NEWS
EVENTS
Flashmob talks about going solo and staying quality
House | Friday 18th September 2015 | Christina
With the combination of a steadfast work ethic, an easy going personality and raw creative talent, it’s no surprise that Flashmob has become one of the most respected producer/DJs out there. He’s released on heavyweight labels like Get Physical and Defected, as well as running his own, and has been gigging relentlessly, especially over in Ibiza. This year has seen him push an analolgue-infused, darker and rawer sound, and it’s going down extremely well. We caught up with him to talk about going solo and keeping standards high.
Hi Sandro, how’s it going? How’s life treating you?
Life is treating me very, very well, I'm really, really pleased. I've just finished an album, working on a collaboration with a good friend of mine for a new EP and working on a live project with Berlin artist called Carl, as well as a singer from Belgium, Robin De La Roux, so I'm very very pleased and enthusiastic for the future. I'm enjoying the gigs I'm playing, I have a new agent from B4 booking that is filling my diary very, very quickly, and now that I'm a solo act it’s all easier, so I'm really, really happy.
How has the summer season been?
It has been great, playing some great events like Do Not Sleep with Sante, Sidney and Darius Syrossian, it was amazing, I was headlining the opening. I just posted yesterday some photographs on my Facebook, it was really incredible. I did the Wunderground boat party too, that was insane, then the Lost In Ibiza party on top of that. So I've been in ibiza I don't know how many times already, networking and playing, I played already around about five or six times so far. For the rest I'm going to Falerma this coming weekend in Italy then I'm going to Belgium for a festival, followed by a number of gigs in the Dominican Republic.
Have your sets and productions changed since going solo?
Yes of course they have, the production side of things there is nobody else that I have to make decisions with, so obviously I can do what I love the most. My new sound is somewhere in-between techno, house and tech-house. It's not so far from what I was doing before but obviously there is no compromising with someone else so it's different. I just finished an album as I mentioned before, doing some new music, obviously I am a bit older than my previous partner so I have the feeling Flashmob needs to be producing more accessible music and not just music that is really profile music. Everyone knows the profile music we have done that is coming out now on Objektivity and on Alan Fitzpatrick’s label. You know everyone knows that we can do quality stuff, so now I think what I need to do is just have fun in the studio and produce as much as possible because in the last 18 months I have been producing very little. Although the respect is high for the project because we have done very high quality things, I think that now the time is to have a little fun. In terms of the DJ set I am having fun of course, it is very difficult to share and play with someone, and to always follow someone else when it was a duo. The real thing in playing music is following your instinct and getting lost with yourself and so for me its much better to play alone, I can express my energy even more, which is scary in a way. The sound hasn't changed radically, it is still there but it is different. I hope it will be interesting, I'm very happy with it.
Why did you launch the Raw Analogue Technique production pack?
I decided to do that because it is a way to give back something to the younger guys that are getting involved with the industry and I think it is a nice way of giving them good tools. I really put energy and a lot of time into getting a quality pack together and I think it’s important that rather than buying the usual, not very good sample kits, but to have a good one that will enable them to learn about the sound immediately, and get their ears used to a certain kind of quality and sound. That's what it's all about really. I thought it was fun to do something like that and I am very happy. Also from a profile point of view it is an interesting thing to do, it is an extra brick towards building my platform.
Is finding and supporting new talent an important part of your life satisfaction?
Yes it is actually. It is because when I wasn't solo it was very difficult to collaborate with people, we were very closed for two years. In fact you would have noticed there are very few remixes of Flashmob and even collaborations. This I want to radically change because it is not in my nature, my nature is to collaborate with people and help new talent and get people that, in my opinion, deserve it out there and so this is why I also opened the label to give the opportunity to those out there. Since Flashmob Ltd has the reputation and a strong promo mailing list, along with the feedback we get it really helps. When I say we, I mean the people who help me with this because there is Yad and Menee who both help me run the label. There are a number of people who collaborate with the label. Lately I've been talking a lot to DJ W!ld who has done a remix for Flashmob Records, which will be out in October before ADE. We are building a collective of people that want to be productive and want to do it in a nice way, and be successful whilst having fun rather than chasing people and being involved in the usual stressful process of talking to labels.
How did you come to collaborate with Lowheads on ‘Don’t Leave’?
Well Lowheads is a duo of Italian guys who have done basically nothing up until now, I don't mean that in a bad way, just they literally have just started. They came up with this vocal, it was really interesting, we just went for it. One of the two is a really old friend of mine so I said why not. Now that I'm alone I'm always about the good music, so if someone comes along with a really good tune or a really good vocal I am very open to collaborating, to me it is about the music.
The video for ‘Don’t Leave’ is great, and it’s set in London. Talk us through the inspiration behind it.
