Scott Richardson
Taken from inthemix.com.au
How many Australian trance DJs do you know that run their own community, night and record label? Not many... Scott Richardson of Trancetribe steps up to talk about his website, his record label, his events, the world of trance and his plans for the future.
2005 was a busy year for you… 2006 looks to be just as packed, how have you been?
Busy, but great all the same! 2005 was a really crazy year. So much happened so quickly that it all seems a blur right now, and I’m still travelling on that momentum! Last year was about setting up a lot of bases for Trancetribe. We started the record label, the events, and I finally started getting more serious about producing as well as DJing. I’m super busy working on my productions right now. I just finished a remix for our 3rd vinyl release which will be out in the coming months plus a compilation CD for Trancetribe mixed by myself and my good friend Luke Sykes. 2006 is already looking like it will be very very big. So big in fact that we now have a team of Trancetribers working hard for the site, the event and the label.
For those that don’t know, how would you describe your sound as a DJ/producer?
I’m a trance DJ at heart. And I like trance to be considered as a fairly broad genre. There are so many sub genres in trance now that it’s all getting a little crazy, and my friends are probably sick of me saying “its just trance!†When I DJ I like to be able to cover the full range of trance styles, depending on my time slot of course. So if it's progressive, melodic, tech or uplifting I don’t mind. It’s more about how well the tracks flow together that is important to me. Though from all those genres I like the tougher sounding tunes. Not necessarily “harder†tunes, but tougher. Be it with more driving basslines or more in-your-face percussion. When I produce, I think I follow the same principle. Every time I sit down to create a track, it’s always something different than before. At the moment though I am working mostly on some driving melodic and uplifting trance.
Who have been your biggest influences?
As a DJ, definitely Armin van Buuren. And not just from his actual DJing, but also his attitude to trance and the global trance scene at large. He’s not afraid to say he’s a trance DJ, and did so back when trance was heavily labelled “cheeseâ€. As a DJ he’s careful about his set structure and flow, and technical too. Trance DJs don’t have to do much, but what we need to do, he does almost perfectly. Producers that influence me would have to be guys like John Askew, Alex MORPH and John O’Callaghan. They have toughened up the trance sound, without making it hard, and without losing that euphoric and melodic tone. I also am a big fan of Above & Beyond and Ferry Corsten’s stuff.
Your online trance community website, trancetribe.com has become quite a brand name, with forums and events, but in 2005 we saw it grow into a record label. What was the motivation for setting up the label?
It really felt like a logical step for us. When my girlfriend Vanessa and I first started trancetribe.com, we did it with the intention of making the trance scene in Sydney, and Australia, bigger and more respected. At first we helped support events and then as our forums grew a lot of young Australian producers started posting on our forums. We saw that these guys had a lot of talent, and that if we started a label, it would do three things. 1: Give these young Aussies a medium to release their own tunes, particularly if some of the international labels not shown interest. 2: Give them more reason to further their production and hone their skills and look to having more tunes released. And 3: to put Australia on the global trance map as a community that was more serious about the sound than others had first thought.
What did that involve and how did you go about it?
In all honesty, setting up the label wasn’t the most difficult thing. And I urge others in Australia to do the same, it can only be good for the scene. I teamed up with good friend Albert Mangler who is the promoter of Melbourne’s 5AM trance events. We put together a CD full of Australian tunes called “Trance Australia Vol.1â€. This got the ball rolling and from that CD we selected tunes to release digitally on various download sites around the globe. As the releases started, more interest was shown in the label, and soon we started getting promos sent our way for release on the label. We selected the best tunes from both international and local artists and got them out there. Aussie guys like [p.e.g], Invertika and Keith McMurray had some great material to release. Over time, we started getting more and more promos, and now I probably receive 10 or more a week! It was around September last year that Albert, who is good friends with Alphazone, discussed expanding the label to vinyl. Alphazone had a new tune that they had finished that wasn’t their typical hard sound and needed a medium to release it. So, it was then that they decided they would help us by
partnering with us to form the vinyl division of the label. Alphazone would help us with distribution and pressing of the vinyls from Germany.
