Things have happened really fast though – when I first wrote GTR – Mistral over a year ago, I didn’t ever realise what a big track it might turn out to be, and how many doors one big trance record could open for you.
So tell me the story behind Shrink-Nervous Breakdown-the very first tune you worked on. What made u pick that tune
It was always a massive favourite of mine, just a ridiculously silly, really memorable record. I’d been wanting to do a hard trance remix of it for about two years since I heard it dropped at a classics night in about 2000, so when I finally got the production skills up to a half-decent level and decided to make a cheeky bootleg, it was the only choice.
I almost binned it as well – after finishing it, I was so fed up with it that I nearly couldn’t be arsed to get it pressed up, but Guy Ornadel told me it was a great record and to get him a copy on vinyl, so I did – I think it was the right decision!
Looking back, although it’s totally different from the music I produce now, it was a great record to start with – I doubt many other trance producers could say they’ve had productions played by the likes of Lisa Lashes and Eddie Halliwell!
Which leads me on to the style. Compared to Flood Control and the massive Mistral it is a totally different genre-do you have any plans to return to that sound?
Nah. Not in the immediate future anyway. I’m just not feeling that sort of hard trance at the moment. Having said that, I love the sort of hard trance the likes of K90, BK and Nick Sentience make and occasionally play it towards the end of late sets, but I don’t feel the need to make it myself – those guys do it well enough!
If anything, I’m probably more likely to make deeper, more progressive or breaky records as an alternative to trance, but to be honest, although I’m always looking to produce stuff in other genres I never actually seem to get around to it. For instance, I was listening to some amazing chillout records the other day and really would like to attempt something similar myself, just for fun, but I always have trance projects on the go and they take priority.
So now your DJing. You’ve been signed by DJ Connections-one the biggest up and coming agencies that represents trance DJs like Lange and Pulser-it must be nice to share the same stable with such great talent. Do you feel the DJ’ing was a natural progression or was it something you always had your eye on anyway?
Always had my eye on it – I bought decks before I started serious production! It was never a case of learning how to DJ after having a few successful records, it was more that the production opened doors for my DJing that would have probably taken years to open if I hadn’t been a producer.
I’m pretty lucky in that respect, and I’m also pretty lucky to be with DJ Connections – Neil who runs the agency is a great manager and a friend as well, plus I get on really well with the other guys like Lange and Pulser, which is great as these are people who’ve productions I loved before I’d started producing serious myself. In a way I think it can be tough for producers who make their name producing then go on to DJ – a lot of critics typecast them as people who are only really interested in producing, and just play sets for the money. That’s utter bollocks – the DJ side is as important to me as the production side of things, and anyone who’s seen me play will know that.
As a producer cum DJ, you do find yourself under a hell of a lot more scrutiny from people than a DJ who’s never produced might do, even though they might be a worse DJ, which can be annoying, but at the end of the day it makes you strive to be even better and that can only be healthy I guess.
Yes that seems to be the case-there are a few producers out there that seem to have fallen by the way side because they simply cant cut it as a DJ in the booth-its a transition u seem to have pulled off successfully. Moving on to the scene-clubbing has 'stagnated' slightly. Ticket sales are down, some labels have folded-and superclubs have had to take stock of their whole approach. What do you see as being the problem if there is any??
Part of the problem has to be the sheer amount of people sitting about feeling sorry for themselves. Yeah, the scene isn’t as vibrant as it was three years ago, but moaning about it isn’t going to help anyone.
There are still wicked nights, there is still wicked music, and although I’ve been absolutely gutted when some of my favourite record labels have folded (including Five AM – the label that gave me my first real break), you just to have to deal with it. It’s a transitional period, music changes, fashion changes, and at the moment dance music in the UK is having a tough time, but that’s life.
I’m a firm believer that the good will out – at the end of the day, there will ALWAYS be people who don’t take the commercial chart bullshit the radio feeds them, and there will always be people who’d rather go out and lose themselves dancing to repetitive beats then being spoon-fed some cheesy shit at School Disco or some shithole night like that.
As long as those people still exist, I don’t see any danger of the whole dance music scene disappearing (as some critics seem to believe).
Having a tough time and being forced back to the underground can only be a good thing in my opinion – if clubs have to work a bit harder and rethink their approach to get people in, and producers have to be a bit more original and innovative to have big records, then so be it.
So at the moment....how do you rate the current production work around? And who are your favourite producers?
Fantastic. The one producer that really stands out for me at the moment is MIKE, simply because he’s always innovating, always pushing things forward, always doing something different with the genre, he’s an absolute legend. Some of my other favourite producers are less high profile – people like Steve Gibbs, Ca-Lo and Shane 54 who I think deserve a lot more credit.
I also like a lot of the new wave of goa/acid trance producers, people like Astral Project, A-Force, there’s a lot of good stuff coming from that branch at the moment. You’ve got some fantastic new producers putting out great music – people like Airbase & CERN.
