inthemix | Features | Breakfast: Chasing the sunlight

Casey Keyworth, known otherwise to trance aficionados as Breakfast, resides in Maryland in the USA. While you’d assume being situated in a country not exactly known for its thriving dance culture would bring its challenges disadvantages, he’s certainly impressed the right people. During a Ferry Corsten gig in Washington, he stepped up to the booth and handed over a demo that included two of his productions, a move that resulted in the smiling Dutchman soon hammering Breakfast’s tunes in his sets worldwide as well as signing him to his label Flashover Recordings.

For trance fans however, the name ‘Breakfast’ will bring forth ecstatic memories of only one thing – last year’s epic sweeping anthem The Sunlight. Since then he’s been consistently churning out trance tunes that have received major support form Ferry and the like, and he’s even found the time to start his own label Moodymoon Recordings. ITM talks to him about chasing the sunlight ahead of his Sydney gig for Gatecrasher this weekend.

Was there a personal influence in your childhood, a relative, perhaps, that led you to get so comprehensively into music at such a young age?

My Grandmother played a lot of piano, she used to show me how to play some simple songs, this was really cool for me. I think the music runs in the blood-line though.

You exploded in tranceland last year with The Sunlight – one of the standout tracks of 2007, and arguably a trance classic. Since then, you’ve released a fairly concise – though steady – number of excellent productions and remixes. Are we to read this a personal emphasis on quality over quantity?

I believe this is true. Quality comes first always, I think you could wait a long time and people still anticipate the same quality. To have a great catalog means more to me then to have twenty dozen tracks that have the same feelings to them. That’s why I love to be patient with releases, it really tickles people.
 
The US has fielded several notable trance producers such as BT, who you cite as a strong influence. However, America is not historically a big contributor to the trance genre (in comparison to the UK and Europe at least). With the emergence of producers like DJ Eco, Filo & Peri, Inpetto, and of course yourself, am I right in saying that there has been a recent ‘surge’ of American trance?

I think there’s a lot of trance in the states that doesn’t make it to Europe. American trance is a really skewed version of what a European might consider trance, and these guys are really changing around the scene as we know it. Eco of course is one of my favorite US producers, a really unique sound that stands out in a set!

In an interview last year you made the interesting point that Daft Punk’s Around the World is “in a sense…a trance song, because it puts you in a trance.” If trance is a mood rather than a genre, then, would you agree that minimal tech/house artists like Booka Shade who regularly create melodic, hypnotic music, could be classified as trance producers?

It’s true, unfortunately trance buffs would never consider this. Originally I think trance evolved as sort of an on going rhythm that took over your mood. It’s a cool style but since the late 90s took a sort of ‘oh my god I’m flying’ direction. I love trance though, all of it. I argued when Sasha’ Coma was released that it was a progressive trance song, however the punters that cataloged it will only call it a prog house tune because they think that’s all Sasha has been playing for the past 4 years!

Even within tranceland itself there has been a lot of cross-pollination from other genres of late. What’s your opinion of the tech/electro/minimal sounds that have crept into the trance spectrum over the past few years?

I think it’s great. It brings a much needed new light to the face of trance. When Ferry first released Right Of Way it blew up in everyone’s face! This album was really the huge start of change that we see in trance today. Next to the change being great, it also opens up what trance DJs can play in the clubs.

In Australia, melodic progressive house (fuelled largely by the popularity of Deadmau5) has started to challenge electro house as the dominant and most commercially viable dance genre. Is there a similar trend in the US?

I think this style is really cool, but trendy and over used. Unfortunately when this stuff crosses over into trance it kind of makes this huge mess pile between styles. US scene has definitely gone to a more minimal/house route lately, however trance is still the largest crowd here.

On a similar note, have you noticed how trance has covertly infiltrated popular music in recent times? Take Timbaland’s recent work, the lead synth in The Way I Are is trance all the way. Do you think that ‘reach for the lasers’ trance could ever get to the point where it’s regularly in the Top 40 countdown?

OK Timbaland, whatever you know? If he wants to sample some poor trance producers work from MySpace and call it his own hip hop creation, so be it. I think that this style just doesn’t even compare. I mean when we say ‘trance’ lead you could mean a thousand different things.

I’m a sucker for a good mix album, do you have anything in the works?

I’d love to do a mix album, or even an album for that matter. At the end of the day though, if I was really to focus on this, it would have to be perfect! I think a mix album especially has to make a huge impact, not just an impact on bookings. It has to change the way people think of mix albums. Maybe down the road though.

Are there any music projects outside of Breakfast that you have on the boil?

I have one project that I’ve been working on to take this sort of hard edge into trance – it’s called Loomer and the first track will be on Moody Moon called Take Me Back. It’s going to be a really cool release!
 
What will help set Moody Moon Recordings apart from its influential parent, Flashover?

Moody Moon will be a little more on the progressive/trance edge. I say just ‘progressive’ because I don’t want to exclude a great house or minimal tune that could really fit on the label. But next to this we’ll have some really cool stuff coming up on Moody Moon, with a great collection of artists.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is your first visit to Australia. But only for one show! Will you be back for a more comprehensive tour at any point?

This is my first time to Australia! But really I’m going to enjoy it. It’s the other side of the world for me, and it’s going to be a great time, even if it is only one show. I definitely think that somewhere down the road I’ll be stopping by a tour in Australia!

Breakfast plays alongside Gareth Emery at Gatcrasher this Sunday October 5th at Home Nightclub, Sydney.