Introducing: Lance Blaise

Introducing: Lance Blaise

6 May, 2011 | 5.40AM

• Written by: sirthomasdu
• Filed under: Music News: carl cox, introducing, lance blaise, teggno

Head of the prestigious American techno label Teggno Records, Lance Blaise has amassed a staggering catalog of music productions under his own name, as well as under several other well known aliases. He has established himself as a true innovator of an experimentally deep and dark techno sound, and Lance’s fans have responded by shooting his tracks consistently into the top charts on Beatport. Lance’s music has gained massive support from the icons of electronic music (Carl Cox, Dubfire, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, to name a few) as well as his fellow producers from the new breed of techno legends (Sasha Carassi, Steve Parker, Slam, Drumcell, Erphun, Loco & Jam, Tom Hades, and many more).

We asked the Philly native and former junior-pro hockey player what makes his slapshot techno so devastating… Read on to find out.

Can you tell us a little about your background? Where did you grow up, and where are you based now?

I grew up in Philadelphia, but left at the age of 13 to go to boarding school in New Hampshire on a scholarship for ice hockey. After high school, I was awarded an ice hockey scholarship to attend Bentley University in Massachusetts. I went on to play a year of junior pro hockey after college, and then hung up the skates, only playing for fun here and there. Next I bounced around a bit, moved to Florida, and now here I am based back in Philadelphia again. I just like being near all of my friends.

How did you get started making music?

I actually began DJing ‘80s music because I just love it so much. I think it reminds me of my childhood. But I had been a real fan of techno music since the early ‘90s, so it seemed only fitting that I DJ the music that was really what I wanted to hear in a club. I had this residency where I was DJing ‘80s music, and I found myself working techno into my sets. Next thing I know, the club owner had moved me into this small room in the basement of the club because my music wasn’t what they wanted on the main floor. I gained a decent little following down there…

I started producing music with my good friend Gabriel Ben in the early 2000s. At the time we went by the name Tattoo Detectives. I learned a lot about production working with Gabe, and I think we both learned a lot from working together. Together we made some amazing music, and it really helped me soul search and find my true techno sound. Because we both were developing our own style and sound, it was time to part ways as a production team, but we remained extremely good friends, and you can pretty much find us still traveling about to most places during Miami Music Week, Ibiza, and so on…

I went own to produce a great deal of music own my own in the years to come. At the same time I was producing a lot of music and putting other people’s names on it, and felt I was being taken advantage of, so I put an end to that and now work solely on my own music. Adding someone’s name to a track when they aren’t contributing to it is something that has always bothered me, and it was a bit hypocritical of me to be helping someone out by doing such a thing. I am now quite happy and content with where I am at in my production career!

How would you describe the music that you make?

I consider my music deep and dark. It’s definitely techno music, but it’s a bit more experimental than the norm. My stuff is known for being very bass-heavy and just has something very weird that just cannot be pegged. I want people to hear my track and wonder, “What the f#%k was that we were just listening to, and where could those sounds come from?” I am hoping they are thinking, “Ok, the guy who made this obviously is making deals with the devil to get these noises, or he is just completely whacked in the head!”

Do you DJ, play live, or both? How would you describe your sets?

I’m a Traktor DJ, using just the controllerism aspect with 2 MIDI controllers. I love it. I was getting so bored about five or years ago with records and CDs. I think it’s important to select the right tracks, but just laying down one track after another was getting extremely monotonous. You all know what can be done with Traktor, and now with Traktor 2, well, it’s only getting even better! Times are a-changing, and I personally think for the better; the possibilities are endless. You can add so much to a track, making the track sound nothing like what the original was intended to sound like. Open your minds, there is an incredible amount of sound out there awaiting you.

Did you have any mentors when you were starting out? Who helped you get established?

Carl Cox for me has been a great mentor as well as playing a big role in helping me to get established. Carl has often used my tracks on many of his compilations. In 2010 Cox signed my track “Faaktree” to his Global Underground CD, and individually the track rose to the #2 position on Beatport’s Top 10. I had actually written that track while I was on a flight touring in Mexico with Carl, so for me it was exciting to have that track be the one he chose for the CD. I am also very fortunate in the fact that Carl also asked me to share the stage with him on numerous occasions throughout the US and South America.

Growing up in Philadelphia in the mid ‘90s, when I was home for the summers, I really looked up to Josh Wink. Something about Josh’s presence in the booth and his extremely unique productions always gave me a drive to want to produce music and be a DJ. And if it wasn’t for Josh, I would have never met Carl Cox. In 2006, Cox played Josh’s birthday party at a very small, intimate venue in Philly, and it was after that show that I met Carl and handed him “ECT - Tattoo Detectives,” which was the first track Carl had ever signed of mine.

When did you first feel that you had discovered your own sound?

