- Mon, 2004-07-12 11:49
I like music.... because I have to.'' Stabilizer
ILM: What have you enjoyed most so far this summer and what are your plans for the rest of it?
Stabilizer: To be honest the last few months have kinda turned into a blur! Playing in Stockholm was a nice weekend though, great crowd, lovely venue and some good friends made. Mainly been spending time with my family, Watching my first son grow and develop has been my life's highlight.
ILM: Your debut album, Canine is out now. Can you tell me a bit about its vibe, etc? And which track did you have the most fun making?
Stabilizer: The vibe was always to make a listening album that includes some of the influences that have got me into making music. The concept of a dancefloor album does nothing for me so I turned to the more relaxed downtempo grooves that I like to listen to rather than the high energy dancefloor tunes that I play out as a DJ.
ILM: You recorded Bounce, a track featuring MC Chickaboo a couple of years back, how did that collaboration come about?
Stabilizer: It's was all the usual, friend of a friend thing. I played the backing track to Jean Jaques Smoothie who toured with Chickaboo on the Timo Maas tour and he thought that she'd love it, and she did!
ILM: Do you have any dream collaborations? Anyone you’d love to work with?
Stabilizer: There are loads of people I'd love to work with to be honest.. Mainly vocalists who I've loved over the years from Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys to KRS-One and Zack De La Rocha from Rage Against The Machine. Always loved Perry Farrel's voice as well (Jane's Addiction), that would be a great mix I think.
ILM: What piece of music-making software and hardware could you not live without?
Stabilizer: Right now I'm getting into Reason and Ableton Live.. Writing on a laptop is so easy to do that I could never go back to a studio for writing, though I do miss some of my hardware.
ILM: What influenced you to get into music in the first place and did you do music at school?
Stabilizer: Didn't really do music at school, apart from Trombone lessons that where very ill advised. Leant to play the piano and guitar through choice at home as the rigid music teaching didi nothing for my more experimental way of learning!
ILM: How was it starting out, and how did you get DJs to play your tunes at first?
Stabilizer: Starting out was kinda easy, I just phoned up a couple of labels that I liked to see who was looking for tunes then those that showed an interest got a tape.. Boombox got back to me and it just went from there.. As far as getting DJ's to play my tunes, I never really tried any bribery or anything.. They got sent them and some liked them... Simple as that really!
ILM: How does it feel to play live, and who do you like to see live? Best live experience as an artist / punter?
Stabilizer: Getting a live set together is a hard job and I've only just cracked a way of doing it that allows enough interaction to keep me interested and enough stability to keep the crowd happy.
I'm using Ableton Live now with specially prepared multitracks cut into sections so i can re-arrange tracks on the fly in response to crowd reactions along with a scratch DJ called Bobafatt and an MC, Figure Of Speech who I worked with on the track Low Slung.
ILM: Who is your favourite DJ of all time?
Stabilizer: Don't really have one to be honest. I respect a lot of people though, Atomic Hooligan is a rockin' DJ as are Phantom Beats who never fail to have a good time.
ILM: As a DJ as well as a producer, what are your two floor-fillers that always make it into your record box?
Stabilizer: Right now there are a few tracks that never leave the box. It's gotta be said that they are mainly the Plump DJ's last few releases.. Hardly ever drop the ball those two, amazing production and great engineering. The nasty bassline bidness of Rat records is tickling my taste buds at the moment and there are always some Supercharged and Against The Grain records in my bag as well.
ILM: What was your first musical memory?
Stabilizer: My dad made me a half sized electric guitar that I messed around on when I was about 7 or 8 years old.. Vaguely remember it was electric metallic blue and I loved it.. I don't think it made a sound but I had fun pretending! My parents have told me that they got home from the hospital and chucked the car seat between the speakers and turned up the volume so I've always been around music of one sort or another since day one.
ILM: And what advice do you have for young singers/DJs/musicians starting out on the road to success?
Stabilizer: Don't start out on a road to success would be the first thing! Start out on a road to making great music that you love and give success the brush off.. If success comes then great but never set out to be famous as you will only end up in a bad boy band or something.
ILM: Can you describe your favourite place on earth?
Stabilizer: Toss up between at home, Barcelona or New York, but basically with my
family.
ILM: What is in your CD player and on your decks right now? And which bands are rocking your world right now?
Stabilizer: In the car cd player...
Toxicity - System Of A Down
Never Trust A Hippy - Adrian Sherwood
A Boy Named Charlie Brown - Vince Guaraldi Trio
A CDR Pete Jordan (Promoter of Spectrum in Nottingham) sent me of music
his friends are making.
Test mixes of the Hip Hop tunes I'm making with Bobafatt and F.O.S
under the moniker Sin Happy Vacationists
