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 After stamping his mark on the trance scene during 2009 one of the scene's most promising production talents Adam Foley takes time out of his hectic schedule to have a few words with i:Vibes...
He is another export of Ireland who seems to have developed a serious talent producing quality electronic dance music, trance being his niche that has captured many people's attention during last year. The highlight during the last year of the previous decade was his debut on the world famous blue and white record sleeves of VANDIT. His records have been finding their way into the sets of Paul van Dyk, John Askew, Sean Tyas and Activa in recent months and if you've heard his material from last year you can understand why. His first release only came back in 2008 but his rise from nobody to somebody last year is only the start of things to come. It is quite right then that we give him the i:Vibes interrogation and without further ado here is Adam Foley.
i:Vibes: Adam thanks for taking some time to talk to i:Vibes. You started releasing tracks at the end of 2008 and in a little of more than one year you have released high quality tracks including on Vandit. Have you been surprised by your rapid rise in the trance scene?
Adam: Thank you, It has been great to get my tracks signed to both Discover and Vandit. I have great respect for these labels and between them, they have released some of my favourite tracks of all time.
I have been very supprised at how well my production‘s have been recieved in 2009 but dont think of it like a rapid rise in the trance scene, for me its been something I absolutly love doing and hope to keep at it.
i:Vibes: Besides creating good trance, how do you explain your rapid rise? Did you purposely start to produce later instead of starting a few years earlier where your skills might not have been as polished
Adam: I can only explain the support in the last year as a result of the time I spent making the tracks also having played guitar from earlier on has made the musical side of things a lot lot easier, my biggest regret is that I didn’t wait longer to release my first tracks as technically things could have been better, the plus side is that I can look back and see progression from ok to good and so on hopefully.
i:Vibes: You are Irish, but are living in Manchester. Why are you living in England now?
Adam: The move to Manchester two years ago was due to work commitments, I had originally planed to stay a year but the nightlife, friends, and close proximity to McDonnalds drive thru have kept me here.
i:Vibes: Are you a full time producer or do you have a day job?
Adam: Since February I have decided to go full time at music, before that I was making tracks in my spare time at weekends and after work etc.
i:Vibes: What was your childhood like. How much of a role did music play?
Adam: I started playing guitar at around 11 years old, Ive got some working musicians in my family, my uncle lives in Berlin and some years back I got got to go to all the clubs there. it was a big influence in why I wanted to get involved with this scene, later on I got my first set of 1210s spent all the money I had at the time on records and producing followed on from that.
i:Vibes: What was the deciding moment where you knew that you wanted to be a producer?
Adam: There was not really one moment but listening to old P.V.D compilations and going to trance events first got me interested in Dj-ing and later on I started to look in to out how the tracks were made.
i:Vibes: You have quite a list of early musical inspirations with guys like Paul Van Dyk, Gisueppe Ottaviani, Armin Van Buuren, Prodigy, Sean Tyas, John Askew, John o Bir, Activa, Aled Mann, James Holden, Sander Van Doorn, Justice, Branden Block & Alex P, Adam Sheridan, Scot Project, Marco V, Carl Cox, Joey Beltram, Dave Clarke. I can imagine that you might see yourself possibly going in the direction of Sean Tyas, because he also came quickly on the scene. Why did Sean Tyas inspire you?
Adam: Sean Tyas has definitally been an inspiration, I think he is one of the best producers and melody writers out there, Ive never thought about how things could go in future or anything like that, its been all about making tracks and styles I really like so far and anything more is a bonus.
i:Vibes: You have only been in the dance scene for a short time. How was your entrance in the last year? Has it been a difficult way? Have you been on your own or has someone helped you make your way?
Adam: It was good to see how my productions have improved over the last year, this year I am going to have a more quality over quantity aproach and concentrate more on dj-ing. I have learned everything about production myself, have never had any training, help from an engineer or done a collab, some of it was learned from reading up on the forums etc and a lot of half finished tracks but technicaly I am not anywhere close to where I want to be yet.
i:Vibes: How would you describe your sound in 2008? You have a driving trance sound, but also can play with melodies. What else makes the Adam Foley sound unique?
Adam: My sound in 2008 was ok musically. I had only started in to production about 4 months before my first release so there was a loads of things that could have been better. If there is one thing that has made my sound unique in the last year its trying to find my own sound/style and spending time with melodies.
i:Vibes: You have been releasing a little more than a year, but have released a good number of tracks. Are you by nature a faster worker or might you crank out less tracks in 2010? Sean Tyas liked releasing many tracks in his first years.
Adam: This year I plan to release only the best possible tracks and keep improving, sometimes I can finish a track in a week but recentlly I am still working on a remix that was started 4 weeks ago. It depends on a lot of things, I find melodies the easiest part and would love to be able to make them all day long but other things like arrangement take up most of the time.
i:Vibes: Your break through came with your release on Vandit Digital. How did you react when you heard that Vandit wanted to release your music? Did you make a party or just take it in stride?
