When I think of the future of house music, Dr. Fresch comes to mind not only for his flawless ability to make one lose all control of their mind and body as they slowly transform into one with the music but also for his consistent drive to always bring out the best in himself which is definitely expressed in his production style. Working hard to launch his very own House Call Records and even landing a spot on Lost Lands 2021 to turn all those headbangers into groove machines, Dr. Fresch is clearly an unstoppable force in the music industry.

Proving that he has ‘The Answer’ whenever you are in doubt, Dr. Fresch has called upon the Glass Petals to craft an electro blog house vibe drenched with mystical and dark signatures. Prescribing us with the ultimate dose of vibrant frequencies and heavy undertones, a foolishly filthy bassline appears to keep us bumping all night long. As subtle vocal samples begin to become apparent, Dr. Fresch and Glass Petals are preparing us for a ride as the tempo rises alongside a shifting percussion to resemble these producer’s sonic adaptabilities. With the Glass Petals consisting of no other than Felix Cartal and Johnny Jover, an immediate whirlwind of distinctive and forward-thinking instrumentals draws listeners into only craving more to follow. A true blog house revival indeed, these talented producers have absolutely killed this collaboration in the best way possible.

Recognized for being transparent with his audience and always having a few surprises up his sleeves, we had the pleasure to catch up with the legend Dr. Fresch below.

You proved at the Fractal Forest stage during Shambhala that you are a natural to keep the crowd dancing all morning long. How would you describe a Dr. Fresch show for those who have not had a chance to experience one yet?

Thank you! Fractal Forest is one of my favorite stages in the world. I would describe a Dr. Fresch set as a journey through bass house and electro; rooted in modern tracks, but with old-school sensibilities. I aim to make every performance a journey through my current record box with occasional flashbacks to my formative years in dance music which was the late 2000’s electro and blog house. I describe my performance style as a rollercoaster; a daring journey with ridiculous twists and turns on the decks that always somehow stays on the tracks.

The pandemic showed me the true value of the dance music community and live events. I did not fully realize how much people, social interaction, and live music give me life. Sometime last summer, I came to terms with that realization and invested my time equally in the family as well as new projects.

Looking at the pandemic situation and its impacts around the world, how did it affect you as an artist?

The pandemic showed me the true value of the dance music community and live events. I did not fully realize how much people, social interaction, and live music give me life. Sometime last summer, I came to terms with that realization and invested my time equally in the family as well as new projects. Seeing that the road ahead was long, I knew the answer was to spend time with the people I love. I always needed new ideas to keep my right brain at work, so I got to plan the launch of House Call Records and launch my lo-fi hip hop side project, FRED THURST. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance was crucial, as well as creating new platforms. These things kept me content and optimistic.

What was your creative process like when you were making this seriously groovy bass-house collaboration known as ‘The Answer’ with Glass Petals?

‘The Answer’ was so fun to produce! When I sat down with Felix and Johnny, we knew that we needed to make a blog house revival. Since high school, I had been a fan of Felix Cartal and got to work on marketing his early records at Dim Mak when I interned there in 2010. I connected with Felix when I moved to Vancouver last Summer, and after hanging out a couple of times we knew that we had to sit down with Johnny and get to work. My friendship with Johnny and Felix arrived at the perfect time, as Felix had taken his career in a pop-dance direction the last decade, but had started the Glass Petals project with Johnny to in a way revive that lost side of Felix Cartal. When the three of us sat down, we knew we had to use classic synths with modern dance format and sonic approach. We jumped into using Felix’s analog synths right away, mostly The Prophet and Buchia but pairing them with modern drums and a contemporary arrangement. We found a random nonsensical background vocal, then recorded my voice for the drop vocals and the track came together. I hope DJ’s new and old alike appreciate this song. We really had a blast making it. It’s special!

