It is with great regret that I must inform you that we have encountered a last minute cancellation of the Tom Novy tour. We have worked around the clock over the past 36 hours to try and ensure that the tour would go ahead, unfortunately we were unable to reach a resolution to an issue that had arisen that was beyond our control. This has resulted in the artist being unable to make it to Australia in time for this leg of the tour. We are continuing to work with management on a resolution and potential re-schedule of dates. Once again I sincerely apologise that this situation has arisen and will do my best to remedy the situation as best as possible.
Mark Krunic
Touring & Event Coordinator
Illusive

So, on a more positive note, we have been very busy the last 24 hours securing another great headline act for you. And we think you will not be disappointed…  a great House/Deep House DJ of the moment: Lovebirds.

Lovebirds

Lovebirds is the solo project from Hamburg based producer Sebastian Doering, also known as Knee Deep. For the last 5 years, Lovebirds has been in the focus of the worldwide deep house/mid-tempo/boogie/nudisco scene. His recent single “Want You In My Soul” featuring Stee Downes is on the way to becoming one of the tunes of the year finding its way into every DJ bag and artist chart. He releases on labels such as Freerange, Winding Road, OM Records, Teardrop and Buzzin Fly…

The Lovebirds sound is like a blast from the past with house steroids packing serious production muscle. Listening to Lovebirds is like taking trip back in time – but riding in a gleaming futuristic spaceship…

For those of you on the Boxing Day Cruise with Joey Negro, the very last track played by Joey was Lovebirds “Want You In My Soul”. So we’re confident that the Lovebirds man himself can take over where Joey left off. Here’s a little reminder to get you in the mood…

Afterparty at the Burdekin

For the After Party, we’ve joined forces again with our good friends at the Burdekin. This Saturday is also Mardi Gras, and we’re sure many of you will known from years past, there is no better place to be on Mardi Gras than the Burdekin. If that wasn’t enough, we have two floors of DigDeep DJs from 5.30pm til 1am. So we have a big day planned. No kick out – just kick on… Happy days!

See you on the dancefloor…

DigDeep Crew

For our final High Flyers Cruise of the season we thought we would catch up with Tom Novy (real name Thomas Reichold) before he heads our way and headlines the High Flyers Day Cruise on the 2nd of March. We had a great season with both Marshall Jefferson & Joey Negro and felt that we could only finish it off in style with the charismatic person that is Tom Novy! DigDeep’s Nicc Johnson caught up with him to have a chat.

NJ: Tom thanks for taking some time out for us and letting our loyal High Flyers get a bit more insight into your life and career. Having grown up in Ibiza myself I have seen you DJ many a time at Space over the years and am very confident that you and our crowd are going to get along great!
You have had a string of very successful and popular dance tracks, yet your sets generally stray away a bit from that sound. Can you describe what a typical Tom Novy set is like?

TN: Well that’s not so easy as I always try to play for the crowd. The music range is wide and varied, so you can hear from Techno to Deep house and everything in between.

NJ: Can you tell us a bit about your label Nouveau Niveau?

TN: Two years ago I started to release more of my underground stuff and wanted to have a platform for young artists and myself. Most of the stuff is house oriented but you can also find some serious club bangers and big room tracks there. For 2013 I really want to concentrate more on Nouveau Niveau and we have already have some really hot releases coming up. I hope you will follow the label.

NJ: You are a seasoned veteran in the dance scene. Could you tell us how you feel about the very popular EDM craze that has spread all over the world?

TN: On the one hand it’s good that it attracts more people to dance music but on the other hand the sound is not really my thing. This kind of sound was hot in Europe at the end of the 90s and we called it Eurodance, with acts like Haddaway and Scooter who were big then. The Synth sounds the EDM scene use are the same as back then, only the beats are a bit better. So for me it’s not really something I would jump on. House Music is something completely different I’m afraid.

NJ: Have you embraced it wholeheartedly… and where do you see it going in the next couple of years?

TN: I think people that followed the EDM Music are going to discover real House Music and switch. EDM Music is not a long living thing I’m afraid. The Hype is almost gone here and acts like Thomas Gold or EDX are not playing here very often.

NJ: You are obviously not shy of the spotlight, being an internationally renowned DJ and also a bit of a TV celebrity in Germany, where you hosted a string of shows for MTV for about 7 years… Did that take its toll with your DJ schedule or were the two easy to combine and was it a positive experience?

