Fresh from a monster new EP on Viva, we’re delighted to welcome Dale Howard for latest edition of our central mix and interview series. Having graced the likes of Suara, Noir Music and Get Physical over the last three years, Howard has gone from being one the scene’s brightest new talents to household name, creating his own unique space in the community with an upfront, unpretentious take on House Music.
Joining Steve Lawler’s crew is landmark for the groove maestro and it’ll be followed very quickly by an appearance on another renowned imprint as Howard is set shortly to make his debut on Dennis Ferrer’s Objektivity.
With so much going down, it proved the ideal time to catch up with the producer. He talked us through his latest work with VIVa, his early beat-making days and his exploits on the White Isle…
WWD: Hello Mr. Howard. Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to have a chat with us.
First off, what’s your favourite colour & why?
No problem! Grey, just because most of my clothes are grey or black or white. They’re pretty much the only colours I ever wear. Well exciting!
WWD : The Summer is well and truly underway, how has it been for you so far? Any notable highlights to date?
Yeah summer has been great so far. I’ve played so many great festivals already this summer, as well as my residency at Sankeys Ibiza for Magna Carta and a Mexico Tour. I’m also going back to South America for a couple of gigs and I’m playing for Objektivity at the end of July, so I’m buzzing for the rest of it.
WWD: Your new E.P ‘Out The Rut’ is out now on VIVa. Tell us a bit about it! Did you come with the same approach to this E.P. as you would towards any other one?
My approach to the VIVa EP was pretty similar to my usual approach, in the sense that I wanted it to have a couple of straight up house tracks in it. I only deviated from house when it came to making ‘Get Down’, which I wanted to make more techy and more of a groover, so the EP had more scope for VIVa.
WWD: For all the production nerds out there. We all want to know, What would be your vst of choice for creating those scintillating bass-lines?
I use a lot of NI software, but i can get a similar sound out of my Moog stuff and my hardware, so it really depends what bass I’m after at the time to be honest
WWD: What age did you start out djing/producing? Can you give us 3 Dale Howard production essentials?
I started DJing when i was 18 and producing at 19. By producing I mean making 7 minutes of absolute incoherent shite. That went on for a few years until i started to make sense of plugins and actually arranging a track properly.
In terms of production essentials, the most ‘essential’ thing isn’t even about production itself, but just make sure that you make time to produce music. Or at least arse about with your sequencer and plugins and really get to grips with the things you use.
Time in your studio doesn’t always have to result in a track to be time well spent. People say you can’t polish a turd, but when it comes to turd music you can, it just takes ages! No one opens up Ableton or Logic for the first time and knows exactly what they’re doing. So you have to go through the hours, days, weeks, months and maybe even years of making terrible music to discover and refine your sound.
Tip 2, would be to create your own sound. Producers are successful because there is something about their music that differs from everybody else’s, so it’s important to try to carve out your own certain style.
Tip 3 would be to get to grips with EQ’s as soon as you can. Even if you know nothing about mastering, using EQ’s on your channels will make a big difference to the overall brightness of the track, regardless.
WWD: Would you listen to any other genres of music other than house/techno? Would they influence you in anyway?
Yeah I listen to everything; Techno, Electronica, Dub Techno, Chill out, Rock, a bit of everything really. It’s weird where you get inspiration from, You can pick out a little hi hat arrangement in a pop sound song and tweak it slightly to fit what you’re doing. It’s mad where you end up finding ideas from.
WWD: VIVa is a proper solid outfit. How did signing to the label come about?
I’ve been after work with VIVa for ages but never had a contact there to send my music to, but my manager recently became involved with VIVa, so he gave my music to Steve and luckily he was into it so signed it 🙂
WWD: Steve Lawler is certainly one of the veterans of the game we look up to. Who are the guys in your eyes that are doing it right?
Yeah absolutely! I’ve been a fan of Steve and VIVa for years!
There’s loads really! Carola, Beyer, Capriati, Tanzmann, Martinez Brothers. Loads!
WWD: With a lot going on at the minute, how do you feel the scene is sitting right now? Do you think it’s moving in a positive direction?
I do and I don’t. This year I’ve played in a few really small and remote places where you wouldn’t expect much to be going on in terms of a music scene, yet they’ve turned out to be ace parties. That is a testament to how far House is currently. It’s reaching so many people that guys are deciding to start promoting their own parties in their home town because they know there is a big enough crowd that are into it for it to work. That’s a fantastic thing.
The bad part of the ‘scene’ at the moment is that there are numbers of people who are turning up to certain parties and festivals who don’t have a clue who’s playing and don’t even care. They’re only there because it’s the new trendy thing to do and sometimes it can kill the vibe for people who are there because they are actually into the music. Overall though it’s in a good place

WWD: What else have you got line up this summer? Have you had an opportunity to enjoy the best of the White Isle yet?
Well like I said before I’m going back to South America and will be playing for Objektivity in Amsterdam. I’ll be finishing off my residency in Ibiza and then will be back touring the UK and some other parts of Europe.
Yeah I’ve already stayed over for a week after my last gig for Magna Carta and I’ll be spending another 10 days over there altogether throughout the rest of the summer so I’ll get to enjoy it 🙂
WWD: And one last thing Dale, give us one track that always does you justice!
From my own music, ‘Vacant’ from my forthcoming EP on Objektivity always seems to go down well, which is always a good thing.
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