Launch Me Into Space
The Juan MacLean are one of the greatest electronic acts of this decade – hands down. They are touring Australia again around New Year. As I said in the last interview I really want to hang with Juan. Probably his biggest achievement this year is remixing Sidwho?’s Bowie For President.
Winston: First off I would like to say how amazing I thought your show was last year with Cut Copy.
Juan MacLean: That was actually or first bit of touring that we did in almost 2 years – that was sort of the warm up for the album tour.
Winston: You were playing the theremin a lot is that something you still do?
Juan MacLean: I put it through a lot of delay and wah wah pedals sometimes on the record – live I play it quite a bit. It’s a hard thing to stay away from actually – I find myself playing it more than I should. I have been playing it since I was a teenager.
Winston: Are you still touring with the guys from Holy Ghost?
Juan MacLean: No, they had to bow out because they were doing their album, which is going to be coming out probably at the beginning of next year.
Winston: Are you working on new material I think it was in the Dummy Magazine interview you mentioned something about an acid house track with Nancy Whang on vocals?
Juan MacLean: That’s actually the next 12” that I’m working on now. I’m not sure when it will come out. It’s basically like the acid house version of Happy House in some ways. That’s all I can say about it now.
Winston: Is acid a direction you are going with other songs or just this one?
Juan MacLean: It’s funny I had always used like a 303 as a bassline on a bunch of things on the album – a lot of the time it just doesn’t sound like one because I’m not being that extreme with it. It’s a little more prominent – where as Happy House was sort of a piano house track updated. This one will be like an acid house track updated.
Winston: DJ Pierre of Phuture 303 was just in Adelaide … I just love the sound of the 303.
Juan MacLean: Yeah it’s a classic thing
Winston: It’s inescapable but it can still sound fresh.
Juan MacLean: For one thing it is always funky – it’s just the way it works it makes everything a bit bouncy. Just the sound – I think when people hear it in clubs they don’t know what it is but they get excited.
Winston: You are going to be on the Australian festival circuit – which Australians take their outdoor festivals very seriously. My question is what’s your favourite festival experience as the Juan Maclean?
Juan MacLean: Oh God it’s so hard to say – one of my favourites was recently. We played at this festival called the Flow festival in Helsinki. We were headlining the big dance tent there. We were the last people to be playing. We got to see Grace Jones play right before us. Everyone was really excited from that and it was like 10,000 people just really going crazy at 4 in the morning.
Winston: Wow
Juan MacLean: Coming from the United States people here don’t tend to get very excited about things here for a variety of reason. One of which they think they are too cool to get really excited. Its always really fun to go overseas.
Winston: At the same times you are bigger overseas – which is probably the way it is with a lot of American electronic acts.
Juan MacLean: Yeah for sure – I think for a variety of reasons. The United States has always had this thing where it has always been really stratified depending on what kind of music you like. It used to be if you were into indie rock you certainly wouldn’t like any kind of dance music. That has changed a bit but it seems like dance music still is not as much in the mainstream as it is everywhere else in the world. It won’t get played on the radio.
Winston: It also has roots back to the backlash against disco as well – people have similar connotation about house music
Juan MacLean: Most people when they hear the words disco they start laughing and think it’s this comical really campy kind of music – like the Village People.
Winston: I was wondering if you started producing dance music before you were a DJ?
Juan MacLean: I didn’t start DJing until 2000 – I had my first studio when I was 20 so I had always been engineering and recording. It wasn’t until the late 90s until I got into electronic music production like sequencing stuff with the computer.
Winston: Does that give you a different perspective as a DJ like you began as a producer and just moved from there?
Juan MacLean: Yeah – I don’t really understand how to make a 12 inch until I went out and DJed in a club – that’s how you can really see how they work and the effect they have. You can find out what’s effective and not effective
Winston: DFA records have been around for a decade or so and I wonder if it will be like Warp Records where it is a permanent fixture or its popularity might wane?
Juan MacLean: I am surprised that it has maintained the place it has for this long. What the DFA has going for it is that the release schedule is very slow and deliberate. There is just not a lot of stuff coming out. It’s a very small roster that release.
Winston: You get lot anticipation for each new release that way
Juan MacLean: Yeah exactly
Winston: Like everyone is clawing for the new Holy Ghost! track.
Juan MacLean: That’s something that they are conscious of – putting out a couple of 12” before you put out an album. Also there is such a heavy filter in place for everything. When I’m putting together tracks for my album James Murphy, the Holy Ghost! guys and other people at the DFA traded them around and everyone goes through them and offers their opinions. It weeds things out. It makes DFA a pretty bullet proof model. I think it will stay around for another 10 years. It’s funny because it has kind of had a renaissance starting with Sounds of Silver and then Hercules and Love Affair, throw in my album in there and then the Holy Ghost! album will be coming out the beginning of next year.
Winston: A lot people on the DFA have done a few re-edits on labels like Mindless Boogie and RVNG Of The NRDS. I was wondering if you had a hidden back catalogue of re-edits or do you not touch on that sort stuff?
Juan MacLean: I have been asked to them but never have I think mainly because I haven’t really had the time. Other stuff has taken priority but I’m doing a DJ Kicks CD next year and in that there will be a bunch of tracks re-edited
Winston: That will been something to look forward to
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