The video is an idea of Phil Jooles, who is videographer based in London who does a lot in the underground scene. His idea was to recreate something that was inspired by the ‘Ballon Rouge’, which is a 1950s video where this kid goes around Paris - it is all back and white apart from the red balloon that he follows. We did the same thing with a very good looking girl that was in the video, it is all about searching for love and searching for what is good in life, and realising that it is not only for you and that it is also for others. It is also about the fact that love, sooner or later, if you look for it properly and search for it in the right way will come for you as well. ‘Don't Leave’ is about the fact that hope doesn't have to leave, the hope must always be our companion because sooner or later if you do things right they do happen.
So you have been vocal on your stance of quality over quantity and that the Flashmob label is dedicated to underground music, do you feel calling out bullshit is one of your key roles in the industry?
I don't think I have a role as such, I just think my role is to say what I think and do what I say. I try to put the right energy into what I do and try to be who I am in real life as well as in the industry. I eventually get rid of anything that is negative and I work really, really hard. I am hugely driven as anyone that knows me in the industry I try to be nice and try to give it my all. I take things very seriously but also enjoy life very much. The fact that I love quality over quantity is the fact that quantity is the superficial way of doing things and I think that the more commercial side of things is more about money than it is about music, it is more about bullshit than the real thing. This is what underground is about, it is about people who actually love music to a point where they are willing to sacrifice a little more money for what is real. There are a lot of people out there saying “I do it for the people and I do it for this and I do it for that” but then ultimately all you can see from the media is them celebrating their ego. It must be done the way that it would be done in the way it would be in real life - if you invite someone to your home you give them the best seats not the worst seats. In the industry everyone is chasing exposure and to do that you often see people who don't give you the best seat, they give you the worst seat so they pretend they're all cool and that they're doing it for the music and the fans, but ultimately they don't give a shit. I think eventually it will all catch up with these people.
You have released on both kinds of labels, how do you walk the line between underground and mainstream?
To be honest I have never done a mainstream record, not with this project. 'Need In Me' has become a sort of classic but it wasn't our intention to do a mainstream record, certainly we knew it had the potential of going mainstream. But if you think about it and analyse the record, it’s a 909, it’s a very old school way of making records so it doesn't have really anything of mainstream in it. It has nearly 10 millions hits on YouTube, which is very rare for a record in what we do. What I was doing before was always underground music, we started on Get Physical. Even now I just released on Moon Harbour, Avotre, the W label from DJ W!ld, it is all DC10 people, so my music is to do with underground, always has been and always will be. If you do a really good record that does cross over then it's good, there’s nothing wrong with that.
How has the freedom of your own label impacted you as an artist?
Well first of all it has given me the opportunity to do things on my own time and to be in control of the calendar and the schedule. It is a big thing to have a label, if you work well then people will recognise that and they will follow you, it’s a matter of working really hard when some labels don't. That’s because the DJs that open those labels do not follow the labels and get other people to follow those labels who don't give a shit, so what happens is they lose contact with the label and fellow DJs and producers.
What’s in the pipeline in terms of the label?
The next release as I said is DJ W!ld, he has given me a three track EP that will release around ADE on vinyl with a Phil Weeks remix, and a couple of other remixes from some guys of the label. I'm also talking to another big artist for another remix. After that I don't know, I want to do very little at a very high quality. The next thing will be some showcases, that is the most important thing.
You’ve already played a bunch of shows in Ibiza and you’ve got more coming up, but what’s your all-time best Ibiza moment?
The best moment for sure has to be Do Not Sleep. I had just left my previous agency Paramount, to move to Mikel who is one of the best agents you could ask for right now, he's considered a superstar of an agent, he is incredible the way he works. I left my management and became solo obviously, I pretty much sacked everyone. When I went to the night a lot of the artists were on Paramount so they were all there which was a little awkward at the start, however everyone was really nice to me, and as you can see from the photographs that I posted on my Facebook it ended up to be an insane gig. I really had so much fun, Darius is super nice, Sante and Sidney, super nice. I met my ex-agent who is really nice and the manager of the three guys so was nice to catch up. I think that was my first gig alone as well so to be able to turn things around like that, to make something that was uncomfortable feel so comfortable because of the contact with people, and to go and play and find that so many people had come early for opening set of Flashmob and Do Not Sleep was amazing. Honestly I played one of the best sets I have ever played so that was an incredible moment. And another incredible moment I mentioned earlier was the Wunderground boat party, we made a video which went viral because the boat was just insane, the Irish guys were really fun to be with. The Lost in Ibiza party was really good too, definitely my best moments of the summer. I also played a really good gig in Alicante recently, that was really good as well.
You once said in an interview that Flashmob is not a production machine and that you keep your standards very high in terms of what you release. Do you think the amount of music that’s out there is problematic?
