Interview: Michael Woods

Interview: Michael Woods

19 May, 2010 | 5.50AM

• Written by: Kirsty Kane
• Filed under: Music News: diffused records, michael woods

Michael Woods is one of the hottest new figures in British dance music today and is set to take the club scene by storm this year. 

Woods has had a busy, productive, and successful 2010 thus far. Not content with his chart-topping remixes of Deadmau5 and Chris Lake, as well as running his own label, Diffused Records, Woods’ recent re-release and remix of his 2009 hit ‘Dropzone’ received rave reviews and is fast becoming a modern club anthem.

With summer on the brink, we caught up with Michael Woods to find out more about his upcoming projects, and his interesting past.

You have an unusual family history? Tell us more about it.

My father is from Guyana and my mother is from Argentina. They actually met and got talking when their telephone lines crossed, and they got married and are still together 40 years later.

And your parents were quite musical?

My father is a piano teacher and taught my sister and me piano from a very early age. From around the age of four.

What was that like?

I took all eight grades on the piano and went to music college to learn other instruments, such as the guitar, drums, trumpet, and even the triangle!

Which music college was this?

Pimlico School of Music and the London College of Music

Do you feel that your classical training has helped you to make electronic music?

I think having a knowledge of music allows me to express things in certain ways that other producers, who have no musical knowledge, wouldn’t necessarily be able to do.

I suppose one of my more musical productions is ‘Dropzone’.

In what other ways do you feel that your classical training has affected your electronic music productions?

I can knock up an original riff a matter of minutes, or seconds even!

Would you ever think about using your classical training to construct comparable electronic music? For instance, Cobblestone Jazz and The Modern Deep Left Quartet spring to mind as exemplars. They use analogue instruments to make techno from a more musical stance.

Yes that kind of idea is on the cards, and I also want to explore the composition of music for film.

What instigated your move from classical music into the realm of electronic music?

I never thought I’d make a living from my music but I met DJ and producer Matt Darey who took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. Matt was into trance at the time so I started off in that field and have now moved on to other genres such as tech house, techno and progressive.

When did you start getting into dance music? 

I started getting in to dance music from the age of around 14 when I’d put the local dance radio station on in our music lessons when the teacher had left the room. That then spurred me onto the whole club scene.

It was then that I started trying to make my own tracks on the school’s Atari ST computer running Notator with a Korg M1. So I suppose I’ve been at it longer than I’d like to remember!

You first produced under pseudonyms such as Warrior and Out of Office. Why have you now chosen to use your own name for your productions?

I wanted a fresh outlook. I had taken the kind of music I made under those names as far as I could take them, and wanted to start with a fresh sound, so what better name to use than my own?

And there are a wide range of artists that you have produced for - Adele, Nate James, The Temper Trap and Estelle - to name but a few. Do you plan to continue to collaborate with other artists?

I plan to continue to make great club/dance music and am happy to let that take me wherever it takes me.

You recently re-released ‘Dropzone’ as a remix with a special 2010 twist. Why did you decide to remix it this year? 

The original version I produced in 2009 had great reactions, but since I had changed my sound it wasn’t quite fitting into my sets. Wherever I played ‘Dropzone’, it was the one tune that people always seemed to ask for, so I decided to remix it in a way to keep the original flavour yet arrange it so it fitted more comfortably into my sets.

Can we expect more releases from you over the coming year?

Yes, I plan to make more original material, to be released on labels such as Toolroom, Mau5trap and Ultra.

Tell us about your plans for the summer.

I have a residency at one of the best clubs in the world, Amnesia Ibiza!

A residency for Cream at Amnesia? How did you manage to bag that?

I guess it comes down to the music I’m putting out. It’s definitely resonating with the masses and I’m sure my residency is down to that fact. I’ll be playing a lot of my own productions and will probably be playing live to some extent as well. I can’t wait!

You remixed Deadmau5, who is hugely successful. How was it remixing for someone so famous in the industry?

I just did my thing, not really knowing how it would come out as I only had 24 hours to produce it after being asked to do it!

We heard you’re going to be on tour with him too?

I’ve warmed up for him on a number of occasions and it’s an amazing feeling as the crowd is always so up for it. There’s hardly a moment when hands are not in the air at a Deadmau5 concert.

We really dug your remix of Temper Trap’s ‘Science of Fear’. Can we expect more club oriented remixes like this from you this year?

Yes, I’ve just finished a remix for Robyn ‘Dancing On My Own’ and it kinda has the same euphoric moment in the main breakdown – and I’m sure there will be more like that to follow.

Let’s talk about Diffused Music, your label which you launched in 2008. You’ve released a number of records on it so far, including ‘Yemba’, ‘Dropzone’, and the ‘Envolver’ EP.  What are your plans for developing the label?

The label was mainly started as a means by which I could put out my own material. But along the way I’ve come across these great records, which I thought deserved to see the light of day.

This year I’m looking to develop the artists currently signed including Ant Brooks, H Unit, and Lazy Jay and towards the end of the year I’ll be looking to expand the artist roster. Coming soon is another release from Ant Brooks who is getting a lot of attention in the industry at the moment, followed by more music from myself.

• (2) Comments
• (2847) Views
• Get Michael Woods 'Dropzone' on Beatport