With Ashley Feraude dropping his deep house and garage grooves at lounges and bars all over Canberra, it seemed like a fine time for ITM to track him down for a vibe on what formed his smooth sound, and where he sees things going in the next year or so.
ITM: How long have you been djing, what inspired you to get into it?
AF: I have been djing for around five years. The first few were mostly dedicated to friends parties and underground events and only in the last couple of years did I manage to venture into the larger commercial realm. My father has a rich musical background and throughout my younger days in Europe, I spent a lot of time learning about jazz, classical and popular music. As my appreciation of it grew, so did my interest in the classic electronic sounds of the early 801s, which eventually pulled me towards the dance music movement of the 901s. By 1996 I was writing my own pieces and then, as the DJ phenomenon grew, I discovered a way in which I could not
only share my own music with people but my appreciation of other people1s songs as well.
ITM: Technique vs Selection. Where do you stand?
AF: I never quite understood certain DJ’s obsession with simply one or the other. As far as I am concerned, it is a mixture of both that makes you a DJ. Ones ability to choose particular songs in a thoughtful set and couple these together through an appropriate and skilful mixing technique has real appeal to me and I suppose that is why I carefully choose my sets and put a lot of work into my vinyl and CD mixing. Mind you, I distinctively remember riding the tractor though one mix like ‘Joe the Farmer’ and everyone cheered with some people explaining ‘it’s good to know he is human’. I guess that kind of disproves my earlier point since the track selection saved me there,
but perhaps the time of night and people’s general condition had something to do with it too.
ITM: Tell me about the first record you ever bought, and the most recent – why, what stands out about them?
AF: The first record I ever bought was Sade’s ‘Love Deluxe’ album. Her voice is rich and emotional and combined with the bitter-sweet melodies makes for a truly remarkable experience. The most recent record I bought is Kaskade’s ‘What I Say’ single. It depicts the very best of soulful deep house in terms of melancholic vocals, rich melodies and mellow beats and I simply could not go by without adding it to my collection.
ITM: What’s your favourite record/song/whatever, Why?
AF: My favourite song is Music & Wine (Attaboy Vocal Mix) by Blue Six. I heard it many years ago and it had quite a reaction on me. It was the kind of song that I have been looking for years, something the reflected the jazzy and emotional sounds I was brought up on and when I finally found it, couldn’t get the smile of my face for weeks. It was the beginning of my journey into deep house and all things soulful in terms of electronic dance music. I should probably add here that it was may DJ partner in crime Dylan Evans who got me onto it … he’s year long trip to USA means that finally I can stop returning favours for that. Through this song I discovered the Naked Music label and all the other labels which are musically related. It helped me shape my current sound.
ITM: Disco or Funk? What’s your reaction?
AF: I don1t particularly like comparing styles of electronic music because these days it1s like talking about religion or politics, eventually, you always end up offending someone. Most DJ’s hate to be pigeonholed, yet if you criticise the music they play they get very defensive as if you are attacking them personally, so for the benefit of everyone getting along I will keep this comparison free and tell you why I also play U.S. garage. In short, it lets me shake off the rather serious and snobby tag that deep house holds and prevents too many people from perceiving me as ‘that DJ who always furiously strokes his chin’. It is more energetic than deep house but without being banging, overly hyped or lacking in emotion. There you go, I
answered the question without really answering it … tricky.
ITM: What do you think of the club scene in Canberra? Where do you see it (and you) moving in the future?
AF: I always liked the club culture here in Canberra. Despite it being a small place it has some great nights, relatively good clubs and, most importantly of all, fabulous people. I would like to see a greater scope of dance music events though and, rather then complaining about it, I will try to change that by putting events of my own in the near future and in cooperation with some friends. I think Canberra’s club scene will only get better as the scene matures and a very good indication of that is the growth of some great lounges such as Hippo, Trinity and others like Lot 33. Personally, I would like to keep playing at such lounges as that offers me the opportunity to play mellow sounds to a receptive audience and I would also like to see
the events I am planing to take off the ground so that I can showcase my garage sound to more of a dancing crowd.
ITM: What styles of music are getting you excited at the moment (and in the future)?
AF: In terms of music I am looking into at the moment, I have noticed and took liking to many of the broken beat and nu-jazz releases that are emerging out of U.S.A, UK and Germany. I guess these are the deep house answer to the current breaks phenomenon and, since my passion still lies in deep house, these sounds complement it very well. There is also lot of mellow garage being release at the moment such as the EP’s by Pascal and Mr Day, which is also taking my fancy. However, I guarantee that whatever dance music path I take in the end … it will always be soulful.