I like to get to the club early enough to see the support acts. As long as travel permits, I think it is really important for headlining artists to do this. Each city has a different club dynamic that is constantly changing and I am genuinely interested in seeing the other artists play too, it’s fun to be a part of the night before you take the stage!

Always being fully transparent with your fan base when it comes down to your daily life, describe your pre-show ritual before hitting the stage.

It is important for me to maintain some kind of routine on the road. After sound-checking and connecting with the team at the venue, I like eating an earlier dinner, healthy and easy. Typically a chicken caesar salad or a chicken and rice meal. I then like to have 2 hours at the hotel after dinner, pre-show one hour to focus on going through new promos and rearrange and adapt my playlist for that specific show, and an hour to meditate and get ready after that. Sometimes I only meditate for 5 minutes, but every minute counts. Then, I like to get to the club early enough to see the support acts. As long as travel permits, I think it is really important for headlining artists to do this. Each city has a different club dynamic that is constantly changing and I am genuinely interested in seeing the other artists play too, it is fun to be a part of the night before you take the stage!

My recommendations to any artist starting a career in electronic music are to focus on creating and defining a unique musical style or “sound,” to build the identity for your brand from a visual and aesthetic standpoint, and to frequently release new music about every month regardless of whether you’re self-releasing or working with labels.

Congratulations on hitting over 1 million followers on Spotify, is there any advice you would give to producers looking to kick-start their music career?

Thank you so much! I am really proud of this milestone and have many awesome people to thank for bringing my music into their daily lives.

My recommendations to any artist starting a career in electronic music are to focus on creating and defining a unique musical style or “sound,” to build the identity for your brand from a visual and aesthetic standpoint, and to frequently release new music about every month regardless of whether you’re self-releasing or working with labels. If you do these three things consistently while networking with artists in your lane, promoters, and creatives in your local scene, and writers and other digital creatives, then you will establish a foundation for your artist career over time.

Are you able to share any upcoming plans or upcoming projects for the rest of 2021?

Of course! This Friday, I’m releasing a new midtempo electro song called ‘Armageddon’ on House Call Records (listen below). Next month, I’ll be rolling out the first compilation series on House Call, ‘Shot Callers Vol. 1,’ built around dancefloor records and maximal club energy. Later this fall, I will be releasing a handful of singles on House Call, MAYBE even some bigger projects too!

The post Dr. Fresch Talks Glass Petals Collab, Pandemic Impact, Career Growth + More [Interview] appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Alydian

Few tracks that have been on repeat for the majority of this calendar year have yet to grow stale, but artists such as Ekcle, Skope, and COPYCATT sure know how to make tunes that truly never grow old. When I came across Alydian, I knew I was bound to have that same feeling, and since having ‘Futurist’ on repeat over the last two weeks, I can confirm that the ingenuity, intricacies and raw energy behind the track are sure to leave me coming for more, time and time again. Despite boasting less than 500 monthly listeners on Spotify, the Berlin-based artist has already earned the support from the great duo that is KOAN Sound, and with good reason. Alydian’s genre-defying approach, wicked attention to sound design details, and mesmerizing melodies engulf listeners from start to finish, bringing one on a roller coaster of emotions and sound that is rarely found in electronic music today – with ‘Memory Tree’ being another prime example. With a short yet impressive repertoire and more to come soon, Alydian should be at the top of everyone’s radar.
-SC