TN: MTV was a lot of fun yes, but I was not the DJVJ, or was it VJDJ, kind of person. When I did TV Shows the music was suffering. I played only on the weekends and didn’t tour as much. I also didn’t really release a lot of records during that time. After 7 Years I said to myself – I want to get back into music and luckily my first release was “Your Body” after I quit (TV).

NJ: Is that (TV) something you always wanted to get into as well or did you seize the opportunities that came along the way as your prominence as a DJ grew?

TN: Nah, I was doing radio for a long time in the 90s and MTV had just moved to Munich. I wrote the Boss an email and he invited me for a meeting. We had a funny afternoon and after 3 hours talking he said “so you start next Monday then ok? We want you to present the Dance Charts”, that was it.

NJ: We would like to take this opportunity for our crowd to get to know you a bit better, so in one sentence – Who is Tom Novy?

TN: Apart from DJ and producer I am a family man who loves his kids and his wife and a true friend to people that are close to me.

NJ: Can you tell us about your humble beginnings as a DJ? If memory serves me right, you mentioned in a previous interview that your first ever gig was in 1986 at a school disco?

TN: Yeah I was such a bad break-dancer and I realised the turntables got me chicks, so it was obvious.

NJ: You have mentioned in other interviews that the first real game changer for you was “Novy & Eniac – Superstar” (1998). How did that change your career?

TN: It went international. I became a resident at Ministry of Sound London and played a lot of shows around the world. I have to say though that, at time it wasn’t like the Bizz today, touring and playing other countries was something special. There were maybe 10 other DJs in Germany who did this in 95.

NJ: You mentioned that one of your highlights was the 1999 Love Parade. Do you still get moments where you think… WOW I love what I do and I am lucky to have been doing this for so long?

TN: Absolutely!! I’m blessed cause I made a living out of my hobby.

NJ: WMC or ADE… why?

TN: ADE because it’s about our music scene and a fantastic meet and greet and not about VIP Parties and tits, ass and showing off.

NJ: Thank you for your time Tom. We look forward to having you onboard for the season closing party of our High Flyers Day Cruise on the 2nd of March in Sydney. Unfortunately we do not have a bottle of Hierbas at hand but will find a suitable replacement.

TN: I’m sure you will. Looking forward to coming back to Sydney. It’s been way too long.

It is a great way to finish off the summer season with all of our friends so we look forward to seeing you on board the Bella Vista for the High Flyers Closing party.

After witnessing Tom smash Space Terrace to pieces over many seasons, we are very excited to have him on the final cruise of the summer. This artist certainly knows how to rock a party, you are all in for a treat!

Tom Novy

Eccentric, hedonist, snappy commentator… self-proclaimed infant terrible of the dance music scene… a kind of a Klaus Kinski of house music. There are many more or less extreme substantives to describe Tom Novy. Truly he is most extraordinary and, in a positive way, unpredictable – in the end, despite all that, or probably due to that, he is one of the most important members of the house music scene with international access!

» Tom Novy on Soundcloud

We hope you can all join us to finish off another amazing season!

Full Event Info:

HIGH FLYERS DAY CRUISE SUMMER CLOSING PARTY

Date: Saturday 2nd March 2013
Time: Midday – 5.00pm
Venue: Bella Vista
Tickets: First Release $55.00 Second Release $65.00 Final Release $75.00 +BF
Contact your usual High Flyers ticket sellers, phone 02 9557 7905 or buy now from Moshtix.

DigDeep Crew

The Red Bull venue was perfect for what we had envisioned, a great intimate venue with a few close friends all with one common factor, quality music with an iconic artist.

For anyone that missed this special night we will be back this NYD with UK party starters THE NEXTMEN! Full event details here »

We hope to see you all there.

Check out our last video clip of the party: A bit of love from DJ Pierre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqafCXT7sVQ

Click here to view the embedded video.

NJ: You have a bit of a tour planned for Oz and New Zealand and have a very loyal following here. What is your overall reaction to the crowd here?

Dom: We’re more concerned about the reaction of the crowd to us! We’ve steadily built a reputation over in Australia and NZ over the past few years and people know what to expect from us: the unexpected. Playing lots of different genres can be risky but once you’re twenty minutes in to a next men set you pretty much know the deal. The Aus and NZ crowds are great, always up for a good time and ready to party all night.

