce music. That means massively increased competition. My own label Material receives more that 15 demos every single day. Standing out from the competition is tougher than ever.

What three pieces of kit / software could you not mix without?

Mainly I use Ableton Live. I think I’m like a bird with one wing if you remove my Live 8 and my VST bank! I love the Rocket VST, it’s getting a lot of use lately.

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you started out in music, what would it be?

If we are talking in general and not only production-wise then I think that I would suggest that to build a hardworking team you can trust around you. Behind artists there is a lot of work that is being done by the agents and managers.

Talk us through your studio set-up…

It has been documented in the past that we have a relatively sparse studio set-up. While that was the case, we’ve since upgraded somewhat as we’ve learnt that investing in better gear gives you more options.

We’re still on PC and use FlStudio10 as our main DAW (much to many peoples disbelief) but we also have Ableton Live 8 as a secondary DAW. We’ve got an Emu X-board 25 midi keyboard for punching out hooks and riffs and a Korg Triton Le which, although is a complete music workstation in its own right, we use for its synth sounds.

All this is pumped out through the same modest amp and speakers we’ve used from day one – the Kam Sound Pack 2. This was only £100, which is so cheap compared to the much more expensive active monitors most people use but not only are our ears used to the sound now but it also produces a modest sound so when we play the tracks on a good system they sounds even better. We’ve found that the biggest problems in our music is when we’ve moved studios and the sound of the room is different and it can take months for your ears to readjust and start creating music you’re happy with again.

Is there a piece of kit you feel has had a significant impact on the Audiojack sound? A kind of studio secret weapon?

In the past there was no certain piece of kit that really helped define our sound; it was more the way we worked. Up until making our first album we spent ages trawling through sample CDs and isolating single shot sounds we liked such as a bass note or a snare drum and building sound banks that way. We’d then pick sounds we wanted and arrange them into beats, bass lines, riffs and melodies. Once we started making our first album we began using some of the synths built into Fl Studio (v5 at the time). This is really reflected in the techno tracks on the album where synth lines are twisted and manipulated over time.

Over the years people have asked us “what plug-in did you use to get that bass line?” and such things and we always said that we never used plug-ins because we didn’t think FL Studio worked with them. While doing a new EP for 2020 Vision recently Ralph suggested that our basslines had maybe fallen behind the quality of the new wave of music out there and we needed to step it up a gear. Thinking that we needed a more powerful synth to get better sounds we thought we’d have to move to Mac and Logic which was a little daunting because of the time and money it would take to get up to speed.

Just by chance we stumbled upon something on the internet about using 3rd party VST plug-ins in FL Studio and on researching further we found you could do it all along! After doing lots of comparisons we decided on Rob Papen’s Albino 3 and then a couple of months later Subboombass and we can honestly say it’s been the most important investments of our musical career. Having these new tools at our disposal has opened up so many doors and given our sound a real refinement. We’re very excited about the music that we’re making as a result.

Does the dance music industry these days dictate that artists need to be both creative artists and businessmen in equal measure?

In short, and by and large, yes. In years gone by there was a tiny fraction of the producers, DJs, live acts and labels there are nowadays. However there weren’t necessarily less music buyers, in fact when digital thievery is accounted for there was definitely more.

This meant there was nowhere near as much choice for those music buyers, making it much easier for tracks to stand out. We remember record shopping in the 90s and having a stack of maybe 40 vinyl to go through each week, compared with thousands of digital files each week these days. This also meant there were more gigs to go around. Some DJs would handpick a gig from 20 or more offers for every weekend night of the year. Some of these guys didn’t even make music – imagine that!

So these lucky few could afford to have a manager, a PR company, several agents, someone to manage and run their record label, someone for publishing, someone to carry their record bag, a lifestyle guru and whatever else they could dream up.

Try doing that these days and even if you’re successful musically there won’t be anything left for you, so artists have to quickly learn how to do a lot of these jobs for themselves. We think this is why a lot of the superstar DJs of the 90s sunk into obscurity when the industry changed. Whereas others, the likes of Steve Lawler, Dubfire or Richie Hawtin emphatically swam: through the combination of their creative prowess and business minds.

As a touring artist who can regularly find themselves on different continents in the same week, how do you strike a balance between your touring schedule and time in the studio?

