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RA Interviews James Zabiela

I remember there being a 'what is he up to?' thread about Zabiela posted some time ago, but can't seem to find it, so I'll just post this here.

https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3298

It's an especially long one, and a good chunk of it is rather technical in nature, which I'm sure the more tech-minded people will appreciate, but he sounds just as passionate about the craft as ever before, which I'm sure everyone can appreciate.

A small section worth highlighting:

quote:

Has the core of your sound changed much over the last decade? I think it's probably gone back to where I was when I started almost. I guess that's just the way music trends go as well. I definitely had a few regretful years of electro house, I think. You do get pulled a little bit into genres that are trendy. Actually I was listening to your interview with Lee Burridge and he was talking about the whole minimal thing, and Ibiza thing, and trying to fit in with that. So yeah, it's easy for that to happen, but you find your way back eventually.

BTW, did we just completely miss the fact that Zabiela did a Balance comp this year?

I have always appreciates Zabs particularly from the technical side of DJing. Hell, he was pioneers poster child to show of each gen of new gear, particularly the EFX 1000 back in the day.

Great producer as well with some great tracks like Human and Perseverance.

Edit: IS Still Pioneers poster child... awesome

Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by Paradox Lost BTW, did we just completely miss the fact that Zabiela did a Balance comp this year?

I heard about it, more for the fact that Balance is back in action after such a long hiatus. If this mix is anything like his Renaissance contributions though, I'd expect exactly 1 CD's worth of dope music spread out across 2.

I used to be such a huge Zabiela fan back in those days, doesn't even seem that long ago. Still have never seen him in person, sadly.

Re: Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by Sykonee I heard about it, more for the fact that Balance is back in action after such a long hiatus. If this mix is anything like his Renaissance contributions though, I'd expect exactly 1 CD's worth of dope music spread out across 2.

Balance never went out of action, they just had a few years where they released most of their CDs under the Balance Presents... moniker rather than the numbered Balance series.

Zabiela's 2010 Essential Mix still gets a run out every now and again. That was actually a very influential mix for me as it got me into ASC-style drum 'n bass around that time. I'll have a listen to his Balance CD this evening, but I doubt it will hit the same heights. There's something about Zabiela I find slightly "dry", in the aesthetic sense of what he plays. Even the warmer tracks he plays have a computerised electro-static feel to them.

Re: Re: Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Balance never went out of action, they just had a few years where they released most of their CDs under the Balance Presents... moniker rather than the numbered Balance series. Zabiela's 2010 Essential Mix still gets a run out every now and again. That was actually a very influential mix for me as it got me into ASC-style drum 'n bass around that time. I'll have a listen to his Balance CD this evening, but I doubt it will hit the same heights. There's something about Zabiela I find slightly "dry", in the aesthetic sense of what he plays. Even the warmer tracks he plays have a computerised electro-static feel to them.

Yes all of his mixing has a sort of robotic overlay to the sound which I think is what you�re referring to.

I remember seeing him in 2012 down here in Miami. I was near the booth and it was epic.

Re: Re: Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Balance never went out of action, they just had a few years where they released most of their CDs under the Balance Presents... moniker rather than the numbered Balance series.

Ah, never heard of that one. Wonder how many others did as well? Probably why they went back to the numbered series.

Re: Re: Re: Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by Sykonee Ah, never heard of that one. Wonder how many others did as well? Probably why they went back to the numbered series.

I'm not sure how you missed it, to be honest. They were reviewed and promoted on all the usual websites and outlets, and the DJs featured have probably been higher profile than the ones on the main series recently (Patrice Baumel vs James Zabiela? Hernan Cattaneo vs Stacey Pulled?) It wasn't until your comment that I even clocked that they were two separate series.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RA Interviews James Zabiela

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I'm not sure how you missed it, to be honest. They were reviewed and promoted on all the usual websites and outlets, and the DJs featured have probably been higher profile than the ones on the main series recently (Patrice Baumel vs James Zabiela? Hernan Cattaneo vs Stacey Pulled?) It wasn't until your comment that I even clocked that they were two separate series.

I actually went on an Amazon splurge on a bunch of Balance mixes last year, and none of them came up in search queries. Except Cattaneo, now that I recall. It did seem strange he had two separate mixes for Balance.

Edit: mind, that may have just been Canadian Amazon's fault, as that store front doesn't always list *all* the things.