Adam: Well there was two releases, one on Discover called “Castaway“ and the Vandit release that have done equally as well, I had found out they were all getting signed around the same time, it was great news of course and I never in a million years thought I would be signed to two of my favorite labels this time last year and to get so much support in a short space of time.
i:Vibes: Did you ever get any feedback from Vandit boss Paul van Dyk?
Adam: The best feed back possible is when he put “For The Record“ on his Vonyc 2009 compilation!
i:Vibes: Lets talk about the tracks. “For the record” is one of those tracks where you instantly fall in love with and know at the first listen that it will be a smash hit. Did you have the same reaction when you finished it or were you less sure of how the public would react?
Adam: Not at all, I didnt have the first idea about how well it would do and didnt get my hopes up at the time, I am glad it got a lot of support and was well recieved.
i:Vibes: Was “For the record” a difficult track to produce? What was the most difficult thing that you had to tweak on the track to get it right?
Adam: The track was not difficult to produce at all, it did take me a while to make in my spare time, the pluck sounds take first prize for the most tweaking.
i:Vibes: 8AM is a straight forward thumping trance track with that typical Vandit sound, but in the middle you add progressive elements into the track that makes it very unique. Was the progressive part something you had in your mind form the start or did that evolve later as the track as being made?
Adam: When making 8am I had the idea to try something different in a slower bpm, the proggy part was not planned but I had a clear idea how the rest should sound, when Armin played it on ASOT I was really pleased with that, it was like getting a stamp of approval!!
i:Vibes: “Generation” is a beautiful piece of music that I am sure ticked the heart of Paul van Dyk. It has a nice atmosphere. What was your inspiration behind this track?
Adam: Generation was one of the most simple to make tracks on the release, the ideas were all done as I went along, unfortunately there was no real inspiration behind it.
i:Vibes: “Fourteen Falls” is another beautiful track with a breath taking atmosphere and break. Please explain what 14 falls is and please don´t say it was just a random name?
Adam: I think Fourteen Falls is my best original to date, it will be released on Discover in March. In mid 2009 I got a chance to visit Kenya for two weeks, Fourteen Falls is an aera over there, the place has a great atmosphere and hopefully it translated well to the track.
i:Vibes: ‘Fourteen Falls’ is really breathtaking. Is this a style of music that we will see more from you in the future getting melodies and an atmosphere as the heart of the track? When I listen to “Live” then I see a more progressive side of you and it is obvious that you have vast styles.
Adam: Yes I am going to be working on a follow up to fourteen falls in the coming weeks, its a style that I most like and will be making more in future. Also I am very glad to have a good home for it with Discover, as for “live“ a follow up is planned also and hopefully I can keep improving on the different styles.
i:Vibes: Do you have a certain way how you go about working in the studio? Some producers start with a bassline or go for the melody first. How do you do it?
Adam: Sometimes I will start from the first bar with kick and bass, then adding percussion and all the other elements as I go along , other times I have made the main melody and counter melody first and will build the tune around it, tbh I dont really have an exact set way of making a track.
i:Vibes: The new Ben Nicky track “Legacy” has been released and features a Adam Foley remix. Your remix turned out very nice. What was the main focus that you had in making this remix?
Adam: With this remix I wanted to go for an energetic sound, something I am working on more at the moment. I have made a lot of changes to my usual productions in this one so was unsure about it for a while but am happy now with how its turned out.
i:Vibes: With what producer would you like to be locked away with in the studio for 24 hours?
Adam: Paul van Dyk
i:Vibes: How would a Giuseppe Ottaviani - Adam Foley track sound like?
Adam: It would hopefuly be a Melodic/Production masterpice, the man is a genious!
i:Vibes: What is your impression of the German trance scene? What artists do you like besides the known Paul van Dyk?
Adam: I have always had a good impression of the German trance scene. Djs and producers like Roger Shah, Ronski Speed, Talla2xlc, Alex Morph, and Scot Project, were all a great inspiration and appart from P.V.D they are the other artists I follow from Germany.
i:Vibes: What other surprises can we await from you in 2010?
Adam: Right now I have some remixes to do and then back to making originals soon. On the 21st of February I will be playing at Club B1 Maximum in Moscow with Marcus Schossow, Simon Patterson and Lee Haslam, then playing in Dubai on the 5th of march and got some Poland dates coming up soon that I will have posted on www.myspace.com/adamfoleymusic
i:Vibes: What are your hobbies?
Adam: Music, Production, Dj-ing I cant get enough of it.
i:Vibes: Thanks Adam for the chat! Good luck with your music!
Adam: Thank you, and to everyone for the support so far!
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