NJ: Can you tell our fellow high flyers where The Nextmen name came from…does it have anything to do with John Byrne’s Dark Horse comic The Next Men?

Dom: No, Nextmen is one word and we just wanted a name that suggested we were doing something that was a little different, one that wouldn’t date. We’re still happy with it so I think it was a good choice.

NJ: We have just downloaded your tracks in the office, with Joe Dukie…who is one of my favourite male soul singers. Needless to say, I love the tracks. Can you tell us about any other exciting new tracks/collaborations you have in the pipeline?

Dom: It’s been great for us that those from-the-vault tracks have received a good reaction. We remember putting them together and writing with Joe Dukie in London, great vibes. At the time we just weren’t sure whether the tracks were finished or not so just sat on them. We’ve been doing a lot of stuff recently, some together and some independently.

Brad has been doing some great work with writing team Biffco and I’ve just signed to Paul Epworth’s publishing imprint Wolftone, which has been an exciting move.

We also have a new Nextmen-produced project called ‘Echo Foxx’ in the making, it’s about 80% there. It’s a graphic novel story based music project about an alternate future London and its warring population of foxes. Think Fantastic Mr Fox with some batman mixed in and a mysterious sci-fi element, all set in and around London in 2048. The album that goes along with this story is like a narrative of several scenes from the book. Dynamite MC provides the vocals. There’s a wide range of tempos and a futuristic edge to the sound.

NJ: Does either of you have an artist you have always dreamt of working with?

Dom: I always wanted to work with Lykke Li and that came true on a Wolftone writing trip to LA recently, which was great. Adele is another. Who knows, maybe that could come true as well.

NJ: I just watched “The Man with the Iron Fists” which was written, produced and directed by RZA. Have you ever thought of working on a music/movie project?

Dom: See the above answer about Echo Foxx! It’s not a movie but it is a step in that direction and yes we’d both love to get involved in composing for screen. I’ve written a couple of children’s books too, just honing my craft with that at the moment. I’d also like to do some work with my old friend Rob Sulman, he working in graphics and animation over in canada and we have some ideas that we’d like to see through to finished products. We’ve got loads of ideas, it’s just finding the time to get stuff done in and around DJing and production duties.

NJ: Dom, you are a bit of a snake lover…plan on going snake hunting while in Oz this time around?

Dom: Ha. Well yes my background academically is Biology and I was for a while a bit of a snake expert. Biology is my ‘other’ thing, especially the evolutionary side of things. I’ve done quite a bit of snake catching around the world. I might sneak off into the countryside to see if I can bag a few eastern browns. I’ll make sure I let you know where I went tho incase you need to send an ambulance out.

NJ: On another note… Both of you come from musical backgrounds and have said that there is too much mediocre music out there right now. Do you think it can be simply put to the fact that anyone can invest in studio gear to produce a track or would you agree that a lot of established producers have just gotten lazy and would rather release a steady flow of productions, rather then focus on quality?

Dom: I think the laptop revolution has been fantastic for music. I love the differences you can hear between a lush, well recorded, natural production and a track that was made at 3am on a laptop with all its textures and shades. It’s a very exciting time for music makers as you can make releasable quality music with just a laptop these days. I think the last days of recording snobbery are upon us. Finally it’s clear that it really is just about the vibe and it doesn’t matter how you get there. No one needs to feel like they need to spend silly money to get things done properly any more. Maybe some producers have become lazy but there is a lot to be said for forming a sound and sticking to it. Many producers generate their own style whilst cutting their teeth and then keep consistent with the identity they’ve created. That’s not lazy it’s just being unique. There’ll always be good music and bad music there’s just more of both these days.

NJ: When you guys are pulling crazy production schedules and late nights, what will usually be on the menu, do you keep fuelled up on fast food or Red Bull? – Growing up in Cambridge, did you ever try those amazing crepes from the mobile van, near the markets. Do you know which place I mean?

Dom: Yeah! That’s gone now I think. Cambridge is just that though -  the place we grew up. We don’t go back there for any reason other than to see our families. Good crepes though. Red Bull can help, it’s always handy when you’re burning the candle at both ends.

NJ: In previous interviews you guys mentioned that Cambridge had one of the best record stores while growing up there (Assasin Records). What was the overall scene like though…as it’s a Uni town, were there plenty of good parties on or did you have to head into London?

