July 1, 2011

BASICS Podcast 008 - Reash

Restartam seria de podcasturi dupa o pauza relativ lunga alaturi de un DJ / producer cu o personalitate puternica, cu un trecut interesant si al carui viitor arata din ce in ce mai bine.

Showcase House, Disco si Techno in jurul barierei de 120 bpm, influentat de clima calda, din partea lui Reash.



Stream via Mixcloud, link de download, articol / interviu in limba engleza se pot gasi la doar cateva scroll-uri mai jos.




Born and raised in Bucharest, currently a resident in Palma de Mallorca, Reash has been lurking around for quite some time now getting involved in pretty much any music-related activity there is, whether it’s producing, DJ-ing, hosting radio shows or throwing club parties in his home town.

We found his evolution as an artist in the past months quite interesting, so we asked him to state his current favourites through a podcast and sat down with him for a quick chat about the weather in Spain, a day at the beach, his debut EP that surfaced earlier in June and his plans for the future.


Tracklist:

01. Huxley - Shower Scene (Mic Newman Remix) [ANR002]
02. Jin Choi & Walker Barnard - I'm Just The Rain [PG002]
03. Lars Leonhard - Atropurpureum [CR008]
04. Mason feat. Aqualung - Little Angel (Kolombo Remix) [MOO012]
05. Youandewan - 1988 (Jimpster's Second Summer Of Love Remix) [LRISE0051D1]
06. Roman Rauch - Bio Rhythm (Erdbeerschintzel Remix) [PHP053]
07. Lonely C & Baby Prince - Your Mom's House [WLM14]
08. Heiko Laux & Teo Schulte - Sound Hug (Daniel Bortz Remix) [SUOL027]
09. Reash - We Know It's Right [CDR]
10. Toomy Disco - Since I Feel For You (Golden Bug Remix) [SSR044]
11. Girl Unit - Wut (Claude Vonstroke Butt Naked Mix) [NS008R]
12. Indie Jules - Tulip Fields Dub [CDR]
13. Reash - Total Control Of The Heart [CDR]
14. Helge Kuhl - The Rainbow Snake (Florian Meindl Remix) [PAINTWORK06]

DOWNLOAD (via Sendspace - available for 30 days)




Knowing Reash:

BASICS: You’re a bearded guy with black and white glasses. Correct? Anything else you’d like to share about your identity as an artist?

Reash: I think a lot and tend to have a rum based diet when I go out. Therefore I’m a weird mixture of deep, rolling grawls and strong lurking concepts. I will change the glasses for some tiger brown-blue ones.



B: Since your relocation you’ve been on a creative spree. I’m curious, is it the weather? Or?

R: It certainly played an important role although I got a terrible flu as a result of the climate change. I guess lately I’m able to arrange the ideas I always had. And yes, free time is a must (...guess I’m lucky).

B: You’re a producer for how long? A quick walk through your software and hardware progression over the years?

R: Tough one... My notion of time is slightly bent. 10 years, I guess, if we count the first time I installed Impulse Tracker (mind-bending at that time, thanks to Mesmer). After that I bought ReBirth. A mutual friend of Roby’s (yes, the one from Livio & Roby) told me he was using it so I played around with it as well for at least a year. Then Reason came along and completely changed everything. I’m still using it since I found it to be the one for me... It offers the freedom and ease of a software DAW but has the hardware way of thinking, if you ask for it. At least that’s the way I use it. I did try out other VST based DAWs but I breathe through Reason.

B: You come from a solid Drum&Bass / Breakbeat background both as a producer and as a DJ. That’s quite far away from what you’re doing now in terms of genres. How did the transition occur?

R: Backwards. I found out that Breakbeat existed by accidentally landing at a party. I thought it was a 4/4 based line-up since my diet consisted of classic House at that time. As for Drum&Bass, I really don’t know why it got me hooked. It’s just that I found the Liquid part close to what I had in mind at that time.

B: What’s your production algorythm? Do you focus on a specific genre, tempo, rhythm or you just build a track and it is what it is?

R: Last option. It starts with an empty rack, drums, melody and so on... I did want to save some patches at some point but I’m glad I forgot to.

