As we approach our long-awaited return to The White Hotel, we spoke with stalwart of the scene, The Advent.
**Update: 17th Aug 21: The Advent sadly cannot play this party due to contracting Covid-19. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to having him play in the future. And a big thank you to James Ruskin stepping in to play!**
Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today, we’re super excited to welcome you to the Meat Free dancefloor very soon! What are you most looking forward to about getting back to the club?
Thanks for inviting me.. Really looking forward to the energy that you get in clubs (not festivals) the sound vibrations & the close connection with the crowds.. Can’t wait..
As an ‘adopted’ Londoner, but one that’s made a very strong mark there over many years, what’s your opinion on the UK music scene today?
For me it’s still growing & building in our scene (underground good quality music, no gimmicks) good to see a few places and new concepts, like Meat Free, Fold London, Patterns Brighton, etc. etc..
if people focussed on the music control & not over crowded mainstream we could have a healthy scene in all major cities in the UK, like we did 3+ decades ago, before mainstream messed it all up & our scene became money driven.
Who are you listening to at the moment? Are there any emerging producers or interesting sounds that have caught your attention especially lately?
Yes there is always new heads popping up here and there from my 2 favourite genres “techno & electro”. Being born in Madeira/Portugal & actually living in Lisbon from 2000 – 2010 and the rise in talent
has been consistent, new artists that always deliver the sonic goods are Temudo, Vil, Nørbak, Cravo, Hertz Collision, Adiel, Francois Dillinger, Torai (Nephew) Zein Ferreira (Son).
We read before that you don’t like to reveal any of your production tricks, but can you talk us through your studio at all?
Yes I’m very anti giving away tricks & studio techniques as I don’t want anyone to sound like me?? Please discover your sound & identity yourself?? It took me a few years to zone my craft, I think today every one sounds the same because of this copy & paste type topic..
I still have all my studio gear since day one, I never sold any piece of equipment (even in the rise of computer digital domination) kept it all, from my Roland drum machines + synths, to all my Korg synths, and a shit load of other rare gear..
You’re famous for not following the crowd and carving your own path, have you found this more difficult as the “industry” is becoming more commoditised and the lines between the mainstream and underground become more blurred?
Yes I have find it quite amazing how so many long term friend producers & artists I know, all turned their backs on the quality & style of their original music & the underground mentality that drove us all those years ago, and us being very anti popular music culture & being in control of our scene, to now seeing most of them same friends (:-0) producers chasing the main stream popular DJ Contest, not for me. I have always stayed very clear away from that scene & people/promoters, even though I have played in some very big well known events, clubs, the music has always been my main drive & focus, shame not for others.. Many have lost that, to think that techno is now so SO commercial & even the sound is almost very bad trance is just very disappointing.. We still have a few well known artists/DJ’s from way back still maintaining that original ideal.. But money has killed our scene & friendships..
You’ve had an incredible career and worked extremely hard over many years to get to where you are. How did the last 18 months affect you? Were there any positive sides to lockdown that you could take?
It has been hard on a lot of us. But when the pandemic hit us in Feb 2020 the scene was becoming too much for me & the rise of these new social media image DJ’s (female & male) was really sad, as it was based on how many likes & image, than how talented you are????
.. It was good to have a break from that, and taking a breather from the chaos.. personally for me, it gave me more time to spend with my wife & kids (men now lol) as having a busy schedule every weekend flying all over the world, its was great to just relax, breathe & just spend time away.. I didn’t produce music for over a year, and it was great to re-think & re-build ideas & which direction to take when it gets back to normal, what ever that is???….
Of course lockdown saw the birth of the online Techno Club, how did you find exploring this virtual side of the scene?
After the pandemic started to become a reality, I could see most DJ’s started streaming sets on FB, YouTube & a few other platforms.. But most of the time “streams” would get cut or muted or… copyright BOT police would make it difficult.
So me & long time friend Dave Bate from Portland USA, started discussing this concept of an actual club online with 10 viewing rooms (similar to club rooms), all the genres we loved – Techno, House & Electro. Dave who is a Computer whizz & worked for some
Silicon Valley Tech companies knew this could be 100% possible, so the basic concept started and we started to discuss & build this idea, did research into music licensing, as we didn’t want any of our streams being cut/muted, we found out what we needed to put in place to make this a viable concept..
In researching this, it was quite sad to know that most well known social media platforms do not pay no music license costs, why the cut/muted streams, so no artist would ever get paid from any social media streams quite sad, so at www.techno-club.net we pay music license & from subscriptions it goes back to the artist.. we all know how Spotify pay very very very little to the artists, well social media pays nothing “0″…. so if you want to support your favourite artists & music you know where to come..
Do you think post-pandemic we might be able to regain some of the more primitive nature of early clubs, as people have missed it so much?
I really hope so, but looking at these past few Covid testing events.. it does look like Business Techno is back in full swing, I know the scene has become a monster in being very commercial & mainstream driven, but its frustrating to see the same DJ names every where and no variety, its like a monopoly now.. There’s a few events still being original & going against the hype. so hopefully more will follow..
The longevity of your career is testament to the fact you are extremely adaptable to the ever-changing music industry. With starting the virtual Techno Club, what are your thoughts on the new reality of music consumption and how it’s evolving, for example the Travis Scott x Fortnite concert?
Streaming is defo the Future of viewing content/music/games/movies (CLUBS) online. We can see now at present public on their phones, computers, tablets all being used only for streaming and no more downloading big files..
That’s why we created www.techno-club.com, we are not “yet” backed by huge companies with big investments, but we are building this to be something that will be here in 5/10/20 years to come, and VR is becoming more & more a reality, so it’s just a matter of time, when you can actually be at the event physically & virtually. The hip-hop scene is way WAY more united than our beloved techno scene, so not surprised at all by the success of Travis Scott x Fortnite’s concert
they have the right idea & direction, as let’s face it a gig is great with 500/1000 plus clubbers, but the world is a bigger place ONLINE.. 164,626,920 views with Travis Scott x Fortnite’s.. No place on planet earth can accommodate that many people..
And as we look towards a hopefully much brighter future, aside from getting back behind the decks what’s next for The Advent?
I’m really busy working with my son Zein Ferreira at the moment & were going down the electro direction and keeping away from techno. Anyone who has been following my label will know how much electro has been a part of my growth.. Now I feel electro is getting a huge surge in our scene & finally public starting to understand it, so expect some releases coming very soon from Father & Son..
And finally, we ask everyone the same thing to round off our interviews – what can the dancers expect from you on the 20th August?
My main goal is always to make the people dance & feel the energy in the music & take them on a journey.. Hope you’re ready… Will be my 1st gig in 16 months so I’m very excited & anxious at the same time.. Always loved playing Manchester, from playing at Hacienda, to other places over the years… See you there..
