29/3/2006

Interview With Darren Tate

With a colossal amount of established productions and compilations all ready under his belt and a new DT8 Project artist album due this summer it’s not very hard to see why Darren Tate is quickly becoming hot property once again in 2006, we caught up with the man of the moment.

Q. You finally got your debut artist album, Horizons 01 released recently on Mondo. What kind of reactions have you been getting back on it?

Awful – really terrible. :). Actually they’ve been great – people have appreciated it for what it is which is a selection of club highlights DT style over the last few years. A good slice of euphoric dance. It is only the tip of the iceberg but it’s a nice tip nonetheless.

Q. You are one of the last trance producers who is able to appeal to the underground, but also have large mainstream success. Do you consciously produce a track with its intended market in mind?

I am always aware of the various markets but I rarely try and produce a record purely to fit in one. I just get the desire to do a kind of record and then sit back and see what happens. For example I may be in the mood to write an original dance record and then it’s the originality which causes it to be a cross over record. Having said that I do occasionally do records which I know will be for club only – with clubbers / fans in mind.

Q. Vinyl sales have been dropping steadily. As owner of your own label [Mondo Records] where do you think the trance industry is going with new revenue streams?

Vinyl certainly has been dropping, and those damn illegal mp3 sites really are buggering up us producers (especially the small guys). Mondo is seriously investing in the internet – we have just launched our own shop which incorporates CD, MP3 and vinyl sales. We’re even looking at specially devised MP4 products – visuals for music VDJ style.

The difference for us is that we’re not trying to be a generic web shop – we are only working on the tracks we really believe in – and we will market and invest in those just like a regular vinyl release.

At the same time we’re using new web technologies such as MySpace and podcasting to try and enhance our fan base, as well as our Mondo Sessions radio show incorporated across many international radio stations.

Another key revenue for us is compilations. The first Mondo Sessions mixed by myself and Mike Koglin will be available mid summer, and will be the start of what I hope will be seen as a great series of uplifting and intelligent dance music.

Q. 2 years ago, music download piracy was quite widespread in trance music. But many fans have recently taken a stand themselves, and now the majority of community trance sites ban any illegal download links and members heavily criticize those who acquire their music illegally. What is your take on the issue?

It’s a start but I don’t actually enough is being done to kill of the scourge of illegal mp3 sites, or stopping people from pirating music. To my absolute fury I’ve seen promo copies of our key releases (that have only been sent to industry!) appear on these sites and literarily thousands have downloaded it. I think we need some serious deterrents in place – for example policed replica ‘mp3’ sites that catch people and charge them for stealing music. Trouble is it’s hard to police in the internet..

Q. You’ve said in the past how you prefer CDs over mp3’s, due to quality restrictions on compression. Do you think the attitude by labels and distributors to ‘not bother’ with CD distribution is a mistake?

As many are aware you get a higher quality out of CD audio as it’s not got any MPEG compression – however 320Kb is still pretty good (though still not perfect by any means). Aside from the quality issue MP3’s don’t come with packaging, and not everyone has an mp3 player (especially in their car etc.). Therefore for us it’s imperative to offer a CD solution.

The other key point that comes out of this is that there is a big hole in the market in the area of CD singles which are and have been only ever released as vinyl. How many low unit releases on key dance labels could you buy a CD single for? Not a lot. That’s something we’re looking into seriously right now (and our web shop is evidence of this).

Q. Where do you see the trance industry in 5 years?

Well of course Jurgen Vries will of course have made a comeback and be at No.1 in the charts. And people will still be arguing over whether he’s English or Dutch.
God forbid I hear you cry.
I believe that trance (or a derivative of) is going to make a come back in a more mature form. House is too funky, Prog is too boring, Trance is too kiddy – I’m thinking something in between. You want to hear what that’s going to sound like? Check out the DT8 Project later this year..

Q. For your single with Charlotte Church [Jurgen Vries Featuring CMC – The Opera Song] you made a very good ‘Classical Rework.’ Have you considered pursuing more into that area of music? Maybe even a classical album?

My background is classical and I believe I’ve got the potential to stand amongst the best at film scoring. Many of my fellow producers keep telling to me to write scores – but it’s not so easy to get into plus I’m so busy loving what I do right now.. I imagine I’ll invest more time in it once I’m a little older. However there will be little bits here and there in the meantime – again the DT8 Project album has a few tit bits in (and that’s plug No.2 now over).

Q.I keep seeing the name, ‘Darren Tate’ come up under the credits for a few television shows here in the UK. Is that you?

I’ve done some TV but not really written specifically for it. It could be the skater dude who’s nicked my profile on MySpace?

Q. So how on earth did you convince Miss Charlotte Church to do a trance track, of all things? And what was it like working with her?

She saw a picture of me in Muscle Mag and just knew she wanted to work with me. You’ll notice my jokes get less amusing through this interview (that is if they were even amusing to being with). Basically the record was buzzing big, Sony wanted to sign it, but we said they could only have it if they stuck Charlotte Church on it. And that’s how it went. Unfortunately the price of succumbing to commercialism was lack of credibility as DJ – which is annoying as I’m pretty sh*t hot these days even if I don’t say so myself ;)

To work with.. I take the 5th.

Q. Is it really true you are working on a top secret DT8 Project album? How are things progressing with that?

It’s pretty secret all right (which is why I’ve only ever mentioned it in every other sentence through this interview so far). It’s called ‘Perfect World’, and it’s very almost finished. It’s NOT a trance album, though it has some trancey tracks. But then it also has some breakbeat, house, classical.. It’s taken years, and I’ve been re-inventing it and replacing tracks over and over while trying to create a new sound at the same time (not an easy task). But we’re almost there..

Incidentally just to keep everyone happy we’re releasing it as a 2 CD product – the second CD will be club remixes mixed together. I think it’s going to be a pretty hot package come this summer.

Q. Any new collaborations coming from you soon?

There’s plenty on the Perfect World album however in regards to trance the only one I’m considering is a third single with Jono Grant. After a party I went to A&B’s studio with Paavo but we were both so drunk we fell asleep on the mixing desk – so don’t expect much apart from the sound of drool on that one.

Q. You have got on quite well with Above & Beyond in the past [Darren made a track with Jono Grant.] Have you heard their new album, Tri-State?

I actually made two tracks with Jono. I have heard some of their album and they funnily enough have heard some of mine. The guys are massively talented and they’ve stuck to a formula which has worked brilliantly for them and I believe this album shines off those very skills. Unfortunately I have to go and alienate my fans every three seconds which is why I’ve been working hard on trying something a little different. It’s a big risk that will either pay off or it won’t – time will tell.

Q. Have you ever felt like quitting music completely and doing something entirely different? If so, what has kept you going on?

I thought about working in porn for a while but I’m scared people won’t take me too seriously. I LOVE music and I love writing music (although the business side is HARD work). I gave up one complete lifetime opportunity and risked everything to do music full time and I won’t ever go back. HOWEVER I am also a pretty nifty writer, photographer and artist so you never know.

Q. What non-trance music are you currently listening to? Are you a secret Jessica Simpson fan?

I listen to everything – I love music that either has great emotion or soul. I find that in bands, dance, classical – everything.

As for Jessica I haven’t decided what I think about her yet, but I know she really likes although I wish she would stop phoning me and leaving those dirty messages on my answer phone.

Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

After this interview solitary confinement. Actually I hope that I would have delivered a great album or two, and still be producing the best music I possibly can.

From my 200 foot yacht of course :)

Many Thanks to Luke from Trance.nu who conducted this interview