With a groundwork in musicality that stretches back to his classical training in his youth, Dave Basek is one of our country’s most recognisable figures within the international tech house scene and he’s been doing his thing for well over a decade now. John Digweed, James Zabelia, Hernan Cattano – they’ve all played Basek’s tracks at one point or another. And his latest project sees him joining the happy stable at Long Distance Recordings, the recently formed record label of Australian veteran Mark Dynamix AKA MDX.
The double A-side of First Rain and Tokyo represents Basek’s first Long Distance venture, and the EP also comes packaged with remixes from Germany’s Chopstick & Johnjon, Brisbane’s Nick Galea who refashions it for maximum main room impact as well as a deeper minimal rerub from local newcomer Mortlock. ITM talks to Dave Basek about being a ‘long distance achiever’ and reaching out to the international tech house community, as well as what he’s got coming up.
What was the transition like for you at a young age from classical, to later on discovering dance music and all its assorted joys?
I guess I’d see it as more of a progression because between being classically trained and landing in electronic I had a transitional phase of punk, Aussie rock and a lot of experimentation with noise. Once I shifted into electronic there were enough sub genres developing to keep me interested and once I found house it made a lot of sense to me musically so I have stuck to it.
How has it been switching over to releasing material on Long Distance Recordings? Any differences in approach that you’ve noticed?
Well this is the first EP for Long Distance and to be honest I was surprised when Mark Dynamix told me the label was pressing vinyl. A lot of underground labels that are pushing new sounds are shying away from good old wax as the cost is inhibitive and the only other Aussie label that I work with that is also pressing vinyl is Kriece’s imprint Kindred Sounds. I know that with Junkbeats we have been pretty much digital from the beginning, but I guess Long Distance has some credentials behind it which I’m sure must help getting things off the mark.
The release of Tokyo and First Rain has been a big plus for you. How do you feel you’re traveling?
When it comes to the crunch every release is another step forward. I have been trying my hand at a few different styles of house lately and with the crossing over of a lot of the minimal styles with tech house and progressive I’ve been itching to throw my cards in the game. That said, it is always nail biting to sit back and wait to see if people are going to get it, I mean it is one thing for my tracks to work in my own DJ sets at Liquid, but for someone else to get it into their set at a different club is one thing and then for the dancers to relate to it is another thing all together.
Since spinning your first tunes in 1993, did you ever imagine you would ever get to where you are today?
Well I never would have guessed that I’d have ended up living around Byron Bay, Back in 1993 the scene was pretty unruly and we really were getting away with all sorts of mischief and being caught up in it, I just went with the flow and followed my desire to live the music, perform and produce. As such I kept myself constantly preoccupied with musical projects, both solo and with bands, and it wasn’t until my band 20for7 picked up dance track of the year in the Quartz awards in Paris that I took time to breath and check out the view. Also recently I have found that is easier to take the blinkers off to spend more time with family and friends which has given me a totally new perspective on music and actually amplified my creativity and given me some more goals to kick.
Along your music journey, what has been the best experience for you so far?
In reality I would have to admit that Australia’s scene is a hard road to slog but the thing is the good times always outweigh the bad, and for me some of the best parties are the small clubs where there are 100 people in the moment together rather than the big festivals. I have been really lucky to work with some amazing people and whilst it has been great to work with a wide variety of internationals the best times are always with your mates in the studio and after gigs. Right now I am building my first studio according to the visions I have been sketching out forever, and it is an amazing experience seeing it unfold which is pretty hard to beat!
Over time you have played at many venues across Australia, what are some of your most memorable gigs?
To date there has been so many good times, especially with some of my band experiences, some of the most outstanding would have to include the nights we used to do at the Gollan Hotel with George Sadlik back in ’96. At our first birthday bash we had so much bass in there that the bottles came off the shelves in the bottle store next to the pub. Another one I’ll never forget was performing at the cave back in ‘99 with Jimi Polar and Adam Kadmon, we used to have a band called Overdub and we came down to play for Kerry Haynes and from the moment I hit go on my drum machine it was totally nuts, also with 20for7 we had some incredible musical moments of improvised synchronicity, I remember supporting Jose Padilla on the Gold Coast at My Bar and by 11pm people were already dancing on the tables. And finally I would have to mention DJing back to back with Phil Smart on a pink doubledecker bus at Burning Man then getting dropped off in the middle of the playa dressed in a space costume was pretty funny.
What has been the greatest learning experience for you so far?
Without a doubt recording with the H-Foundation was a real eye-opener, I mean those boys were pretty loose and I was pretty green and whilst it was an amazing experience it really gave me the heads up for the inner workings of the industry and how much of a difference it makes to have money and momentum behind you.
Where can you see yourself in the future? Are there any future plans or projects that you haven’t told us about yet?
As Jim Morrison once sang “...the future’s uncertain and the end is always near.” I plan to keep on keeping on really, I have a lot on my plate and now that I’ve found a balance between family and music I plan on steadily producing more music that is more song based. There are a few things I am trying to initiate at the moment including some new music with Kriece and also starting some ideas with Pocket. Junkbeats is in need of some TLC and there are some new artists like Ankle Pants that we have lined up and I can’t wait to work with them and see how far they can go.
What is it about house and techno that you like so much?
Well I have always found electronic music to be so visual and emotive. Once you try and connect with any form of art or expressionism you are tapping a source that is unexplainable in any way other than through your art itself. House or more specifically music is the language I found to vent my creativity and the computer has given me a medium through which I can communicate my ideas. I find dance music fascinating as it combines human movement with such a visual form of music, seriously how could I resist?
What has been your favourite of your own releases to date, and why?
Usually the most recent thing I’ve been working on is the one I am most excited about, and after some consideration I have two that I have to mention, the first being from the Never EP that I did with Hussle in 2002. There was a track called Valet on it that I still love, I finished it just before at the end of the whole west coast house thing, of course it was the track that was nearly not on the EP and I am so glad it made it on. Also from 20for7 a track called The Ripple Effect on French label Chocoflash. We had hired a beach house at Belongil and stayed there with Alex Kid and Hip-e, then after we jammed out a whole lot of ideas and recorded everything, one night I sat up with Shan Sol from Afrodizziact and put away a bottle of tequila and we arranged it and put the lyrics down from start to finish, an awesome experience.
What advice would you give people starting out as musical artists that want to perform live?
These days the whole ‘live’ thing is pretty loose. I would consider most Ableton sets as fancy DJ sets and not a live performance. If you really want to play live, get some experience jamming with a band and more importantly, improvising. You can have a lot of fun even just jamming with a drum machine and some mates. For me performing electronic music is about arranging on the fly, if you give it a go you’ll see exactly what I mean.
Dave Basek’s First Rain/Tokyo EP is out now through Long Distance Recordings.
Trinitydj says...
Go Basek! :)