Then finally you’ve got the big dons of trance, people like Armin, Ferry, Lange, The Thrillseekers and Rank 1 to name but a few who regularly prove they can still pull out the stops despite having being at the top of their game for over half a decade. How much more variety could you want?
So...winding up for the first part of this interview gaz.....offitsface.com gets nearly a 1/4 million hits a week-its viewed by people throughout the industry-now is the chance to plug yourself! What clubs haven’t you played in you'd really like to play at!
Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to play some amazing clubs in the past year like Godskitchen, Passion and Slinky plus there are a few other clubs where I’m lined up to play in the next few months which I’m really looking forward to. To be honest, I don’t favour any one night over another – I love playing the big clubs, and I love playing the small, more intimate clubs as well, they can both be equally good. So in answer to the question, nowhere specifically, simply any club where there’s an up for it crowd and a good atmosphere!
So finally...for part one.....tell us your future plans for production work and DJing
Um, right. Where to start. Production wise there’s loads going on. I’m just finishing the follow up to Mistral under my GTR alias. To be honest Mistral has been an absolute fucker of a tune to follow up. The bigger it got, the more difficult the follow became to write, as it had more to live up to.
I even wrote a few tunes intended to be the new GTR release but didn’t feel that they were quite special enough. Once it became really well known, I was getting emails from fans telling me how much they loved it, how many special memories it had for them, and stuff like that, it was mad!
That’s when I realised the follow up needed to be more than just a solid club tune, it needed to be something that bit special and memorable that touched people’s hearts in the same way. After a year of trying, I think I’ve finally managed to achieve that, but only time will tell I guess!
I’m also doing the usual stuff, I’ve got loads of remixes, collaborations, and co-writes coming up. I won’t bore you by listing them out one by one here, as you’ll probably hear about them through the usual magazines in due course.
DJ wise, I’ve got one hell of a month ahead – in September, I’m playing in Ireland, Tangled in Manchester, then I’m off to Australia and New Zealand for a four date tour with Pulser. After that I’m playing at Godskitchen student union night at the end of the month, before a date in Sweden. I’m going to be absolutely shattered come October!
My main aim as a DJ is to get people realising there’s more to me than GTR (I DJ under my real name – Gareth Emery) and to keep playing the great clubs I’ve played at so far. In the last six months people have started to see me as DJ as well as a producer, and as long as that momentum keeps rolling at the same pace it has done so far, I’ll be happy.
That’s great...so now onto Part 2.....this is 10 quick fire questions...so answer as honestly as possible....there are some light hearted questions slipped in there-speed is the name of the game-so right off the top of your head!
1. Right now...what’s your favourite tune in your box?
It'd be a toss up between Ca-Lo - Unite which I've got one of the only CDRs of, and Solid Globe - North Pole, which is my favourite tune this year!
2. Whats your favourite drink?
Alcoholic: any nice pint of lager, let's say Labatts on tap for argument's sake. Non-alcoholic: diet-coke.
3. Your best DJing moment thus far?
Dropping Veracocha - Carte Blanche at 6am to 1000 Swedish nutters going absolutely mental. I stopped the record just before the riff kicked in and the crowd were screaming for me to let it go again. Amazing.
4. Would you accept a million pound to never step foot in the UK again?
Nah. I'd miss my friends and family too much, some things mean more than money. Perhaps for ten million, then I could afford to fly them out as well. Ha ha!
5. And your favourite film?
I could name you about 20, but let's go with Pulp Fiction.
6. What tune NEVER leaves your box?
GTR - Mistral
7. Are you a knickers man or a thong man (not you personally to wear!)
Thong, blatently. Mmmm.
8. Your Favourite DJ
It changes all the time. Yousef is high in my estimation at the moment because I saw him play a wicked set last week.
9. And your pet hate?
Bars that play music too loud. What's the fucking point? It's not a club, so you can't dance, yet the music is so loud you can't talk to your mates. I hate places like that.
10. Finally....THE question....are you more like Bart or Homer?
Christ. I've only seen a handful of Simpsons episodes in my life. I probably have Homer's whinging old git tendencies, with Bart's hair.
Nice answer.......well thank you very much for your honesty....offitsface wishes you the very best in your work. Thanks!
COMPETITION
We are running a competition to tie in with this interview. You can win:- Signed copes of four recent releases: GTR - Mistral, plus Nova - All This Love (GTR mix), Quadraphonic - I Can Feel Your Love (Gareth Emery mix) and CERN - Baileys (GTR dub) and Gareth Emery 1st release-GTR Vs Shrink-Nervous Breakdown of those! PLUS 2 guest list places to see Gareth Emery at any one of his remaining UK gigs this year!!!!
To win this goodie bag of prizes all you have to do is answer the following question:-
What Tiesto mix album does Mistral appear on ??
Email your answers to .
