Starsmith
How are you doing today?
One of my synths (that hasn't worked for ages) just started working, so I'm in a great mood!
Please describe your sound for those who have not heard Starsmith?
Melancholic electro/house/pop. Lot's of synths and moody chord progressions basically.
How was working with the legendary French producer Alan Braxe on your single Lesson One/Champion?
Amazing. Alain has been a big inspiration to me, so to get the chance to work with him was brilliant. Lesson One was the first track we wrote together when he came over to London for a few days and we've worked on some other bits since. He's great fun to work with.
You have played many festivals this summer. Which was the highlight?
Glastonbury was incredible. Everyone wants to be able to say that they've played at glasto. When I went on, Beardyman was playing in the tent next door and it was bursting at the seams because it was so rammed, so I thought my set would be disappointing. But after starting to an empty tent at 2pm and finishing with one thats ¾ full 90 minutes later, I felt pretty amazing coming off stage. Yeah it may not have been full to the brim, but for all those people to enjoy what I was doing and stick around for 90 minutes in the middle of the afternoon is a great feeling.
What advice have you got for new budding bedroom producers?
Work with what equipment you've got at the moment and get to know it. It's much better to feel comfortable on cheap gear and know how it sounds rather than waste your money on something you have no idea how to use properly.
How do you think your degree in Jazz Performance has influenced your productions?
The performance aspect hasn't really helped, but the theory behind a lot of pop and jazz music that I studied has really helped. It does make me over think things at times though, so it's good and bad.
What are your plans for 2012?
I spent most of 2010 working on my own album which I then decided to mostly scrap/postpone so this year has been playing catch up and getting back into producing and writing for other people. Next year a lot of the tracks from this year will come out and I'll hopefully be able to focus a bit more on my own singles and doing more shows in Europe and America.
What can we expect from the b2b set of you, Alex Metric, Russ Chimes and Grum at the Together Winter Music Festival?
We did a set together at Rockness in the summer and it was pretty large, so I'm expecting this one to be way more polished, maybe a little more sober, and even more fun.
Any one else you want to catch on the bill?
Simian Mobile Disco, Sebastian, Fenech Soler and obviously Eric Prydz.
In your opinion, what makes a great remix?
Making you see a song in a completely different light, whilst still keeping the most recognisable parts of the original, intact. I think a great remix is something you can listen to anywhere without it being awkward. At home, on your iPod, in a club.
Who would you love to remix one of your tracks?
Not so much of a remix, but I'd love Royksopp to do a reworking of one of my songs.
Do you prefer producing your own tracks or remixing other peoples works?
At the moment, I'm preferring producing tracks for people. There has been a lot of bland music put out in the last year or so, more so than other years it seems, and remixing hasn't really been as appealing to me because of it. But things finally seem to be turning around and I've got a few remixes lined up for the near future.
What of your possessions could you not live without?
The computer in my studio. It's the thing I spend most of my time on.
Three tracks that are heavily featured in your DJ sets at the moment?
Sunflare (Club Mix) – Moullinex
A new Jacques Lu Cont mix that I can't name yet
My next single!
Complete the following statement: Together Winter Music Festival will be ….
One of the best nights of 2011.