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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! |
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It's about music - interview with Alex Parsons
Reported by Bunny
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Submitted 03-11-04 16:53
Chances are if you’re involved in the clubbing world – in fact if you’re on this site and reading this introduction – then you’re passionate about music. It takes more than a passing interest in the Top 40 to spur us into embarking, each weekend, on our pilgrimage to the sensual kaleidoscope of clubland; to make the transition from listening to music to producing it and from dancing to sets to mixing them. One such devotee is Alex Parsons, and we caught up with him to find out more…
Bunny: Good Morrow Mr Parsons! How’s tricks?
Alex Parsons: Hello there Bunny. I’m very well, thank you.
B:You broke onto the scene in a big way; six months after learning to mix you played your first set at the George 4 before becoming a resident and playing main room of the Fridge. What was it like to be part of the XLR8 team? How did you become involved in all that madness in the first place?
AP:XLR8 was for me a major turning point with regards to my involvement in the clubbing scene. It inspired me to really get involved in it all from more than just a clubber’s point of view. I first went along in my first year of university, when it was at the Office Bar and was roped into joining the team by a crazy guy called John. I never regretted it, even when I was dressed as a giant tomato, flyering outside Brixton tube station. It’s great to see members of the team still involved in the club scene today, running monthly promotions, Skwosh! and Afterlife where, as resident, I still get to play music the team and crowd loved back then.
B:Tell us a bit about your DJing style. How do you prepare for a set – do you prefer to plan it out in advance, go with the flow on the night or a mixture of the two? How do you think your style has progressed?
AP:I spend a quite lot of time preparing for my sets, though I have never planned one in advance (further than selecting certain records I’d like to play). During the week, I’ll re-edit and, in some cases, bootleg popular tracks to make the set that little more interesting. Unless you’re performing a live PA, which is more similar to watching a band play, I believe it’s important to let the crowd and the tone of the night itself mould the majority of your set, throwing prepared elements in for that extra kick. I’d say my style has become more eclectic over the last two years, as I’ve really been getting into the funkier side of dance music and my own production work.
B:Although you started out as a Hard House DJ you’re part of the fresh crop of DJs who are branching out into other genres, and now alongside Hard Dance you’re adopting a more versatile sound incorporating breaks, funky house, electro and techno. What made you personally, want to branch out and why do you think there’s an emerging trend within the scene to mix within a range of styles?
AP:First of all, as hard dance/house etc. began to get harder and faster, although I was still really enjoying it, I needed an escape from the high bpms. That got me into collecting and mixing slower, funkier records beginning with house and then moving into more techy and electro sounding house and breaks. I chose to branch out to slower dance music styles to give me more opportunity to include many different genres and sounds in my sets. It was being asked to play regularly as a rotation DJ for Kurruption that allowed me to do this for the first time. I believe it’s the quite restrictive nature of hard dance which is currently leading DJs to explore other, less structured, areas of dance music.
B:You’ve played Turnmills, the Fridge, Mass, Camden Palace and Brixton Academy. Which was your favourite and where would be your ideal venue/location to play at?
AP:It’s an amazing experience playing at all of those but if I have to name one, it’ll be The Fridge. I’ve always had a fondness for it, as it’s where I first started clubbing. I actually have a set coming up there this Friday (5th November), playing a funky techno, electro and house warm up in the main room, for Bedlam. Two clubs I’d love to play at would be Fire Club and The End. Both are top venues from a clubber’s point of view, with unbelievable sound systems and playing at them, no doubt, would be an absolute delight!
B:Your b2b sets with The *Ting* are raved about by everyone who’s experienced them. Any plans to do another soon? How do you feel about back to back sets, how easy/difficult is it to make them work? Is there anyone you haven’t played with yet that you’d like to?
AP:Our next is this Saturday (6th November) at 7am on the internet radio station, Worldwide fm. The show’s on from 6 until 10 and can be listened to at www.wwfm.co.uk . In my opinion, a decent b2b should be different to a normal DJ set in the way that two hands are better than one (or in this case, four are better than two). If there are two DJs playing, they should be doing things that one alone can’t, whether it be tricks and effects, or simply being more exploratory with their track choices. I find that this is the case when I play b2b with Ting. We get this real energy going that allows us to push each other and the music in directions which perhaps alone we wouldn’t normally consider. I don’t believe it’s the case that it’s either easy or difficult to make them work, I find they either work or they don’t.
B:Aside from DJing you’re also making your mark as a producer and engineer, collaborating with Simon Rutherford on the recently released Twisting My Mind, with K-Komplex on Random Mutation as well as producing a double-sided EP in your own right for Proactive Records. You don’t mess about, do you?
AP:Yeah, it’s really exciting! Twisting My Mind went out on Whiplash last week and the EP’s due out on the 10th November. Proactive are having a launch party for it this Sunday afternoon at Afterlife (7th November), where I’ll be joined by Proactive label manager Paul Jack, amongst others. Random Mutation’s due out on NEC Recordings but we don’t have a scheduled release date as yet.