Dom: There were good parties yeah. There was a burgeoning hiphop scene there in the late eighties and nineties, small, but still good. Lot’s of djs armed with the latest vinyl throwing house parties. Assassin records, or Jay’s as it was know to us, was the shit. They had all the new stuff, UK, imports, everything, it was one of the best shops around and probably responsible for so many people at there time getting into hiphop and dance music. Cambridge was, is and will always be a Uni town first, everything else second. It’s not a clubbing centre. You need to leave Cambridge if you want to see what a real club scene is like, for sure. We’ve both lived in north London for so long now it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.

NJ: You guys are playing some rather big shows while over this side of the world including Breakfest in Perth. Our event is a very intimate show, which makes it rather special. Do you prepare a completely different set for each type of gig or do you just come heavily armed with great tracks and see where the crowd takes you?

Dom: It depends. Increasingly the latter, which is actually a return to how we used to dj. Nextmen sets are club sets, with some live activity mixed in. it’s not turntablism. We’ve been doing some two-deck sets recently, back to back stuff, and it has felt good after so many bears of the four deck show. We always have bits prepared and new bits coming. One thing we do find is that people always want to hear the vintage nextmen bootlegs and a few of our own tunes. They may be old to us but we do bring them out as it’s what is expected of us. For your show we’ll play what we think the crowd wants, intimate club style.

NJ: Thank you for your time Dom and Brad. We look forward to your show for our High Flyers Little Secret NYD party at the Red Bull HQ in Sydney. We wish you a safe journey over from the UK.

Dom: Thank you, see you soon.

We are over the moon to be hosting our 3rd High Flyers Little Secret New Years Day Event!

After losing Sun Studios, due to the venues licensing restrictions, we really struggled to find a replacement that would fit the bill. We really strive for quality and not quantity for our High Flyers parties so we made the bold decision to move the event to a much smaller and intimate setting and are very excited to be given the Red Bull HQ where we successfully hosted DJ Pierre.

With a quality venue all sorted the only thing missing was a quality international act, so without further ado we are proud to announce one of the most exciting UK acts…

– – – THE NEXTMEN – – –

Dom and Brad (aka The Nextmen) are the official party starters and the masters of eclecticism, blending anything worth listening to from all electronic styles.

Making this connection between music they love be it dancehall, drum&bass, dubstep, reggae, jackin, actual hip hop and straight up party pleasers, rest assured that you will walk away with the wow factor!

We have a very limited capacity of 350 people for this event, so get your click finger at the ready as tickets go on sale Thursday 6 December at 9.00am sharp.

We look forward to starting the New Year with you all!

FULL LINE UP

THE NEXTMEN
JC
Nicc Johnson
Karl Prinzen
Graham Mandroules
Mike Who
+ more TBA

Event details

Date: 1 January 2013
Time: 3.00pm – 1.00am

Venue: Red Bull HQ, 41 Bourke Rd, Alexandria
Tickets: First Release $65.00+BF SOLD OUT Second Release $75.00+BF Final Release $85.00+BF

Tickets On Sale: Thursday 6th December 9.00am sharp!
Contact your usual High Flyers ticket sellers, phone 02 9557 7905 or buy now from Moshtix or Pulse Radio.

DigDeep Crew

NJ: Hi Dave, thanks for taking the time out to answer a few questions. We are very excited about having you play at our High Flyers Boxing Day Cruise and wanted to treat our High Flyers to something special and get to know you a bit better before getting on the cruise.

How did your love for Disco come about? Were your parents into music when you were growing up or is it something you discovered on your own? Being a big fan of Disco, did you ever get a chance to witness it first had in the early days back in New York?

Dave: I guess the commercial end of disco (which still includes lots of great music) was everywhere when i was aged 10 – 16. Acts like Chic and the Bee Gees were omnipresent in the same way as the likes of Rhianna or Black Eyed Peas are now. I started off getting into the stuff i heard on mainstream radio and tv and then dug a bit deeper to find the likes of prelude/west end records. jazz funk was an enormous scene in the UK back then, with records like Rodney Franklin “the groove” and Mystic Merlin “just can’t give you up” getting into our national charts, so there were lots of radio stations playing that sound on the weekends. i generally heard more interesting music on the radio and in record shops than in clubs, as often when i went to clubs the music was safer.

My mum and dad were well into music, my dad is predominately a jazz fan but i recall him liking things like Rose Royce and the Jacksons when we were kids. Where as my mum was always playing the musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair, plus she loved the Beatles – they’re both Liverpudlians.

