Bryan Kearney has firmly established himself on the international dance scene with his productions and cutting edge sets. His driving sound has seen him play all over the world and he has appeared at UK events such as Godskitchen, Digital Society and Passion. On the production front Bryan’s collaboration with John O’Callaghan titled ‘Exactly’ is viewed by many as a Trance classic. On the 7th July the Irishman will be headlining Trance Sanctuary’s Terrace Party at Proud2 and we thought we should get to know him a little more.
Hi Bryan, growing up in Dublin, what was it like growing up and getting into dance music. Ireland seems to have a big dance scene but was Trance forced upon you or did you have to go looking for it?
Basically I began to become addicted to dance music just before the turn of the millennium when I was about 15 years old in 1998. I was constantly listening to CD's from Cream & Euphoria and I was buying new albums to listen to all the time. It wasn't until the year 2000 that I got my first set of decks and everything else just fell into place after that. It really was an amazing era of dance music around that time and I get very nostalgic thinking back about it. We had the likes of Homelands and Creamfields taking place in Ireland for the first time and I think there were more than 40,000 people at each event, that's roughly about 1% of the entire population of Ireland. It was all brand new and fresh and the clubs were packed every single week. I was clubbing all the time and taking what I learned on the dancefloor into my DJing and later into my production.
You have a good reputation for your technical skills behind the decks, what is your thought process when playing a set?
It can usually depend on the location of the club, the time I'm playing at, who's on before me etc. I spend a lot more time working on my sets before I play than I used to and I think I'm continuing to learn and improve all the time which is essential. I listen back to some older sets from a few years ago and I think I've come on a good bit. There is a lot more structure and flow to how I play now. I think I can get a little ahead of myself mixing wise at times by bringing other tracks in earlier than other people would but sometimes this can be extremely effective when playing to a live crowd. Obviously this type of mixing doesn't suit everyone but I need to play for the crowd as a whole instead of individuals. I have an extremely active thought process when I'm not DJing so it kind of speeds up quite a bit more when I am playing out. My mind can be running at 1000 mph but I just seem to do everything naturally regardless of whatever is spinning around in my head at that time. You need to always concentrate on how the crowd is reacting to how you are playing. You can't be too proud enough to say yourself right I'm not going to change things, you are there to entertain the crowds and send them home with a smile on their face and feeling like you have put on a good show.
Late last year you kindly gave away several of your own excellent mash ups via your soundcloud page. What feedback did you get from this and how much do you think this got you noticed by people who didn't know you as well before?
The feedback was amazing. I think overall there was over 15000 downloads of the tracks in question and of course people always like to download something for free. I've no problem with sharing my work once I have gotten full usage out of it myself but at the same time I don't want to piss off labels by releasing their tracks for free either so I need to have respect. I think the overall giveaway was a success and I think it gave me an insight on how things might turn out in the future with regard to music, labels and free music.
You run your own Kearnage Record label, do you work with anyone else on the label and what are the typical duties that are involved?
The label is mainly used to release my own work but I have started to release tracks from other people. I released a track from Mark Leanings entitled Dropshot last year and it remains one of the most successful releases to date. I have also just signed a track from Maria Healy that will be released later on this summer. I have collaborated with Jamie Walker twice for We'll Never Die and also Nataraja. Both have been successful releases. Nataraja was recently released alongside a track from F-6 entitled Paradigm Shift which was one of the biggest tracks in my sets for the past few months. I take a quite laid back approach to the label to be honest. I don't release too often but when I do I make sure that the releases are strong. I don't go overboard on marketing, pushing or forcing the music upon people as I believe it's strong enough to sell itself.
Arguably your biggest track to date is 'Exactly' which was made with John O'Callaghan. How does it make you feel that 6 years on, it is still a crowd favourite whenever it is played?
