Rave Curious Podcast

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Ep. 12 - Mr. C & Jason Swamy Mar 29, 2016

Show notes

Mr. C Thinks Everyone Just Needs to Relax and Meditate The techno elder statesman and Further Future founder Jason Swamy impart wisdom in this week's Rave Curious podcast.

Before he was a beacon for underground techno and house, Mr. C was the leader of proto-rave band the Shamen. In the 30 years since he discovered dance music, the Los Angeles resident has done it all, using his unexpected chart-topping success to cultivate the vibrant community that sprung up around him.

From founding the legendary club The End in London, which helped to define the modern techno club experience, to promoting his Superfreq label and events in the city he now calls home, Mr. C is never afraid to challenge the status quo. He meets Rave Curious head on with some flashbacks to the '90s rave culture and plenty of opinions about the global scene of today. He also takes on Trump and tells us why everyone should really just relax and meditate.

Also on the podcast is Robot Heart conspirator Jason Swamy, who came to tell Rave Curious about his history with Burning Man and how his new event, Further Future, is seeking to surpass the "woo-woo" of the transformational festival scene and enact real change.

Ep. 11 - Dustin Zahn Mar 15, 2016

Show notes

Dustin Zahn Reflects on His Rise from Midwestern Monotony The Drumcode regular gives the lowdown on the latest Rave Curious Podcast.

Dustin Zahn's uncompromising techno—which has found a home on labels like Adam Beyer's Drumcode and Radio Slave's REK'D imprint—has its roots in childhood boredom. Raised in a small town in Northern Michigan, he says that "all there was to do was snowboard, smoke weed, or make music." Naturally, he chose the latter option then moved to Minneapolis in the early 2000s.

Zahn now resides in Berlin, where he is one of the most consistently working DJs and producers you're likely to encounter.He also releases voluminous quantities of music on his own Enemy Recordings, the sort of full-throttle tunes, bombed-out that have made him a favorite at top-shelf international clubs like Berghain and Output. He also finds time to record his own interview podcast, Train Wrecks, where he talks to friends like Spencer Parker, Drumcell and Mark Broom, often while consuming substantial amounts of vodka—hence the title.

That's why this podcast is a two-parter. The first hour of the conversation, which traces the whole of his career, can be downloaded right now on Rave Curious. The second half will be released in the coming days on Train Wreck's official site.

Ep. 10 - Ambivalent Mar 01, 2016

Show notes

Ambivalent Is Certain About His Life After Minimal Techno Kevin McHugh spreads his wings with new labels and artistic ideas.

Kevin McHugh didn't set out to be a techno musician. But when his work in the world of NYC's modern art scene crossed over into the realm of minimal techno in the early 00s, he caught a wave that took him all the way to Berlin as part of Richie Hawtin's Minus label. He was soon traveling the world under the name Ambivalent, spreading the gospel of Berlin's trendy ambience with compatriots like Magda, Marc Houle and Heartthrob. "It became a big thing on [Minus] when that label was a big thing," he says modestly of his 2007 breakout single, "R U OK," a prime example of the drugged-yet-cheeky, plink-plonky sound that took over techno a decade ago.

Since departing Minus in 2012, Kevin has debuted two new aliases — the house-inspired Amber and gritty LA-4A — and launched his own Delft and Valence labels and to release a broader palette of dance music than the haus of Hawtin had allowed for in the past. He's also continued his Ambivalent guise, partnering up with techno stars Sven Vath, Josh Wink and Sasha to release music on their Cocoon, Ovum and Last Night On Earth Imprints respectively.

Always self-examining and sometimes painfully honest, Kevin explains the twists and turns it's taken him to reach this point in his career, with a critical eye towards both his past and his future.

Ep. 9 - Erick Morillo Feb 16, 2016

Show notes

Erick Morillo Is Back From the Abyss The house hero and photographer Michael Tullberg stops by this installment of the Rave Curious podcast.

The prospect of speaking to superstar producers can be a daunting one. Like all ceIebrities, A-list DJs can come off as difficult divas who long ago left the underground club scene in favor of Las Vegas residencies and EDM excess. Even house heroes can seem out of touch after long days spent sunning in Ibiza and nights playing for the bottle service crowds.

Erick Morillo's long and storied history within house music could have set him up as this sort of cloistered star, but the reality of talking to him was far more welcoming. The New York-born DJ and producer comes across lively and open-hearted, willing and ready to talk about anything—from addiction and rehab, to rediscovering his love of dirty, funky house music. High up in his home studio in the Hollywood Hills, the Colombian-American DJ—whose biggest hit, "I Like To Move It," has captured a new generation of kids via its use in the Madagascar movies—has undoubtedly lived the good life. But he's not afraid to face up to the many struggles he's had along the way.

This episode also features a brief interview with photographer Michael Tullberg, whose new book, Dancefloor Thunderstorm: Land of the Free, Home of the Rave, is an epic 300+ page journey through the Southern California rave scene of the mid-90s through early-00s.

Ep. 8 - Tommie Sunshine & Cornelius Harris (Underground Resistance) Feb 01, 2016

Show notes

Tommie Sunshine Is Just Trying Fix the World's Problems The Chicago-born DJ is ready to revolt and Underground Resistance's label manager gets real about race on the Rave Curious Podcast.

This week's episode of the Rave Curious Podcast goes beyond the usual dance music discussions and tries to tackle some serious issues facing the world in 2016 with two of the scene's most outspoken individuals, Tommie Sunshine and Underground Resistance label manager Cornelius Harris.