I would say about two years ago I was finally churning out tracks all with my own, unique sound that could be found consistently in all of my tracks. There are certain types of twisted and dark sounds I put into all of my tracks: these are my building blocks, and they are all sounds I have recorded. I have created my own sound pack of about 400+ samples from all different kinds of everyday noises, and these go into all of my tracks. They are interwoven so well that, to the naked ear, you can’t pinpoint what the sound is, but it’s there playing dirty tricks on your brain. Just ask yourself: if you get an answer, then you are probably understanding my music and the sounds in it.

How do you explain your music to your family members?

I say, “Remember all that evil stuff you kept telling me to stay away from? Yeah, well I have turned that into music, and I put my own whacked out vocals in it too!” They always ask me if that’s really my voice, and then they ask what goes on inside my head… I’m normally dreaming of gumdrops and unicorn skeletons.

Do you know what kind of track you want to write before you start, or are you more of a trial-and-error type?

I always know what general sound I am going for, but I experiment with the basslines all the time. I have certain underlying sounds that I know I am going to use for each individual track, though. Even with remixes, I listen to the pack that I am sent and I think about which sounds of the original I can use, then quickly go and feel out which of my own personal sounds can be put into the track to give it my touch. Then, almost always, I experiment with different basslines that I write. I rarely use a loop provided by the original artist when it comes to the bassline—it’s just too important to the sound track, and I want it to be different from the original.

When you sit down to make a track, what’s the first thing you typically do? How long does a track typically take you to make?

I start out with the kick. It’s the most important part of the track, because it’s the most consistent part, and it can really define the overall drive and movement of the track. Then I add in some experimental sounds that are all my own. This is what gives my tracks a unique sound. I can make a track in anywhere from three hours to about three weeks. I am a bit mentally “out there,” so it really depends on how crazy I am that week.

Where do you record?

I record in a home studio. I share a converted warehouse flat with my friend who is a fellow producer/DJ, and we each have our own studio setups in the flat. Very nice large spaces, all sound-proofed, and all Mac!

Do you currently have a favorite piece of gear/software?

I love the Korg Legacy software. I have been using it for the past four years. Also I like NI Kontakt; the possibilities with that just are endless. And I of course just love all my Mac computers. Geek style!

Are you a morning person or night owl?

I only sleep like three or four hours a night. My doctor even prescribed me the highest dosage of Klonopin, and I still cannot stay asleep. I will produce at any time though, doesn’t matter to me. As far as DJing goes, I think my best sets are at like 5 or 6am for like a good three to four hours. I can just bring it super deep dark and dirty, which I really love to do!

Which record do you wish you had made?

Man, I would have loved to have been a one-hit wonder in the ‘80s. Those dudes are always the best. They have one killer song, that’s it, and they rocked the shit out of it! Music back then had such a larger shelf life. If you were a one-hit wonder in the ‘80s, you can still look cool as hell when you tell people who you are and what one song you are famous for making! F#%king Cameo, where are you now bro, probably gettin’ it in somewhere with your sweet hair and your red leather jockstrap on the outside of your black spandex pants… “Word up, it’s the call word!”

If a wrecking ball was headed for your house, which *one* record would you rescue before it hit?

No record, I can’t do anything with just one record. I would have to grab my Macbook Pro. That’s the computer I use for DJing and it has all my music on it. I could never get all those songs back ever, just too much and from too long ago to be able to recoup all of that. My other computers in the studio can be replaced…

When you’re not listening to electronic music, what do you listen to?

A lot of ‘80s music. Right now as far as new non-EDM artists go I am hooked on James Blake, Ellie Goulding, Florence and the Machine, Sick of Sara, Dom, Caribou… I could go on for days! Other stuff I love: Police, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Marilyn Manson, Thompson Twins, Pink Floyd. My musical tastes are very broad. I like almost any genre, and I love exploring new music, as it helps give me ideas on how to introduce new experimental ideas into my techno productions.

When you’re not making or playing music, what’s your preferred pastime?

I am a computer and electronics geek; I am always on the computer. I also drink orange juice and get into my cats’ heads while I watch them eat cat food. Everyone loves cat food! I like to be stared at by women like a piece of meat too, that’s fun for everyone.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing with your life?

I’d like to think I would be something exciting like an astronaut, a pretzel vendor, or knight who fights off dragons in a far away land where I can save the princess and then win her hand in marriage.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

I am legally blind. I pretty much cannot see anything that is a foot away from me. It’s all shapes. Just last week some chick came walking out of my roommate’s room buck naked, and I couldn’t see a thing. Well, I may have been able to see a little bit, but I have to stare for like 10 minutes, so I look really creepy. I have had major surgery on my eyes to try and slow down the process of my blindness. So if you see me staring, it’s cause I am trying to figure out who you are… or I may be checking you out, ladies, sorry it’s taking so long!

Tell us about your upcoming gigs and releases…

Right now I am extremely looking forward to my upcoming EP which will be released with Steve Parker’s Spark Music on May 9th, titled the “Animal Wars” EP. I also have something being released on Phobic, Illegal Alien Records, as well as my own imprint Teggno. As far as gigs go, I have actually quite a few underground parties coming up that I can’t really give out the details on, but if you follow me on Twitter and Facebook you can get the dates and locations when it gets closer to the events.

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