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Interview with Olivier Desmet by Ollie Brooke

courtesy of InTheMix.com.au

Before you start reading this interview you should listen to this mix by Olivier Desmet, click here to listen or click here to download

Born in Belgium, Olivier Desmet has made a name for himself the world over in the underground house scene. Having first come to the attention of house heads working for Afterhours Music in Chicago, he's now based in San Francisco, heading up his very own imprint, Amenti Music. Visiting Australia for a one off show in Sydney at Monkey Tennis, ITM caught up for a chat.

As someone who spends a lot of time working with house music I can appreciate that you're a very hard working person and have your fingers in many pies in the scene. What is it that drives you to spend so much time with house music, nursing it and keeping it so close to you? What is it about house that makes it have such a huge effect on your life?

Well I guess I've grown up with house music. I started to listen to early electronic music like Kraftwerk, Nitzer Ebb and Depeche Mode in the mid 80s and naturally progressed to house in the late 80s and early 90s. So it was what I listened to in my late teen and early twenties. I guess I discovered house at an early stage and never looked back.

You worked with Moulton Studios and are obviously aware of Jay-J and his current take on marketing his sound to the masses – I find this to be a commendable mission and while many have sold out and gone for the easy buck Jay-J seems to be fighting the good fight in the name of house music. What are your opinions on the merits of his crusade?

I have the utmost respect for Jay-J, he's taught me a lot as far as studio production and the music business as a whole, but to be honest I really haven't kept up on what he's been up to the past couple of years since his move to New York. I know he's been doing a lot of work for Ultra with Latrice and Kaskade, and it sounds like things are going well for him. I'm really not sure he's on any more of a crusade then any one of us trying to make a decent living in this business though!

San Francisco seems a hub of house music – even more so than the far more publicised movements of Chicago and NYC – what is it about the San Francisco folks that keep them a bit less vocal about their skills than many others?

The weed? No, really, I think that people in California in general have a really laid back attitude, sometimes too laid back. We tend to go about our business and that's it. The UK press decided a few years ago that the San Francisco sound was “THE” sound – but this has died off now as far as press coverage is concerned, but indeed there are still plenty of talented individuals making good dance music in San Francisco, although the club and party scene here is nothing like it was a few years ago.

As a European you must be influenced somewhat by the acid-house movement that came in the late 80s. What are your thoughts on the integration of global house sounds and the fruits of that integration?

I was already living in the US in the late eighties, but I definitely was exposed to some of the early acid house sounds. I briefly moved back to Belgium in the early 90s and got into new beat, which was a Belgian version of Chicago acid house, only slower in tempo. So I was definitely influenced by all those sounds. You listen to a lot of music when you're younger and that's bound to have an influence when you start making music. Those times, when Chicago and New York house music gained global acceptance, were definitely very inspiring. There was a sense of excitement then, because we felt a brand new sound had been created, even though in the end it really was just a fusion of disco and European electronic music.

As has always been the case with music and any scene associated with it drugs play a significant role – good or bad. There is one relatively new drug that is making waves in dance circles, methamphetamine. While it is new here in Australia the States has witnessed its effects in a big way, particularly the west coast. In my observations meth is a fairly negative drug in terms of what it does immediately and in the long term. What are your thoughts on the drug and what would you say to Aussie clubbers tempted to try it out?

To be honest, as far as I know, meth is not that widely used in clubs the US, at least it definitely isn't at venues were I play; cocaine seems to be much more prevalent. Coke definitely has had a negative effect on people and parties, it's made the music a lot harder and less funky, as cocaine really isn't much of a social drug? Ultimately I really don't know though, I show up at a gig, have a few drinks, and go about my business. I'm definitely not much of a scenester, I prefer locking myself in the studio and rarely go out if I'm not playing.

On a less serious note – your style of house is a very soulful sound and speaks of summer days and warm climates. Your home country of Belgium is a far cry from these things, so what, if any, influence does the Belgian in you have on your DJ sound?

Well I've been known to consume a few Stellas while working on music in the studio, so I guess that counts for something! I definitely was influenced by many, many visits to some really great clubs in Belgium in the early 90s like Bocaccio Live, Cafe D'Anvers and Le Vaudeville.

You run a record label, pursue healthy careers as both a DJ and a producer, and work at a record store – which of these jobs brings you the most satisfaction?

I really love all four. I was a DJ first, so that is still the most special to me. There's nothing like playing a really good gig for a great crowd and getting to travel the world. I do also really love producing records, and have been getting more and more into actual engineering and mixing. When I worked with my production parter Chuck Diesel a few years back I mostly took care of sampling and arrangements, and left all the engineering duties to Chuck, but now that I work with my new studio partner (the amazing Oriental Funk Stew aka SeJun from Seoul, Korea) I've really started to get into sound engineering and mixing. Amenti of course is my baby and pride and joy, and I also love running the record shop. Primal right now is really instrumental worldwide in pushing our particular brand of house and I really get a kick out of if, it does feel like all the hard work is making a difference.

With all career choices and journeys there is usually and end goal that you aim towards, a holy grail if you like, what for you is the Holy Grail in your chosen career?

It's a number of things really, I do feel that I have a lot to learn as far as producing music is concerned, I'd love to get to the point were I can spend less time working on mundane things like accounting for Amenti or boxing up orders for Primal records, and really get to devote all my time and energy to learning all the ins and outs of music making so that I can feel like I'm making the absolute best music that I can. Right now I have to juggle so many things on any given day in order to make a living so producing is often put on the back burner, which absolutely kills me. I guess my ultimate goal would be to make a good living just working on producing, DJing, and A&Ring for Amenti, and leaving all the rest to someone else!

In your sets you cover a wide range of styles and sub styles, from jackin to techy grooves to jazz and soul – you're obviously in favour of the idea of taking the listener in different directions and avenues – what are the advantages of this type of mixing as opposed to keeping on point with one style of house?

It's a lot less boring to me to play a variety of house music, although I do think that I somewhat stick to a particular style. I really like to play tracks from different periods – mid 90s, late 90s, brand new stuff – so that in itself will make your sets sound varied because production methods have evolved so much in the past 10 years.

House music is a complex beast and one which seems hard to define accurately, a hard question to answer I know but what would you say to best describe house music to someone who has never heard any music at all before, like an alien?

Descibe house music to someone who's never heard any music at all before? Forget it, that's impossible!

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