NTT: You're similar to Damian Lazarus as he was a journalist too before he started to produce music. Do you find that writers can produce better music or at least have a better start in production?
Gavin: A career in music journalism definitely helps lay the foundations simply because anyone who can spend their working day listening to music is going to be a little more prepared for the studio. But that doesn't make journalists better producers than anyone else, it just means they have a head start over anyone whose ever plotted a production career from a desk in an insurance office.
NTT: What its like to have the support of someone like Carl Cox and what it does for someone's career like yourself?
Gavin: It's always inspiring to have someone like Carl root for you because they are ultimately part of the reason why I make house and techno. I loved hunting DJ mixes as a kid and Carl Cox's name crops up more than a few times in the dusty box of tapes from my early raving days.
NTT: Is it always beneficial to produce music for different labels rather than just sticking to one because it seems necessary in this genre of music?
Gavin: It depends on the music you make. If you're output fits within a certain label's sound and you're content with that then why not. I find it hard to be pinned down however so not my music tends to get around!
NTT: The bassline in the track "Expression" is stellar! Are basslines still difficult to find when producing tracks especially one that stands out on a track like this?
Gavin: Making a hook is a testing sport. You can spend all week pulling your hair out trying to find one and then the next it'll just drop right out of the sky. There is no exact science for coming up with them either, you just have to pound out the riffs and hope that one eventually sticks.
NTT: What made you decide to instead of writing about an artist like you did in MixMag to just being one of those artists?
To the outside eye it seems like i found journalism and fell into production and DJing but that's not the case at all. For me writing always came second to music. I played in bands as a kid and was consumed by music from an early age but growing up in small town Ireland was a million miles away from what it must have been like to get into dance music at a similar age in the UK or Germany. THere was no Radio 1, no Beatport, no Mixmag so it took a little longer to find out where and how this music was being made and even longer to acquire the tools and know how to make it myself. My career in journalism side tracked my music for a good six years but I eventually found my way back thanks to DJing. Gigs paved the way for acquiring production software and after a hard slog of teaching myself the ropes i finally found a route back into music thanks to my first release.
Bookings: julez at wildebookings.com
FERNTV
Do you want to hear something twisted? Get the latest on Jon Stagger who is bringing on that twisted house sound that everyone loves to the next level. READ MORE...