Yes, because I think you can tell a lot of producers are not even making their own music and the quality is low even for the labels. Problematic, yes, I think it doesn't work towards the development of the industry in terms of quality, everyone is selling nowadays. If you go to a market where everyone is selling the same thing it is very difficult to find what you're looking for, ultimately it will be even more difficult to find the quality tracks.
Is music without a message or a story a waste of time?
Back before it was a solo project, music wasn't made in a very intense way, it is very difficult to tell a story when there are two people. Nowadays all the music I make is all about my feelings, the people that I meet, the conversations I have, it is all about me, as it should be. An artist who is writing music should express his feelings through the music he is making.
Kerri Chandler has said his favourite time at a party is when the lights go out and come back on and you catch people in the act. What is your favourite moment at a rave?
My favourite moment is when I realise I have lost complete control of what I am doing, and that I am doing it at my best, so I'm not looking at what I'm doing anymore, I'm just enjoying it with the crowd. Then you wake up at the end and it is done, it’s gone, and you lived it so intensely that you were nearly not there but you were there so much.
What is the worst thing you have a reputation for?
Oh! Well I can be a bit of a pain in the ass if things are not done properly, that’s for sure, that’s in real life and in my work as well. Although in my work I hold my horse very much because I am a nice person but I am very, very determined and if something is not like I think it should be, well, then it can be a bit of a problem. But I don't know if I have a bad reputation because I always try to be nice to everyone, I am talking about work here. In my private life I could tell you what my family would say, that I am a big stone on the shoulders because I want to do everything on my terms and everything has to be done fast and well. I am a bit of a pain in the ass! Ultimately I try to give people a lot so I think I'm not bad as a person after all, bit of a heavy weight.
Which do you prefer, festivals or nightclubs?
Oh I love both, festivals I love when they're really good, they're insane. But the dirty little club is always good. There is a club called District in Lincoln where some of my really good friends are, I can't wait to go back there. It's the perfect club - it's small and dirty but the energy is just insane.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I have a shower, I dress up always in the same way, the order of things I put on, that’s part of myself being a bit artistic. I put a necklace on that I always have on for all the gigs, I check if my USB cards are in the box a couple of times because I'm scared to death to forget. I should put my earplugs in but I always forget, that’s pretty much it.
What are you listening to right now?
I'm listening to Be As One, Shlomi Aber’s label as well as Ninja Tunes, a lot of strange stuff. I'm very into that kind of sound right now. I like that label and also Hypercolour. Listening to a lot of DJ sets as well I like to do that.
What’s the first record you ever bought?
Well the first vinyl I bought ever was Welcome to The Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, it's a double album that my grandmother bought, and then a girlfriend of mine broke it then bought it back so now I have two! The first techno vinyl I bought was a record called ‘Freaky Disco’, it was 1989 I think, Newman and Wells Outerspace. It was this industrial sort of techno packed with warehouse sounds.
What is your go-to track to really get a crowd going?
I have a selection of them, it depends what the moment is and where you are in your set. I always try to start very strong. I could name three or four, Audion ‘Mouth To Mouth’ is one of those tracks I love to play. There are so many out there.
What are you most looking forward to for the rest of the year?
Well I'm going to the Domincan Republic for my holidays, I go diving with my wife and kids. While I'm there I will have a mini tour, I have four gigs over there so that’s what I'm loping forward to. I have worked like a maniac this past year, so many changes with everything, so what I'm looking forward to is switching off and then coming back to what I love very much. Make a lot of music and work on my new project, work on the label and keep doing what I do, smashing every gig. Living my life with my family and being a good daddy, that is a really hard one!
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could have three songs to keep you entertained which tracks would you choose?
Very hard question. Probably I would chose the three tracks I am working on at the moment in the studio, I would keep working on them forever until they become the best tracks.
If you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would it be and why?
It would be tennis shoes! I am a maniac with tennis shoes and sunglasses. I find it difficult to control myself when it comes to sneakers and sunglasses. And vinyls of course!
What is your message to the young people of today?
It is not about looking cool but it is about making experience, learning how to do something really well, and eventually end up cool because you have had the strength not to be stupid and not to follow everyone. Then you eventually become cool because you're cool with yourself, because you enjoy what you do and you know how to do it properly. Learn what you want to do properly; if you're good you'll have results.
If you could have five people dead or alive playing at a party who would they be?
Well I would have Radioslave because his productions are insane as well as Kink. Carl Craig - I've never really seen his energy live but I imagine from his productions that he must be insane. Steve Lawler is one of the best DJs I have ever seen, in the twenty years he has always been there at maximum level so I admire him very, very much. He knows what he is doing, there is no messing about with Steve Lawler. Finally Nina Kraviz, she plays insane music, she would give a touch of class to the whole thing. Although I'm not really into her dancing style but she's a very beautiful girl and she plays really, really good music, bit hard but it would fill the line-up well.
Follow Flashmob on Twitter.
