Thomas Gold-VMM Interview
Thomas Gold’s profile has soared skywards in the last 12 months with his music weeping the club charts, whilst his djing has seen him appear throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and North America. With Beatport recently earmarked him ‘One to watch in 2010’ and Toolroom records has snapping him up as both a label artist and residents dj to be part of the infamous ‘Toolroom Knights’ party crew.
In four short years Thomas Gold has built an impressive back catalogue that counts BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong, Axwell, Steve Angello, Dirty South, Tiesto, Mark Knight, TV Rock, Antoine Clamaran and Robbie Rivera among the many clubbers and promoters, as loyal supporters.
In 2009 the Berlin based artist was nominated for Beatport’s ‘Best Progressive House Artists’, alongside the likes of Deadmau5 and Glenn Morrison, and eventually went on to win the coveted Beatport award in the category ‘Best Progressive House Track’ for his remix of Delerium ‘Silence’. The magic you hear in his productions is also evident in his DJ sets from Sao Paulo to Sydney he brings his unique ‘TG Sets’; an exclusive performance featuring many of his own productions, remixes and special edits.
So the VMM are very pleased to finally catch up with Thomas Gold to find out all about his latest studio productions out now on Toolroom and we find out what more is in store for the rest of 2010.
The Interview:
Hi there Thomas great to finally speak to you here at the VMM.
Q: Congratulations on signing as a Toolroom Artist and the Toolroom resident DJ what dose this mean for you Thomas being part of this acclaimed brand?
A: It’s fantastic! Toolroom has always been one of my favourite labels and I have been playing a lot of their music of their artists. For me Toolroom still is one of the leaders in modern club music, they are setting standards, they do a great job, and – they are really nice people!! So I’m happy and proud to be a part of the ‘family ‘now!
Q: Can you tell the VMM all about your latest Toolroom release called “Kananga” and “Work That” what support have you had for this release to date Thomas?
A: I’m still very excited as this has already been my second release on Toolroom. This time I did a 2 track EP. Both tracks are very powerful and with a techy edge, but still housy and driving with lots of energy! After getting lots of plays by Mark Knight in his radioshow and Tiesto in his own mix show, I am getting support from Dirty South, Judge Jules, Axwell, ATFC, Laidback Luke and more!
Q: Can you tell the VMM what’s behind the names “Kananga” & “Work That” and can you describe the vibe you wanted to create for this double release Thomas?
A: As I am a huge fan of the old James Bond movies, I took the ‘Kananga’ name from one of them – Dr. Kananga is the bad guy in ‘Live and let die’ from 1973. I was just watching the DVD at the time of the production so named it after the guy Work That was inspired by the vocal I used for the track. I did it myself and it just reminds me of some of the classic old school house tracks.
Q: The VMM hears you have been in the studio with working on a collaboration with Fatboy Slim so can you tell the VMM a bit about this massive project what’s the track called and when will it be hitting the download portals?
A: Yeah, the track is a remake of FBS’s legendary tune “Star 69″. Actually I did an unofficial bootleg of this track 1 year ago and gave it to some of my DJ friends. But it got spread all over the internet within a short period of time and it got plays by many many DJs worldwide. So a few weeks ago, the guys from Fatboy Slim’s label (Skint Records) asked me if I would be up for an official release in form of a collaboration project with FBS. Of course I said yes!! So we did a completely new 2010 version of the track, it will be out on September 6 and I’m so excited about it!
Q: Can you tell the VMM what do you best like about being a dj and producer which is thought to be a dream job to some?
A: For me one of the best things is too see people dancing and having fun to the music I´ve produced in the studio – there’s actually nothing better, it thrills me every time! And I just love to be in the studio and to create music, I’ve been doing this as a hobby since I was little and now it has become my profession – what could be better?! Being a DJ is my absolute passion – make people happy and give them a great time, play my own music, have fun and simply enjoying life! And of course – I can travel the world, see lots of countries and meet new people and this is quite inspiring!
Q: Back to the studio the VMM would like to ask you Thomas, what sort of studio set up do you have and what’s your favourite bit of studio kit that you have been using to produce your latest tracks?
A: My studio is based around a MacPro computer. Most of the work is done inside the compute, I use loads of plug-ins for this. Also I own some analogue outboard gear, like a SE 1X synthesizer and some compressors and equalizers from Universal Audio and Avalon. One of my favourite bits has been my Machinedrum, a digital hardware drum synthesizer which I used extensively for my latest tracks. Regarding plug-ins, I use my Arturia Minimoog and Jupiter 8V all the time!
Q: The VMM would like to know where around the globe will we be able to catch you on the decks with your Thomas Gold sound?
A: August 20 I will play a festival in Budapest (Hungary), on the 21st I’ll be in Brighton (UK) at Coalition and on 27th in Russia for another festival. For September I have gigs in Germany, Poland and a Canada tour and in October you can catch me at Mansion in Miami! And more to come…just have a look at my diary on my website: www.thomas-gold.com
The VMM wishes Thomas Gold all the best with his latest releases and all the best for the rest of 2010
