If your interest in the trance genre runs deeper than the international heavyweights who regularly feature in the DJ Mag Top 100 each year, then Australia’s own Scott Richardson will be a name you’re already familiar with. The DJ, producer and label owner has been slowly growing his Trancetribe empire for a few years now, and after some time away from the party scene he’s bringing back the much-loved events in Sydney this month. We caught up with Scott to pick his brain on where trance is headed, and to find out how he’s enjoying his new base on the far south coast of NSW.

First up, let’s talk about your Trancetribe Returns event which is coming up fast. Have you been surprised by the positive response it has received, and could we see a return to regular events?

The response has been really great. I honestly wasn’t sure how it would go down, given it’s been a while since we did our last parties. Perhaps, I thought, some people may have forgotten about our sound and events. But I’m really happy to know that’s not the case. We’re really running this event for the dedicated trance punters out there. This isn’t about educating the masses, and playing to the widest audience. This night is about giving the trance fans the real deal with plenty of upfront and underground club trance tunes.

Over a year ago the Trancetribe label switched its focus to Australian producers. Has this proved to be a success, will the future see a maintained push in this direction?

Essentially, yes. Trancetribe Recordings, the label, will always been focused on Australian artists and remixers. However in May we launched a new label, Deep Emotions, which we’re opening up to artists from all over the globe. The label focuses on the more progressive sounds in the trance spectrum. Sure, this falls under the Trancetribe ‘umbrella’, but it stands on its own as a dedicated label. It’s the first of two new labels we’re launching this year, both allowing us to sign artists from all over the globe. We also see these new labels as a target for our local guys. Ultimately Trancetribe Recordings has been about unearthing new Aussie production talent and getting their sounds out to the world. As time goes by, their work gets better and better, and we like to see our artists grow and take bigger steps. Whether that be with bigger labels, or now, on our new international labels. In the end we just want to see Aussie artists get their name out there.

Who is the most famous person on your mobile?

Hmm, that really depends on who’s asking. I work both in the DJ/production scene and also for commercial radio, so I have a few fairly famous radio announcers in my phone, though I don’t call them. Also a bunch of well known DJs. I could say John Askew, but I’ll say my wife, coz she’s my hero!

At the start of the year you were nursing a torn calf from your sprinting and damaged hearing from a cracking warm-up set for Ferry Corsten. Did you find yourself getting itchy feet, and ears, or did you appreciate the time for other projects?

It was honestly a really frustrating time. I always strike a balance between my sport and my music, and when both were on the out I was like a lost puppy. In reality, it gave me time to step back and realise just how fragile we are, and that young DJs and producers, and even clubbers, take their hearing for granted way too much. I spent 2 weeks with no music, no loud sounds. At first that was hard to live without, but after a couple weeks my ear started healing, and along with it, much of the tinnitus I’d had for years. That was a pleasant surprise. I spent another few weeks only listening to really soft music. I came out of it smarter, and more aware of how sensitive our bodies are. As for the calf, that’s something that I’m still fixing, but training is going well now and hopefully I will be back up to speed in a few more months.

With the move back to your roots in Ulladalla on the far south coast of NSW, are you concerned that something will have to give in terms of your available time for DJing and producing?

At first I was apprehensive of the move and how it would affect my lifestyle in terms of my music. However, having been here now for a couple of months, I realise that things are probably a little bit better. I spend far less time doing day to day tasks than I did in Sydney. One of the major factors for us moving back down here was that everything we need day to day is within a few minutes drive, ironically a lot more efficient for us than living in Sydney. That extra time saved is time I can spend in the studio, doing the podcast or radio show, or mixing. For me, and the family, the beneficial factors for being down here negate the fact that I have to drive three hours to get to Sydney for a gig. It’s a price I’m happy to pay.

What music do you enjoy outside of the electronic field?

I have a rather strange CD collection, ranging from 80s ‘cock rock’ like Van Halen, Journey and Dreamtheater, to Johnny Farnham, Enya and Celtic folk music, and classical. I nabbed a great classical CD featuring ‘Adagios’ the other week, and that’s been on high rotation. Honestly I value music that strikes me emotionally with strong uplifting melodic hooks or haunting dark sounds. It doesn’t matter if that’s done with a Virus synth or a Banjo, it’s the end result that interests me.

I once heard an artist saying that when they heard their song being played on the cafe radio in an episode of the British TV soap Eastenders they knew that they had begun to make it. Can you think of your Eastenders moment?

Has that moment come yet? I honestly don’t know that it has. There’s been a few moments over the last year or two that have definitely made me go ‘oh damn, this is pretty sweet’, one in particular that I honestly can’t say much about because it’s an ongoing work in progress, however it has something to do with me writing and composing a song for a well known artist’s album.

What was the first download that you paid for?

I could not tell you. But I can almost be certain it was some sort of trance tune from Beatport!

The best set I have heard you play to date was the warm-up we to Ferry Corsten we mentioned earlier, where you were gifted an extended set at short notice. Are you looking forward to playing a longer set again at the Trancetribe party?

Definitely! I’m really looking forward to having another 3 hour set to work with. With that much time you can really work in some lesser known tunes, and lesser known or forgotten classics. I’m somewhat of a Nazi when it comes to my set flow, so I won’t just be randomly throwing requests in, however I will definitely dropping some tunes that are surely going to bring back some memories for a lot of hardcore trance fans!

Last time we met we spoke about gaining more international recognition through pushing your productions. With this in mind, can we expect an artist album in the next twelve months?

I’d love to do an artist album some time soon, sure. I really don’t want to do the traditional ‘bunch of different tunes on a CD’ type thing, though. I’m not out to cash in on releasing a CD with maybe half the tracks being club worthy tunes and the other half being over vocalised or simply not trance and club music. If I do an album, I expect it to be more along the lines of a unique journey from start to finish, like it’s one long track flowing in and out of different energies and moods. I really want it to be an experience you can’t get from me in a club or in a DJ mix. Artists have such a good opportunity to do something unique with their albums, but rarely do.