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 i:Vibes got the opportunity to chat with the ever busy producer Chris Dececio, aka Redd Square...
Chris Dececio aka Redd Square / Bellatrax On Brink Of Stardom
Chris Dececio is a record producer from the UK, who has been on the block for many years making fantastic dance tunes. He has had 29 releases and been featured on 26 compilations so far (that we know of!). When making trance records, he works under 2 main aliases - Redd Square and Insignia. He has produced some unforgettable gems like ‘Run Away’ as Redd Square, which was released on Tatsumaki Records. His recent Insignia release ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’ out on Five AM Records was hammered by Ferry Corsten in Los Angeles (see http://www.chrisdececio.com/) and the latest single ‘Piano In The Rain’, would make any rainy day enjoyable when listening to this track. He already found a mini breakthrough as remixer giving ‘Whatever’ from Ferry Corsten his own special blend. His trance tracks have been supported by the top jocks like Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Matt Darey and Judge Jules. He is a multi talented producer as he also produces other types of music. He has started a new project Bellatrax, where his first track ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ has been licensed to countries all around the world including Oxyd Italy, Spinnin’ Holland, and Nervous Records USA. He also is co producer for the girl group Envy and the urban band Laid Blak, who release on the well known label Brownpunk by Tricky. This guy is busy, but had a moment to chat with i:Vibes...
i:Vibes: Hi Chris, how are you? Thanks for taking some time to talk to i:Vibes. You are a busy guy! What are your goals for 2008?
Redd Square: Hi there! No problems. Yeah I am pretty busy at the moment on the production front. My main goal this year is to come up with an equally successful follow up Bellatrax single, and to get into DJing and live PAs more. I have spent the last few years really concentrating on the studio work so it’s time for me to hit the clubs I feel!
i:Vibes: Your trance tracks are really brilliant and you produce so many other genres of music. Is it sometimes difficult to understand why you are not more known?
Redd Square: Thanks for the compliment. It’s hard to know how well known you are to be honest. I just do my thing and hope that my tracks get out there. My Bellatrax single is currently at no.3 of the US dance airplay chart so it seems like that project is developing nicely. You can find out more about that on http://www.myspace.com/bellatrax I think I would probably be better known if I had stuck with producing one genre of music under just one name. I love too many different types of music though, so I have released records under quite a few different names in different styles.
i:Vibes: Who were your early musical inspirations?
Redd Square: My Dad was into early electronic music such as Human League and Harold Faltermeyer, so I grew up listening to that type of sound which I really liked and has most definitely influenced me a lot. As I grew up I listened to a lot of underground dance music, and used to go out to underground parties. I am proud of being from Bristol and I am also really into Drum ‘n’ Bass which has also infuenced my house and trance tracks.
i:Vibes: What was the deciding moment, where you knew that you wanted to create music?
Redd Square: There was never a deciding moment. It is what I was put on this planet to do. For as long as I can remember I have always had a very strong and burning desire to work in music. I wouldn’t feel complete without music in my life!
i:Vibes: How did you get your foot into the dance music scene? Was this a difficult process and did any one give you guidance or help you get more known?
Redd Square: It takes a long time to build up contacts and develop production knowledge and skills. You just have to keep at it and things will start to happen. I’ve felt like it’s always been a struggle although I have had guidance and management from some really helpful and cool guys in the past. I think it’s even more of a struggle nowadays with people downloading music for free, and what’s worse, is that there is a new generation of kids who download music and don’t feel like they’re doing anything wrong as they think that music should be free. This also really slows down the music scene as a whole, because really talented producers and writers have to get other jobs instead of creating beautiful music for us all! The scene would be much healthier and creative if people paid just a small amount for the music they download.
i:Vibes: You don’t only produce trance, but also other genres of music. You have projects like Laid Blak and Envy as well as Bellatrax. How is it that you have become involved with so many other genres of music? Was trance your first love and now you have found additional loves?
Redd Square: I’ve always been very open minded and I can appreciate many styles of music. Redd Square and Bellatrax are my solo projects, and I became involved with Laid Blak and Envy through my Bristol producing partner Bunjy. I have known him for years and when he founded Laid Blak he asked me to help out with producing the album. Laid Blak are tipped to be the next big band to come out of Bristol following in the footsteps of Massive Attack, Portishead, Roni Size, Kosheen etc.
i:Vibes: How would you describe your trance sound?
Redd Square: I try to create innovative trance. As trance is so underground at the moment I feel like the sound isn’t evolving very quickly so I try my best to push it forward. I love uplifting melodies and cool basslines. I think basslines are often neglected in trance!
i:Vibes: ‘Run Away’ is really a beautiful uplifting trance number. It reminds me a bit of the Anjunabeats sound. What inspired you to write this track?
Redd Square: I guess that track was influenced by the trance that I was listening to at that time. That track is a couple of years old now but I still really like the sounds in there. Yeah it is a very Anjunabeats pure trance sound with a lovely vocal courtesy of Xan. You can check it out along with my other trance tracks at http://www.myspace.com/reddsquare
i:Vibes: Star DJ Ferry Corsten gave you remix duty on ‘Whatever’ That was a brilliant remix and he has supported the new Insignia track ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’. How important has he been for you in the last months?