Touring is bread and butter; there isn’t much money in selling music anymore because even if you make a hit, the rate of steals to sales is overwhelmingly massive. There’s little doubt that producing music makes you a more interesting prospect for promoters so striking a balance is essential. It’s as simple as when we’re not on the road, we make music. We sometimes take laptops and make stuff on the road but you really don’t have enough time to get into it and without your studio gear it’s difficult.

Our typical week, Monday to Wednesday 7am – 6pm doing emails, running our label, admin stuff (like this interview, although a new track is on repeat and being tweaked as we type) and in the studio. Thursday we get down in the basement with the DJ set up and mix together, planning music that works together and sharing (not file sharing!) new tracks we’ve picked up during the week. Friday we’ll have a bit of time in the morning to tie up loose ends and then go to an airport somewhere to go on gigs and return Sunday night.

Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?

Maceo Plex has a really nice sound at the moment blending the funky disco vibes with raw techno sounds which keeps both girls and boys interested on the dance floor.

Huxley is really the king of jacking deep house for us at the moment, there’s rarely a set we play without one of his tracks in it.

Eats Everything / Coat of Arms has really brought a great new sound to the table fusing the lush warmth of deep house with the raw bass energy of dubstep and D& B as only a Bristol lad could. And let’s not forget another Bristolian, Julio Bashmore.

Waifs & Strays and FCL both hold a lot of respect from us and have remixed our next single on our own imprint Gruuv.

What one piece of kit or plug-in can you not live without?

At the moment the two aforementioned synths by Rob Papen, they’ve both been game changers for us!

When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

It’s one of two ways, we’ll either have a sound / sample / vocal that we want to build the track around, something that we’ve either stumbled across that’s inspired us or perhaps a vocal from a recent session we’ve recorded.

If we’re starting from a totally blank canvas we’ll usually trawl through some patches on a synth until we find a nice sound and try and make a bassline to build a beat around.

Do you prefer to use loops or one-shots? Do you use samples or sound design from scratch, or a mix of both? Do you like to record your own sounds?

We’ve done all of the above, mainly sound design from scratch these days with a few one shot samples and the very occasional loop which has been deconstructed and rearranged.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors? Do you reference on multiple systems?

We don’t have our studio monitors stupidly loud. It’s always important to listen to the mix in headphones too so you can get a better feel for how the sound is spaced and if everything has enough room to breathe for maximum clarity and punch. We then test our tracks against other tracks during our DJ sessions in the basement. If they pass that test then we take them to the most important stage of all – the club.

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you started out in music, what would it be?

Don’t snap up every remix that comes along; think carefully whether it’s right for you musically.

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More from Audiojack on their Facebook page

What is the prognosis for the music industry: terminal decline or steady recovery?

The Music industry will never stop. The majors maybe, but I think there will always be a few freaks like me buying music on a nice piece of plastic.

I still sell physical records and I have to say the climate isn’t too bad lately. That said, it’s still difficult for me to accept that I can find my music available for free on the day of release on via Google, YouTube, Twitter or Facebook. Uploading pirate links is disrespectful to the artists, labels and designers who have all worked so hard to produce great releases.

Maybe the people who steel the music don’t understand that we have to pay our bills and survive on the money made from that music. I’m not talking about teenagers that have 20 euros to live on each week but rather the 30 year-old DJs that steal the music and play it during their gigs at the weekend. To me that really stinks.

At the same time, I’d really like to say thanks to the people who do support us.

Does the industry these days dictate that artists need to be both creative artists and businessmen in equal measure?

Yes, I believe that’s true. It’s a fully defined part of the job now. At the same time, it’s important that artists don’t get their priorities wrong. For instance, it’s not necessary to have a website, an agent, press pictures and a whole business plan before you have the music.

There are still plenty of people in this business that are just here to make money, rather than being in it for the pleasure of music – that’s a fact. Personally that doesn’t bother me as I only work with the people I like and respect, and I try to help talented producers who send me good music.

As an international touring artist who can regularly find themselves on different continents in the same week, how do you strike a balance between your touring schedule and time in the studio?

I don’t play too that often anymore, that’s really important to me. The days of playing three gigs a week are behind me now that I’m a little older and have kids.

