Who is EDX?

Who is EDX?

10 March, 2009 | 2.34PM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: edx, sirup records

Swiss electro house rising superstar EDX has been ripping up dancefloors left, right and center with remixes of tunes like Kaskade’s ‘Angel on My Shoulder’, this winter’s recent feel good house hit, ‘What a Wonderful World’ from Axwell, Bob Sinclar and Ron Caroll, and releases on quality imprints like Toolroom, Defected, PinkStar Records and Sirup Records.

He’s also been nominated for a Beatport Music Award, so we figured it was about time to catch up with this mysterious up and comer and find out more about his path into dance music and DJing.

Tracing back your roots with electronic music, who were some of the artists that initially captivated you?

When I was really young, in the early ‘90s, I got into the underground electronic music movement in Switzerland.  At that time I was totally captivated by the sounds of Laurent Garnier, Cosmic Baby, Sven Vath and the Prodigy.  Later, as I matured, the acts that caught my attention and influenced my sound were those like Cassius and Daft Punk.

And when did you first begin the love affair with DJing?

A long time ago, probably around ‘89 or ‘90. I got started in the traditional way, DJing for small, middle-school events and stuff like that.  At that point I was into breaks and acts like Grandmaster Flash and that whole wild movement.

The acid and massive rave movement of the early nineties swept me up immediately and by ‘93 I had my first serious, official club appearance with acts DJ Hell, DJ Hype, Laurent Garnier and others.

I was young and totally a part of the Swiss game. I finally stopped DJing a few years back to focus more on production work and then began that beautiful love affair with DJing only two years back.

Although producers hate to be pigeonholed, how would you describe your sound as you seem to be at the edge of many different genres?

I would call it sexy music with several different musical influences for today’s clubbing generation.

Where do you see yourself going musically in 2009?

I’m sticking with developing an atmospheric sound that’s driven by the club and informed by house.

How healthy do you think the electronic music scene is right now in terms of clubs and music?

I think electronic music is like a trip around the world.  It always depends on where, how and why.  My personal opinion about 2009 is positive, with people waiting for the weekends so they can hit the clubs and party. I think that in Europe especially this year will see a more festival-oriented movement.

Are there any of your fellow producers you would wish to give props to? Who is doing it for you right now?

I think that the way records are released today gives producers and labels the opportunity to release different, less standard run of the mill records. 

This is why a lot of good new producers can get the attention they deserve. When I was working on my first track in my own studio, I had to invest five digits worth of cash for all this hardware that I would love to sell now.

But speaking of my fellow producers, the ones that I’ve got my eye on are Daniel Portman, Chris Reece, and Dinka—the Swiss guys that I think are kicking ass on the dancefloor and as producers. Their production quality is huge. 

Jerome Isma-Ae, Fasto Fanizza and Albin Myers are also a few of my favorites at the moment.

Your focus appears to be geared towards the remix. Are there any plans for more EDX original productions?

I just started to produce again, in fact, just for fun in between my regular work in a record company here in Switzerland and the work in the studio.  This is why I first try to do my own remixes on already beautiful tunes, before I go and focus on my own artist originals. 

My next single after ‘Casa Grande’ is called ‘Rubin’ and will hit stores in April.  ‘Rubin’ is a 3/4 instrumental which was produced in a typical EDX way—working on all kinds of different dancefloors. 

After that there is also a forthcoming collaboration with Daniel Portman, which is a more tech-driven tune called ‘Hip’ which will be available through Refune in a few months. In June I have it in mind to finish a vocal tune that brings together a lot of new influences.

And speaking of remixes, what do you look for when you decide to take-on a project?

We always try to feel out a song in the studio and think that it’s very important to be able to create a remix that has at the very least the same amount of power and impact as the original version. 

With that in mind, we also try to work with high profile labels to make sure the productions get into the market with the best possible push behind them. At the moment we’ve got a few vocal remixes out there, and that’s why it’s important that the next remix we do has to be more underground so that we can keep our dancefloor appeal balanced.

What are your views on the technological advances in the DJ booth of late? And do you utilize any of these tools yourself?

A few years back I switched to CDR, where I think I will stay for a while. A lot of hip new DJ technology is around, but I think that if you use effects in the right way and in the right moment, you can produce the same result without a lot of new gear.

What is your studio set-up like? Are you more of a software of hardware kind of guy?

I have a PC with an older version of Logic, several soft synths, a ton of RAM and very little hardware.

And finally, what’s next for EDX?

I’ve just released a DJ mix compilation called ‘Sirup Sessions’ for Sirup Records that features a lot of in-house releases and productions. 

There will be a few new releases in April on labels Harem, Nero and others that are set to be featured in Miami this year for WMC.

My own single ‘Rubin’ is out next month, and after that comes ‘Hip’ with Daniel Portman.  I am sure that before summer there will also be a new single under the Helvetic Nerds alias, and a few collaborations with some DJ/producer friends in Autumn are in the pipeline. 

DJ-wise there is a huge amount of upcoming summer gigs worldwide.  I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of new people and having happy moments around the globe.

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