We’ve had a soft spot for the productions of this weeks guest for some time now. We first posted about him back in October 2010 and have lapped up his productions ever since. ‘The Dead Rose Music Company’ created his alias around a fictitious story involving feuding families and has since shed this mysterious origin in favour of a more honest and upfront approach. What started as reverb heavy edits of guilty pleasures has evolved into some of the most exciting productions of the past year putting out tracks on WOLF, Kolour, Sleazy Beats, Lets Play House and shortly on our House of Disco imprint.
Todays mix from TDRMC is a live recording from his Red Bull Music Academy appearance in May that he recorded for us. So all mixing is done in real-time, the way it should be but often isn’t. Starting with a Marvin Gaye track that miles ahead of its time the mix is as eclectic as you’d expect. Loaded with typically heavy grooves and pushing a deep, clubby feel this mix showcases his great skills as a selector. Treading a line between the depths of reverberating house and the enthusiasm of disco and soul the mix progresses with plenty of confidence and a woozy strength. There’s even some swing in there among his unreleased tracks, to which we’re privy a sneak peek. We caught up with him and chatted about fixing things, reverb, split personalities and of all topics…… ABBA!
Come see him play at our upcoming label night in East London. For details CLICK HERE
INTERVIEW:
You began your producing career shrouded in a veil of mystery, why was this?
Having DJ’d for the last 16 years, worked in one of the most popular records shops in the UK and played all over the world I wanted to do something that stood on its own rather than been a favour or because I knew someone. It was a strange decision because I sent tracks out to people who I had known for years and kept it all quiet. Even Tomas Malo who has been a friend for 15 years didn’t know it was me, I told him and he was really shocked and pleased.
You say “It was a chance meeting over a record that led to this forbidden union”…..what was the record that brought you together?
You do know that the “Company” is just me and my split personality. I have collected around 16000 records and they range from really shit promo’s of PJ & Duncan to super rare disco & hip hop. I have a kind of musical ADHD so I split myself into two fictional characters, the eclectic side and the more house focused side. The first record that I ever bought was Pacific State but I was brought up on Kate Bush et al. I then went to a record fair in Leeds when I was 15 and bought King Bee’s Back by Dope Demand and that was my anthem.
You’re a fan of and fix up analogue machinery, whats your favorite machine and whats its story?
I like fixing shit full stop, I was always taking things apart as a kid, re-wiring and trying to make things “better”, when I worked in the Record Shop I took a remote control fart machine apart and wired it up to the shops system and pressed the remote when people walked past, its was like god was passing wind. The labour of love I had with a Juno 106 was both frustrating and expensive, I stripped the chips of the resin, rebuilt the battery circuit and in the end had to find a clone chip to replace a 80017a voice chip. Once I had finished with the synth and played with it I didn’t like it so I sold it. My favourite bit of kit is valve eq I totally bastardised, it started life as a behringer tube EQ and I replaced the opamps, pots, valves, caps and it sounded mint.
A lot of your tracks are very heavy on the reverb, do you feel its a signature of your sound?
Reverb is an addiction I am trying to kerb, it’s both a blessing and curse as sometime you just need it to tie a sound together but then other times it can really muddy up your mix. I try not to have a signature sound that’s why I buy and sell kit, I try to use the broadest set of tools I can so I don’t get bored.
Whats your favourite non-musical guilty pleasure?
Cars, I am on the hunt for restoration project to keep my hands busy. My first job was working for a cousin who restored and repaired cars, at 13 I was knee-deep in a Mk2 Jag which I had to strip and later rebuild.
You started up a label ‘Taiko Mochi’, how have you found the transition from producer to label bossman?
Running a label is hard and takes a lot of time, of which I have very little of. I have a lot of respect for people who run labels, DJ, Produce at the same time, sadly for me I also have a full-time job and a massive mortgage so priorities have to be juggled.
What can we expect from ‘Taiko Mochi’ in the next few months?
I have tracks sat waiting to be finished but when I am producing for myself I have a serious case of the doubts and I worry that the tracks aren’t good enough and nobody will buy them so I end up not putting them out.
You live in a pretty remote part of the Uk, have you found this is good for your productions but bad for your live gigs?
I love been in the countryside, I have lived all over the place, I lived in Dubai for a year which I hated and then I lived in the Alps and I loved that. I bought this house where I am now about 6 years ago and rented it out for 3 of those whilst I lived abroad, since moving back its been tough sometimes for gigs but its right next to the A1 and that’s a saving grace. In terms of my productions, I get to make a fuck load of noise and nobody bothers me.
What, to you, are the most and least appealing things about living in a city?
The most appealing thing for me would be food and the availability of it. I don’t really go out unless I am playing so I am not fussed for nightlife and I love the countryside too much.
Is there a type of house music or disco that really annoys you and gets under your skin?
ABBA!!! I find it so annoying that they are labelled under disco. I am not a fan of this pseudo dance music that seems to be forcing its way in to R&B/Hip Hop. Makes my teeth itch.
Who are the 3 dj’s you’d most like to play back to back with?
Well if we go with ones that are alive I would say, KDJ, Danilo Plessow, Premier. KDJ brings the soul, Danilo brings the raw house and premier is just sick.
Whats the last track you listened to that surprised you with its quality?
Depends what you mean as quality? Sound Quality I would have to say OOFTS remix of my new track on LPH, it just sounds massive and the mix down is spot on, it’s also awesome. The last thing I listened to which just took my breath away was the soundtrack to Prometheus by Marc Streitenfeld.
Whats the last vinyl you bought?
Doc Livingston’s Philly Jump from HTFR, release in 95/96 and is just old school house
Anything exciting coming up that we should know about?
I am playing in New York, Philly, DC, San Diego and LA in August. I have tracks about to drop on Young Adults, Kolour and an EP on Lets Play House that has remixes from OOFT and KRL which are just plain naughty
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