It’s been two years since I last interviewed German dance mogul Paul van Dyk and in that time, he’s released his best of album, developed a new tour with intricate stage and light design to compliment his DJing and has his sixth studio album coming out called Evolution. You get the sense that he’s mentally a shark – never able to stop swimming. Then again, it’s this undying passion and drive that’s earned him everything from a Grammy nomination to consistent upper rankings in DJ Mag’s top 100 list. We were able to snag some time with him to chat about conceptualizing the new tour and album, dubstep vs. moombahton and the moment he felt like he made it.

Dani Deahl: As of late it seems like everyone from A-Trak to Amon Tobin has their own stage setup or light show. Do you think it’s not enough to just DJ anymore?

Paul van Dyk: I can’t speak for any of my colleagues but for me it was the making of this whole evolution idea. This whole evolution concept is a presentation on the audible side as much as on the visual side. This is why I went ahead and started to talk to people who had done phenomenal stuff with stage, light and video design and we started at length about what we can do, what we want to do, how we can actually make it happen and this is what we came up with and this is what we’re touring with right now.

DD: Were there any artists you looked to that had existing stage and light setups?

PvD: The thing is I think the best I’ve seen in the past two to three years was Muse and I went for the people who actually did that. So pretty much one inspiration and then I went straight for those people.

DD: How long did it take to develop it?

PvD: It was from the early talks to having the first test runs I would say…eight, nine months? A lot of the stuff had to be built, had to be constructed, and of course the visual design had to be created. It was quite a complex thing.

DD: What is the overlying theme or concept?

PvD: My goal was the whole evolution concept. It’s the name of the album and the tour and carries through the audible level and visual level. Therefore of course the visual level is connected to everything that evolution means in the modern world. The obvious stuff is like the big bang and it develops to the nature part of evolution but it also goes into everything the modern world has to offer…the evolution of the digital media world, how we communicate with each other…structures and 3D images, all the things that are surrounding us these days. This is all obviously happening. There are not only computers on stage but keyboards and all sorts of stuff so I can actually trigger a lot of these things in sync which means what you see you hear and it’s not just random tricks in the back on a big screen.

DD: So you have control over the lights as well as the sound?

PvD: I have a video control guy and a light operator and a crew and a production manager on tour. I have complete control over the music I play, however and whatever I want, but this is what I mean by control in terms of syncing things; I have control of key points and then therefore things that are happening on the screen, with the lights, with the special effects are actually synced and tied into those key points.

DD: Very cool – so you then have the freedom to not play a pre-programmed set.

PvD: This is one of the reasons I went with the guys that I went with because they have the technological skills to be completely creative and also the equipment we use allows us to do exactly that. So I’m not doing prep and play and whatever was pre-programmed is running down. I’m actually playing my shit live. So when I feel like the night needs to slow down because it’s warm and people are a little bit worn out and I need to take it back, we take the whole thing back, the whole evolution experience back so you don’t have huge, massive explosions where the music is really minimal. The visuals become minimal as well – it all fits very well together. At the end of the day we became a creative team, like a band playing together.

DD: So where did the evolution theme come from? What has been your personal evolution?

PvD: The reason it’s called evolution is because I believe this is the center of everything that develops these days. Everything is part of some evolution and so obviously on my personal level I grew up a little bit more and hopefully I became a bit more mature and so obviously my music grows with me, becoming more intense. I think intense is the right word. It’s not just about the evolution of humankind or nature. If you just think about the evolution of technology over the last few years. I mean, four, five years ago we didn’t have any iPhones. No one would be able to really connect the way we do now and it’s stuff like that that plays a very important role in our modern society. All that is reflected in the music as well as in the visuals and the whole show.

DD: Speaking of the music being more intense, there’s a drum and bass track on the new album, yes?

PvD: Yes. I’ve been called a trance DJ. I’m not even really playing any trance tracks. Yes I have synth sweeps and big pads but at the same time it’s much techier and more electro than what you would get in the trance world. For me it’s all about electronic music and for me, electronic music is combining all my favorite elements. For that particular song it just felt like, ‘wow, it’s so much better for the composition if I speed the whole song up.’ This track, at 130 with a house beat, would sound like shit.

DD: I know it’s been a constant thorn in your side that you’re continually classified as a trance DJ.

PvD: Sometimes I feel like I have to explain that my approach to electronic music is much wider than one, singled out genre.

DD: Are you influenced by genres like dubstep or moombahton?

PvD: I was listening to dubstep ten years ago when it was the hottest thing in London. The stuff we’re listening to now that we’re calling dubstep is not pure dubstep. What we’re listening to is a merge between electro house and a drum and bass-ish sort of thing. If you listen to Skrillex, for example, it’s not really dubstep, but it’s really popular and I think he plays a very important role in making the whole genre more popular. But I’ve seen all those genres come and go. It was French house for a while, then it was dead for a while, and now it’s a little bit of dubstep. I always liked it. As far as moombahton, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m a fan. I think they do some fantastic stuff and are inspirational.

DD: In an interview with Black Book Magazine you made a point to say you make your music yourself. Do you have a problem with electronic artists who don’t make their own music?

PvD: I don’t have a problem with that. I think I’m an artist and people who buy a Paul van Dyk record, they want Paul van Dyk tracks on the record, and not a track by xyz with my name on it.

DD: What about people who love music and learn how to DJ with, for example, the sync button on Traktor? Does learning the actual skill of DJing matter to you?

PvD: I’m not judging those who use those programs if it helps them to be creative and do something special. I think what’s really important is to have your own sense of what you really, really like and try to bring that across. At the same time, don’t look at your audience and ignore what they are doing. It’s all about the interaction with your audience, but you need to have a sense of what you’re musically about otherwise you’re just going to play the top 40 up and down.

DD: What was the turning point in your career where you felt that things were heading in a much bigger direction?

PvD: I think it was when I had my very first record in my hands. It was a feeling of ‘I made it. I made some music.’

DD: What do you attribute to your lasting success over the years?

PvD: My passion and the fact that I’m authentic.

By danideahl     [Permalink]