Unless something dramatic his changed with his style, I think an appreciation for the technical way in which Zabiela works and has been long since reputed largely factors into whether you enjoy him on a night out, as his sound more than most headliners seems unpalatable to the unsuspecting club goer. You don't need to be a prog devotee to walk through the doors and enjoy a night with Cattaneo or Guy J (it's hard to miss your audience with pretty/driving 4/4 house music), but Zab-Breaks? It's gonna take a bit of acquiring, and don't think five hours is enough time to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee I actually went on an Amazon splurge on a bunch of Balance mixes last year, and none of them came up in search queries. Except Cattaneo, now that I recall. It did seem strange he had two separate mixes for Balance.

Well that temporary shift from artist to label in the compilation titles was a bit different. Everyone on both series is credited as an artist, but Cattaneo and Saiz were branded according to their respective label on the Balance Presents series.

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Originally posted by Paradox Lost You don't need to be a prog devotee to walk through the doors and enjoy a night with Cattaneo or Guy J (it's hard to miss your audience with pretty/driving 4/4 house music), but Zab-Breaks? It's gonna take a bit of acquiring, and don't think five hours is enough time to do it

I�d argue the opposite. I would expect a casual fan to find a JZ set easier to enjoy than a Guy J or Cattaneo as he jumps about styles more freely and his behind-the-decks demeanour is far more conducive to a party.

The last time I saw JZ play, he opened with Katcha - Touched By God (Peace Division remix) and the crowd were putty. I�ve never seen either Guy J or Cattaneo throw down with that �who�s up for a party?� panache.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost Unless something dramatic his changed with his style, I think an appreciation for the technical way in which Zabiela works and has been long since reputed largely factors into whether you enjoy him on a night out, as his sound more than most headliners seems unpalatable to the unsuspecting club goer. You don't need to be a prog devotee to walk through the doors and enjoy a night with Cattaneo or Guy J (it's hard to miss your audience with pretty/driving 4/4 house music), but Zab-Breaks? It's gonna take a bit of acquiring, and don't think five hours is enough time to do it.

I hope this wasn't prompted by my comment.

What turned me off from Zabs was the gimmick aspect, a lot of the music he was playing at the time I stopped listening to his sets religiously was really showy and all of it sounded really crisp and synthetic and cool sounding, but it was tough to find any depth, warmth or rawness in his sets like you touched on. I feel like his DJ antics started to detrimentally seep into his selection and digging process.

His 22.02.04 Essential Mix is still one of my favorites.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I hope this wasn't prompted by my comment.

No? Whenever a headliner gets booked at a major metro venue, they�re going to play out to a certain (maybe even majority) number of Friday night walk-ins in addition to fans who came out specifically for the occasion, and a lot of what they play- however deep the music or however legendary the headliner- is going to be off putting to casual crowds who just wanna go out and dance. It�s why you have people who might walk out on Digweed thinking �wow that old guy sucked,� and why Nick Warren gets booted off the decks in Korea.


Breaks- especially of the Zabiela variety, assuming that�s what he plays (I�ve never seen the guy)- strikes me as an even tougher swallow. But all that�s just an abstracted observation. Maybe his in room energy and crate digging can win over an eclectic floor, as craiggarner described.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost Unless something dramatic his changed with his style, I think an appreciation for the technical way in which Zabiela works and has been long since reputed largely factors into whether you enjoy him on a night out, as his sound more than most headliners seems unpalatable to the unsuspecting club goer. You don't need to be a prog devotee to walk through the doors and enjoy a night with Cattaneo or Guy J (it's hard to miss your audience with pretty/driving 4/4 house music), but Zab-Breaks? It's gonna take a bit of acquiring, and don't think five hours is enough time to do it.

I somewhat agree with this.

I remember when Zabs was coming up and a somewhat defining moment was when Sasha gave him the seal of approval (not to mention had somewhat mentored him).

It was poignantly elocuted that Zabs was to his "generation" was Sasha was to his; essentially far ahead of his contemporaries in terms of technical ability. Sasha was harmonic mixing as far back as the very early 90's (that's at least the first mention I can remember) and other Dj's (although a fair few might have been doing the same) didn't really catch on for most for at least another decade when MIK it accessible without a classically trained musician (Sasha apparently was nearly a concert grade pianist before starting to DJ).

the problem with Zabs vs Sasha in this respect, is that although Sasha was incredibly technical, it was primarily used to play music cohesively - granted with some effects like when he'd mix his own burned CD's of pads and FX over tracks - but he really just made incredible mixes that relied on that foundation of technical ability.

