Cates & dpL hail from Portland, Oregon. They are a production duo that came together back in 2003, and most recently recorded a full album from August 2005 to April 2006. The album is called "NO MORE YOU AND ME JUST WE" and ranges from down tempo to all genres of house music. GET THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW HERE!!!

Cates & dpL are based on Morrison Recording as their home label, but also have records out on Babylon-Records (France), Kaya Records (Turkey), Nuttin Breakin (USA) and CDM (USA). With over 15 releases to date and now one full album on market by mid may/june 2006, CATES & DPL have worked their way up in to the global dance market. Getting support by the likes of Timo Maas, Loco Dice, Martin Buttrich, Mobilegazer, Rithma, and Roy Ayers...it is clear that this duo has connected with other great producers and dj's all over the world.

Q: Walk us through your production process for a typical track.
A: (Jon Cates) The one major thing I learned with our process is its all about a good idea. You could have the best and most rockin' beat programmed, but it goes nowhere without some kind of direction. The best songs on this album were a feeling first, and then a mathematical representation of that feeling in either notes or a tone, which is what music is to me. Somehow that direct connection had eluded me in our past productions. The rest is just beefing up the sound and making sure things are as clean and accurate as possible. A huge part of the process in this album was concentration on specific frequencies, so each sound has its own pocket to lay in the entire track through. I could concentrate on this forever depending on the application I'm using, but then again, thats all after the idea. There's no point in coming up with the hook after the whole track is already built. Another thing is teamwork and trust. We have had our share of "who deleted what?" issues, as well as our "what the hell did you do to my song without saving your own version?" scuffles. But I've given in to the fact that it is all for the greater good. We are able to breeze by songs that don't really matter so we can really get to the good stuff. Sometimes it takes 2 or more mediocre tracks just to get to the smasher we've been waiting for.
A: (dpL) Well, this album as much different from the last one. On the last album, it was all Cates. This time around, it was both of us. I will start tracks for Cates to look at and if it sparks something, then we go ahead and develop it. For the most part, we both write and produce tracks together. This album was more demanding because it was two producers working on stuff all of the time, rather than one guy doing all the work.

Q: Did you both find it difficult to achieve this level of commitment to producing when you were working/in school?
A: (dpL) Ha ha ha, this question is the best. Well lets see, I went to a four year college, and it took me eight years to graduate. By my junior year, I was already touring with Timo Maas (voted #52 of the top 100 DJs in the world), so in between tours I would do summer sessions to finish. It was really hard going from a club with 10,000 people and flying all over the world to being in class on Monday. I would tell anyone whose goal is doing music to go to college and get their degree no matter what. This industry is so day to day there is no telling what we'll be listening to in ten years. It is always good to have the piece of paper, even if you decide not to use it.

Q: Do you guys use software or hardware for producing, or maybe a
combination of both?
A: (Jon Cates) Reason was always the tool of choice, but we've branched out to using other software/hardware, as well as having faith in our own voices and musical talents. Screw WHAT you're using; just know WHERE you're going!
A: (dpL) We use a combination of software, hardware, and VSTs (Virtual Studio Plugins). We try to stay away from using samples because it makes the overall sound quality really bad. I try and create original sounds and samples with keyboards or guitars.

Q: How much time do you spend in the studio?
A: (Jon Cates) As much as humanly possible. There are certain restraints: How much your eyes/ears can handle, how much your girlfriend/friends/kids can handle. It comes down to balance.
A: (dpL) Anywhere from 4 hours to 12 hours per day. It's our passion, so we don't really think about it. At the same time, we spend enough time to make family members, neighbours, and girlfriends question us.

Q: How many tracks do you typically produce in one week?
A: (dpL) Well this is where me and Cates are different. I can write tracks all day and all night, and sometimes this will get on his nerves because we haven't finished something we started already. In a normal week, we can do about two to three tracks, sometimes more, sometimes less. It all depends on the vibe in the studio and what we are feeling in that moment.

Q: Did you collaborate with anyone else during the making of the
album? Any vocalists?
A: (Jon Cates) Ourselves.
A: (dpL) Well we tried to work with a few vocalists, but they were all too flaky and fabulous for the studio when we set up dates. I have come to the point where I don't want to work with anyone but Cates. It takes a long time for that person to understand what you are looking for. In the end, I would rather sing or have Cates sing then auto-pitch or auto-tune it. Vocalists are certainly in their own world, maybe one day we will find the right person, but for now I am tired of dealing with them.

Q: How much of your tracks are composed of original and organic sounds
as opposed to sampled, pre-recorded material?
A: (Jon Cates) The idea is to use sounds in a way that they would never be used. You might start out with a "hit me" from some scratch record and within a matter of 2-3 effects, that sound will be altered out the realm of imagination. All the guitars, vocals, synth-work and drum programming are 100% original with the exception of "Bumpface." We are always looking for new ways to avoid using kicks/hats/snares/percussion from refills and sample libraries.
A: (dpL) Good question. When I was working with Mobilegazer at the Time Tools Studio in Germany, he taught me to use only original sounds. He said "the more you sample, the more you lose quality in your sound." This is because all samples are compressed and this will take away from the punch you are looking for.

