Altering your chemical imbalance from Brooklyn via Philly, Designer Drugs are easily one of the top electro dance producers out there. If anyone says that the U.S. is behind Europe et. al. in terms of dance music, we'd gladly stack Designer Drugs on a tracklist or bill to refute that. It's not just that they are production whizzes who built their own studio, it's their amazing song writing abilities and creative melodic weaving that will make their songs timeless classics. We interviewed Michael Patrick, the lead songwriter and dj for Designer Drugs here.
Who are Designer Drugs? Do you all produce and DJ? Did you play another instruments growing up or did you just jump right into djing and producing?
DD: Designer Drugs consists of myself, Michael Patrick, the main songwriter and DJ, Theo-dorable, who also works on song writing and Thomas Kee who is my partner at Shotgun Audio, a clandestine recording facility on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Basically either myself or Theo starts a song and shares it with the other for opinions, then either of us will add something if necessary, export it and take it to the studio to mix in a controlled acoustic environment.
We all have played and can play instruments but we were never in serious bands... by the time we were old enough to do something serious electronic music was our main focus so we started djing, then producing. I have plans to start a project soon with real instruments and musicians. I have been composing the tracks on piano and I'm actually excited to do something with out synthesizers.
Did you move to NYC? If so, what motivated you to move there, and how are you liking it there? Didn't you build a studio in Philadelphia?
DD: Yes I moved to NY, and I think its rad... I like areas of high population density. I think it makes people less likely to relax and therefor more productive.
And yes, I do have a 2 room studio in Philadelphia with the aforementioned Thomas Kee. It was a 7 months construction period and the acoustics are great. It's not far from NY via public transportation so I usually commute a few days a week.
Are you mostly into analog gear, or do you use mostly soft synths or both? What pieces of equipment are your favorite? Which software programs do you use?
DD: Primarily, we use Logic for writing and Pro-Tools for mixing. We have had analog synths in the past but I don't think they are efficient enough for our current situation. We do however use analog gear for mixing and have a vintage Neotek Series I console which is my favorite piece of equipment.
The one used by the Philadelphia Orchestra, nice. The main melody synth in the Moving Forward remix is epic as well as the synths in Fuck Yeah. How did go about making those sounds?
DD: I think its not so much the sounds that are epic but the music we choose. We are big fans of harmony and melody and feel that carries the sentiment our music.
I've read you're intrigued w/ pop music. I think that every genre has amazing songs, do you agree with that and if so, what artists in other genres have caught your ear? If someone asked you to produce a pop song, would you approach it differently than a DD track?
DD: I would agree with that and think a great example is Lightspeed Champion. His sound may not be something I tend to seek out but the songs are great so I listen to him because of his songs and not because of the style of music or the medium he used to portray the music.
As a producer there is a art to overcoming "the genre" and being able to make the most from any type of music. I was impressed when I heard Rick Ruben produced a country album and have a lot of respect for that mans diversity. There is a nice article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about Rick.
If I were to write a pop song I would apply the same process but the medium would be different mostly in instrumentation and arrangement. I would try to portray the same sentiments through different mediums although different mediums or instruments sometimes help accentuate the different musical characters.
Designer Drugs has a very distinct sound. How would you describe your sound?
DD: I think our sound is based off of the synths we choose and the notes we choose to play and the technics we choose when we mixdown the tracks. We like darker harmonics but not to dissonant.
What do you think about the current electro banger type songs that have been receiving a lot of play recently? Do you think it's a phase or something else?
DD: Yes its definitely a phase and obviously I'm into it for the most part but there is a ton of stuff out there that I'm not into as well. I think that all of the over-saturation we are experiencing will make the quality stuff extinct prematurely. Most music fads last for a period of time then come back years later in a modified form and what we are listening to now if a modified form of something from the past. I think with the ever growing population and the information revolution this may happen at a faster rate than ever, which is totally fine with me. I get stoked on new music trends.
What are your thoughts on the whole releasing music through blogs as marketing versus actually getting paid?
DD: I think blogs are rad. I think the mp3 format makes the most sense because it's accessible, efficient and there is no physical waste. I think a lot of people turned to blogs not only because of the free music but because in the past few years most dance labels overspecialized and catered to a dated sound that a lot of the new artists didn't want to conform to. With the exponential growth in the worlds population and the growing demand for instant gratification the blogs provide a wider variety then the record industry would risk to provide, although, there are some new labels that are really offering an amazing variety of music and I support them whenever possible. Most of the music I dj is purchased materiel unless its not available for purchase.
What do you see in the evolution of Designer Drugs Music?
DD: We are working on some remixes now for Fake Shark - Real Zombie, Jupiter One, Hearts Revolution and Mission Control(an amazing band from Australia) and we are forming a new sort of style that might be applied to these remixes. It was really cool when I noticed we were getting in the habit of a new style. We are also doing original tracks with Dayve from Hail Social and K from Jupiter One on Vocals and we will probably line up some other vocalists as well and then release an EP or LP hopefully in the fall.
As for post-Designer Drugs I mentioned earlier I have been writing music for a band so eventually I will end up in the studio working with real instruments. I love experiencing things for the first time so this will be a great departure for me.
Protokoll - Moving Forward (Designer Drugs remix)
Flou - Les Gens Pour Ce Qu ils Sont (Designer Drugs Remix)
Designer Drugs - Fuck Yeah
Hail Social - Heaven (Designer Drugs remix)
www.myspace.com/designerdrugsclubmusic
0 comments:
Post a Comment