DJ Interviews
October 4th 2006

Raoul Belmans

 Belgium's Aroma Recordings is one of the most popular record labels here at Primal. We had a chance to chat with Aroma label boss Raoul Belmans, who also happens to be half of the Swirl People project, who have a brand new single out this week and will release their highly anticipated third artist album in a few months. Here's what Raoul had to say about Aroma, Djing all over the world, and his upcoming LP.



When I Think Of You is the 1st single off the upcoming 3rd Swirl People album. The single will be released on October 2nd. When's the album dropping, and what can you tell us about it?

The new album is scheduled for February 2007. It's called "Swirl it up" and it will be available on CD and two vinyl samplers will follow shortly after. There will be 12 tracks with some nice collaborations. We've been working almost 2 years on this follow up for "Special Combo" and we are very excited about the result. I cannot say much more but it will be the freshest house music you've heard in a while and people in my close surroundings that have heard already some snippets are nothing but excited.

You got house music legend Derrick Carter to remix "When I Think Of You" - how did this remix come about? Also, DJ Heather once again provides the vocals. How did you work with her on this? Did you get her in the studio in Belgium?

Yes, she did the vocals of this release at our studio in Belgium while she was in the country playing for the Aroma night. She decided to stick around for a few days to work on this with us and to enjoy the fun activities we have to offer here in the summertime in our beer loving city.

Last X-mas/NYE I was on tour in Australia and I happened to run into Derrick a few times in a couple of cities too so we had the chance to hang out for a bit, have some beers and dinner and stuff. And I believe that right after dessert this remix became the topic and he was certainly down to do this! Maybe the Belgian chocolate in the dessert might have helped me out on this too! Hehe!

The album features some new vocalists, who are they and how did those collaborations happen?

First of all we have Ingrid Hakanson who's living in Vancouver but is originally from Sweden. She worked with us on two tracks for this album and I basically met her in Miami when I was introduced to her by Carlos from the Lawnchair Generals. Then we have a Blanche Neige who's living in Paris but is originally a true Londoner. Funny thing is that we met her on my space and she will be featured on much more future Swirl tracks for sure. Last but not least we have the Belgian king of hip-hop/r&b TLP aka Troubleman who is a resident deejay at the infamous Ghent Culture Club. We've been talking drunk bullshit for years to each other and said that we were going to do a collaboration one day and finally it happened and the result is sick!

Your last album "Special Combo" is quite possibly my personal favorite house full length album - it has great flow and continuity from beginning to end.
How did you approach this album project?

After the big success of "Special Combo" we really wanted to make a follow up to this quickly but it turned out that I was on tour much more than foreseen so we ended up working 2 years on this. In a way this made the project even more interesting because a lot of the tracks are very different to each other because they are all made in different timeframes instead of doing this all at the same time.

What has the reaction to the 1st single been like? Its my understanding that it is already on regular rotation on Belgian mainstream radio?

Yes indeed, Studio Brussels (the Belgian equivalent of BBC Radio 1) picked it already up a few weeks ago in their play list and FM Brussels has it on their A list at the moment. I'm sure that many stations in Belgium and Holland will follow soon after the release is out. The first reaction of the single in general is amazing. The remix of Derrick Carter and the Dub Cut are getting mad props by the deejays who were fortunate enough to receive this as a promo. And as far as the crowd reaction, I can only tell that even before the release is out people actually start to sing along already with the "badooo badaradooo" chorus!!! It's giving me goose bumps just thinking about it!

In the near future, your label Aroma will reach the "50 releases" milestone. C0ongrats on that! Tell us a bit about how the label came to be. What are your plans for Aroma in the future? any exiting new signings and releases you want to let us know about?

Thanks! 8 years fly by like it's nothing that's true. In the past years it was a dream to work with all this great and talented artists, some of them already know to us and others introduced on Aroma and now worldwide known. The label at the moment stands at its strongest point ever and the sensor for that is definitely the amount of demo's I get sent every single day.
It only came to my attention before the summer that we are about to reach our 50 releases milestone. In the near future, a new sub label will arise from Aroma that will replace the more hidden sub label AJ Recordings that we were doing lately. (Last release Jamanta Crew "La Vida Loca") On Aroma you'll find a lot of Swirl People goodies coming up from the album of course, there will be a new Kenton Slash Demon EP and a new Ion release too. And there are some more projects on the go that you'll find out very soon!

You've had a really busy touring schedule this year. What have been some of the recent highlights?

To my big surprise, not so far from home I ended up playing in Lithuania which was the best gig I had this summer by far. My gigs in Hawaii were amazing too not to mention the beauty of the islands! Gorgeous!

What's sexier? Vinyl or CDRs?

Vinyl smells better than CDR's so that makes it definitely sexier!

I know you're from Leuven and everything, but don't you think Jupiter *might* just be a little bit tastier than Stella?

Stella is easier to get around the corner but you might be right. Fact is that Jupiler and Stella are manufactured in the same place so that might explain the tiny little difference. Aren't we Belgians spoiled?

Trick question: What's your favorite underground house vinyl online shop?