NJ: You started out working in record stores, and it was at Smither & Leigh, where you first heard “I can feel it” and “Jack your body” which were major influences and made you get into production, but at what stage did the DJ bug also kick in and what was the first breakthrough gig you had, where you thought…Yes, I’m in?

Dave: Like most record collectors i always wanted to dj and played gigs in various local parties in Essex then in London in the 80s. i also did the odd show on pirate radio stations throughout this time. so there wasn’t really a breakthrough gig, i just started getting more offers and initially was playing in Italy a lot around 92/93.

NJ: You have an impressive list of top 40 hits under your belt, but many will not know about your involvement with Take That’s “ Relight My Fire”. Can you tell us how you ended up working with them and choosing Dan Hartman’s “Relight My Fire”?

Dave: Their A&R man approached me as he wanted Take That “to make some disco records” and saw me as the right guy for the job. Covering Relight my Fire was my idea as I thought it would be an ideal track for a pop act like them as it’s a great song and (unlike  his “instant replay”) had never been a hit in the UK, so 98% of the population wouldn’t know it.

NJ: You mentioned in an interview once that the music selection from a dj is far more important than the ability to mix two songs perfectly. In this current overly popular EDM wave we are all experiencing, do you think that perhaps all the technology has made new djs regress to focus on the wrong things when it comes to djing?

Dave: I think technology starting with varispeed decks, right through to traktor makes djs think about mixing and tempos more than selection. That’s just the way it is. I also think it’s resulted in more linear sets where djs play only one style of music. Whatever the case, that’s the dj’s fault…and we are all guilty of it to a degree. Traktor is incredible software and should make a dj more exciting and be able to blend lots of different styles together, but it’s a case of the person using it trying to do that and audiences wanting to hear it.

NJ: This is a question for all the budding producers out there. You admit you do not really play any instruments very well, yet your songs are very musical and full of melody. Now we know you work with musicians, but how do you come up with the ideas and how do you get it to the stage where you can share your vision with a musician to get it to the recording stage?

Dave: Over the years i’ve worked with lots of different keyboard players but i think i’ve retained some sort of sound, so its a question of strong taste and giving clear directions…and of course staying objective during sessions, which is partly an experience thing. If I’m doing a basic house track then I can come up with the parts myself but if I’m doing a remix and want to get the best chord progressions to work with a vocal, then I’m not good enough. I might be able to come up with some chords that work but I want to find the best ones and not just the obvious.  Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is important.

On my own stuff it depends on the song. Copying the chords from an old record you like is a good start some times. On other occasions i might program drums and put in a bass line then get a keyboard player to add chords and some riffs. Another track might start with a sample, be it of vocals or a bassline, it could be anything. After the keys player has gone i might edit the sounds and parts quite drastically.

NJ: Going in a bit more depth, can you tell us what your key hardware and software are in your studio at the moment?

Dave: I use logic audio on the Mac. Keyboards wise, jupiter 8, Juno 106, virus b and c, jx8p, jv2080, cs6x, a Rhodes 73, pro one, (though its not been working for a while).

I still have solitaire desk, though i only use it for mixing disco type material these days and may well sell it. Within the box i use some of the logic synths, predator, mini monster, sylenth, moog plug ins…there are so many plugs in/soft synths around these days, its a question of not having too many and knowing what the ones you do have, do.

NJ: Are there any up and coming producers in the Electronic scene that you would be keen to work with?

Dave: I’m just doing a track with a young french guy called giom, whose had a bit of success and happens to live near me in North London.

I guess with others its just a case of feeling you can compliment each other and that they do something different from you, so you’ve got a fusion of styles. i’d be more interested in working with a techy electronic guy who is making futuristic sounding stuff than someone who does pretty much what i do already – as it means we are more likely to do something different to the norm.

NJ: On a completely different note Dave.  Our crowd are particularly excited about the special House set you are playing on the cruise instead of the more disco infused sets you are very well known for. How do you prepare for different crowds and different parties around the world? Do you prepare each set especially or is it more of a read the crowd type situation?