As you mentioned, a milestone for the label was to see it’s first vinyl release, Aramanja (aka Alphazone) - Memories, how does if feel to have such an acclaimed artist release on your label?
I’m really chuffed that these guys have wanted to be involved in any way at all. That they are helping us with the vinyls is already awesome! But to have this as our first release was really special. It really is a massive tune and has had support from a lot of big name DJs including Ferry Corsten. It was even played at Gatecrasher by John O’Callaghan which was really cool. Having this name on our label I think shows that the label is serious. While it is important to build new talent, it’s also important to be recognised, and this definitely helps a lot.
What have been the highlights in your career to date?
Last year I got to play main stage at Godskitchen’s World Tour supporting Above & Beyond and Gabriel & Dresden. Also playing at the return of Gatecrasher was a dream come true for me, as I have been a loyal fan of the Gatecrasher brand for a long time. I think the biggest highlight was actually our first official event that we put on under the Trancetribe name at Suzie Q’s. Our team worked really hard to give the punters a special night and there was just such a great atmosphere and great response from the crowd. It just felt like everything was coming together. It was a team effort, though I owe a lot to Luke Sykes, who we have recently appointed as our event manager.
To any young producers/DJs what advice can you give?
For me personally it has been about doing what I love, and not letting anything stop that. Staying true to yourself and continually trying to push yourself further. I think if you want to get ahead in this scene, then you should not just DJ or just produce, but get involved with the scene. The trance scene is very close-knit and being involved at levels other than performing shows a lot about your commitment to the scene, and I think people appreciate that.
How do you feel about your local trance scene, Australia’s and the world’s in general?
A lot of people say that the trance is in another renaissance, or that it’s popularity comes and goes. I really don’t think this is the case. I think trance has been at a constant for a fairly long time now, at least since late 2003. Maybe that’s what people are calling the new trance renaissance? I think the punters come and go, as some move on to other genres, and some stop their partying ‘fad’. But the truly passionate punters and fans always stay true to the sound. I’m partying with the same group of people now that I was 4 years ago really. The trance sound itself is really quite interesting. A lot of experimentation with fusing elements of techno and progressive, as well as electro and housier elements. At the end of the day I just call it ‘trance’ though. Like anything it’s an evolving sound. With the top 10 DJs in the world for the past 4 years being trance DJs, it says a lot for the genre. I think that this year the sound will become more popular in Australia, and perhaps start to embrace it as much as Europe does. At least I hope ïŠ
What are the plans for you and the label in the future?
I’m currently remixing Robert Nickson’s forthcoming tune, Close Your Eyes, for Armada’s A State Of Trance Label. It’s a really uplifting vocal number and is coming along nicely. I’m also working on a couple of solo tunes, plus a collaboration. Luke Sykes and I are mixing the first Trancetribe Recordings Artistry Compilation, which is a double CD with all the best releases from our label, and a whole bunch of new unreleased stuff – which we have some great artists involved with. I also have my first international gig over in New Zealand in May which I am really stoked about. The label is getting its vinyl release schedule together, and we have our 3rd, 4th and 5th vinyls all sorted. Expect to see more Aussies getting some vinyl solo releases and remixes! We’re also expanding our digital distributions to more and more online shops and we are about to launch our very own digital download store on trancetribe.com. Finally, we are putting on some massive events this year, starting with Experience on Friday the 17th of March at ARQ. This features USA’s number 1 DJ Christopher Lawrence and Germany’s Kyau vs Albert. This is going to be a massive event. Hope to see everyone out and about for it. A lot is planned this year, but I can’t give away everything!
![[quote]](http://static.biggie.co.nz/img/dis/message_quote.png "Quote message"){kind=small}