Q: How do you think the album is going to be received?
A: (Jon Cates) Damn, everyone is so different. Some will say "you can totally tell you guys were going in your OWN direction" while others will say "you need to stop making what everyone wants you to." I have heard both so far and I don't care. We went in our own direction and turned our backs on some potentially big releases because we weren't feeling them. The only way we know is the Cates & dpL way. If you like our stuff along the way then like it, book us even, but the chance of us creating that one track that fits into a label's specific sound is pretty slim.
A: (dpL) Good question, we are still trying to figure that out. All I know is that we are not conforming to current musical trends. I am not fully into the whole click house movement right now; to me it's just bleeps and beeps. Sticking to our roots on this album was a major point for us. We sent out copies to friends and family and to be honest, everyone is kind of shocked. They were expecting it to be some mega progressive album, and its not. It's really down to earth music that is not trendy or cool, it's our own sound.

Q: Any plans for a vinyl or CD release, or will the album be available
for download only?
A: (Jon Cates) Download for now, but we'll see.
A: (dpL) The album has been picked up by Morrison Recordings which based out of Toronto, Canada. It will be available by late May to early June on Beaport, iTunes, 3Beat Digital, and a few more. I would like to see two to four tracks from the album on vinyl.

Q: Who were your influences on this album ?
A: (Jon Cates) My daughter Grace, my girlfriend Emmy, my parents Debbie and Michael, my sister Michele, the many artists I listen to all freaking day long at my independent record store job, the local and international dance scenes, and of course the tastes and opinions of Mr. David P Lind (dpL).
A: (dpL) Well for production its Martin Buttrich, Denis Gokdad (Mobilegazer), Basti "Lord Wax" Schwarz, and Christian Phelps, who are all Time Tools Studio producers from Hanover, Germany. I spent a lot of time there listening to all of them work on material for high profile people and small underground artists. Obviously Timo Maas is my greatest influence, he has showed me the ropes the last six years, and every minute I spent with him was a learning experience. Loco Dice also has a very fine and original sound that is something I really enjoy listening to because he is always two steps ahead of the game when it comes to style. DJs that have inspired me lately include MO7S and Melee, Sean Q. Hart, Pat Fontes, Shuman, and Max Thomson out of Boston. Max's sound is something I have been following for the past three years, and it is exciting to hear a newer and younger generation play music we make. I listened to a lot of rock while making this album, mostly Metallica. I love them and regardless of where they are now with their sound, they are still the kings of rock & roll for me. No one comes close to the passion, anger, and fearlessness that they have. I would have to say in the end, my greatest influence is Jon Cates. He is my hero in so many ways, and I can only say that everyday he pushes me to get better.

Q: What's your favourite track on the album?
A: (Jon Cates) They all have their different thing for me. They are all good in different ways I guess, but I love Ciller. It was written at a very emotionally "in touch" time, and it always reminds me how much I love to love and be loved.
A: (dpL) My favorite track is Underneath. This is a track I had been tooling with and wrote the lyrics and guitars to. When I showed the idea to Cates, he did the lead vocals on it, and I did the vocals after the first guitar breakdown. This track is my favorite because it's completely us; even our vocals are on it! All of the vocalists we tried to work with were too flaky and would never have been able to do what Cates and I did. We got some negative feedback on it from someone, and it took me awhile to understand that some people hate what you love. I think the production on this particular track is very underground, reminiscent of the garage days or something. But there is something about this song that I love, and I am glad that Cates and I both agreed to keep it on the album.

Q: Tell us about the scene in Portland. Is there a lot of support for your type of dance music?
A: (Jon Cates) Keeping a scene alive in any city is a struggle. Getting too involved with rave politics has made me go back and forth with my full on support for our local scene. However, I see it as my duty as a Portlander to show the world how much incredible creativity, musicianship, and artistry exists here. There's always a new indie release of your local indie club's indie groups remixing other local indie groups, which provides a HUGE amount of different styles to sink your teeth into. Our type of dance music falls somewhere in there.
A: (dpL) Well, this is Cates' hometown and he has a lot of respect here from a lot of people. They support both of us now, but when I first moved here, I was like "Dude, is everyone a freaking hippy or what?" It took me months to get past my anti-hippy sentiments, but then one day Cates and I were playing this Burning Man decompression party, with all the hippy dippy magic you could image. He said to me "You know what the big difference between Portland and Boston is? People here dance to your music, and in Boston they stand around looking cool." And you know what? He was right. As much as I can't stand the hippies, they dance. Joe Cool back in Boston does not. So you have to trade. Would you rather play for a girl with hairy legs and unshaved armpits freaking out to your beats, or a bunch of Prada wearing, too cool for school people that do not dance?

Q: What else can we expect in 2006?
A: (Jon Cates) Totally minimal dirty electro click house, vibin' downbeats, and some power rock.
A: (dpL) More releases, possibly some solo projects from both Cates and myself. We will stick to our sound, but there are some things that Jon wants to pursue, and there is some stuff I want to pursue as well. We have agreed on no more breaks. So the breaks stuff we have released now is it. We did a remix of a Timo Maas track called "Haven't We Met Before" and we use it all of our gigs. It always gets a great reaction, so it makes sense to end our breaks production on that high note. We would like to do more remixes for people and get more offers to play places outside of the USA. We are going to be in Brazil within the next few months, but overall we are going to keep doing what we do. If people love it, then that is all we can ask for really. We have learned that trying to be what you are not is simply the worst option as a producer because you will never get your sound defined.

Thanks so much for your time and good luck!