B:Can you tell us how you go about arranging a track, and what you’ve got coming up next? So far you’ve produced purely within the Hard Dance genre – any plans to move into other styles?
AP:I have recently set up a new studio at my place, which runs a combination of software and hardware tools, including Logic 5.5 as the sequencer alongside Recycle and Acid Pro 4 for percussion building. I use a collection of soft synths as well as a Virus C to make bass, lead and other sounds. Usually, I try to build up all the sounds and loops before I lay the track down, so when it comes to arrangement; it’s easier to be more unpredictable.
Future projects include a track I have recently engineered for Lee Osborne called Listen, due out on Whiplash Records and continuing to produce for Proactive records, working both with members of the team and independently. I also definitely intend to branch out into other styles. I’ve already started working on some breakbeat tracks, as well as incorporating other styles, including electro and breaks into Hard Dance.
B:What’s your involvement with the Proactive team?
AP:I’m their in-house producer and resident for Party Proactive. I also help out with A&R for Proactive records. You can check out our website at www.proactive-records.co.uk
B:What came first – The producing or the DJing (the clubbing equivalent of the chicken and the egg question)?
AP:It was the producing that really came first. I played around with Fruity Loops for about 7 months before I started DJing, writing trance and bouncy hard house. At the time though, I’d never even heard a dance track from start to finish, so my arrangements were a bit fuzzy! A few months after I got my decks, I finished what I considered to be my first proper track, Pump Me Up! I still play that out from time to time.
B:Your musical prowess (rah!) isn’t just confined to the clubland. This year has seen you finish a Masters degree in music at Goldsmiths College as well as composing soundtracks to some projects for Channel 4. Tell us more about your musical background, your work for channel 4 and what you’ve got in the pipeline.
AP:Yeah that’s right, I got my results early last week and have been celebrating ever since! Music’s been the focus of my life from the age of four, when I started learning the violin. I enjoyed that so much, a few years on, I took up learning the piano, saxophone and singing and went on to perform abroad in countries including South Africa and Kuwait.
While I was at university, I composed a classical soundtrack to a short animation, which was shown on channel four in Wales. Since then, I’ve completed soundtracks for two short animated documentaries, one of which was in a Bollywood style! At the moment I’m working on the sound for a late night cult TV series called What You Looking At? It’s going to be classical style meets twisted drum n bass and techno (rubs hands with glee).
B:How do you think your musical training has affected or benefited your DJing and production work? Which do you prefer; writing soundtracks or dance music?
AP:Having musical training, when you compose and/or play any sort of music is an advantage. Not only does it open your ears, helping you to create interesting sounds, it also changes your music from a structural point of view. The structure of a single track is equally as important to the structure of a DJ set. I enjoy writing all styles of music. Although both soundtracks and dance tracks have their restrictions, it’s great to have the challenge of making the music original whilst remaining within the boundaries.
B:Who or what would you say have been your main musical influences?
AP:While I was doing my masters, I listened to a lot of what is known as electro-acoustic music. Much of it involves a great deal of sound manipulation, transforming recorded material into unrecognisable sound. I always compose, whether it is dance music or soundtracks, with this in mind. Electro-acoustic music also has an unregulated structure, which inspires me to be more adventurous and unpredictable with the way I build both my productions and my DJ sets.
B:Let’s recap: You DJ, produce, compose, play x amount of musical instruments and go clubbing every weekend. Do you not, like, long for a bit of silence every now and again?
AP:Yeah, that’s why I’m about to move out of London to a new house in Orpington. I’ll only be disturbed by the passing tractors and there’s an adventure playground less than a minute’s walk away with one of those zip line things. It’s going to be hard to drag me off! 
B:What tracks are doing it for you at the moment, and which producers and DJs do you rate.
AP:My track of the moment has to be the Aviators’ remix of Craig Obey and the Elektrik Force’s Hyp-Ma-Tize Me. It’s a chunky funky house track with an electro eighties tinge. You can’t not dance to it! My hard house fave at the moment is OD404’s remix of Who Is Elvis by Phenomania. I know it’s quite a few years old but I got my hands on it a few weeks ago and it’s great. Other than those, producers that are doing it for me are Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, Nick Sentience and K-Komplex. DJ-wise, there’s so much talent out there but the ones that are really rocking my boat at the moment include James Zabiella, The *Ting*, Tommy Four Seven, Shaf de Bass and the Skwosh! residents.
B:Penultimate random question: If you were offered a gig DJing in Space (entertain the astronauts’ kind of thing), would you take it?
AP:Well… Onwards and upwards as they say As long as they don’t make the decks too high, I’m game!
B:Ultimate random question: What’s your favourite type of roasted vegetable?
AP:Parsnip (naturally) 
B:Alex Parsons, thanks for your time!
With thanks to Amy_Anders, Beth and Daf for their photos
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Other Features By Bunny:
Monkey business as usual: interview with Shaf De Bass
Twistathon – Twist’s 12 Hour 1st Birthday Bonanza
Zoology's 2nd Birthday - Review!
becomeone: Unified in Sound - Review
Logic's Fourth Birthday - Hooray! (review)
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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: ) *alex will understand 
