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Giant Village NYE Los Angeles, PVD, Danny Howells, Luke Fair, Crystal Method Etc.
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| dark_tenshi |
Saw this interview with Danny Howells, thought I should share it with you.
Who is Danny Howells? He's only one of the most exciting DJs in the UK. He's come a long way from DJing in his hometown of Hastings ten years ago.And if it sounds familiar, you're right. It's the same place from which John Digweed hails. In fact, that's how Howells received his first break. His mix-tape found its way into Digweed's possession, and Diggers kindly offered him a set at his Bedrock night.
Apart from gaining a reputation as one of the finest warm-up jocks in the country, Howells has become quite big in both Holland and Belgium and has mixed more than a few cool compilations. He was also voted the 12th best DJ in the world two years in a row by the readers of DJ magazine. And there's not many people who can beat that.
To get a better idea of one of Danny's sets, imagine the deeper end of a Digweed set. Then stretch that out into a carefully-crafted four-hour groove and you'll be close. His music is deep, trippy, sexy, funky, percussive and progressive, somewhere in between house, trance, and techno. He plays that quality set, the one everyone knows is quality even if it's not their cup of tea.
People see you as a progressive DJ, but it's a well-known fact that DJs don't like to be labelled.
I don't know. It's not a bad label. It's better than being labelled cheesy, crap, trash, or whatever. I think people can be a little bit lazy. If they take the time to listen to what you play, they'll notice a whole lot of different music as well musical influences. For me, progressive house has it's own sound. I play more tech house than progressive, but once you've got a label you've got it for years so...
Progressive seems to be getting more popular as you can now buy a progressive album off the shelf in mainstream stores. What do you think of that?
I don't know. For me it's always been the same. People who are into it have been into it for years and years. It's not like other styles of music. For example, from trance people moved into hard house. People tend to stick to it, so you tend to get an older crowd. It has always seemed to the same to me. It doesn't seem more popular now than it was before. I think it has always been there, but the media is only now taking notice. However if it's cool now, it isn't going to be cool in six month.
You've been DJing for ten years now. Would you say that it's only the last couple of years that you've been getting the proper recognition?
It feels like that. Things have been getting busier, but it has been growing over the last couple of years. The Bedrock residency helped, and the Nu-breed album helped as well.
What do you see as the future for Danny Howells?
Get some sleep I think. No. No. I don't know. I supppose I'll be carrying on with tracks and touring because I really enjoy the travelling, going to lots of different places. I want to carry that on as much as possible.
Will there be a Nocturnal Frequencies 4?
No. There's not going to be a fourth. I did three and was quite happy with that. I got in a bit of an argument with the record company over things done to the last album. They mucked around a bit and removed a track out without me knowing, so we had a big fallout. Also those albums are so hard to find in record stores. Distribution was really bad. I hope to do something new in the future. I hope to start my own series, similar kind of thing with a different record company.
Do you have future plans for any Global Underground releases?
I think we are talking to them right now. Nothing has been confirmed, but there are a few DJs talking to them about doing something like the Nubreed series, maybe just changing the name of it, making it a bit different because that series is really exciting. I think they've had a good collection of albums so far. It's a very exciting series, but the only thing that puts people off is the name. I think we're just working with them to try and do something in the future. I've got my fingers crossed that we will. So there will definitely be some news on that next year.
Has there been a release date set yet for KinkyObsession?
No. We just received clearance to use the samples, so hopefully it will be quite soon. We'll be sampling "Obsession" by Animotion from the 80's. It'll come out on Yooshi. And it will be an official release.
After Twilo shut down, New York City suffered a major blow. Do you feel that with Arc and other clubs on the rise such as Crobar and Glowbanna that New York City is making a comeback?
I feel it's still there because the people currently in New York are the same people that are into the music. They are still as passionate about it, but due to problems with the economy a lot of people aren't working right now, making it very expensive and difficult for them to go out regularly. The numbers aren't the same as they were before. It's definitely different than the Twilo years, but it's still the same attitude and it's still got the same New York feel to it. And there are still a hell of a lot of DJs going though New York.
What's the scene like in other countries?