Redd Square: It was nice to remix one of Ferry’s tracks. He is one of the founders of trance music so I was pleased that he really liked my remix and has supported my other tracks as well. He is a nice guy so he deserves his slot as one of the top trance DJs.
i:Vibes: Could there be a possibility that you might release something on his label Flashover or even visit him in the studio? You are a multi talented producer who at the moment could surely make a future Corsten record very interesting!
Redd Square: Yeah I’m certainly up for working with Flashover. They put out some great tracks so it would be good to do a remix or something. I have a new single called ‘Running Scared’ forthcoming on Five AM Records so lets see how that goes!
i:Vibes: ‘Piano In The Rain’ is a great piece of work. Stephen Pickup’s voice is perfect. How was it making this record with him?
Redd Square: Yeah Stephen does have a really nice voice. Believe it or not I haven’t met Stephen in person! The vocal was written by my co-writer Tom Kent, a very prolific London based songwriter, who then recorded Stephen in his studio and sent it to me to put on the track. I think this arrangement worked out really well although I do really enjoy recording vocalists in my studio as well. i:Vibes: What inspired you to make ‘Piano In The Rain’? There has to be a story behind it. The melodic break in the middle is just beautiful! Redd Square: I just wanted to do something that was really musical and a little bit different. I wanted to create a scene so if you shut your eyes it would create a very vivid image. I used a real recording of a storm and rain to set the scene along with an authentic grand piano sound which I played. I’m glad you think it’s beautiful! i:Vibes: Was ‘Piano in the Rain’ a difficult track to make? Was this something you banged out in a night or did you bleed for weeks finding the right sounds? Redd Square: Luckily I didn’t bleed for weeks! Although I didn’t just bang this one out either - I wanted to take my time to create the right mood. i:Vibes: You also brought a new project to life with Bellatrax. The first release ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ has been getting rave reviews. How would you describe the Bellatrax sound and does the name have any specific meaning? Redd Square: Bellatrax just stands for high quality house music and I try to make all of my tracks cool and colourful. The name Bellatrax comes from a part of the universe where a type of grey alien is supposed to be from, but I chose it because bella means beautiful in Italian. So, beautiful tracks... i:Vibes: When you’re in the studio making a new Redd Square or Insignia track, is there a certain way you go about making a track? Some producers look for the right atmosphere, while others create the bassline or groove. How do you do it? Redd Square: It depends. Sometimes I can be playing some really nice pad sound and it will inspire me to record it and create a bassline to fit it. Other times I start off with a bassline and percussion. Sometimes I may start with a vocal as well, if I am reworking an old track or using a vocal that I have been sent. i:Vibes: What is your biggest strength in the studio? Redd Square: I like to think that I am a good writer and producer. Writing ability is something that you are born with and production skills are something you have to learn. I have been using my studio set up now for a few years so I suppose one of my biggest strengths is that I can work very quickly. I use Logic and I know the native synths such as the ES2 very well now. I would prefer to master the equipment I have rather than constantly chase after the latest software / hardware and never really becoming at one with it. i:Vibes: What equipment do you use and besides your PC, with what piece of equipment could you not live without? Redd Square: The vast majority of my music is created within my computer these days, so I would have to say that the most useful equipment I have aside from that is our studio microphone. I love being able to capture peoples voices and I really can appreciate the difference between a lovely sounding mic and a cheap and not very nice sounding mic! The human voice is the most popular instrument in the world after all. i:Vibes: With what artist would you like to be locked up in the studio for 24 hours? Redd Square: Good question! Maybe a really talented R ‘n’ B singer that I could do a cool house track with, like Beyoncé, or even a UK artist called Jamelia. I love working with talented vocalists. i:Vibes: What is your opinion of the German Trance producers? What guys do you respect? Redd Square: As far as I’m aware, Germany has always been at the forefront of the Trance scene. Paul van Dyk has obviously been very influential in the trance world especially in the earlier days, but in general there are some really cool artists putting out trance now. Kyau & Albert, Store ‘N’ Forward, and up and coming producer Dennis Sheperd are amongst my favourites. i:Vibes: The proggy sound has been going strong since 2004. Where do you see the trance sound going in 2008? Redd Square: I can see trance continuing to branch off into a few different styles. Harder techier trance, deeper proggy trance, house & trance mixes like deadmau5, and I’m sure pure trance will continue as well. Overall I’m hoping that producers will listen to a variety of music and introduce new things into trance so the scene can move forward. i:Vibes: Where do you see yourself in five years? Would running a label ever interest you? Redd Square: I hope I’m still producing music and hopefully my projects will be better known. I will probably start setting up a label or publishing company as and when the need arises. Maybe I will work in artist management as well. Hopefully I will be touring the world DJing and entertaining people! i:Vibes: What are your hobbies? Redd Square: Let me see now, music music and music! Well apart from that I like getting lost in good movies, getting out and seeing friends and meeting new people. i:Vibes: Thanks Chris for the interview. I am looking forward to new tracks in the future!!! Redd Square: My pleasure! Don’t forget to visit my myspace pages and subscribe to my blogs!
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