PREPMODE INTERVIEW and NEW EDIT

I recently asked Simon of PREPMODE a few questions and this is what he responded with, a wickedly cool interview AS WELL AS a new edit, see the link below:

Question 1: Hi Simon, it has been a busy year for you as a DJ and a producer, how has your music and style evolved over the past year, what has influenced you, where's your headspace at now musically?
Yeah, it has been a crazy year. As far as how my music and style have evolved over the past year, at the beginning of the year I found myself playing more Modular and Indie Dance remixes, and as the year has unfolded, Fidget has really come into the forefront (which is cool because it's great for scratching and adding in samples). These elements have all influenced my evolution. Where my head's at musically right now is making and playing fun party music. I hate to bring this up any more than it's already in everybody's face, but with the economy in the situation it's in, people now (more than ever) just seem like they want to go out, have fun, dance, and party (more than simply going out just to be seen). Therefore, I've been working a lot more with Hip Hop/Electro crossover material. It gives me the opportunity to not only reach a wider audience, but incorporate some Turntablism in my sets.

Question 2: Having such a diverse and varied background musically, how does this focus you on what you do? Do you feel it gives you an edge as a DJ over others, or does it make it more difficult to concentrate on specific genres of music, naturally coming from a musical background must have helped?
My diversity as a DJ and musical background have definitely given me an advantage. Having the collection of music I do and the ability to mix everything from Hip Hop to Electronic gives me more avenues to travel based on the crowd I'm playing for on a particular night. Plus, incorporating Turntablism into my Electronic sets is something that gets crowds crazy and there's not as many of us out there who can combine the 2. These things do make it hard to focus on a specific genre because I always feel like I have to keep up on everything (and there's soooo much out there).

Question 3: How did your relocation to New York change your perspective (if it did) on what you do?
NY was good for me as a DJ. I ended up impressing the right people early on and it escalated from there. It was the first time that I felt the neccesity to be at the record store every week as soon the delivery truck came in to beat everyone else to any music I couldn't live without. It also showed me the value of being a diverse DJ that could play multiple genres was the level I need to be at, and I pushed myself even harder to develop new skills and new tricks (which is what eventually led me to the cometition circuit).


Question 4: Are you working on any projects/remixes at the moment that my readers should know about and are exciting you in any way?
I'm working here and there at the moment on some remixes, but DJing has been taking up most of my time lately.

Question 5: Which do you prefer doing: Dj'ing or producing? Why?
I LOVE DJing. You know how everyone has "their thing"....DJing is mine. It's what I do best. Producing, for me, is a great outlet for expression and interperetation, but it just doesn't beat playing for a crowd and rocking out on the decks.

Question 6: What are you listening to right now which is perhaps influencing or inspiring you?
Well, I recently transplanted to Austin, Texas, so now I'm hearing a lot of Houston Hip Hop and what we call over here "Dirty South" Rap. This is definitely giving me some inspiration to combining it with Electronic music. I'm also looking out for my friend Bird Peterson to do some big things here soon. He's been putting out some great tracks for a minute now. I'm also really happy with Birdy Nam Nam's new approach. They are super skilled DJs that are producing some great dance tracks.

Question 7: Having worked around and with a diverse and interesting bunch of artists such as Aerosmith, Insane Clown Posse, Son Volt etc, how has that influenced and enhanced the music you do and play?
It's interesting becuase sometimes you get surprised with what the crowds at certain shows want to hear. It keeps you on your toes. If in a crowd I have people that want to hear Cut Copy, and others that want to hear Snoop Dogg, I have to do my best to incorporate these elements and keep the crowd hyped. The more fun I'm having while performing, the more excited the crowd gets. I try to make all my sets and tracks/remixes fun. Because of this influence, I also try to make my sets/tracks/remixes cross over to fans of multiple genres (and sub-genres) of music.

Question 8: What are your plans for 2009? World domination?
Ha Ha...My plan for 2009 is to book more gigs than I can handle (both nationally and abroad), continue developing more skills as a producer, and try not to get too overheated by the Texas sun this summer.
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Elements of Noise - Coldrock the Party (PREPMODE Edit)DivShare DL

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