In Belgium MM Dance store but they don't do it online so I am definitely going for Primal Records!!! What did I win now? ;-)

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us Mr Belmans!

We highly recommend for our customers to check out the new Swirl People single "When I Think Of You" - it's brilliant!

September 15, 2006

This week is DROP MUSIC WEEK here at Primal!

We sat down on our virtual couch with Drop Music label boss and Inland Knighter Laurence Ritchie for a little chat about one of our favorite labels, which turns 50 releases old soon. Quite an achievement in this day and age! Check out the interview below. We've also restocked a huge load of their releases, many of these gems are out of print and available only at Primal. We've also put the entire Drop Catalog on sale for a week, so if you missed on some of these, here's your chance!



Drop Music's Laurence Ritchie - the Primal Interview:

Primal: Drop's been around for close to ten years and is celebrating its 50th release. What prompted you to start the label in the first place?
Laurence Ritchie: No one would release our music so I had no choice, which is great really as the label may not have existed otherwise.

Primal: How did you guys meet and what made you decide to team up on productions?
LR: We met through the free party scene as dj's with different sound systems doing free party's, and a few years on when we ended up in the same studio together, I guess we just had the same things in mind musically, and bounced off each other well.

Primal: How do you split roles in the studio? Any studio tips for the budding producers out there?
LR: We both do a bit of everything , no one has any particular role so we can both produce individually if needed. Studio tips? Don't smoke weed whilst writing as it will all sound great (but is probably quite er.. dull) - that's about as technical as we get.

Primal: You're based in Notts. How's the house scene there at the moment, and in the UK in general?
LR: Mmm er.. pretty er underground , very underground, well... there's cool clubs putting on nights but all the kids here are into rock and indie now.

Primal: much good music on Drop, what are your personal favorites releases on the label?
LR: Well it's hard to say, as what we like doesn't always reflect in others, it would be hard to choose as there's so much looking back at the catalog.

Primal: You've only recently started releasing music from producers that are not based in Nottingham, such as Troydon, Jake Childs and Freak Commission. What prompted you to start releasing international talent on the label?
LR: People always thought the label was just for our music, but they only started sending me music recently, and then local friends like The Littlemen and now Klinky Movement were doing great stuff...so I thought why not release it?

Primal: Having travelled all around the world on DJ gigs, what are some of your favorite places to play?
LR: NZ is always good , South Africa was good but we've not played there for a while now. We've had some fun gigs in the states lately also.

Primal: What's coming up for Drop Music after this big 50th release? How about IK? Any big plans for the future?
LR: Just keep on keeping on.

Big thanks to Laurence for taking the time to participate in the interview, and for releasing such fantastic music!
August 19, 2006



JOEY YOUNGMAN INTERVIEW:

Q: How did you get into house music and what made you decide to start producing?
A: I was producing music a little bit before I was into house actually, I was real young so the gear was all gifts from my parents at that point. The way it started was just with a Yamaha Keyboard which had MIDI on it, linked to a Roland drum machine, and a 4-track tape recorder. Not sure what made me want to start producing, as I recall it was just something that I had a love for as long as I can remember. My uncle had a big recording studio so that probably exposed me to it in some way. And as for getting into house music, that was the infamous Inner City "Good Life" track that grabbed me in '93 and I was hooked from that moment on.

Q: What prompted you to launch Fetish and sister label Jackin Tracks?
A: At the time I started Fetish, I think part of it was just a desire not to rely on other people to put out my music. When you "shop" music to labels, they will sign some tracks, and not sign others, and there were some things I had lying around that I thought were definitely worth being put on vinyl. The decision was made as a long term thing. I wanted to have a long career in house music, and realized that selling tracks to labels probably was not going to sustain me. There was not enough certainty in it. I felt like if I had total control over my music and how it was put out, and how the financial aspect of it was handled, I would be much better off.

Q: You're considered by many to be the hardest working man in house music. What's a typical Joey Youngman day like?
A: Hmmm, typical day? Well during the week, Monday through Thursday, I'm always home. On an average weekday, I wake up at about 8AM. I usually spend the first 3 or 4 hours of my day dealing with label stuff, working with the pressing plant, distributors, graphics, licensing issues, and those sorts of things. Sometimes things get crazy and it will take up my whole day. But most of the time it's a few hours in the morning. Then I usually make my way into the studio (which is in the room next-door to my office) and start on whatever I've got going on. About half the time I'm just chopping up samples, making new sounds, making my own custom drum loops, doing that kind of stuff. I usually save the creative stuff (actually MAKING music) for after dark, late night hours, or weekends when I'm home. I'll be in the studio most of the night until about 10PM, which is when the Daily Show comes on. I watch the Daily Show and go to bed right after it. Starting to feel a bit like an old man here actually! Then on the weekends, usually 3 weekends per month, I am out playing gigs. I usually take the day before I leave to prepare, and play records for a while just to get into a groove and figure out what stuff I'd like to bring for my gigs. Obviously this all varies but that's the basic idea. I used to be crazy and party a lot, it's just these last few years that I've calmed down and taken on this structured approach to my life. I like it better this way.

