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Audio: Patrice Baumel - fabric Promo Mix

Fascinated by the contrast between human warmth and the cold precision of manmade machines, Patrice Baumel is one of Amsterdam’s most forward-thinking DJs and producers. With productions housed on seminal imprints such as Trapez, Get Physical and !K7, his early exposure to a music legends Yello and Depeche Mode and his participation in the Red Bull Music Academy back in ’02 – Patrice raises the roof in every sense of the term. Hailing from the Dutch capital city that is a burgeoning melting pot of musical talents, he holds a residency the famous Trouw club and runs his own label, aptly crowned Trouw, which has attracted remix work from the likes of Joris Voorn, Nuno Dos Santos and Petar Dundov this year already. Ahead of his live show alongside, Tobi Neumann and Levon Vincent next Saturday, we pinned down the genre-defying beatsmith to hear more about Amsterdam’s thriving underground scene, his plans to kick Trouw into overdrive and why surfing and music is a combination that makes sense. We also have an exclusive mix from Patrice as a prelude to the night which he describes in his own words as “classical music, acoustic pop, spoken word and more….” Download: Patrice Baumel - fabric Promo Mix Hi Patrice, how are you today? Spending another great day at the studio working on a fresh remix, feeling upbeat. Spring is in the air, there seems to be more sunlight every day. How would you describe the music that you make? Constantly evolving, dynamic, never happy and mostly operating in between genre categories. What’s your own history with electronic music—how did you discover it, and how did you come to start making it? I think it started with my Dad being a music freak and record collector. Early exposure to the likes of Yello, Can or Depeche Mode must have left a mark. I've always been fascinated by the contrast between human warmth and cold machine precision. Making music came at a much later stage in my life after participating in the Red Bull Music Academy in 2002 and getting super-inspired by the experience to not just play other people's music but make my own as well. You hold a residency in Amsterdam's, Trouw club. How does it feel to be a resident there & what have been your most interesting nights to date? Trouw is a place that really spoils you as a resident. It's one of the best work places in the scene - great sound, a booth that is enclosed by dancing people from all sides. I love playing in such a large club and the massive energy that comes with it. Trouw has many faces. The downstairs floor feels like a proper warehouse party, upstairs is a modern 5 star deluxe clubbing experience with all the bells and whistles. Being a resident in Trouw also means more than just turning up for a gig, a lot of the creative thinking and planning for the nights is done by the residents and we're also involved in running the still very young Trouw label. Is there an underground/afterhours scene in Amsterdam, or are parties mostly limited to nightclubs? We are sure that Amsterdam Dance Event must be a fun time of year for you… There is a thriving underground scene organized mainly by local crews with local acts behind the decks. These parties are sold out weeks in advance and manage to dodge the quite stringent closing hour laws in Holland. Underground parties are the go-to places for all your afterhour needs. With the general economic downturn there seems to be a sudden abundance of great little venues all over town. Amsterdam Dance Event is an extremely busy period of the year, as you try to get to a few lectures, do the obliged networking, DJ and be a good host to all visitors coming to Trouw. Work comes first during the ADE week, then play but the whole local scene is extremely thankful for the opportunity to share their city with the music world for a few days - lots of good things come out of it. You released your debut album “Vapour” on your record label, Trouw last year. Are you happy with the final result & what can we expect from the label this year? "Vapour" definitely feels like a lovechild to me, I and the whole Trouw crew around me invested a lot of energy into this project. It was very important to launch the label in a decisive way. I feel it's a record that will stand the test of time, but I am really eager to explore new musical ground in the future and to take things to a more heavy and extreme sound than the more subtle approach I chose for this album. After a short breather the label is now ready to kick into overdrive. First up we have an electronic pop release by Andre Obin, a young talented singer and producer from Boston. Melon and I will contribute remixes to this Junior Boys-esque song. Then we have the "Vapour"-remixes coming out by the likes of Joris Voorn, Nuno Dos Santos and Petar Dundov. Also in the works is a new school electronica release by Andi Müller, a young Dane who has become known for his incredible remix for Radiohead. Remixes by Luke Abbott and 360 are part of that package. I also have a new single ready - I included these tracks into the Fabric-mix to give people an exclusive sneak preview... We are looking forward to playing your mix in the office - can you tell us how and where it was recorded? It was made in my home studio using Ableton Live - for me the only way to make a podcast that can add anything to a live DJ set - you can pull out all the stops with editing, post processing, arranging etc. Can you tell us a little bit more about the idea behind the mix? The idea behind the mix is to surprise, to keep the listener's ears fresh and interested from start to finish, to provide lots of contrast and come up with interesting combinations of records. I tried to disregard all rules and use a broad range of styles and influences - classical music, acoustic pop, spoken word and more. The music is at times more than 40 years old but I want it to sound modern - even futuristic - and still have a natural flow to it. What are your big and breaking plans for 2011? I want to tour a lot, keep perfecting my live set and invest some time into my 360 collaboration with Nuno Dos Santos and the Trouw label. I really want to go all out career-wise this year, reach that next level that opens lots of doors. I feel like there is so much more in it for me and I am willing to put in the hard work. The best way for me to do it is to make a few really big records and raise the roof wherever I perform. I also want to learn more about video as I think the combination of music and video is the new and exciting reality. In the next few weeks I will be playing in Tokyo (at the Japanese edition of Sónar) for the first time. This and the upcoming Fabric gig have been on my wish list for a long, long time. We heard you are a big on surfing. Where are your favourite places to catch a wave these days? Maybe my favourite place in the world is Uluwatu in Bali. To get into the waves you have to climb down a cliff, and then walk through a cave. It is a natural wave arena with the most beautiful sunsets. The whole island agrees with me - food, locals and climate. Morocco, Australia and also some of the local breaks on the North Sea can be really good. Surfing and music is a combination that makes sense - these two activities balance each other out perfectly. Quite a few of the Trouw crew are regular surfers. Patrice will be at fabric on 19th February, for more info and tickets go here.
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