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 Another young and extremely talented American producer is Breakfast, and i:Vibes spent some time with him to pose a few questions...
Breakfast - One Of America’s Biggest Hopes In Trance
The USA is still very much behind Europe, when it comes to producing new trance artists, but when a new star is born in the States, then it often turns to be a gem and in the case of Casey Keyworth aka Breakfast, the trance world has been blessed with a kid, who has cranked out hit after hit in the last year. He hasn´t even reached his twentieth birthday, but has already released countless tracks on Ferry Corstens renowned label Flashover. He was born on July 30th, 1988 in Annapolis, Maryland. Instead of growing a love for the boats at the Naval academy, he found music and beats more to his liking. In 1997, as ‘All Around The World’ from Daft Punk was being played to death all over the world, it also effected the ear of Casey and his love for Dance music was born. He quickly went and bought the Homework album from Daft Punk and soon his mom purchased him a computer and the program Fruity Loops. He was young and had much time to dabble around and before he knew it, 2006 was there and he was content with his sound and he started thinking about giving demos to labels. It was perfect timing that his idol Ferry Corsten was DJing in Washington DC. He saved postage and gave him a demo to him. Ferry Corsten contacted him the next day and soon he had his first track signed to the Dutch label Flashover. His first releases were ‘The Air Between’ and ‘River Of Light’. His breakthrough occurred in 2007 with the release of ‘Sunlight’, which was on countless trance compilations and made him a household name in the trance scene. He also made a terrific remix for the Thrillseekers - Waiting Here. Soon ‘Horizon’ followed which was a huge hit in the clubs and soon after ‘Dancing In The Moonlight’, which didn’t disappoint either. He also did a stunning remix for Dubfire - Roadkill, who is one of the biggest names in EDM at the moment. He has a huge future ahead of him and i:Vibes had the chance to have a chat with him...
i:Vibes: Hi Casey, How are you? Thanks for taking some time to talk to ivibes. You’re still a teenager and have produced some big time trance tracks in the last year. How do you deal with i:Vibes calling you one of Americas big hopes for trance?
Breakfast: Hi Miles, great to be doing this interview with you. Being called one of the big hopes in trance music is great, but at the same time we really have to focus on all the people that matter. A lot of younger producers are in the scene now and are really making some big changes in the trance sound. To pinpoint myself as being America’s big hope for trance is very flattering but not logical.
i:Vibes: You were nine years old when Daft Punk’s ‘Around The World’ got you infected with dance music. What was it with this tune that caught your attention for Dance Music and how would a 2008 Breakfast rework sound like of ‘Around The World’?
Breakfast: This song really took me out of reality when I first heard it. It really lifted me up, I'm not really sure why. To me ‘Around The World’ is a 'trance' song in it's own way, in a way that it really brings you in and you lose focus on most of the things around you, it's really a mental thing. I've never thought of reworking or remixing the song, but if I did it would just have to be perfect!
i:Vibes: How was your childhood in Maryland? How quickly and how more did music play a role in your life after you heard ‘Around The World’?
Breakfast: Maryland is a weird place. Growing up here we had a lot of really hot summers, so we were usually outside at festivals or shows. Electronic music was never popular when I was younger, it was mostly grunge and alternative rock. When I did find ‘Around The World’ and all the other songs like BT - Dreaming, my mind really opened up and I was really excited about music, so I took it to the next level and started creating it.
i:Vibes: You have many musical inspirations, but why did the techno God from Canada Richie Hawtin inspire you?
Breakfast: Hawtin has always been an inspiration, not exactly because of his music, but because of his achievements. He was really a young person when he started organizing his own events and even his own label. I think this is really special, because to do this you have to have a lot of ambition.
i:Vibes: You're 19 years old. You must be in college now. What are you studying and what else would you like to do in life besides music or is music your number one focus?