Playing once a week and having three days at the studio is my perfect balance.
It means I’m not too tired to find musical inspiration in the studio and also fresh enough to be motivated to go out and play gigs.

Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?

I’m a big fan of Dan Snaith’s Caribou/Daphni. I think he’s the house maker 2.0 – I love the way he builds his beats with such a nice shuffle but the melodies are always the most important thing on his tracks and this is what I like the most. I saw him live at Pully last year and it was great, I was so impressed, in French we call those people “Les Hommes orchestres”.

What one piece of kit or plug-in can you not live without?

My Moog Voyager and my Roland SH101. With those synthesisers I can make everything I could ever need/want/imagine. The interface and the touch of real buttons makes them a pleasure to use. It’s like DJing with vinyl – nothing can compare.

When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

Not really, a track can also begin from a melody. Sometimes I just put myself in front of the piano and start from scratch. I don’t have any rules when it comes to making music.

Sometimes I spend 8 hours in front of the computer and then in the last 20 minutes before I leave I’ll come up with something strong.

Spending time in the studio is really important even if you aren’t making or finishing tracks. You can make some presets on your hardware, search for or record sounds from old vinyls, design some FX on your plugins and so on. Time in the studio is never wasted, even though sometimes it can feel that way.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors? Do you reference on multiple systems?

I just changed my monitors from Genelecs to Focals (Solo 6) and they’re amazing. I started making beats on hi-fi speakers, then I bought some Tannoys, followed by the Genelecs and now the Focals – it’s been a nice evolution.

The quality of the soundcard is also important. I would say good monitoring is impossible without a good soundcard.

When you’ve chosen your soundcard and monitors my advice is to listen to all your favourite CDs and vinyl on them, then your ears will understand the set up which makes it easier to understand what is happening in the music you are making.

I also use a pair of Sony mdr7506 as a reference, they’re not so expensive and sound really good for the price.

What are the biggest barriers new producers face?

I can imagine it’s difficult to find the right label, to make money and to build a sufficient profile in order to start touring.

In terms of the music, I’d say it’s a bad idea to soley make a track using loops and presets. Starting from scratch, building beats hit by hit and creating your own melodies gives you the freedom to develop your own unique sound.

I would say that starting your own label initially is a bad idea. If nobody wants your music you should consider doing something else or working harder. Launching a digital label is so easy today but to develop something good, you’ll need help from other producers and a strong long-term vision for the label, which is extremely difficult to do when you’re just starting out. In the early days I think it’s best to solely focus on making music.

What three pieces of kit / software could you not mix without?

I usually do the mixdown in Protools or Logic 9 and I always use the Massenburg EQ. My soundcard (Apogee Ensemble) is a really important tool because everything is passing through it and I’m recording the final master through it too.

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you started out in music, what would it be?

Be yourself and don’t be afraid to sound different. You’ll be rejected many times before it will work, that’s just the way this business is.

What do you find hardest to get right when making a track?

The hardest thing is to constantly try and keep things fresh, finding new ways of working, new sounds and new architecture. It’s all too easy for to stay working a formulaic way. Research, collaborations and discovering new ways of mixing are all good ways to try and stay on top of your game.

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What is the prognosis for the music industry: terminal decline or steady recovery?

It all depends where you are positioned I suppose. The global recession appears to be hitting some countries harder than others, which of course affects numbers in clubs and at festivals and even people’s spending power when it comes to buying music.

On the flipside, tough times can inspire people to do extraordinary things and I think that’s reflected in the quality of some of the music that’s around today.

The music industry has a whole is still trying to find the right model that’s going to carry it forward, but the simple fact is there are more people making music than ever before, so all things considered it’s in a reasonably healthy state.

Does the industry these days dictate that artists need to be both creative artists and businessmen in equal measure?

The majority of creative artists are self-employed so that in itself dictates the need for some sense of business awareness. Being self-employed is all about having as many income streams as possible and on the journey to reaching any degree of success, artists will pay their bills by doing whatever they have to do, whether that’s working in a supermarket to pay for your hardware or whatever it is. Making a living solely out of music is a challenge so it’s crucial that artists know how to do this, or at least have someone around them who can guide them in the right direction. This is especially true where dance music is concerned where the vast majority of artists work with independent labels.

