JUSTIN VANDERVOLGEN EXCLUSIVE AUS TOUR MIX!

Theee Justin Veee was kind enough to put together a ripping mix for us to celebrate his trip down under! It RULES!

Justin Vandervolgen Picnic Oz Tour Mix 2011! by Picnic Touring & Events

Here's a great interview by our lovely friends at Spank! Records - check out their awesome blog.

SPANK! RECORDS: Your Clapping Song/Sheebooyah 12" on Golf Channel was one of my highlight 12"s from last year. How did you hook up with the Golf Channel label/party and did you write the track with the label in mind, or did they find you after it was done?

JUSTIN V: I met Phil years ago when going to a party called "Record Club" (this is pre the no ordinary monkey party). We became friends and when i left !!! to start doing stuff on my own he offered to put out things that I made. So no, I don't really write music for the label in mind, I just make stuff that I think is interesting and what I'd like to DJ, then ask Phil if he wants it and we go from there.

I should also say that I really like how Phil manages his label and treats his artists and it’s great that he puts out a wide variety of music. He's also just a good guy that stays psyched on stuff and does it for the love.

SR: You with Lee Douglas collectively as TBD. How did you come to work with Lee and what is the collaborative/editing process like?

JV: Well TBD hasn't actually put out any edits yet... we put out a record on our TBD edit label named TBD Classics which were edits that I’ve done. I think the next one in the series will be edits that Doug has done and maybe in the future ones we have done together. However we have done 2 original 12"s and a number of remixes, the third 12" should be out soon......

I met Doug when we were both booked to DJ together about 3 years ago, I told him I was a fan of the 12"s he'd done on Rong, We decided to hang out, ended up drinking quite a bit and found that we had a lot of common tastes in what we liked and didn’t like and so we started making tracks. As far as the collaborative process we just come up with an idea or sound that we think is interesting and moving to us and would be something we'd like to DJ.

SR: How long have you been DJing for and what made you get into that side of music in the first place?

JV: I started DJing more seriously when i moved to NY ten years ago...I got into it more because I was producing bands which were making dance records and I would go out dancing and thought that if i started DJing more Iwould have more of a chance to see what worked and what didn't and why....

I also really enjoy sharing music with people, dancing, trying to have a nice moment and just going partying...

SR: Do you still lay claim to a large record collection? What are the most prized possessions in aforementioned Record stable. Do you still carry vinyl around when you play out?

JV: My record collection is quite small, I'm not really into collecting things just to collect them so I try to get rid of records if I'm not playing them or referencing them. I've also never had a lot of money so I don't have any crazy expensive pieces or anything.

For me it's more about taking what i do have and trying to do something creative with it....yeah I still take some records when I DJ and I still really enjoy digging, I wanna hear things I've never heard and you gotta always be looking :)......

SR: Your recent mixes for Lovefingers etc. come highly regarded. How much thought do you put into programming a mix before you play or do you prefer to just wing it?

JV: Well, live DJing is never pre-programmed, I think that would be impossible....internet mixes i kinda think about, i also make special edits for them. I see internet/home listening as a completely different experience to going to the club, a lot of times i don't think live mixes from the club really translate very well at home....

SR: What kind of equipment do you have in your studio at the moment? Are you an analogue hoarder, a digital nut or a combination of the two?

JV: My studio is pretty spare compared to a lot of peoples, I don't have tons of keyboards or drum machines, I do have maybe more outboard FX than most people because my studio is set up mainly for mixing and I'm very slow at automating plugins...

SR: Is there a most loved Studio tool?

JV: It is hard for me to work without a mixing board so I guess my mixer, it’s a small trident series 65....

SR: You spent a long time working with !!! before branching out on your own. How different is it to work as your own artists after working with such a large group for so long and are you enjoying the freedom/finding creativity?

JV: Yeah, I spent 9 years with outhud and 11 years with !!!. Both groups started in 1996.....but before and during I would work on stuff on my own. I used to make some pretty busted sounding house stuff on my Tascam 48 reel to reel in the late 90's, before I got a computer. I enjoy the freedom quite a bit as i don't have to put up with anyone else’s attitudes, moods or general problems......

I'm very proud of what I did with my bands though. When I was 12 years old I wanted to be in a band that was like a gang, just a tight group of friends that would go around and just wreck shit playing all over, not to be famous or have money or anything, just for fun and for the love of music and I pretty much accomplished that, so when I felt like it all had changed and wasn't about that anymore I left..... and I’m very happy doing what it is Ido now.

SR: What in your opinion makes a great dance floor edit? Keep it simple, super detailed or a particular studio equipment formula that brings the best results?

JV: Well some things don’t need a lot done to them and some things are terrible songs with some very special sounding sections that need to be worked over, there are some people that I think do really really good stuff and make great records. The most interesting stuff to me is usually songs that I’ve never heard or songs that were bad or ok and then made great with some creativity. I’m a big fan of the edits, please keep them coming....

SR: Do you have a big touring or release schedule for 2011? What new cuts can we expected from Justin Van Der Volgen this year?

JV: Yeah, I'm gonna tour some, gonna keep the TBD monthly party at Tandem in Brooklyn going. I have some new stuff coming up like the third TBD 12", a remix for Prins Thomas label, a remix for Andrew's ESP label, and a remix of Spike for Golf Channel. I also just got the next 'Try to find me' 12" mastered....I'm really more interested in quality than quantity though and making stuff because your inspired and psyched, not because you need to have a product to sell yourself....so we will just see how the year goes :)