Breakfast: I am 19, however, I'm not in college. I'm still looking around at colleges, it's really a tough choice for me because I still want to do a lot of things outside of music like film and arts. I still think that down the road music will always be my number one focus, it's always been there so it's just a matter of adapting to the new forms.
i:Vibes: From 1997 when ‘Around The World’ was released to 2006 when you were signed to Flashover was a long time. You had a lot of time to work on your sound. What was the most difficult thing in this period that kept giving you headaches when trying to find your sound?
Breakfast: Actually, up until now, I had never had any problems with finding my sound. It was really just a pure feeling when I was working, it still is, but it's harder to grasp and understand what I once was thinking and the atmosphere surrounding those feelings. I just love working on music so it's hard for me to look back, you can really only look forward.
i:Vibes: In 2006, you gave a demo to Ferry Corsten and he soon signed you to Flashover. Were you not nervous at all that your idol might reject you? Why did you think that Ferry Corsten was the guy that would adore your track and not another trance producer?
Breakfast: This was all by chance. I gave the demo to Ferry thinking he would not respond or just say “good choons” or something. I really never thought he would want to sign me the next day, but I had always adored the achievements of Ferry and his music and past albums were incredibly ground breaking for me at the time, I think this is why I chose him unknowingly.
i:Vibes: How did you come up with the name “Breakfast”. Is that your favourite meal of the day?
Breakfast: Well, I will say breakfast is my favourite meal of the day... there's just nothing like a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. But in the mornings a while ago, for a period of time, I would get up right away, and then go straight to the studio to work on music, so I never ate breakfast, so contradicting myself I decided to use the artist name “Breakfast”.
i:Vibes: ‘Sunlight’ was one of my favourite tracks in 2007. The atmosphere in the break is simply amazing, one of the best atmospheres in the last years. Was this a track that was hard to produce?
Breakfast: Sunlight was really a hard song to produce, I went through about 20 revisions before the final product came to light. I had to get lots of feedback from Ferry and a few other artists, this made it work out in the end.
i:Vibes: You started on ‘Sunlight’ in 2003 and reworked it and finished it in 2007. What were the most important changes you made to make the track less cheesy and more original?
Breakfast: Well, ‘Sunlight’ originally was a really silly happy song with a classic 'trance arp'. I had Joni Ljungqvist do a remix but he never got finished, however this was the base for the new ‘Sunlight’ which kind of took off into its own thing, totally different from the original song.
i:Vibes: ‘Horizon’ is another great track, which works great in the clubs at peak time. You produced another fantastic break in this track. What inspired you to make this track and did this cause a lot of sweat to make?
Breakfast: ‘Horizon’ really has a lot of meanings to it. The break and leading up to the break really is the idea of a horizon to me, like the sun is rising and colours are changing, clouds are forming and all sorts of really different tones and colours happening, I just think the break in my head is a horizon, or something like that.
i:Vibes: Your remix for the Thrillseekers - Waiting Here was also a great atmospheric track. How are you able to create the prefect atmosphere in a track that is appealing to yourself as well as getting the thumbs up from the ravers?
Breakfast: I'm not sure what happened when I made this remix, but I do remember I was really struggling for about a week, and Steve (Thrillseekers) was pressuring me to get something. So I called it quits for a couple days and came back to the studio, and, bam! In a few hours the remix was done. It's all a mental thing, really getting the atmosphere right. Plus Aruna had some really great vocals to work with, so I just swept away with those.
i:Vibes: What is the most important thing that you have learned from Ferry Corsten?
Breakfast: Ferry is a really wise person, and I'd have to say the most important thing I've learned from him is to keep the ambition going, even in these dark times.
i:Vibes: What releases can we await from you in the next months?
Breakfast: I have a lot of material coming up, as we know my new alias (Breakfast pres. Loomer) will be experimenting with a couple of ideas I've had for tunes laying around, as well as the collaboration with Mike Saint-Jules (Only Two Should Know) will be coming up. As for the next Breakfast, we'll just have to wait and see!
i:Vibes: How do you go about producing a track when you’re in the studio? Is there a certain way how you attack a new track? Some start with a bassline or melody, but how do you do it?
