|
 Deep Voices are the transatlantic production pairing of Jason Sperling and Steve Baltes. Their second track 'Alone Again' is just released on Adjusted Music. DJ Magazine's Tim Stark caught up with the pair, threw some questions their way and shared the responses with us here at i:Vibes...
i:Vibes: So chaps, please introduce yourselves, tell us how old you are and where do you both come from?
A: J.S.: My name is Jason Sperling, I'm 28 years old and DJ under the alias DYLOOT. I live in Berkeley, CA, which is a short distance from San Francisco.
S.B.: And I'm Steve Baltes and I'm 34 years young! I was born in Germany and live in a very small town near to Cologne. Even though a lot of people seem to think I live in the UK or US!
i:Vibes: Give us the backdrop on how you got into producing, how long you’ve been doing it, and how you joined forces to form Deep Voices?
A: J.S.: I began DJ’ing in 1995 and naturally progressed into making music 5 years later, which is when I met Steve. We both have a similar energy to what we want to put across with our music, and are focusing all of it into Deep Voices. Living in different countries has made things a bit difficult, but with the internet and our studios being very similar, it's been possible to share our ideas through the web. On top of that, this past year Steve and I have began performing live under Deep Voices, which brings us together at least every month for a few days.
S.B.: I started to make music around 1984 when I bought my first synthesiser. I was fascinated by the sound of groups like Kraftwerk, Visage, New Order and Cabaret Voltaire and somehow I wanted to recreate these sounds. Without, it has to be said, knowing very much about how to do it! The following year I learned a lot about synthesisers and played in some local rock & pop bands. More because of the synths I had this time, rather than my playing skills. At the end of the 80´s I played in a Depeche Mode Style Wave / Industrial Group. In the early 90´s I started to go out to trance parties and was blown away by the first tracks on labels like Eye Q and Logic. In 1993 I finished my first E.P on the German label Le Petit Prince, which today is better known today as Alphabet City. After a lot of releases, remixes and different projects I was lucky enough to meet Jason. We did a few collaborations and noticed that we have the same taste in music, and more importantly a good chemistry to with work in the studio. So we decided to team up as "Deep Voices".
i:Vibes: I think 'Alone Again' has a very individual sound. How would you describe your style of music and who are your influences?
A: S.B. With Deep Voices I just do the things I like the most: warm deep pads, touching melodies a lot of layers and effects. But most importantly I try to put a certain emotional feeling into the melodies. Working with Jason helped me to update my sound and production and also brought me a lot of new influences. He´s a brilliant DJ and way more up to date with new tracks then I am. If I had to drop names, well: I love PVD´s tracks because of the feeling they have. Also of course Ferry Corsten, Oliver Lieb and a whole lot more. I always find it hard to describe my own music. Like Laurie Anderson once said: "talking about music is like dancing about architecture".
J.S: I think Steve’s said it all, in terms of the style of our tracks. My biggest influence in music is Steve. He's taught me just about everything I know with regards to the way music is put together. I'm also a very big fan of PVD's productions, and as a DJ, I’ve played just about every track he puts out. Other artists that I've always loved include Pulser, The Thrillseekers, Armin Van Buuren, Robert Nickson, Kyau vs Albert, and too many more to name.
i:Vibes: Do you concentrate solely on music production or do you have your fingers in any other pies!?
A: J.S.: I own a dance record shop in the heart of Berkeley, which I opened in 1999. This has been a great channel for new music. Although we sell many different styles of dance music, trance has always been our focus and we a great selection of it in the shop. We also have an online store, SKILLSDJ.COM. Besides the shop, I produce clubs and large dance events. Our 9th anniversary event is on April 1st in San Francisco. We are one of the last large dance promoters left in the US, and it's been a roller coaster of a ride. My events range from 1000-10,000+ and include various forms of trance, house and drum n bass.
S.B.: I'm totally focused on production and playing live at the moment.
i:Vibes: Do either of you work under aliases or other production names, and if so what are they and how do you feel they differ from your Deep Voices work?
A: J.S: In the past, I've released under DYLOOT. DYLOOT releases are usually a bit more happy than the typical Deep Voices tune.
S.B.: Over the last few years I did a lot of different projects including Cyclone Tracy which was more dreamy trance and Baltes vs. Stevens which had a harder, more Euro-Style hardtrance feel. There was also Sonic Tribe with John Johnson from the UK, which was more clubby/deep productions. Also I did a lot of Steve Baltes remixes for artists like Future Breeze, RMB, U96, Marc et Claude, Starparty, to name a few!
i:Vibes: Who are you favourite DJ’s, who deserves the most respect (if they’re not one and the same) and who were you most happy to see spinning ‘Alone Again’?
A: J.S.: Watching Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, PVD, and Ferry DJ is always exciting. They all bring a great personal energy to the dance floor, which I think is an essential part of the experience. My most exciting moment spin for 'Alone Again' was when Ferry dropped it at the San Francisco LOVE PARADE AFTER PARTY in front of 8,000+. I felt like a little kid! All our hard work was fulfilled at that moment I think.
S.B. : PVD and Ferry are my top 2. Like Jason, Ferry playing it at 'Love Parade' was the best. One of the greatest moments in my music career.
i:Vibes: On the technological side, Mp3’s: Gods gift to the music industry or Satan’s curse?
A: S.B.: I think mp3’s alone are not the Satan´s curse, even when we musicians are really hurt by it. Today it's hard to make a living out of music and a lot of very good producers have stopped doing the music, which is a shame. That's something people don’t often understand, or even stop to consider when they download and copy for free.
J.S.: This is a subject that I'm torn with. Being a record store owner, the MP3 thing will eventually put me out of business unless I adapt, which is not easy to do with everything you need to consider. Established artists are affected financially with record sales. But the up and coming talent can get their music across very easy and virtually cost free. This floods the market and makes it even harder to get stuff released when a large amount of labels are struggling with sales as it is. I think most of us can write a book on this subject, tangent after tangent, but the MP3 thing is here to stay and I like everyone else, must try to use it to continue to move forward.
i:Vibes: What’s next for Deep Voices?
A: J.S.: Continue to push forward with our ideas is always the next step. We’ve finished our first album 'Incoming Transmission' and are already working on the next one. 2006 will see more Deep Voices Live PA's and a World Tour is also in the pipeline.
i:Vibes would like to thank Jason Sperling and Steve Baltes for their time - thanks chaps and best of luck with the singles! Thanks also to Tim Stark for making this interview possible!
|
![[i:Vibes]](i_pic/ivibes_new.jpg)
Frontpage
News
Reviews
Interviews
Party Reports
Artist Profiles
Label profiles
Diaries
What is...
Tutorials
Links
Radio-info
Forum
Chat
User Stats
Crew-info
i:Vibes Info
Related Links
Tell a friend