Zabs on the other had was layering all this technical ability over music, not within it if you get what I mean. I remember a certain thread on here where we were all complaining about "how a zabs set these days sounds like the beeps your phone makes when it's dying from a LSD overdose". While it was an electronic DJ tech showcase It's not really that great to dance to in a club or listen to.

In fairness, as someone once said, there will never be another sasha; he was doing things (i.e. Harmonic mixing) when no one else was, but over time, these things became the norm or level playing field if you will, even became automated via software, meaning that someone else would have to do a much bigger leap to stand out that far ahead again, but there's only so much and so far you can take a craft or discipline.

My problem with Zabs was the whole breaks and electro thing. It felt like he veered off a legacy of what was great prog, in to niches that served a trend, but then again, it must be mind numbingly boring to just bang out prog for two decades and seems he has the presence of mind to be self aware that those forways were possibly mistakes.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost No? Whenever a headliner gets booked at a major metro venue, they�re going to play out to a certain (maybe even majority) number of Friday night walk-ins in addition to fans who came out specifically for the occasion, and a lot of what they play- however deep the music or however legendary the headliner- is going to be off putting to casual crowds who just wanna go out and dance.

I don't really understand why you're starting a discussion about why people might not "get" Zabiela in a club when:

1. You admit you haven't seen him in a club.
2. Nobody said anything about not getting him in a club.

For what little it's worth, I saw him the year after that 2010 Essential Mix came out, and it was pretty boring. Just a lot of forgettable big room tech house and occasionally he'd hold up an iPad ostentatiously and fuck around with it. He did end on a storming drum 'n bass track though, which at the time I thought was miraculous given how it came seamlessly out of a techno track. Your interview link solves that seven year old mystery:

quote:

How about the iPad and the Vestax Pad-One that you have on your tech rider? Are those for the same sorts of performance flourishes? I don't use those so much these days. In a set I'll go into Ableton maybe three or four times for little show-off bits. Actually sometimes when I want to do something that's beyond my capabilities, like a big tempo change into a drum & bass track, or with tracks that are hard to mix together in some way, I can chop them all into little loops and have them all as tiny clips and then just work them together with the filters on the iPad.

Generally I would say I prefer him when he gets soundscape-y to when he's playing dance music, although surprisingly enough on the Balance CD it was the other way around.

RA interviews many people

Very nice.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I don't really understand why you're starting a discussion about why people might not "get" Zabiela in a club when: 1. You admit you haven't seen him in a club. 2. Nobody said anything about not getting him in a club.

Let me clarify, then: when you asked if my remarks were promoted by your comment, I wanted to make it apparent that I wasn't setting you in the demographic of people who just casually walk through the door with limited knowledge and simple expectations (not that there's anything wrong that). In that regard, no, it was not prompted by your post, though you did mention that you found Zabiela's aesthetic to be a dry one, which inspired me to discuss (hypothetically) the experience of seeing him live.

That said, I would also reject this characterization that my assessment describes people who simply don't 'get' Zabiela (or anything not set to a digestible 4/4 beat). To say that they don't 'get' him is to imply that the problem is their's, when there isn't necessarily a problem in the first place. I'm not a Zabiela fan, but that's hardly for lack of 'getting' him. His track selection doesn't get my money in the store and his technical prowess- however impressive- doesn't get my money at the door. I'm the wrong audience for him and he's the wrong talent for me, and the same is true for lots of other people, whether or not they need to broaden their musical horizons.

quote:

Originally posted by planetaryplayer RA interviews many people

Yeah, but considering that it wasn't too long ago when we were discussing where one of the most hyped acts of the 00's had apparently disappeared to- with a few self released mixes and scant tour dates- this one stands out more than those of people who pop in your feed on a daily basis.

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Originally posted by wotyzoid I used to be such a huge Zabiela fan back in those days, doesn't even seem that long ago. Still have never seen him in person, sadly.

I saw him back in 2009 or so, alongside Hercules and Love Affair and Aeroplane (Shinichi Osawa/Mondo Grosso was also supposed to play but couldn't make it). Was a really cool show, Zabs closed out and proceeded to shake the hands of all the people who remained and do small talk with them.

I haven't visited ra in years but I did last weekend , and they seem to be still the elite in discovering new music that fits my taste ...

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