Apr 06, 2017
Music Is The Answer
Hot Since 82 is a name synonymous with quality house music. He and his label Knee Deep In Sound continue to grow their profiles with quality productions and iconic events. Hot Since 82’s remix of “Music Is The Answer,” his Knee Deep In Sound event in Miami (and events around the world), and his new Labyrinth concept for his residency in Ibiza this summer all have and will help to raise the bar in 2017. Enjoy some inside scoop from Hot Since 82, who went into detail on all of the aforementioned in our interview.
“Music Is The Answer” – huge remix! Can you talk about what inspired you to remix that track?
Well first of all, I get a lot of remix requests. For me to take on a remix now, obviously with a heavy schedule, it has to be a special record. It doesn’t even have to be a dance record, just something interesting with a musical past. I like to usually have a vocal or some nice arps, pads, or strings, something I can really play around with and just do a proper remix. My manager presented me with the Joe Goddard track and I’m a big fan of Joe – really respectable guy in the UK and I love Hot Chip. The vocal is a sample of an old Danny Tenaglia record and it just felt right. I thought the original was beautiful. I didn’t approach the remix to try to beat the original, but just to try to put a bit of a club spin on it without ruining the beautifulness of the original record. I took it as I took other remixes – put the parts in, played around with some synths, replayed the bass and the moog which kind of fattened it up a little bit, and just put my spin on it. I think it’s really good and people are really happy with it! People really took to it. It’s been on Radio 1 like 15 times already in the UK. It reached number 1 on Beatport as well.
And now you’re back playing the Arcadia Spider, which you’ve played before. What’s that experience like?
Wow. Unique. It can get really hot in there actually. Nobody else is allowed in the DJ booth as well, so it’s just you in this tiny little pod looking down on everyone. It’s a very unique experience, but it’s really good fun.
What can we expect from your Knee Deep In Sound event tonight at Heart?
We do a lot of Knee Deep In Sound showcases around the world, and the next one is obviously tonight at Heart. I’m good friends with the guys there and they do a great production. We’re bringing Doc Martin, La Fleur, Nick Curly, Guti, Eats Everything and me. Great lineup, and all really good friends. We all get on really well, and that’s something that’s really important for me when we’re doing parties. You can see that if you’re on the dancefloor, that there’s a love affair and a bit of a family affair going on. So yeah, we’re gonna rock it out! Don’t know when the party’s going to stop, it’ll go on for a very long time, I know that much. Really pumped to play. I have a couple of new tracks that I finished last week and I’m excited to play those out.
With Knee Deep In Sound, can you talk about what’s going on musically with the label?
The main emphasis on the label is on house now. Obviously tech house is big and all that, but, I’ll be quite controversial when I say this, but a lot of the tech house that’s out there now is just all the same. Everyone is playing the same music, writing music from the same template. I just find it really boring and it’s not really stimulating me anymore. I come from a house and soulful background so I’m just trying to push house records. I’m really going to ride that hard because it’s coming back. I’ve been doing this 17 years and I say it’s like a clock. One quarter is one kind of music, and the next quarter another. And it always comes back, so I’m hoping that vocals come back, in a good way. Just a less is more kind of emphasis on the music. There’s a lot of good music coming, and we just had a Miami Sampler come out on Beatport with great music from Huxley and Mathias Kaden and more, and I’ve got a new one on there called “Renegade.” I take a lot of pride and satisfaction with the label; it’s something that I really enjoy doing. When I first set it up, I never thought I’d have enough time to actually do it, but I kind of grasped it with two hands and it’s doing really well. I think it has its own identity and the artwork is really beautiful… teamwork is dream work!
Looking ahead, anything that you’re particularly excited about this summer?
Yeah! For those that may not know, I just signed a deal with Pacha in Ibiza so I’m going to be doing May to October, about 20 shows. It’s my first residency on the island, and obviously Pacha is one of the most famous discotheques in the world, so I’m very honored to be doing a party with Pacha. It’s called Labyrinth, a brand new concept that I’ve created. It’s going to be interesting. We booked some old-school DJs and some legends as well. There’s going to be a little bit for everyone in there. We’re going to transform the club. You’re going to walk in and hopefully won’t even recognize the place. Pacha is a bit confusing anyways, sort of like a labyrinth. I’ve been lost in there plenty of times. I think we have a really good concept and I’m looking forward to getting there and getting started!
short link 1001.tl/ccwf4b
