Australia: Mason interview

Australia: Mason interview

19 February, 2008 | 10.10AM

• Section: Music News Topics: Beatport Blog
• Written by: ross_annabel

Dutch DJ Mason is probably best known for his 2006 hit ‘Exceeder’, one of the biggest tracks of that summer which was last year mashed up with Princess Superstar’s ‘Perfect’ to create the imaginatively titled (and frankly, rather heinous) bootleg ‘Perfect Exceeder’.

These days, Mason has just released a new single, ‘Bermuda Triangle’ and is currently touring western Europe.

We caught up with him last month as he completed his Australasian tour which included a headline gig at the biggest dance festival in the southern hemisphere, Summadayze. 

How’d you find your set at Summadayze? Was it a little hard competing with the likes of David Guetta and Groove Armada on the main stage?

It was great!

I had the luxury of there being some wind cooling off the field during my set, and the crowd was great as well.

My sound is different to Guetta’s or Groove Armada, so I also think that there was a different type of audience at my stage.

The highlight was the water fight I had with a few people in the front.

‘Exceeder’ was one of the biggest tracks of 2006. Do you feel pressure to follow it up with something equally successful?

Right now, I think people are listening a lot more carefully to what I release, but I see that as a good thing.

If you’re making music there’s nothing more frustrating than having the idea that you’re making something cool, but that nobody knows about it.

I’m basically still just making the music that I like, and the more people that appreciate it the better, but writing music is something personal, and not a factory process.

You were picked up by Tiesto in South America and asked to play the electric violin and provide DJ support alongside him during his Tiesto In Concert series. What was that experience like?

It was a great experience, as I got to go along with him on his tours as a warm-up DJ as well.

This helped me a lot, as I didn’t have that much experience with playing to those kinds of crowds back then.

You can also learn a lot from being close to someone so professional, who has taken the status of a DJ to a whole other level.

Tell us more about Mason and the Maker.

It’s the music that I make with my production partner Coen Berrier.

We play it live on stage with a lot of gear and synths, as we’re not fans of live laptop acts.

We took a little break with it, as we have to finish the album, but it’s a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward continuing it.

What made you pursue a career in dance music as opposed to continuing down the classical path? How do you think your classical training has influenced the music that you play today?

I get a bigger kick out of making dance music than classical stuff – so that was an easy choice.

About influence, I guess every kind of musical schooling helps, and I might be a bit more into chords and harmonies than the average producer, but at the end of the day there are a lot of great producers without much musical knowledge who release brilliant stuff.

However, I do like working with people who have a similar background, as you kinda speak the same language.

Have you been to Australia before? What’s been your favourite city so far? What has the audience response been like?

I was there in the summer of 2007 as well – and both tours have been great.

I love Sydney, it’s such a beautiful city - but I also like the fact that Melbourne is a bit more into the more underground styles of music.

Australians are mad on parties!

Me and a few other DJs noticed the peculiar way Aussie girls dance – we tried to imitate it, but it’s quite tough to copy.

How do you feel about the Princess Superstar ‘Perfect Exceeder’ bootleg? Honestly!

It’s really the classic case of a bootleg, my ‘Exceeder’ with her ‘Perfect’, so it feels like it’s only 50% my track.

It’s amazing how well it did though – it did great almost everywhere – but it doesn’t reflect the sound of my DJ sets, let’s say.

Whose work do you admire today?

I’m doing a track for my album with Kurtis Blow, which is such an honour, as he’s still incredibly cool (at the age of 60), and has done such great stuff in the past.

Top three tracks of the moment?

1. Fetish and Me ‘Black Palms’
2. Roel H ‘The Dancing Bears’
3. Alex Gopher ‘Aurora’

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Hopefully still doing what I do now, as I enjoy it so much.

I hope by then I have released albums that go beyond the dancefloor and that people can enjoy at home as well. 

And I’ll probably have more facial hair by then.

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