One of the most hotly-tipped leaders of the new school, Uone follows in the footsteps of Kölsch, Patrice Baumel, and Darius Syrossian to deliver a stunning two-part mix for the Balance Series that was two-and-a-half years in the making, and is composed entirely of his own material. We also had a little chat about it with him. Enjoy !
WWD : Paint us a picture of the moment you got asked to do the Balance comp. Where were you and what was your reaction?
It’s funny you ask this question. I had this concept of making an album out of remixing classic tracks that had influenced me as an artist and shaped my sound as DJ over the last 15 years. I had slowly collecting remix files and writing to the artists who made the tracks I wanted to remix. At the same time I had been making music with producer friends from all over the world when I was touring. I remember having the first initial discussion with Tom from Balance and show him the concept and it all developed from there.
WWD : Being an Aussie, how big a part did the series play in your electronic music upbringing? Everyone has a favourite mix – what’s yours?
I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula around 60 kms from Melbourne city. I use to go record shopping every Tuesday in Melbourne and catch the train in. I was 18 at the time and had my Discman with me playing Sean Quinn’s Balance mix. I used to listen to disc 2 track 1 with the vocal which went ‘I Hear Music, In My Mind, It’s taking over, In My Mind’ and used to think and dream that one day I wanted to create a body of music that people could listen to and be taken on journey.
My favourite Balance is from Lee Burridge. His 3 CD compilation is a timeless masterpiece mix. Sharing such similar taste at the time and collecting all those records, it was so refreshing to see a Balance mix taken away from the progressive house and dark journeys and brought more into the territory of quirky tech house and melodic minimal sounds. Artists like Ripperton, Kollektiv Turmstrasse, H.O.S.H & Super Flu all featured tracks on the compilation and today have become household names.
WWD : Creating a work that’s entirely composed of your own productions is a huge undertaking. Was this always your intention or did the work take on a life of its own once you begun work?
As mentioned earlier, I had been collecting remix files and working on tracks with friends from all over the world. I had a folder of all the tracks slowly coming together and once Balance gave me the go ahead I started to finalise tracks and piece together the mix I realised I was going to have to write tracks to blend them all together. I am lucky enough to have my Vision Hound touring agency that organises tour for my favourite artists to Australia. Most artists are my friends and come and stay at the Ranch-O-Relaxo artist retreat property. I have my studio on the second floor of an old furniture makers warehouse. Naturally we make music whilst they visit, sometimes it’s only a sketch or idea but I usually finish the project off. Some of these tracks in the comp are “Escaping The Winter’ with Mihai Popoviciu, “Long Sunny Dazze” with Jonas Saalbach, “Mr Mystic” with Mojo Filter.
The mix is packed full of collaborations. Is there one that has particular special meaning to you?
“After The Blood Moon” has a unique story behind it. Mojo Filter invited me to play the second last set ever on the Lost Woods Stage at Secret Garden Party in 2017. On the Saturday I was listening to Mojo Filter’s set and I was lucky enough to spot Adam Freeland on the dance floor. I took this opportunity to express to him how much he has been an inspiration in my early days as a DJ (his Fabric live compilation is still timeless). We got chatting and he mentioned he was going to be visiting Australia in January. I invited him to visit my Ranch-O-Relaxo property and I knew that Mojo Filter would also be visiting the Ranch during this period so we planned to make a studio date. I naturally invited mentor and close friend Jamie Stevens to join us since he has been friends with Adam for over 20 years. We all witnessed the Blue Blood Moon Eclipse and the day after we produced “After The Blood Moon’.
Is there an aspect of the work that you’re particularly proud of?
I am proud to present a whole mix that spans 147 min and takes the listener through a myriad of different styles of house music. Not one track sounds the same as the next, but somehow they all mould together to create a unique sound and journey that teleports the listener into a state of trance.
What’s next for you?
There was going to be a third CD in the compilation, a more sofa beats/after hours style mix. It would have been under my mid tempo alias called Fallen Giants. I plan to finish this excursion of deep mid tempo sounds and release it as an album on my label Beat & Path.