Breakfast: Really it's just about the mood and atmosphere, you have to set the mood to make a song, if you're in a bad mood it's usually pretty tough to work on music.
i:Vibes: You have been using Fruity Loops, but hardware is something you don’t reject. What makes hardware so unique for you?
Breakfast: Hardware is necessary. A lot of people have switched to fully digital workstations, however, it's like this... if you're going to use a hardware synthesizer, why ruin it with a software reverb? A lot of software is really great and innovative, but hardware is really necessary to keep quality in music.
i:Vibes: Besides your PC, what is the most important piece of equipment that you can´t live without in the studio?
Breakfast: Well for me it would have to be referencing with different monitors and headphones, but besides that it's a secret!
i:Vibes: What do you think of the German Trance scene? What artists do you respect?
Breakfast: I really enjoy seeing Cosmic Gate, those guys are a lot of fun. As well ATB has of course always been an inspiration. There's a few other artists however I can't remember their names at the moment, some of them are ambient artists.
i:Vibes: Talla 2XLC from Germany has been supporting your sound since months. He featured ‘Sunlight’ on the Technoclub Vol 23 and ‘Horizon’ (Breakfast Technoclub Edit) on the Technoclub Vol 25. His Technoclub has been going strong for 23 years and he is Germanys Trance Pope. Have you even understood yet just how much your music is loved? Can you even keep up with all the compilations that your music has been featured on?
Breakfast: Talla is great, and I've always had a thing for the Technoclub compilations, no matter how silly it sounds. The Horizon was actually a special version I did for Talla and the Technoclub compilation, so the difference is there even though it may be a bit hard to hear.
i:Vibes: Where do you see your sound going in the next years? Could you ever imagine going in a totally new direction? Some producers have turned their back on trance and gone in a new direction like Taucher did in 2002 after producing some big trance hits.
Breakfast: I love trance, but the biggest problem is getting to boxed in, but I really do hope to bring a new edge to trance and even bring the sound back a bit, and take a look at the past. Things move too quickly in the trance scene, where it's one tune this week and then next week it's totally different. This is something that's hard to deal with, because there are some songs that are completely ignored but have huge potential, but just don't get the right hype. It's a problem but at the same time keeps the wheel moving. But next to trance I have a lot of different material like rock and ambient projects.
i:Vibes: How is the state of the American Trance scene? Back in 1999, guys like Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed and Sasha were playing regularly in the biggest clubs in the states. Everyone was saying how big EDM was going to get, but radio play is still scarce. Since then Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren have joined. But has anything really changed in this time? How do you see the future?
Breakfast: In my opinion trance still has a long way to go in the states. It's gradual, but the popularity of dance music is getting greater and greater everyday. Even hip-hop artists are catching on now, and I know that annoys a lot of producers, but the truth is that this is where it's going. The only way to get trance to the top is through a commercial route and this is what Tiesto, PvD and Armin have been doing for the past few years. It's good and bad.
i:Vibes: You’re also a DJ. Soon you have a DJ gig in New York. How much of a priority is DJing now in your life?
Breakfast: I've always loved DJing. I think building a set is really a unique art, and a lot of people don't understand it. It's a very meticulous process and you have to be careful not to play the wrong song, or people will get frustrated or just confused. DJing really is an art.
i:Vibes: How would you describe a two hour musical journey with Breakfast behind the decks?
Breakfast: This is really an experience, even if it is a listening experience for some, it takes you up through dark sounds and into very uplifting euphoric sounds that people anticipate so much. I like to tease the crowd a bit so I save the euphoric sound for the right time and it's beautiful! But then again it all depends on the crowd.
i:Vibes: What are your five all time favourite tracks?
Breakfast: Secret!
i:Vibes: What are your hobbies?
Breakfast: I love riding motorcycles, but at the same time I'd still consider music my hobby!
i:Vibes: Thanks Casey for the chat. Good luck in the future and I hope you visit Germany some day to DJ!
Breakfast: Thanks Miles and i:Vibes, Cheers!
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