Dave: You can’t prepare too much for gigs unless you’ve played the place before and have a really good idea what the crowd is like. if I’m billed as playing a disco set, then that of course gives me more idea what i will play but there is still a lot of disco music to choose from and its not until you start playing you can tell what sort of tunes and tempos the crowd reacts to. I’m happy to be down doing a house set in Sydney, as there is a lot of straight up house and deeper stuff i like. If its on the flyer then people can’t come up to me and say “I was expecting disco”.

NJ: It has been said that creative people make for great chefs… Are you culinary savvy or are you more of an instant noodles kind of guy?

Dave: I love good food but alas I’m a pretty crappy cook, though I avoid junk food.

NJ: Thanks a lot for your time Dave and we look forward to seeing you in Sydney on 26th December.

Wednesday the 26th of December, we have master British DJ/Producer and remixer Dave Lee, the man with 1001 pseudonyms, but best known as JOEY NEGRO (Z Records)!

Dave (aka Jakatta, Doug Willis, The Sunburst Band, Raven Maize and many more) was one of the first artists to incorporate disco samples in house music when he began his production career in 1988 and his ability is without question. He is one of the most gifted and hard – working individuals in the Music Industry and we are thrilled to spend the day partying to what no doubt will be an amazing DJ Set.

We are very excited about this party and do want to remind you that tickets for our High Flyers Day Cruises fly out the door, so don’t sleep on this.

Line Up

Bottom Deck: Joey Negro, Nicc Johnson, Karl Prinzen, Terry A
Top Deck: Omegaman, Simon Caldwell, Mike Who, JC (Funkdafied)

Full event details:


Joey Negro on the High Flyers Boxing Day Cruise

Date: Boxing Day 26th December 2012 – Sunset
Time: 6pm – 11pm (After Party Venue TBA 11pm to late!)

Departs: 6pm sharp
Venue: BellaVista followed by exclusive After Party
Afterparty: Line up including Terrence Parker (Detroit) aka Telephone Man at The Oxford Art Factory

Tickets: First Release $55.00 +BF Second Release $65.00 +BF Final Release $75.00 +BF

Tickets On Sale: Wednesday 7th November 9.00am sharp!

Contact your usual High Flyers ticket sellers, phone 02 9557 7905 or buy from Moshtix.

DigDeep Team



P: Not a problem man. Looking forward to it. It’s sweeter because it’s a launch event. 
 

NJ: It has been 3 years since your last visit. How was your experience then and what are you most excited about on this visit?

P: Yeah it’s has been a while since I was here. Last visit was good. I didn’t get to see much of Australia though so hopefully this time around I can get a moment and explore a bit. I’m excited about that. This visit is a bit different because i’m coming specifically for this event and so i’m a bit more focused and truly wanting to connect to the Pierre fans who come out. I don’t come here very often so for that reason alone I want to make sure every single person who comes leaves a little different. Leaves with a smile on you know.
 


NJ: Being one of the pioneers in House music, in particular Acid House, you get asked a lot about what it was like back in the day and what you think of the scene now, which we will also get into in a bit, but first I wanted to ask you about the art of DJ-ing itself.

It seems these days with the technology and easy access to music, people claim to be DJs after only a couple of months, having mastered the basics of mixing or discovering the sync button. We know you embrace technology and you are endorsing Traktor, but how long did it take you to perfect your art and feel comfortable to start playing out?



P: I do embrace the new technology because we have a responsibility as artists to adapt to and reach our audience at the point they are at now. I still play Vinyl, but limited. I use a USB stick but still have my CD’s. I have all Traktor gear BUT i’m planning on using that for my live show. I don’t DJ out with Traktor…not yet. I still have to be 100% comfortable. I don’t feel it as yet. I can’t tell you when but when it happens it will happen. But whenever I use a controller you better believe I will NEVER use a Sync button. I don’t respect that. Learn the craft for real. I do feel the Art of Djng is dying a bit. It’s not evolving. I know both worlds so I am in position to say that because I can and do use the modern technology but I’m still mixing in on my own. I don’t rely on it.

My audience now when I tour are mostly 18-25 years olds. I still have core audience of 35 and up and they keep me relevant. They are so loyal and I’m thankful for that. But these 18-25 yr olds, all they know is this new technology. They demand it. So I see my role as being very important.
 


I see myself as a teacher in a way. In my sets you may see me take on the modern technology a bit and I may play something I know they will go nuts on and then right after I will drop a classic track they may have never heard of, BUT the momentum is already there and so they always embrace it. I will purposely drop a classic house track after playing some hyped techno/acidy/electro type track. They go crazy. 
 