Glass Petals

Canadian duo Glass Petals first put the pedal to the metal in August of 2018, scoring a couple of killer club cuts on Arkade and Spinnin Deep. The bass-heavy brainchild of Felix Cartal and Johnny Jover, Glass Petals quickly found their “club music only” ethos embraced by some of the biggest players in the scene (Confession, Heldeep, Hexagon, In/Rotation and others). With their second Heldeep release, ‘Simulation,’ the duo really seemed to hit their stride offering up an infectious driving bassline, hypnotic vocals and dynamic, immersive drops that feature the kind of puppeteering power that even Jim Henson would envy. Proving themselves club captivators with their blend of acid, bass, G and future house, it may be hard to nail down just what the duo is going to do next, but you can be sure they’ll hammer home a good groove. This year we’ve seen them deliver a handful of fire sets that combine old electro/bloghaus bangers and their seemingly endless assortment of IDs. And it’s the latter that really gets us excited for the future of Glass Petals. Just in time for Halloween, they finally dropped the psychotic stalker of a bootleg of Justice classic ‘Stress,’ which they’d been teasing for a couple of months. Another sneak peek we’ve been salivating over is this collab with Dr. Fresch (longer clip here). These guys know a good groove when they find one, and you can guarantee they’ll leverage it into a body-rocking banger. Whether clubs are open or not is irrelevant as you cannot miss the power of Glass Petals.
-OJ

ImBN

Put on some comfort clothes and fall into a trance with ImBN‘s lush and groovy art. This musician truly brings the energy and calming sensations. His swing being integrated with vast sounding melodies will bring any listener to life and keep a smile on their faces thanks to his beautiful sound design. Not to mention his intoxicating drum work, knocking anyone off their feet into a dream cloud of rhythm. And once his 808’s hit you, they slam hard in the soul. Making your spirit feel at peace with every note being played. But he can also get a little wild with his work. For example, his flip of TNGHT’s classic, ‘Serpent’ is a delicious sound dessert. Filled with an airy percussion lead while being surrounded by a tribalistic atmosphere. To really transport the audience into a jungle, filled with sources of wildlife who are dancing with you. It’s wonderfully crafted and will get your party started no doubt. And for those who adore whimsical wavy pieces, one of his newest tracks, ‘yeah’ will put you right in a good mood. You might notice something familiar about it. If you didn’t know, it’s a flip he did of Usher! Which makes the vibe instantly lovable. Creating a soft and adorable sounding song around the original was a genius idea. Creating a fresh feeling to his work and making it flow naturally as if pouring a glass of water on a hot day. So go ahead, start your mornings right with a dash of ImBN. His creations will wake you up instantly with a positive feeling.
-JD

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milye

When you first think about Germany and electronic music, chances are your mind goes to techno. You wouldn’t be wrong to think this, but there are a slew of incredible new artists looking to reshape this perspective, from KRISCHVN, to Lenny, MCTR and more. The newest German producer to add to the list is milye. While the aforementioned artists tend to reside within the trap and bass realms, milye finds his home with future beats (with a hint of trap). His tracks are often short but sweet pairing lush soundscapes, bent vocals and no shortage of bounce and swing. Whether it’s taking listeners for a ride on ‘Exploration,’ bringing the soulful slaps on ‘surf’ or fusing RnB undertones with future knock on ‘one,’ milye never disappoints.
-C

Stevedoesmusic

This month I’m gonna kill two birds with one stone. That’s right because I’m not only introducing you to the livewire world of stevedoesmusic, but indirectly I’m also giving a shout out to one of the most interesting and bizarre labels in the world: Prrrrrrr Records (with seven r’s). But let’s go step by step. Who’s steve? Stevedoesmusic is an elusive Philly producer, with a strong inclination for short, bubbly beats. Mainly dominated by R&B vibes, but with more electronic interludes too, steve’s SoundCloud is a colorful sketchbook that reflects an eclectic and flexible creative nature, definitely not inclined to be stick to canons or paradigms. Just to give you a quick example, very few tracks actually reach a two minutes length! As someone who worships the extended mix practice, you can imagine how hardcore it must have been for me to explore his catalog. What about Prrrrrrr then? Chance willed that steve’s latest EP was released by no other than the irreverent German label. falling is a warm concentration of sexy basslines, jazzy grooves and on-point samples that “will leave no producer ear unsatisfied”. Have a bite below or listen to the EP in full on Bandcamp.
-AA

Words by Alessio, Colin, Oggie, John & Steph

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