Gabriel & Dresden return with a new album

Gabriel & Dresden return with a new album

18 August, 2011 | 5.26AM

• Written by: Ellie
• Filed under: Music News: dave dresden, gabriel & dresden, josh gabriel

After they reunited for a one-off New Year’s Eve gig last year, house and trance duo Gabriel & Dresden officially announced they were getting back together. Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden went their separate ways in 2008, after winning their second Best American DJ award at WMC and playing their last gig at the Beatport Pool Party in Miami. The duo behind the massive records “Tracking Treasure Down” and “As the Rush Comes” (as Motorcycle) wanted to concentrate on their solo projects, but in April this year they finally did what their fans wanted and reunited. We interviewed them ahead of the release of their new mix album, “Mixed for Feet,” due out this September.

What made you decide to split up in the first place?

We both felt that in order to have any future we needed to take a break, focus on ourselves, work with other people and assess how we felt over time. For Josh, this meant working on his debut solo album, “Eight,” a new project called Winter Kills and finishing Andain, which we both started in 2007. For Dave, he explored doing another duo with Dresden & Johnston while also working with budding American DJ / producer Morgan Page and Finland’s Super 8 & Tab, amongst others. We both learned a lot with these projects and are planning to use many of the new things we learned as well as our original knowledge for Gabriel & Dresden.

What made you decided that now was the time to get back together?

It was a combination of things. Part of it definitely was due to the reception we had at some of our first shows back together. We saw all of the excitement that was brewing online about us after the shows, and we also came to realize that we still had more to say together as a duo. There were a lot of other smaller things that brought us back together, but we’d say those three were the key points.

How was your NYE reunion gig?

There were aspects of that night that were amazing, but there were also things we would have done differently. But most importantly, we left that night with a good feeling about each other, and that working together still felt inspiring.

What did you miss the most about DJing together?

We have always both felt that two heads and four hands are better than less. We also love to combine our tastes together and see what comes of it. Together we like a ton of music from so many different genres, and it’s always fun to see what happens when we put those things through each others’ filters.

Who do you tip as the next big thing in trance?

We think it’s pretty obvious that Arty is the next big thing. He is just going to get better and he’s made some killer tracks already!

What’s your favourite record right now?

“Servo vs Colossus” which is a collaboration we did with Francis Preve and Billy Jay (aka Sentinels). We made it specifically for our new mix CD. It’s got a lot of the trappings of a G&D tune but with so many new twists and turns. It’s been killing at our shows, and we can’t wait for everyone to hear it!

You’ve worked on some massive pop records, such as the Madonna and Britney collaboration “Me Against the Music” – how do you feel about the recent explosion of dance-influenced music in the charts?

There’s a whole generation of kids who have grown up online, where the music was not restricted by an un-hip radio music director who only thinks dance music is for kids on drugs. It was inevitable that EDM would grow and reach a much wider audience, and some of it is really cool to hear.

Everyone seems to be talking about the Vegas club scene right now – what’s the US like for trance?

We don’t think anyone knew that Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas was going to be as big as it was this year. That said, Vegas is a natural place for dance music and parties. We have heard a lot of great things, but we’ll find out for ourselves when we play at Marquee in a couple of weeks.

Where will your reunion tour be taking you?

Hopefully everywhere. We’ve already played on four continents this year. We have a full upcoming tour that will take us to the rest.

Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming mix compilation “Mixed for Feet”?

It’s a unique mix that celebrates the reunion shows and what we’ve been playing at them. We’ve done a lot of work, both on new original songs as well as different touch-ups to our classic tracks. We also included a lot of music from producers we admire across many genres of dance music. We are very happy with how the album sounds.

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