Muno.pl Podcast 30 - Pezzner

It only took release on Freerange for Dave Pezzner to make a name for himself. Sit back, relax, and enjoy interview and the next installment of our podcast series from the deep house producer, whose name seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment.

Since 2008, his organic take on all things deep has been highly in demand, and releases on such renowned labels like 8bit, Rebellion, as well as the aforementioned UK-based label go a long way in proving his musical talent. As does his acclaimed debut album released last year, entitled ‘The Tracks Are Alive’.

Muno.pl Podcast 30 mixed by Pezzner!

Muno Podcast 30 - Pezzner by muno.fm

INTERVIEW: PEZZNER (SEATTLE/ USA)

Is it true that it is always raining in Seattle? I heard that it’s cloudy 201 days and partly cloudy 93 days per year...

Yeah I’ve heard that before.  Seattle's climate is usually described as Oceanic or Marine west coast…

Seattle got its reputation as a music city because of grunge. Sean Horton, the co-founder of Decibel Festival, once said that the electronic music movement in the city can best be  described as “less motivated”. You work and live in Seattle, can you tell us something about the music scene there?

I was talking with my son the other day about Modest Mouse, who really hit the big time in 2003 and I had a hard time thinking of what was the last big thing in Seattle.  We were trying to put our fingers on what or who will be Seattle’s next big thing.  This city has a history of making waves in such a unique way from Jimi Hendrix, to Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, to the entire grunge movement.  But it’s been quiet here. In the electronic music scene we had Bruno Pronsato, Camea, and Jeff Samuel move away to Europe, and the rest of those who are serious about electronic music here are not really doing this work as their only profession.  As far as I know, I’m the only one here who is crazy enough to try to make a living by producing house music.  However, I wouldn’t say that I’m more motivated than anyone else, though. We have a tight local scene. Its small and everyone knows each other.  It makes for the most amazing parties, and since we love our local DJs so much, we don’t always need to fly someone in from out of town to satisfy our dance floors. We have some amazing talent here at home.

You started DJing quite a long time ago as one half of the duo, Jacob London. What made you take the step from DJing to performing live?

When I started doing music full time I knew that getting an agent and performing was going to be a key role in my success as an artist.  That in order to sell myself as a performer, I was going to need to offer something up that was truly unique to my performance.  If you think about it, those people who are buying my music are the DJs and I felt like if DJs are going to be the majority of the people who come to my show and know my music, why should I DJ too? We’re all DJs here, you, me, even the bartender is a DJ on her spare time!  I needed something that could separate me from the rest so that I can intrigue a promoter enough to want to book me, and for an agent to want to represent me and so that I can compel my audience in a way that leaves them inspired.  So I sat down and put some time into coming up with a live show. It was a bit of a no-brainer for me because not many deep house artists are performing live right now.

You’ve been releasing records under your real name for about three years now. Were there any major moments of inspiration that played a role in your introduction to the more deep and moody house sound?

I’ve always been in love with deep house.  Even when we (Jacob London) were producing the craziest most distorted electro, I’d come home and start up deep tracks.  I wasn’t sure what to do with this sound, though.  I’d bring these deep, organic and housey ideas to the table when Bob and I were working on stuff, but it never really fit the bill for the Jacob London projects.  Back then deep house didn’t hit the same nerve with Bob as it did for me so my deep house ideas never made it to the table.  Bob had suggested on many occasions that maybe I should try releasing this sound as a side project and after I quit my job, I decided to give it a try.

Do you have some other projects and ideas for experimenting with sounds that you would like to bring to life?

Hmm… Yeah I have experimental ideas all the time. Yesterday I rigged up my baby girl’s swing with microphones and processed the swing with some heavy saturation and let it record for about 10 minutes.  It was amazing!  I also have a dream of composing some ambient pieces for art installations to be played on multiple medias simultaneously. I hear rhythm and music in everything and sometimes I want to bottle it up and take it home with me.

When sitting in the studio on your own,  do you take a new approach to music production?

I try to, yes.  I think its best to try a new approach as often as you can.  If you don’t then you’ll just be making the same song each time

I really like your LP, “The Tracks are Alive”, and I’m especially fond  of the title. For me this sentence is somehow  a continuation of thought: "Music starts at the point, where words fall short".

There’s a point to the title.  Its more of a statement about each individual audio track. When I produced this album I thought of giving a bit of life to each individual audio track by doing something live to it. So, for instance, if you listened closely to any of the songs on the album and focus in on any one element - the hihats for instance, you'll notice that the hats are subtly "breathing" because the volume level is always fluctuating by a few decibels, while very subtly moving in and out of the reverb space, all while the decay on the hats is slowly opening and closing. You'll notice the saturation on things like snares welling up and down to match the intensity of the arrangement. My album is literally flooded with very subtle nuances like this with the intention of giving the tracks life.

You have started working on your second album. Are you planning to release it on Freerange Records? How does the process of working on your second album differ from what you were doing when you were recording the first one?

Yes, my next project is another LP for Freerange and I think that we can see a bit more evolution in my sound on this second album.  I’m aiming to tell even more of  a story and have a bit more of a unified sound to the overall production on the 2nd album.  We should also see a little more collaboration with other artists. 

What’s next from you?

I’m excited to announce my first release with Crosstown Rebels’s Rebellion imprint.  Vinyl released today and you will be able to purchase digital copies worldwide by August 15.  The release features 4 songs, one of which is a collaboration with a very talented vocalist called Gryffyn. 

Can you tell us something more about the mix you recorded for us?

This is my live show so all the songs on this mix are original works by yours truly.  It was recorded here in my studio in Seattle a couple of weeks ago and is generally what you will hear if you come to see one of my shows.