Carnivale by Particle
interview main act:
Interview Troy Pierce, Leeds (UK)
Hi Troy good to see you again, this time not in Amsterdam, but here in Leeds. Last year has been an amazing year for you and the whole minus crew. How do you look back to 2006?
Well, in January we had a meeting with the booking agency and one of the topics we discussed was how many times everyone was booked. Last year I played 128 times, that’s like 1 gig every three days! Rich played 125, Magda 124, but these numbers made me realize that things are going extremely well and that’s very cool of course…
This means that you’re travelling all the time, what do you think of all this travelling? Do you have time to enjoy all these cool cities you visit?
Almost never... Most people don’t realize that like for example today I got up at 10.00 in the morning, to be at the airport at 11.30 to get my 12.50 flight to Munich to make the connection of the 15.30 flight to Manchester. I landed at 17.30, drove down to Leeds for an hour, did a sound check, so basically I’ve been travelling since 10 o’clock in the morning. Sometimes that’s quite harsh, haha.
Do you have a particular event or moment that you remember from last year that was special to you?
Yeah! in Ibiza last summer I played the DC10 and it went really, really well. That was already quite special, because there are so many people. Next to that a lot of dj’s come there, a lot of people from the island, basically the people with the good ears. If someone sucks they’ll notice it right away, but if someone’s really good they know it as well. That set gave me a lot of gratification. Then a month later I played Monza at Space and played like really super good again. So after the party we went to this bar across the street to have another drink and when I got in there, people stood up from their chairs en started applauding. It was an emotional moment, not that I was gonna cry, but still I never felt such a connected reaction before.. It was really amazing, that for sure was my top highlight of the year!!
You did some amazing releases, a lot of those were sold massively in the minimal scene the last couple of years. You also produce together with Magda and Marc Houle under the name RunStopRestore. When can we expect a real album coming up?
From RunStopRestore I don’t know, it’s really hard to say. Because we’re never together enough or not doing other stuff enough to make it happen. We would like to, so I think eventually something will happen, but I don’t know what, when or how.
And when is your next track going to be released?
There will be a Minus EP coming out in June and as it is now it will be a double pack, not an album though. Just 8 tracks, so not a 2 sided EP, but two records. One with a Louderbach remix and one with a Konrad Black remix.
How did you end up at Minus actually? Did you approach them or did they get into contact with you? What’s the story?
I’ve known Rich for maybe 15 years already, I was going to parties in Detroit, and eventually became friends through that. Then the first thing was RunStopRestore, 3 years ago, we started making a lot tracks together and at first we just gave them away for free for promotion. Besides that Magda started playing them a lot. Then one night Rich and Clarke were there and saw how the public reacted to one of the tracks, the crowd was just freaking out. So they came up to us and said: “we want this track for sure”.
Do you see yourself more as a dj or more as a producer?
Both..
And if you have to choose..?
If I would have to choose what I prefer it would probably be dj’ing, because there’s more interaction. There’s less ratification, less deep act from sitting in the studio.. But it’s so cool that I can make stuff that I want to play. For me that’s amazing. All that I always wanted to do. To make something that was as good as the tracks I was playing.
Last time that you were in Holland you played during the Amsterdam Dance Event at club 11. It was a hell of a party. What do you think of the Dutch scene?
It’s usually very cool! The first time we went to Holland was a couple of years ago to play at the Paradiso and it was really great because Holland was one of the first places besides Germany that got into this music. I played upstairs and the crowd was really into it, I got so many good reactions. So at that moment it was very cool to see that our music was working outside Germany as well. Besides that you guys have some very good producers.. I really like some of the stuff Polder have been producing.
What personal characteristic can we hear back in your music?
Mmm… I don’t know, maybe the opposite of what I’m playing. Sometimes my sound is kind of dark and weird..
But don’t you have a dark side?
For sure, totally haha. But I’m not some sort of moody, depressed person, which maybe it sounds like it could be. I just like that type of music, that kind of sad, weird stuff. Happy music, like to up-tempo with a lot of energy is not my thing, I don’t play it and don’t wanna hear it. Only the strange, kind of spooky stuff.
Are there still some goals left you would like to achieve?
Haha this is what my dad always asks me, like what’s your plan, where will you be in 3 years?
Haha sorry, we don’t want to sound like your dad now!
No no no, it’s ok, but I always tell him that I don’t have a plan. 5 years ago I didn’t have this plan, I couldn’t have made any prediction to make this happen, I didn’t even know that doing this in the way that I’m doing it, kind of good, was even possible. 5 years ago I wasn’t even making music that seriously, I was just playing around, so the goal will be to be happy and successful and whatever that means, whatever the result is as long as it is happy and successful. This I could never have planned for.
Ok cool. Now one of the most asked questions in interview recently: How did you experience the Jay Haze interview?
Haha I think it’s amazing, I think he’s the funniest person that I know.
Yeah? Cause he said a lot of bad stuff about a lot of dj’s in the scene
Jay is just really funny…
Did he make a lot stuff up in it as well?
Jay is really, really funny! One the greatest techno comedians ever………
Now we have a question for you from the last dj we interviewed: Karotte!
Ooh no haha not Karotte…
Here it goes: Hi Troy, when are we going to record the new how to dance to M-nus beats dvd in Ibiza?
Haha, thought he would've forgotten that by now. But I think the 17th of September is a very good date.
Now we would like to know how your relationship with the rest of the Minuscrew is, because to us it seems like one big, happy family.
Yeeah pretty much, I think it’s really cool. I don’t know another label that does things the way that we do them. Like the whole crew are close friends of mine, Magda is my best friend, Rich is a very, very good friend, Houle and Hearthrob they’re all such good friends. I think that it’s so cool to have my best friends at my job and making the best music that I love. Like I would want to be friends with them if I didn’t know them, because their music is so good!
Now in the next couple of months there are some special things coming up, like the Winter Music Conference in Miami and a Minus tour through the States. Are you looking forward this trip?
Well first we do some dates in South America, cause there’s a music conference as well. First I play in Buenos Aires, which I a like a lot, because of the crazy party people. After that I go to Brazil to play in Florianopolis and lie on the beach for a couple of days. Then Miami and afterwards some dates in the U.S., but it’s not going to be a bus trip like last year… Still the next couple of months are going to be quite cool, especially Miami, because that’s the place where our whole crew comes together!!
What’s your favourite city by the way? We guessed that it would be Detroit…
No way, go away. I’ve been living in New York for 10 years and New York is great for food and the city is great, but the music is not so good there. I like London a lot as well, but it’s not my favourite though. Brussels I like, it’s cool. Ooh wait the capital of Georgia, what’s it again? Tbilisi or something like that, that’s a very cool city! Very interesting place, cool layout of the city, it’s just completely different from what you expect.
Now last, but not least you can make up a question for the next dj that we’re planning to interview, Ricardo Villalobos!
Mmm let me think, something about skiing. How is his skiing coming, his ability in skiing, is it advancing??
Imagine Ricardo on ski’s!!!
Exactly haha!!
Ok Troy it was a very nice conversation, good luck with everything and we wish you all the happiness and success you can get!!
