Profile: Tom Hades

Profile: Tom Hades

24 June, 2011 | 4.36AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: profile, tom hades

There’s hell to pay when you call yourself Tom Hades, taking your surname from the Greek god of the underworld. But that hasn’t held back Belgium’s Wim Vanoeveren. Quite the contrary: in the 10 years since he released “I Love Techno” with Marco Bailey, the deeper he’s plumbed the dark side, the brighter his name has shone.

After a decade in the game, he’s still one of techno’s heaviest hitters; his releases for the likes of MB Elektronics, Rhythm Converted and Remain Records strike the perfect balance between driven loops, careful EQing, and total mayhem.

Funny, then, that Mr. Infierno also happens to be one of the nicest, humblest, most down-to-earth types in techno. Read on for the full interview.

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

I grew up in a town called Tienen which is very known for its sugar factory. So everything for me needs to be super sweet! Currently I’m based in a small village near Tienen, where I recently moved to my new place. It’s a very quiet neighborhood, which is just the perfect balance I need between the louder weekends and the relaxed weeks.

How did you get started DJing and/or making music?

I started off first with only live sets, which I toured on during almost eight years. This was a good practice for me to get more experienced with the software and hardware. During the first years it was always carrying loads and loads of stuff from one place to another—which led to having equipment that sometimes didn’t work any more. This could really stress you out! But eventually things went more and more into the software side, which was a blessing for me! Not having to carry that much stuff anymore was really such a relief and comfort, like you couldn’t imagine. After those years I started to feel the urge to change towards DJ sets more and more. This led into my current way of working using NI Traktor Scratch Pro, some control vinyls and some controllers to get my set rolling.

Production-wise, everything started for me on a professional base when I met Marco Bailey through a good old school-friend, Redhead. I started to produce some stuff together with Marco, and very soon we had our first collaboration out on vinyl. It was a big thing for me to have finally something out after all those years of experimenting with all kinds of hardware.

How would you describe the music that you make?

I would describe it as a sequential build of blocks. I always like to start to find some sounds and samples together and make some kind of groove out of this. Once the groove of the track is there, the bassline and other elements are added—so that’s why I always think in the way of building with blocks.

And what are your sets like?

As mentioned earlier, nowadays I only do DJ sets, but I’m still capable of doing a live set where necessary. But now a DJ set is what attracts me the most. My sets usually start off a bit like an intro in a song, which leads to slowly building more percussion and hi-hat based tracks, to eventually get to a peak where melodies and basslines have the upper hand. I still like the tracks that can lift up the people to a level where they feel one with the music. Nice to see when you are behind the DJ booth and people are really getting more excited after each track.

Who were your mentors when you were starting out?

I would say my main mentors are Marco Bailey and Redhead, since they both were already producing for some time, and whom I’ve been knowing for many years now. I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for this!

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

I think when I saw that my sound was evolving in a more sequential sound-building, always ending up to a peak or explosion. This is what always has influenced me during my days when I went out clubbing. I guess people know me know from this kind of sound.

How do you explain your music to your family members?

I guess that is always a difficult thing to explain to people who are not really into this kind of music—what “type” you play. They don’t even understand, sometimes, what the whole picture of doing a DJ set means. But okay, now they got used to it, so I guess my mom and dad are my biggest fans!

Do you know what kind of track you want to write before you sit down to make it, or is it more like a process of experimentation, trial and error?

I’m definitely the kind of producer who starts of a new production with a clear idea in mind. Sometimes this idea can slightly evolve towards another direction, but the main concept will be kept in there.

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?

Starting a new track is usually playing and messing around with sounds and samples. I start off with some kind of loop, which I chop up and re-arrange. After this I will end up picking some elements out and add multiple effects, bounce again and start all over until I reach what is unique sounding for me. Once there, I start to arrange some stuff to get a basic groove going on top of the experimental sounds/groove I previously created. And from that point on, I will start to focus more and more to the structure of the track.

What’s your studio like?

I recently moved to my new place, so it means also a complete new studio. I had it completely built and designed the way I want it. Before this place, I used to have a home studio as well, but since it was an existing house it was more difficult to get the correct sound, because the walls and ceiling were not really constructed for acoustics. Now it is completely built with this in mind, so the sound is really huge now! I’m a very happy man!

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

My favorite gear is definitely my Novation Remote SL keyboard, and my favorite software is Ableton Live. For me this is the perfect combination since I can mess around as much as I want, just as a live musician would do with his or her instrument. It’s nice to have the possibility to record and re-arrange on the fly, while not having to stop your sequence over and over again.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Actually, I’m a morning person. I like to get up early and start at ease in the studio. That’s when the best tracks for me are built. I love still being not that clear but just feeling the sounds and percussion taking you in some kind of dream. Nice, since then you have the possibility to create an epic track!

Which record do you wish you had made?

I wish I had made a record like Slam’s “Lifetimes” since this is still one of my favorite ones. It’s a track with a complete story inside, which takes you from the moment the first sound starts. I simply love it! Good job Slam!

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

I guess it would be my very first record, since it is “my precious one”! No I’m not a goblin! :)

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

I easily listen more to ambient and experimental music like Boards of Canada or Biosphere. I like the way they really experiment with sounds, eventually producing a sound which is a combination of the most bizarre sounds and/or field recordings. Nice production work, but loads of work to get there!

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

Actually I would still be doing something involved with music, like reading stuff, searching for things on the internet, etc. But if ever I’m not doing these things I would probably start to cook and prepare some sushi, my favorite food!

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

I would probably be doing something in development of software. I’ve always been attracted to the way you can build from a couple of lines of code something that can make your life easier… or worse if you didn’t do it right!

Tell us about your upcoming gigs and releases…

At the moment there are some upcoming gigs in Slovenia, Poland, France, Swiss, Mexico, Brazil, etc., as well in my own country where after a while you are becoming “one of those who show up on a lot of places!” Concerning the releases, I will be doing some stuff on Bedrock, MB Elektronics, Respekt Recordings as well on my own imprint Rhythm Convert(ed). I have the impression that the label is going at a really high pace and is receiving respect from a lot of big guys in the scene. I enjoy every moment of it as it is some kind of appreciation of your ambition to get “your” techno out there!

• (0) Comments
• (1971) Views