When talking tunes with Ewan Pearson you do get the feeling that there’s a particularly conscious and intelligent approach to the different aspects of his lifestyle. When you then find a biography of the talented producer further such suspicions are confirmed. Although to some he is a new and exciting producer, he has certainly explored many musical avenues (and just as many monikers) to arrive at the different and exciting sounds he is currently producing. In 1996 he hooked up with a prominent label, Soma, to release his well received Maas EP. A number of years later Pearson, as Maas, went on to release a second EP, “Latitude” featuring deep techno numbers such as “Juan is the teacher” through to a disco house number called “Another Saturday Night” which inspired remixes from Swag and Nail.
Just as interesting as Ewan’s ability to produce music of such great variety are the personal projects he took on board between 1997 and 2000 while still releasing a slew of downbeat tracks under the moniker “World of Apples”. Ewan completed a PhD in Philosophy and Cultural Studies and co-wrote the book “Discographies” with Jeremy Gilbert for academic press Routledge. After the dozens of remixes and occasional original works Ewan once again moved into a slightly different sound in 2002 to bring the still varying but consistent productions which he is currently recognized for, remixing and working with the likes of Goldfrapp, Ladytron, Tiefschwarz and even the Chemical Brothers.
Moments into conversation with Ewan the assumption that he was residing in London was corrected as I discovered he was residing in Berlin, where all things electronic and musical seem to be flowering. He is certainly enjoying being in a place whose electronic music scene is described as “very much alive and strong”, which at the same time is “very economically depressed yet with a great atmosphere and is definitely producing some of the best house and techno in the world at the moment…” When discussing his career in music making, Ewan commented that the general trade-off of music and dancefloor appeal was one that was imminent during his time making music. The earlier works of Ewan were “more rock influenced occasionally disregarding the dance floor” and while he acknowledges some changes to his sound, he definitely sees the relevance to disco coming back in creating pieces, a la Tiefschwarz, that while “gloomier and occasionally fashionably pretentious are ultimately to move the floor.” Ewan feels this will always be a property of dancefloor music “whether if be acid, electro, techno, it all relates to disco because that’s ultimately where it came from.”
Moving on and chatting about what future releases from Ewan would be on offer soon, an insight into Ewan’s ear for detail and appreciation for music were exposed. He alluded to a Kompakt re-release/remix of Close to Music – 123 which had been “a real labour of love.” This labour was clearly due to Ewan’s love of the original that ultimately resulted in “lots of time putting it off”. Ewan commented that for a single remix he would “spend no less than a week in the studio and up to two weeks sometimes” as he was “a real nit-picker who goes over and over and over things”. It seems obvious that that extra effort often goes a long way and makes him one of the best in electronic music. While he admitted to being a particularly anal individual in the studio, it was insinuated that such effort and detail could not be maintained at a constant rate. He feels that the trend to release tonnes of half-baked stuff is mainly due to producers “who need to spend a few months away from the studio now and then”. This aside, Ewan still believes there is “bucketloads of good releases coming out all the time.”
It was with this bridge that discussion of what to expect from Ewan as a DJ was presented. He has heard that Sydney is a place where “you can get away with an eclectic mix of music” and is very much excited by that as he enjoys throwing “plenty of house, acid, electro – both straight up and the various forms.” Ewan then carried on about some of the tunes particularly doing it for him and showing an honest enthusiasm for music and working a dancefloor. When briefed with the fact that he would be playing amongst stalwarts such as Felix da Housecat, Adam Freeland, The Youngsters and others at “We Love Sydney…” Pearson eluded to the fun and sun that often is missed in Berlin and London and felt the atmosphere, whilst not really allowing to “play a bit deeper and cover more territory” certainly made for a hell of a lot of fun playing the “bigger, brasher” tunes in his crate.
It seems, from this brief yet pertinent contribution to electronic music, that Ewan is certainly a dynamic lad and not one to follow trends, but to assist and shape them. So what has moved forward in 2004 for Ewan and where does he feel as though it’s taking us in 2005? His sentiment seems to be one that shows a further crossing of influences in the electro and techno fields with all eyes on the likes of Mathew Jonson, and a focus on making the melodies of tunes more interesting and engaging while ensuring their dance floor appeal is not lost. This is much like Ewan’s transition a few years back from prominently producing synthetic compositions for listening to more dancefloor oriented numbers. With this continual growth and redirection Pearson affirmed the “death of dance music in the British press was definitely a premature claim” and that this continual growth is evidence of a sound and culture which “is definitely continuing to rejuvenate itself.”
You can catch Ewan Pearson touring Australia this December:
Fri Dec 3rd, Melbourne – Honkytonks
Sat Dec 4th, Sydney – ‘We Love… Sydney’ (BUY TICKETS)
Sat Dec 4th, Sydney – Good Vibrations
Check out local guides for further dates.
