Davy : Futurepast
Davy has been a long-time favourite of ours, having enhanced London's dance floors with his excellent DJ sets for some years, delivering a refined selection of rare, classic and futuristic electronic music. Since relocating to Berlin, we have missed him dearly!Here he updates us on his current projects: having recently started his own Futurepast party concept in Belgium, as well as joining the roster of Last Track Agency whilst also continuing his residency at Cartulis Music. He also shares some of his favourite records and finally, has recorded an excellent podcast for us, breaking the boundaries of genre and time.
Hi Davy! Great to catch up with you again! How have you been, what have you been up to recently?
Hey Tarita! I am good thanks, enjoying my time here in Berlin. It's the start of Spring so you can see this city really starting to come alive. I played at Club Der Visionaere last week for Yay, together with Alexandra, Vera and Francesco Del Garda - a very enjoyable night! It's nice to see this club open again after the Winter, it adds a special touch to the Berlin Summer.
You have an upcoming gig at Closer for Reset...
The gig for Reset is definitely one that I am looking forward to. When I last played for them in December it was one of my favourite performances of 2015, maybe even ever. The night before, Christmas Eve, I had heard from my mother that my grandfather had passed away... but I decided to play anyway. My grandfather was also a musician and it was because of him that I got into music, he would have wanted me to go. I had such an energy coming from within me throughout the set, not like anything that I had experienced before. The club and crowd were both amazing, the people were very open minded to the records I was playing. I was really impressed!
Even though you've moved to Berlin, you are still very closely affiliated to the Cartulis Music family. What would you say have been some of the party's highlights? And what are you looking forward to in the upcoming months?
One of the highlights would have to be the anniversary party where Zip and Baby Ford headlined. I really enjoyed playing the warm up, and the after party, - that was also very special. I had the opportunity to play a long back to back with Jacopo Di Lo - I felt so comfortable, and together with the people there, it was a great vibe!Now Cartulis Day are hosting a new party at Dance Tunnel, every two to three weeks, the “Various Anonymous” series (with unannounced line ups). Definitely worth checking out if you want to hear good DJs playing in a more intimate space.And in June we'll be in Barcelona, for Sonar Off, where Nicolas Lutz, Vera and the residents Unai Trotti, Raphael Carrau and me will all be playing.
7 years ago you started “Down Under”. Starting as a small local affair and ending as a renowned party, with some of the leading DJs being invited to play at Fuse, Brussels (one of Belgium's longest-running electronic music institutions).
Yes we had our last party with Down Under in March - Nicolas Lutz headlined. It was a nice way to finish the series! After 7 years, having started at club Silo in my hometown, then bringing the party to London and for the last 4 years at Fuse, it was time for something fresh and new. I have so many great memories, of all the great nights that we've had... it's also been a good learning curve that's taught me a lot; not only in music but life in general.
You mentioned that you’re working on a new project “Futurepast”. Can you tell us about it please!
Yes! I have just started a new concept at Fuse together with Pjay from Kontrast, another established party and label in Belgium, and Laprade, a young and passionate upcoming DJ from Brussels. The party will be called Futurepast. Our aim is to bring a futuristic sound to the party, inspired by the sound of the past but also the music of today (not just the 90s!).
Which artists can we expect to see on future line ups?
We’ll be asking friends and other like-minded DJs from the scene. I don’t want to say too much just yet about the line ups that we have in mind...
Ok, so you are now a part of Last Track Music Agency. Can you tell us about the agency and why you joined its roster? This week you’re playing at the agency showcase at Goa Club - you must be looking forward to it!
I’m really happy to be a part of Last Track, alongside artists such as Francesco Del Garda, Bruno Schmidt and Quest. I’ve known them for quite some time now and there’s a great vibe between us.Domenico Rosa and the residents for Goa Club Adiel and Marcolino, are also signed to the agency. It’s a talented group and we all share a strong passion for music, as do Luca Renton and Fabio Colicchi (the guys behind the concept), which makes me feel good about being part of the team. On Sunday, we’ll have our first showcase at Goa Club in Rome – we’ll all be playing, with Onur Ozer as our special guest.
I know that Jeff Mills has been one of your most important influences to date. In a previous interview you stated: "Sometimes his sound can be too hard for me but he does have some great deeper atmospheric tracks, which perhaps not so many people know about”. Can you share one of these tracks with us?
Here you go!
I was lucky enough to see the Berlin premiere of Jeff Mills cinemix of “Berlin – die Symphonie der Grossstadt”. This for me was a totally mindblowing experience, including mostly these kind of deeper, atmospheric, ambient tracks. The film holds a special meaning to Mills. His connection to Berlin dates back to 1991 and the early days of Tresor, first as a guest then resident DJ. It was from here that he truly began to build-up an international profile... and he lived out here for almost 15 years.
Other musical inspirations include Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Terrence Dixon, Richard D. James. If you could share a track, EP or album from each of these artists, that hold a particular significance for you, what would they be?
Kraftwerk:
You might be surprised that I chose "Rukzuck" from the first album “Kraftwerk 1”. It’s not 100% electronic. It’s a heavy rocking tune with excellent flute sounds, manipulated by moog-synthesizers and percussion that is really mesmerizing. I love this track - you can really feel their experimentations with the sounds that they were experiencing in that moment.Other tracks that I like are “Kristallo”, “Ohm Sweet Ohm”, “Man Machine”, “Metal on Metal” and “Showroom Dummies” from the album Trans Europa Express, which has to be my favourite Kraftwerk album - the records just flow from beginning to end.
Cabaret Voltaire:
Cabaret Voltaire drew a lot of their inspiration from Kraftwerk and are seen as amongst the most innovative and influential electronic groups of their era. My favourite album is Plasticity.
Terrence Dixon:
This record is from the album From The Far Future Pt. 2 It’s a great album from Terrence Dixon - he’s giving us a lesson on how to create futuristic techno, without repetition and giving each track its own distinct sound, at times ambient, at times brash and hard, but always futuristic.
Richard D. James
That’s my favourite Richard D. James/Aphex Twin track. I love its melancholy feel; there are some really emotive vocoders, and nice deep basslines. Such a beautiful piece of music. I’ll listen to this record until the day I die.
Thank you Davy, that’s awesome. So finally, you recorded a mix for Say What? and we are very pleased about it! Can you give us some insight into the mix for our readers?
I mixed different genres of electronic music: Downtempo, Acid, Abstract, Electro, Minimal, IDM, Ambient, Trip Hop… There are a lot of tracks that I wouldn’t usually play in a club but that I often enjoy listening to at home. I’ve really tried to use a wide variety of sounds, old and new. The oldest records dates back to 1970.
I would also say that the mix needs to be listened to, when I say that what I mean is that if you leave it playing in the background whilst you’re doing other things, you’ll probably miss a lot of the detail. Hopefully there are some people who’ll sit down and listen to it!
Thanks again for including me on your Say What? podcast series. I’ve really enjoyed putting this mix together, and I hope you will enjoy listening.
Davy: Futurepast
Cover photo by Rebecca Steimer