It's amazing to see that Exactly is still as well received now as it was in 2006 and it's still one of the most requested tracks in my sets. I don't think myself or John realized at the time how good the track was or how big it would become as we were both still in the very early stages of our careers. Things were different in 2006 than they are now. Vinyl was still around and tracks had a far longer lifespan compared to now. I don't think a track would stay around as long now. I'm not sure if we'll ever do a follow up to Exactly because we'd never want to tarnish the reputation of the track or make something that wouldn't be considered a worthy successor but that's not to do with the track itself but more to do with the how the scene is now with regards to how music is received and the lifespan of songs that are released.
You have worked with the likes of John O'Callaghan, Indecent Noise and Jamie Walker on tracks, who would you still like to collaborate with?
I will be doing some collaborations with Sean Tyas and Arctic Moon in the very near future and I'd also like to do some more vocal stuff as long as it's the right kind of vocal.
What productions can we look forward to in the coming months?
Originals Bryan Kearney - Awaken - Kearnage
Bryan Kearney - High Anxiety - Subculture
Bryan Kearney - The Nettle - TBC
Bryan Kearney & Indecent Noise - Uncommon World - Mental Asylum
Full Tilt & Bryan Kearney - Unlimited Dreams -TBC
Remixes John O'Callaghan feat. Kathryn Gallagher - Mess Of A Machine (Bryan Kearney Remix_JOC Edit) - Armada
Armin Van Buuren feat. Jan Vayne - Serenity (Bryan Kearney Remix) - Armada
Indecent Noise - Phobia (Bryan Kearney Remix) - Mental Asylum
Maria Healy - The Playroom (Bryan Kearney Peawork) - Kearnage
Kaeno & Denzo - Famous (Bryan Kearney Rework) - Discover Dark
You will be making your Trance Sanctuary debut on the 7th July on the Terrace at Proud2, what are you most looking forward to the about playing?
The fact that it's a daytime party and that I'm not playing at a ridiculous time of the morning like I usually do in the UK ha-ha. See you there
Images courtesy of Bryan Kearney and Keith Galloway. Not to be reproduced without permission.
After a successful last event which featured Jorn Van Deynhoven behind the decks, Trance Sanctuary we will be back on the 7th July for a Summer Terrace Party at Proud2 at The 02 in London.
The 02 Arena complex is located just 15 minutes by tube from Central London and the Terrace has picturesque views of Canary Wharf http://i45.tinypic.com/30c90z7.jpg
We are delight to reveal that our special guests will be the talented Bryan Kearney and the excellent Temple One from Enhanced Recordings.
Bryan Kearney - www.bryankearney.com
The Irishman has firmly established himself on the international dance scene with his productions and cutting edge sets.
His driving sound has seen him play all over the world and he has appeared at UK events such as Godskitchen, Digital Society and Passion.
On the production front, Bryan's collaboration with John O'Callaghan titled 'Exactly' is viewed by many as a Trance classic and further releases such as 'Restricted Motion', 'We'll Never Die' and 'Mexican Rave' have gained many nods of approval.
Temple One (Enhanced Recordings)- www.facebook.com/templeone
Temple One played at Trance Sanctuary back in May 2011 and his set was such a success we couldn't wait to get him back again. His tracks such as 'The Fear', 'Forever Searching' and 'Halo' have been played all over the world by the likes of Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten and Above & Beyond.
Joe has honed his live skills by performing to international crowds in the likes of USA, India, Germany and Poland.
So whilst the main stage speakers will be banging out the music, we will also have a Silent Disco taking place to provide you with some additional Trance pleasure.
The drinks will be flowing and there will also be a BBQ to enjoy. So join us for what is set to be a party to remember in an amazing location.
Flyer:
Region:
London
Music:
Trance.
DJ's:
Main Stage
Bryan Kearney (Discover, Kearnage)
Temple One (Enhanced Recordings)
Mark Landragin Dom Richards (Echo Boat Parties)
Areen
Matt Wakeford
Silent Disco
Luke Whipps
Lewis Duggleby
Nick Pietrzak
Messy A
H1NCHY & W4RM4N
Kosta Tsiligeridis
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