It's mad. You never know what to expect. I went to Russia quite recently, and you never know what to expect from that sort of place. They were one of the best crowds I've ever played to. I've seen good stuff everywhere I've been. All the countries I've been to have had really good stuff going. Iit's really been quite inspiring. It's all pretty healthy.
Would you say the scenes are similar from coutry to country?
Um, I don't know. It's very difficult to judge a place the first time you visit. I think you need to go back and sort of go somewhere regularly really. You have to get to know each other a little bit. It's always fun the first time you go anywhere, but the best times always come afterwards. And you do need to build the places up, so it's quite difficult to compare. If you go back more regularly then you build yourself up to something stronger. You build your name up, and people start to realize what kind of music you play, and as a DJ, you start to realize your limits with that crowd. You know how far you can push in a certain direction.
You were ranked number 12 int this year's DJ mag Top 100 poll, the same position you held last year. I feel you've almost become an icon, like Sasha times 10, especially in New York and Boston. Are you surprised you didn't move up at all?
Oh my God! (clenching his teeth) I wouldn't mind Sasha's money times ten! No. To be honest with you, I was surprised I didn't move down . I think certain things go into it, like if you release a really big single or big album blah, blah, blah. I didn't do any of that this year, didn't release anything. I didn't play in England much, so I was really surprised that I stayed where I was. I was really happy and am quite relieved. I thought all the other guys like Sander and Steve Lawler would have done much better than myself. I'm really surprised and grateful I did well. Definitely.
A lot of people were kind of disappointed that DJ Tiesto was voted number one. Do you have any comments?
No. I think it's fair actually. It's a public vote. The promoter of every club I've been to in the last two years hsa said, "Oh he's been here recently. He's huge." Or he'll say, "Tiesto's absolutely massive." Tiesto is absolutely packing venues around the world. He is huge. He's got a loyal loyal following, and is very very good at what he does. He never lets the people who follow him down, and he works his ass off as well. At least he can mix, unlike another number one DJ.
Say there was a fire or something. What five records would you take with you if you had to choose?
Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Um. Err, the album, Patu Jo Make Me Believe In You. It's sort of an old track I used on the essential mix. I hate this question. It's always such a hard one. I'd take Barry White's greatest hits in case I get a shag (laugh). The Ashley Beedle remix of "Always by Bent." It always puts me in a good mood, so I'd take that, and um, uh, andˇKsomething by the Beach Boys.
Not much electronic music!
Oh right. That's sort of like a back to mine selection. If I start getting into the electronic, I've gott to pick from something like twenty five thousand records. I guess that's a bit more difficult.
Do you still drop Bent?
Sometimes, special parties, special occasions.
Which club would you choose if you could play just one, including Twilo?
Um, oh I don't know. I couldn't choose just one. I think err, um . . . Christ. I don't know, maybe Twilo or Pacha in Buenos Aires or that outdoor party I did in Macedonia.
What is your stance on the future of electronic music? What are your thoughts since sales are down due to piracy.
Yeah, sales are down a little bit, In part, I think it has to do with the fact that there hasn't been much amazing stuff coming out recently. I think that's what people are realizing.that's They need something different now and then. You can't just keep putting out the same product. You know, there's like five million mix albums each month, so I think people are taking a step back and being a bit more thoughtful about what they release. They are trying to put a bit more care into it, paying more attention to it so they make it a bit different in order to stand out. Recently there have been so many things coming out that it's no wonder sales are down. I think they would have gone down even of there wasn't any piracy. I think at the moment it's going to be a period of regeneration and a period of change. I think the piracy thing is bothering the record companies a lot, not just dance music but all music. People are trying to find ways to slow it down a bit, but I think the only way they can do that is by going back to vinyl. It's a lot more difficult to rip it into a computer.
I guess Final Scratch doesn't help too much?
There's no difference between Final Scratch and using a CD because everyone has a CD burner nowadays. You can download a track and put it on CD and play it in your set even if you recorded it off the radio, you know? You might have some talking at the end, but you can still re-edit it or just chop out bits of it, like a version you can play in the club. Anything that makes a sound, I think you can copy it, regardless of where it comes from. People have to start thinking of new ways to make people go out and buy music. |
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