Tommie Sunshine is an American rave icon with a 25-year history as a DJ, producer and provocateur. He's also something of an oddity in his ability to move easily between the underground scene and mainstream EDM industry as an unparalleled authority on all things dance music. In conversation, he veers from drugs and art to club culture's attempts to overthrowing the system—or as he put it "solving the world's problems." It's one of the most enthusiastic Rave Curious chats to date.

We also speak with Cornelius Harris, the label manager of Detroit's legendary independent techno label Underground Resistance, regarding the recent debate about race triggered by techno pioneer Juan Atkins' outspoken objections to The DJ List, as well as Harris' own concern about how Detroit's unheralded artists are portrayed in the media.

Ep. 7 - Chris Liebing Jan 19, 2016

Show notes

Chris Liebing Loves California and Classic Cars, Hates Cheese

Dairy and EDM get dissed on the Rave Curious Podcast.

Chris Liebing has a long-running reputation as one of the nicest dudes in techno, but that big smile doesn't mean he suffers fools. As such, our Rave Curious conversation covers both his love of Los Angeles and his vintage Ford Mustang, and his utter disdain for the dairy industry. Plus, he has some harsh assessments of mainline EDM structures.

"It's the same thing over and over again," He says. "Is your attention span so short you forgot what happened 30 seconds ago?"

In between these moments of befuddlement, Liebing details his early years in Frankfurt, the rise of the often maligned "schranz" sound that he accidentally invented in the late 90s, and his more recent efforts to balance growing popularity with his own sonic evolution.

He also explains why he decided to wrap his long-beloved CLR Podcast and put the label of the same name onto the back burner in order to concentrate on his own artistic pursuits.

Ep. 6 - Danny Tenaglia Jan 06, 2016

Show notes

Danny Tenaglia Has Seen It All Behind The Decks From Yoko Ono to overdoses, the New York legend talk about 30 years of DJing on the Rave Curious Podcast.

The first Rave Curious Podcast of 2016 offers a nice long conversation with New York's genre-hopping veteran Danny Tenaglia. From his legendary series of NYC residencies in the '90s and early '00s—Roxy, Twilo, Vinyl—to his equally renowned marathon parties at Winter Music Conference, DT (as his fans call him) has been at the epicenter of the dance music world for 30 years. And while it's been mostly good times, like hanging at the Paradise Garage and working with Yoko Ono, he's not afraid to detail the challenges he's seen after three decades in clubland.

"It was too much becoming about the ketamine, the crystal meth, the GHB," he admits, regarding the crash of the New York scene in the late-90s when he first became a star. "Ambulances, hospital visits...the community boards got sick of it."

And while he admits to a few nights of early-2000s Ibiza excess during our hour-long conversation in his Hollywood hotel, the 54-year-old Tenaglia is a shining example of a DJ who's maintained his youthful spirit. Learn how he did it by downloading the Rave Curious Podcast.

Ep. 5 - Buzz Goree Dec 23, 2015

Show notes

Meet The Man Who Replaced Jeff Mills in Underground Resistance Buzz Goree tells Detroit techno tales on the Rave Curious Podcast.

As we wrap up 2015, we wanted to give you one last special holiday treat—a bonus podcast with Underground Resistance DJ Buzz Goree.

Buzz is one of the true pillars of Detroit's electronic music scene, starting as a teenage house DJ in the 1980s before taking the reigns behind the decks for UR following Jeff Mills and DJ T-1000's departure. Today he remains "married to techno," and frequents underground institutions like Berghain, where he offers a taste of the 90s Detroit techno sound in every set. In our new Rave Curious Podcast, we talk about the rise and fall of Detroit's 90s rave scene, racial friction in the electronic world, and his present-day life in Berlin, banging it out with his Mixworks label.

Ep. 4 - Surgeon & Starlight Dec 22, 2015

Show notes

Sneak Into Berghain With Lady Gaga BFF Lady Starlight and Techno Titan Surgeon We learn the stunning cosmic coincidence that brought these two "aliens" together, and learn the importance of following your instincts.

Just in time for holiday travel, we're giving you a hefty does of techno talk with the latest episode of the Rave Curious Podcast. This week, our host Joshua Glazer sits down in the offices of Berlin techno institution Ostgut Ton inside of the legendary Berghain to talk with techno titan Surgeon and his new bestie Lady Starlight immediately following their first combined in the infamous German club.

Coming from the worlds of underground techno and mainstream pop respectively, one would never expect Surgeon and Starlight's paths to cross, let alone that the pair would end up performing together at events as incongruent as Lady Gaga concerts and London's Ministry of Sound. We learn the stunning cosmic coincidence that brought these two "aliens" together, and learn the importance of following your instincts.

Ep. 3 - Honey Dijon Dec 08, 2015

Show notes

Honey Dijon Dishes On the Essence of DJing, Canada, and Being a Trans Person In a Gay World Next on the Rave Curious podcast, Josh and the New York-via-Chicago DJ dig deep.

The Rave Curious Podcast continues to engage the world's best DJs in open and honest conversations about the life behind the beats. In Episode 003, host Joshua Glazer spend a beautiful summer afternoon in a Berlin park with New York via Chicago DJ Honey Dijon. Having witnessed house music in its infancy as an inappropriately young clubber in the Windy City, Honey connects with the crowd on a level few DJs can match. Those spiritual interactions have brought her to a global audience of underground faithful who fall for the fabulous DJ's as much as her record selection. No wonder the worlds of fashion and clubbing are both at her command.

Josh and Honey dig deep into what it means to be a DJ, while also gabbing about the importance of shoe-spotting (it really does matter). They also discuss Honey's new path as a producer and why exactly Canada has a vibe all its own.

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