A recent addition to the influential Ram Records label, Canadian producer Rene LaVice heads to Perth this week as part of his first Australian tour. TOM KITSON spoke to this fresh talent in drum’n’bass, who’s just coming to terms with his rise to prominence.
Just off a 28-hour flight from Toronto, LaVice is understandably tired, yet willing to speak in detail about his career progress so far. After a few releases on his friends’ labels in Canada, his big break came after his tracks ended up in the hands of Ram Records co-founder and drum’n’bass heavyweight, Andy C, who happened to take a liking to his music and invited LaVice on board.
“We had some tracks sitting around including Headlock which was set for release on John Rolodex’s label (Machinist Music),” he says. “There were some issues getting distribution but in the meantime, John had sent some stuff to Andy C which didn’t even have my name on it.”
At this point LaVice was feeling limited with regards to opportunities to progress his career and wasn’t aware of what could happen once his music was heard on a larger scale.
“Six months later I got a call from Andy saying he’d been searching for me since he got my music and he’d been playing my tracks in his sets,” he says. “I thought it was a prank at first, but then he asked me to send him more music and I sort of pursued that.”
Earning the praise of such a respected figure in the genre has opened many doors, including the release of his debut album, Insidious released earlier this year, plus he’ll be bringing the bass to Villa along with Mind Vortex this week in the latest crop of Ram Records artists to hit our shores.
Back home in Canada, LaVice says the drum’n’bass scene is really exciting and he can now discover more of what’s happening on his doorstep with his new found exposure and label support.
“I’m discovering it as I go – this is the coolest thing about the last year, actually,” he says. “I’d only played in Toronto with friends before, but since then I’ve burst into the forefront of everything and I’ve been able to go to places in Canada that I’d never been to before.”
As well as finding a new sense of patriotism and love for his country through touring and meeting new people, LaVice also has plans for new releases to follow up his debut album and remixes.
“We’ve got some really exciting stuff in the works right now,” he says. “We don’t want to shout about it to much but there will be the second part of my Insidious album remixes and some new solo stuff for me in the new year probably.
“You won’t hear many live recordings of my sets because I’m always playing unreleased stuff to try to gauge the crowd reaction,” he says. “I want to know before we release something that the music is breathing and has a life of its own.”
INHIBIT PRESENTS RENE LAVICE, MIND VORTEX
& MEFJUS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 @ VILLA