As an international touring artist who can regularly find themselves on different continents in the same week, how do you strike a balance between your touring schedule and time in the studio?

It is difficult because we generally work together two or three days a week. If we’ve been away on tour from Friday until Monday it can often rule out a day or two at the start of the week and sometimes it’s hard to get inspired when you’ve had a long weekend. We’re actually taking a month or two off from any major touring before the end of the year to help us focus on our debut album which we want to have ready early 2012. We’ve had our busiest ever year this year so it’s time to put some of the inspiration we’ve picked up over the last 12 months into something that reflects where we’re currently at musically.

Who’s currently rocking your world as a producer and why?

The new Martyn album is probably one of the best albums we’ve heard all year. We’re also really excited to hear that Dave Clarke is back in the studio after a break of a few years,. He’s someone that hasn’t lost his touch for producing peak-time techno that sounds like nothing else out there. He’s also just remixed our upcoming collaboration with Detroit Grand Pubahs. Also worth mentioning is our mate from Dublin called Matador whose career is about to move to the next level over the next 12 months – and deservedly so.

What one piece of kit or plug-in can you not live without?

We’ve mainly been doing live shows this year and Ableton is at the heart of it all. We’re still using Live 7. We upgraded to Live 8 last year and suffered our first hard crash ever while performing live so we went straight back to Live 7. When playing live it’s so important that when you get your system running right you don’t mess with it. Only update it when you have the time to test everything thoroughly. Stability is key.

In the studio, we’ve been using Uhbik Runciter filter on a lot of our stuff. It kind of sounds like an outboard Sherman filter bank – the quality of which we haven’t heard of in a plug-in bank before.

When building a track how do you normally work? Do you start with the drums and build from that?

We try to start from a different point every time we start a track. Dave normally likes to mainly start on the drums, whereas I always start by playing some keys and messing round with chords and melodies. I think starting at the same place every time is a trap a lot of producers fall into and they end up with all their tracks sounding very similar, which is something I don’t think we could be accused of.

Do you prefer to use loops or one-shots? Do you use samples or sound design from scratch, or a mix of both? Do you like to record your own sounds?

We use quite a bit of outboard gear which is great because when you’re working as part of a team if one person is doing all the programming what does the other do? We end up recording loads of synths then re-sampling them. It’s a nice way to work as we’re both always busy. Dave will be programming and I’ll be working away on the synths until we find something we like.

We tend to use one-shots more than loops, although we might chop up a loop to grab the a particular part we like. We only tend to us samples if we hear something very specific that we want to try out in a “eureka” moment.

Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors? Do you reference on multiple systems?

A bit of both really. We use headphones, our Mackie HR824s, car stereos, home separates systems and a lot of club systems to check our stuff. We tend not to drive it too loud in the studio until we get to the mixdown stage, otherwise it’s like standing in a club for 8 hours and you end up totally drained.

What are the biggest barriers new producers face?

Making music that stands out from the crowd. So much music these days is derivative and the people you want to listen to your music at radio stations and labels have so little time to audition the stacks of demos they receive that if you don’t make the right impression by delivering something that catches their ear for a bit longer than everything else they’ve listened to that day then it’s going to be very difficult for you.

Who wants to hear another dark techno banger with a big rising synth breakdown or rinky-dink minimal toms? By all means draw inspiration from the music you love, but try and approach it in a way that hasn’t been done a million times before.

What three pieces of kit / software could you not mix without?

Mackie HR824 Monitors, we’ve used these for years, the Mackie D8B mixing console and the Waves mastering bundle.

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself when you started out in music, what would it be?

Just do it. It you have the passion, commitment and are in any way talented then stick with it and it will eventually fall into place. For the vast majority of acts, the notion of writing one big hit and making it big is long gone, but many producers entering the market for the first time think this pathway still exists and quickly come crashing down to earth when their first release fades into the abyss – you need to be prepared for that. If you are in it for the right reasons, then eventually nobody will stand in your way.

What do you find hardest to get right when making a track?

Making sure the quality of the mixdown is where it needs to be and that levels and EQ are in the right place. We like to road-test on as many systems as possible before finalising the master. We always try and give our ears a rest and mixdown the day after a session too.

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