Techno / house producer and Belfast local Ejeca broke through in 2012 when two of his tuneswere dubbed ‘Essential Tune of the Week’ on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 show. He’s gracing our shores for the first time this month, with a string of gigs starting at Perth techno haven Geisha Bar on Thursday June 5. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with the new Exploris label boss about his prolific year as well as his expectations for the upcoming tour.
SR: Firstly thanks for speaking with us, much appreciated.
E: No sweat! (no problem in Irish).
SR: It’s been a prolific 2014 for you so far with the recent announcement of your new imprint Exploris, what should we expect? Who should we expect to feature?
E: I guess the label was always something I wanted, mainly I want to control my sound more and help friends who are making great tracks get their music heard. It’s exciting planning the releases and developing a sound. The first series of releases will be up and coming artists that I like, and stuff from myself. It starts with the Nebula EP from myself in July.
SR: With the label, we’re seeing a fair few pop up with a vinyl-only approach; an attempt to make their music more exclusive and more personal in a bid to make online piracy less prevalent for their releases. What are your thoughts on this – are you taking this stance with Exploris?
E: I agree that music is very disposable now, so the vinyl only idea does help this, but I’m a CDJ DJ myself so it would frustrate me not being able to get a good quality version. I hope the music that is on the release is sustainable enough to survive as vinyl and digital.
SR: With some of your more recent work, for instance the ‘What You Think’ EP for Moda Black and in a more vivid sense your upcoming ‘Rick Flair’ cut (a belter), it seems you’re moving in a darker direction, will there be more techno to come? Have you got any other productions in the pipeline?
E: I moved to London from Belfast in November, and it was a while before I was set up and producing, I guess this moved helped as I started a fresh and was immediately making more groove driven tracks, concentrating less on vocals and more on the beats. I’m making around three tracks a week at the moment which is where I was at this time last year, so there will be plenty of music being released this year, I guess I’ve to make sure it’s my best work and a reflection of my sound.
SR: With your early work focusing on garage with one of my personal favourites ‘Horizon’ in that chapter of your musical catalogue, it springs to mind a recent trend of UK producers like Benjamin Damage moving away from the genres synonymous with Britain – garage and funky for instance – towards a deeper, more techno-influenced direction. There’s always been a whole lot of techno around, but do you think techno is on the rise and the other genres on the decline? Or are we just noticing it more?
E: Like all genres there are sub genres. Techno is a big word, when I was young I considered techno to be Umek, Chris Liebing, and Dj Rush. Now I guess it has slowed down and has more house elements. Dance music is always evolving that’s what makes the scene so exciting. The music I’m making now is what I see working in clubs, I definitely want to make an ambient after hours album at some point too.
SR: Being a Belfast local how’s the music scene over there?
E: Your home town will always be a favourite; the scene there is small but diverse. I know a lot of djs that love playing there, and it’s like anywhere in the north of the UK, mad! Shine was the big club when I grew up and had great house and techno line-ups, I’m lucky enough to headline it this New Year’s Eve, a very proud moment.
SR: Can you recommend your top 5 producers right now?
E: Chris Hanna, Dema, Gel Abril, Radioslave and Jon Hopkins
SR:You’re gearing up for an Australia tour in the next few weeks, have you been down-under before? What are your thoughts on our musical scene so far?
E: I have never been to Aus before, so it’s very exciting. I have friends living in Melbourne I haven’t seen in years and it’s also my birthday on the 8th of June! I’m hoping for great parties, maybe similar to the UK (with better weather). The Avalanches are a favourite of mine as well as the Future Classic label so I’m sure people know there music.
SR: What can we expect from the show?
E: A bit of everything, I guess I’m going to try and mix it up, play a lot of new stuff from myself and the label. A bit of disco, house and techno, that should get everyone moving.
Ejeca Australian Tour Dates
Thursday 5th June: Perth, Geisha
Friday 6th June: Brisbane, Bowler Bar
Saturday 7th June: Sydney, Chinese Laundry
Sunday 8th June: Melbourne, Brown Alley
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