We really like your recent "Frontiers" CD. It was really refreshing to see that you did not follow the electro trend so popular these days.
Exactly! I am glad you said that, that is exactly why I did it that way. I play almost everything as long as it’s good music, from deep house all the way to techno, it depends where, what time, what country, what club. A lot of producers and DJs that used to make really amazing records, all of a sudden have completely changed their whole sets to play just electro-minimal stuff.
Believe it or not, I noticed that trend coming up almost two years ago in Ibiza. I was playing at this club called DC10 and I noticed that more and more people were playing electro minimal stuff. Long time ago, I used to pick some German labels which were amazing, but not to play like that, but, in a way, to kind of tell a story. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, to make it understandable, but not to play nothing but electro.
Here in DC your music is very popular and your Yoshitoshi releases are almost revered by some house fans. How do you compare the sound of this CD to what you’ve done for Yoshi?
With Yoshitoshi, I did two compilations. I did "In House We Trust 2", which I did with another DJ, and then I did "Yoshitosh: Ibiza" in which I wanted to reflect what was going on in Ibiza and with Yoshitoshi. It is really difficult to do a one-catalog CD. For "Yoshitoshi: Ibiza", I had to pick certain tracks that were not used by other six DJs, that was almost 80 tracks. But to be honest, it came out really, really good and it was one of the reasons I got picked to do the Renaissance CD I think.
So, did you have more freedom on the Renaissance CD?
Yes. I learned a lot about how to make deals. The way you make these CDs, you have to pick about 50 tracks and then get the licenses. If they get the OK, then you start making the CD. That’s what is tricky about it, because a lot of times you choose tracks that you can’t even get a license for. Labels go out of business, or they cannot find the person, or they don’t want to license it. That’s the other side of the business that I learned.
I imagine it must also be a lot of hard work to find tracks that fit your particular style.
It was. Specially at this moment, because there’s a of electro stuff that really does not tell a story. To me, people want to buy CDs not because they want to listen to the music that is played in the club, but to listen to a CD. They want to listen to it in the car, or at a party or in the bedroom. A lot of times tracks are good in a club, but only work there. I want to take people on a journey. I want to have more of a musical turn to it, so it does not matter what background you have. So, if you are Joe, that works from 9 to 5 and only went to a club twice when you were on vacation in Ibiza, the CD still makes sense to you.
So, how did the collaboration with Yousef come about? |
This is something that Renaissance wanted to do, it’s something new. I had no idea, I found out last year before the Winter Music Conference. My booking agent called me and told me he had good news, that Renaissance wanted me to do the next CD compilation with another fellow DJ that has been DJing in the UK for a long time. So, I said “Great, let’s do it”. To be honest, I like to do CDs. If I really wanted to present Behrouz, it would take me three CDs, one CD does not really justify what I do. I can play deep, I can play peak time and I can play afterhours, and those are all different. In a way, I tried to put all that into one CD in a way that people can enjoy it and also fitting the guidelines of what Renaissance is all about. So, that’s what we did.
You’ve done some great tracks in the past, like “Azab”, and the top remix of “Safe from Harm”. Any other exciting productions/remixes coming up?
Well, I just did a down tempo track for Perfecto. Once a year, they do this CD compilation, a chill out CD, and I was asked by Paul Oakenfold to do a track, and they chose the track I did for them which is called “Looking for a face”. It was good as I was just trying to do something a little bit different. I also did a mash-up of "Cascade of Colors" and Blaze, and I am still working on it, I call it "Sunshine On a Lovely Day". I also did this original track which is a remake of an old track, a Ram Jam, "Black Betty", and I am working with a new vocalist from San Francisco trying to finish it. At the end of the year, when I finish with all the touring, I want to go back to the studio and do a lot of work… I am really inspired.
Yes, we've noticed that you’ve been touring all over the world but not so much in the East Coast US.
Yes, but I do play a lot in New York. I do afterhours, Crobar, and when Danny was at Vinyl I would do 3-4 times a year with him. I’ve done Cielo a couple of times, I’ve done Sullivan Room… Last week I did a grand opening of a small place called Guest House. It was just for a friend of mine… and in November I will be in New York at Crobar with a very special DJ.
Great! We’ll tell people to keep an eye on that… Last time I saw you was at WMC with Palash...
It was a great show and a great venue (SOBE live). That day they bought a whole new sound system. A lot of people showed up and it was great.
Yes, Danny Tenaglia was there. We have one last and silly question for you. Your trademark SF cap, that is a San Francisco cap, right? Some people have argued with me that it’s a Sound Factory logo…
Nooooo… that is a San Francisco hat. I think some people think that way too… I love New York, it’s like my second home. When I come to NY I have so many friends, I love the vibe, and whenever I play a wear a NY cap on, just to represent. My sound is always in between San Francisco and New York.
Great. We look forward to seeing you in New York then!
Interview by Jeanine Delay :: October 4, 2005
|