B: Your debut EP - Unfuse got a release in June on Room Music (n.r. Room Music on Juno Download). The interesting fact about it is that every single one of the four tracks has a different vibe to it, but without compromising the integrity of the release. You have All At Once – kind of a deep aquatic House experiment, the Tech-House dancefloor tool - Here There Everywhere, Left Side on a Dub-Techno-ish tip and What If, ending the list as a laidback Tech / Deep House hybrid. Practically whatever you’re playing as a DJ in the 120-130 bpm range, you could squeeze something off this EP and get it in your set. Was this your original intention – putting out a first release as diverse as possible? Was it the label’s call? Can we get an inside view?

R: It was supposed to be a 2-track single but the label and the guys around it belived in all of them. It might have been the diversity that won them. At the time I wrote the tracks I did not have in mind an EP but when the label contacted me I was sure this was the form I wanted for it. The name itself is a statement and a hint for what I’ve been up to.

B: You seem to love playing around with vocal samples. I’ve seen it in many of your tracks and it’s a characteristic of Unfuse as well. The thing is, they always sound a bit different than what you usually hear in most tracks out there and there’s a catch about placing them in your tunes as well. They’re never exactly where you’d expect them to be. A word on the procedure? And while we’re at it, what’s your sampling philosophy?

R: The vocals are present as part of the story behind the tunes, which in most of the cases, you have to listen to in full-length (no fast-forwarding). I don’t ever think them through, just add them wherever I feel the need. Since I loop a lot of the sections I’m never sure I picked the right moment. As for sampling I don’t use it directly (I browse through sample banks, so i can’t be sure). If I don’t achieve what I want through synthesis I start from a preset or a sample and morph it, add as many effects needed or do what they call sample synthesis (the old-school way...load it into the sampler, route that into a synthesiser and so on). But I’m against butchering others work.

B: Your tunes have a powerful personal touch and you seem to put a lot of soul in each and every one of them, but is it the same when it comes to DJ sets? How hard is it for you to showcase such a personal sound and entertain the crowd at the same time? Flexible selection or no compromise?

R: It's tough. Every tune of mine starts with a strong emotion, a deep thought I have. It’s part of what shapes my personality as an artist / song writter. As a DJ it’s slightly the same. I never think about the playlist, I always carry most of the music I own with me, since the crowd feeds me the mood I’ll have during a good part of the set. Fitting in something I felt at some point with something I feel while mixing, it’s always surprising.

B: Frankly we haven’t heard you play out in a while. What does Reash spin nowadays and who are the producers he constantly plays tracks from, in his sets?

R: I started an irregular podcast (I know, it’s a weird concept) (n.r. Insatiable) so that serves as a showcase. I follow the same impulse as when producing, it’s the sensation you get at the end that I’m after. People like Indie Jules, Steve Mills, Diskjokke, Little Fritter, Forteba, Den Ishu, Jay Bliss, Cosmin TRG and many more that aren’t famous yet make it into the heavy rotation.

B: You have the beach practically in front of your house, but we all know a day of sunbathing is nothing without a proper soundtrack. Care to recommend something?

R: Youandewan – 1988 (Jimpster’s Second Summer Of Love Remix) as you walk away and one of my latest called Total Control Of The Heart, once you can feel the sand.

B: A couple of words about the mixtape you just put together for us?

R: It’s on the fly and...take your time with it, let it play along.

B: Last but not least. Any confirmed gigs or forthcoming releases you’d like to give us a heads-up about? Plans for the rest of 2011?

R: So far it’s been a year filled with studio work (apart from some local gigs), a forthcoming EP (one single and 3 remixes) on FLY Recordings (Italy) and some remixes I must do (including Mesmer’s impressive Stereo Rainbow).

B: Nice one! Cheers and thanks both for the mixtape and the time!

R: The pleasure was all mine, I can still reash you everywhere.

You can check Reash's tracks out on Soundcloud, listen to more of his mixtapes on Mixcloud and download one of his tunes for free here via HDMusic. We'll leave you with the same tune fitted nicely over some footage from Scott Goodson, which we seem to love in a weird way.



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