NJ: You mentioned in previous interviews that your big DJ break came from Lil Louis at one of his events at the Bismarck in Chicago. How important was that set in establishing yourself as a permanent fixture on the scene?

P: I was known in the south suburbs (about 35 mins out of Chicago) because I won most dj competitions and did amazing things on 3-4 turntables. They called me Scratching Pierre then. I met Louis in Chicago and got connected. What followed was me opening for him playing up to 6 hrs at the Bismarck. I became DJ Pierre then. It was the best training ground and set the stage for me. We talked about that recently. 


NJ: I recently read an interview you did on Skrufff´s Blog, in which you say “EDM is the biggest genre on the planet right now. There would be no EDM if it were not for the Mark Farina’s, All of Chicago, Dennis Ferrer and all the other foundation guys” following up the whole Migs/Farina fiasco in Las Vegas. Where do you see DJ culture and how healthy do you think the scene is right now?



P: It’s not healthy at all. I’m very happy that our art has been given an equal if not bigger stage to mainstream artists but corporations and big tour companies are sucking the soul out of the music. Everyone wants to be part of the sound we helped to create and that’s driving people to destroy the essence we all love in House music. 

NJ: Can you share your top track of the moment with us?

P: I’m going to be a bit self centered and say my top track is my new track “Strobe Lights Laser Disco” feat Venus Flytraxx with remixes from Tommie Sunshine and Downlow’d. It’s out on DiM MAK now, which is interesting because it’s one of the most commercial labels for me. But I stuck to my method of making music and they still wanted to get down. 
 


I’m also getting lots of attention when I play the remake of “We Are Phuture” out on Bush Records. Eric (Powell – Bush Records) was instrumental in making that happen. Carl Cox is on with a remix as well. 
 


NJ: We have Marshall Jefferson playing for us on the 27th of October. What can you tell us about Marshall that we might not know and how big of an influence was he to you?

P: You may not now that Marshall was once ranked in the top ten in the world on the video game “Age of Empire”. LOL. He was and is an amazing influence in my career. He taught me not to make music for DJ’s. I learned from him that I should make a DJ adapt to my music. He told me to slow Acid Track from 128 to 122 or something like that. I had it at 128 because I felt like the djs wanted it faster at that time because that was the trend. He said “Pierre…slow it down. If the djs want to speed it up…let them.” Classic. So he had a hand in the final version of Acid Track.
 

NJ: On a completely different note, what would have been your career path if the DJ-ing thing had not worked out?

P: I would’ve been some sort of Engineer. The way my mind works is suited for that. I think out the box and try to figure things out. I try to take things apart and put them back together. When I was an 8 yr old kid I fixed all the broken watches on the block and then in my teens I was putting lights in the speakers of boom boxes that blinked to the beat. So my mind is not suited for a 9-5 office job. I was created to create in sort of fashion.



NJ: We are very excited that you are playing a special Acid House set for us. We have made sure the sound system is crystal clear thumping for you to take over.

P: The sound system better be off the chain! I may blow a speaker or two. I’m looking forward to it. ACIEEED!!!
 


NJ: Thank you for your time Pierre and we will see you very soon!

P: Respect man. See you in a bit .

We wanted to showcase some of our own personal favourite acts in a unique range of venues with a much smaller capacity to what we have done in the past. I guess you could call it a labour of love, so without further ado we welcome you to…

“A Quiet Night In With…” is all about a wide range of quality music giving us the diversity and option to book anything that we personally love, so expect a bit of everything as these events will solely be artist driven with quality being the only common factor.

We thought it fitting to invite one of the most influential artists in dance history to launch this labour of love, the creator of “acid house” DJ PIERRE…

Event Details:

“A Quiet Night In With… DJ Pierre”

Date: Saturday 24th November 2012
Time: 3.00pm – 1.00am
Venue: Amazing Rooftop Location TBA
Tickets: First Release $45.00 SOLD OUT Second Release $55.00 SOLD OUT Final Release $65.00 SOLD OUT

We are limited to 300 capacity only for this one, so fingers on the buzzers, tickets on sale Wednesday 3rd October 9am sharp!

Contact your usual High Flyers ticket sellers, phone 02 9557 7905 or visit Moshtix.

Please join our Facebook event page for further updates:
http://www.facebook.com/events/472091169477954/

See you all in November!

DigDeep Team