House legend Fedde le Grand is a master in the studio and behind the decks alike. His unique style and unparalleled drive has made him a worldwide sensation, casting him amongst the forerunners of club idols. With his own label, Flamingo Records, and many chart-bound releases in store, he has some exciting times ahead of him.
Maxfield: You recently performed at EDC LV. What’s your impression of Vegas?
Fedde: I love Vegas, it was the latest of many times I’ve been fortunate to play there but it is definitely the biggest stage!
Maxfield: How did EDC compare to other festivals you've been to in the us?
Fedde: It’s definitely up there with the best. The emphasis is most definitely on the clubbers’ experience and providing the most unforgettable experience possible, from the music right the way through to the surroundings – and that’s as it should be.
Maxfield: What about in Europe?
Fedde: Again, right up there, in some cases definitely surpassing! I think US festivals are setting out to prove that they can do what Europe does, but bigger and better and of course I’m all for that.
Maxfield: Do you like any EDC artists that you wouldn't typically play a show with?
Fedde: I am always intrigued by the more ‘techy’ guys like Locodice, Joris Voorn, Carl Cox. They always surprise me with their sets.
Maxfield: What have you been listening to?
Fedde: Lately I’ve been listing to Basement Jaxx Remedy album again. Even though it’s old I still think it’s a masterpiece. I love to listen to Zaz and I re-discovered St. Germain – Tourist again. What is not to love..?
Maxfield: Where do you get your music?
Fedde: To be honest, most of the music that I play out, I get sent through as promo material. That’s a major part of the job, checking through all the music that I get sent to make sure I’ve got the freshest tracks in the mix. It’s not just the big guys’ music that I listen to either, I make sure that I give every track that I get sent a chance because you never know what you’re going to come across. I’ve definitely become a master of listening to new tracks at lightening speed!
Maxfield: Do you collect vinyl?
Fedde: Not as much as I should! But it’s definitely more for collecting purposes these days – it’s always good to have a classic track on wax for that really warm sound.
Maxfield: Tell us about your production setup. What do you use at home?
Fedde: I don’t really have a set up at home but when I feel the urge to produce I always have my laptop which I can use with Logic.
Maxfield: What is your favorite analog synthesizer?
Fedde: Virus TI Snow
Maxfield: What is your favorite software synth?
Fedde: Massive, Native Instruments.
Maxfield: How do you and your team promote your work?
Fedde: That’s one of the biggest challenges and we have to get really creative so that people get to hear the new music while at the same time protecting it. We use YouTube videos with difference in sound levels, small Soundcloud clips, radio plays in advance of the release, playing the track out in my sets of course.
Fedde: I think radio is extremely controlled by a very small minority of people. It’s only lately – in the States more so than anywhere else – that dance music has been given more access into the mainstream daytime play lists of the big stations, and that’s mainly because EDM is now affiliated with the big hip-hop and R’n’B artists who take over a big chunk of radio play. In Europe, dance music has been a staple of radio for a long time, but in the US it’s only because of stations like Sirius who dedicate whole channels to EDM, and the specialist guys in cities around the country that EDM has been heard – now that’s changing, the doors have definitely been blown open for more and more of EDM to infiltrate into the mainstream.
Maxfield: What has evolved since you started your career?
Fedde: For me, the biggest evolution has been technology. Everything has revolutionized since I started – the move from analog to digital has had huge implications for the music scene – some good and some bad. I think we still have to get a handle on everything and of course it still hasn’t stopped evolving. It’s blown electronic music wide open, it’s far more accessible now whether you want to produce or make music, but there have been severe problems for many labels and producers thanks to illegal downloading – some incredibly influential labels have disappeared because they just weren’t able to handle the financial impact of illegal downloading – and that’s a constant challenge to everyone in the game. Musical evolution is natural, it’s been going on since the days of disco and rock’n’roll, but the digital era, it came hard and it came fast and it really was a case of sink or swim for many – adapt or die, I guess.
Maxfield: What do you have on your plate right now?
Fedde: I have a bunch of new music that’s ready to come out – a collaboration with Nicky Romero that’s due out on July 16th called Sparks, it’s more vocal orientated, we worked with some great artists, I’m really excited to be putting sounds out again
Maxfield: Awesome. Thanks for sitting down with us Fedde.
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