Q: You're releasing your first mix CD compilation on Fetish. Tell us a bit about the project.
A: This CD is a mix of what I believe are my best tracks that have come out on Fetish & Jackin. I just wanted to do something that would sum up my music on one CD. For people who are into it and have been buying it, and also for people who have never heard of me who I hope might get turned onto this sound. I definitely want to do more things like this in the future, whether it be on Fetish, or another label. I think the next one will be a various artists mix though, with tracks from many different artists. This would be a more accurate picture of what my DJ sets are like.

Q: Are you a vinyl DJ or do you prefer CDs? what are your personal views on the whole vinyl/digital debate? Do you think that vinyl is sexy?
A: Yes! Vinyl is sexy! I prefer vinyl over CDs by a long shot. But, having tons of unreleased "goodies," a lot of which are my own productions, I need to incorporate CDs into my sets. So these days I usually end up playing about half and half. I always bring a full bag of vinyl with me for gigs, but it is also nice to be able to have hundreds of tracks on CD with me too. I've converted a lot of my old vinyl to CD just to be able to
have it all on-hand wherever I go. I still buy a lot of vinyl, and I just don't see how the format could go away. It feels better to play, the artwork is there, and it just looks better when a DJ plays vinyl. That statement may sound shallow or ignorant to some people but it is true. Then there's the element of programs like final scratch that make it "look" like you're playing vinyl. But I am just not confident with relying on a computer for a live performance at this point. I'd be worrying the whole time that it was going to crash. In conclusion, vinyl is sexy!

Q: If you could collaborate on a project with someone (anyone) - who would it be?
A: Ooh, hard one. I can't list just one. Ant Banks, first off. He's produced for a lot of the bay area rappers, most notably E-40. The guy's music is just sleezy! But in a very good way. Definitely Derrick Carter as well. To be honest I am not big on collaborations, I just seem to work better when I'm alone. But I'd like to do a sort of "fly on the wall" scenario with some of these guys and just watch them work. Another one would be Mousse T.

Q: What upcoming Fetish and Jackin Tracks projects can we look forward to in the future?
A: The newest Fetish is gonna be a 3-tracker by me, called "The Captain Strikes Again," sort of a follow-up to the Captain Boom Boom EP. Then on Jackin it's a Mario Fabriani 3-tracker, in a very similar vein to the "Furry Green Monsters," I think it's gonna be a big one. And after that, on Fetish, a White Collar Criminals EP which I think is one of the best releases in the catalogue thus far. Basically I've got some things lined up that I think are extremely strong, and I'm not just saying that to promote them! Very excited to hear what people think when they come out.

Q: Please settle the question once and for all. who is Mario Fabriani, really?
A: Yes, it's me. I came up with the alias back in '98 when I was still unknown and shopping my tracks to labels. All my favorite producers were using aliases and I just thought it would be a fun thing to do. I used Mario because of Super Mario Brothers, and I just like the name. Fabriani is some city in Italy I believe, I just opened the world atlas and browsed through Italian cities until one sounded cool.

Q: In 2003 you were a relative unknown. You're now a star DJ/producer. How does it feel? Do you get harrassed by groupies much?
A: Well, I guess you could say that, but it's on the underground house music scene, which doesn't account for much at all. It's a very small scene. To me what feels good is being able to do what I love for a living. I mean seriously, I sit at home and deal with house music all day, whether making it or arranging to get it out to the masses. Then I travel the world on the weekends and play music for party people. I don't have to compromise anything either - I just make whatever kind of stuff I feel like making, I put it out, and it sells and supports me. I only play as many gigs as I want to play. I think that's what everybody dreams of doing right? As for groupies, nah, not in the traditional sense. There are people who come up to me at gigs and tell me how much they enjoy my music, but those are usually cool people who I enjoy talking to. The only problem is, 99% of them are guys. I could use some more girls enjoying my music.

Q: Trick question. What's your favorite online record shop?
A: Primal baby. No joke. I definitely spend more of my cheddar at Primal than any other record store.Joey's current top10 chart:

1.) OGC feat. Kelly Love - "Pump Dance" (SNEAK RMX) {D'lectable}
2.) Natural Rhythm - "Chicago Tower" {Dotbleep}
3.) Edzy - "one six seven nine" {Look At You}
4.) Troydon - "How I Feel" {Om}
5.) Sir Cosmic - "Don't Fall" {AJ}
6.) Jacob London - "Whoa This Is Fun" {Movim}
7.) Chris Carrier & Hector Moralez - "Sorry James" {Robsoul}
8.) The Sound Republic - "Party People" {Spatula City}
9.) Uneaq - "Night Music" {Unsigned}
10.) DJ Sneak - "The Last Message" {Downtown 161}

Thank you Joey for answering all of our questions and being part of our first Primal Interview!! We're absolutely loving the new Fetish release and can't wait for your next one.

We'll talk to you soon!!

Also, be sure to check out all of Primal's Fetish/Jackin backstock for those awesome releases that you missed.
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