Berlin-based deep house/techno DJ/producer Sante aka Philipp Maier is on his way to play at the Rough Love’s Carnevale Warm Up this Sunday, November 9. JO CAMPBELL quizzes him on his new album, which just hit the streets.
Maier’s album Current, released last week on his own imprint, Avotre, is more of a song-based affair than the straight-up collections of dance floor grooves he’s previously produced. Known for his peak-time club productions, Maier wanted to show a complete set of skills with this, his debut LP.
“There isn’t a single sample in the whole record; every track is written and produced by myself and the featured vocalist,” Maier said. “It was great to write with different artists in the studio, we used a lot of analogue machines and instruments, such as the Roland SH101, which I used to make many of the bass lines.
“Collaborating with such a variety of talented artists was a real privilege. It’s always a fantastic experience through which you learn different ways of approaching production in an environment in which you can share ideas and methods around the creative process. It’s also nice not being alone in the studio.”
Current was mixed and mastered in Maier’s native Berlin but was mostly written and inspired by stints in London and Los Angeles. “You can hear the melancholy in the first half of the album; a feeling inspired by spending a lot of last autumn in London,” he said.
“I escaped the Berlin winter and recorded the other half of the album in LA, which in January has some of the most amazing weather I have ever seen; sunny, no clouds in the sky, cool breeze… it was amazing.”
Maier recorded tracks featuring artists Ovasoul, Human Life, Russoul and Steven Smith in LA. “These have much more of a happy vibe to them then the ones recorded in London. London and LA are diametrically opposite in so many ways, and their respective characteristics shine through in the album.”
Not completely diametrically opposed to dance music production is the art of creating commercial jingles, which Maier spent six years at for a living. “It made me more passionate about making dance music, as I was getting frustrated at having to make unimaginative jingles and just wanted to be a creative artist. It did give me experience of working solidly in good studios though, and understanding all the principals of ‘old-school’ music production like properly working a mixing desk and learning how to mix down a track, which I guess is a good thing!”
SANTÉ
CARNEVALE OPEN AIR WARM UP
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9 @ URBAN ORCHARD
