For episode 16 of my radio show “The Magic Flight” I did a Skype-interview with him to talk about his family life, the Finnish Trance scene – and most importantly – his music career.
Hi Daniel. How are you doing?
Really good, thanks. I tried to choose a quiet place for the interview so I went into our sauna. Here in Finland we have saunas in every home. (He laughs)
OK. Well, 2014 already started and I think this year is going to be a big one. Especially for you, right?
Yeah, absolutely! I have a lot of things lined up. There going to be new releases and remixes coming this year.
To be honest the question was not meant to aim on your career, but on your family life. I heard from many young parents that they have a problem not sleeping at night. But that’s no big issue for a DJ, is it? I mean you do not sleep at night, anyway…
Yes, sure. Haha! I’ve been used to that because I’ve been working on several mixes late at night. First I was a little worried because I thought that I have to cut my productions a little bit. But so far, I was able to handle both. And of course, it was a good thing to happen.
By the way: Do I pronounce your name correctly?
Yes. You know, Daniel Ascot is not my real name. It is an alias that I chose for my music productions. My real name is way harder to pronounce.
The funny thing is: It was not me who found you. It was more the other way round. So, I’d like to know: How did you find me and my radio show? How did you stumble upon the tracklist of the show in which I played your remix?
It was a funny thing: FSOS Records sent me a link of your radio show because you played the Kim Svard Remix of Christian Rusch's "Set Me Free" in one of your shows. That remix is really good by the way! So I checked the website of your show. Some other time I googled my own name and then another playlist showed up. It was the playlist of the show in which you played my remix.
Now that we’ve already talked about that label – FSOS records – can you tell the listeners (and the readers) some more details about that label? It is an independent label, right?
Yeah. They had the idea for the label for a long time. I don’t remember the year when they had their first release. But it has just grown bigger since then. They started really small and now they are building a big studio in Sweden right now.
What does the Trance scene in the Scandinavian countries look like? Is there really something like a Swedish Trance Mafia or a Finnish Trance Mafia as I wrote in one of my articles? Or isn't it that huge?
I think in Sweden Trance and EDM is a bit more popular than in Finland. In Finland Heavy Metal and Rock Music is very popular, but recently Dance Music is getting famous. More and more big dance clubs are built.
To me it appeared that all big Trance artists with Scandinavian roots are signed to Anjunabeats. So I was wondering: How come that you aren't signed to that label?
Maybe this will happen in the future… (He laughs)
Yeah. I think so, too…
The point is that when I started making music, I did not try to contact any labels. I was networking a lot with other people on Facebook or Twitter. And then I stumbled upon people who were in the music business and then the labels approached me. FSOS Records contacted me after listening to one of my remixes and that’s how it all started.
So you are actually using social media for doing some marketing for yourself?
Yes. I think it’s a great opportunity to get to know people and share the love for electronic music.
When did you start producing? There are a lot of young producers and sometimes I wonder: ‘Boy, did they ever go to school?’
That’s true… I personally came into electronic music very early – when I was a child. When I was born, my father played in a band and we had many instruments. Many of those instruments were electronic instruments like synthesizers or other devices. When I was 6 years old, I played a lot with those synthesizers. My brother – who is 8 years older than me – also used these synthesizers a lot and he started producing music on a computer. At some point I got really fascinated by that, so he showed me some of the basics. But at this time computers weren't comparable to the ones we have nowadays. For example, you only had four tracks.
So maybe the band A-ha was an idol for you?
Yeah, absolutely. I still think they make great music.
That’s right. My personal favorite is their classic “Take On Me”…
Yes, that’s one of their best. I remember back in time I had the single release which featured three remixes of that song. Although I can’t remember anymore who remixed it, I still know that these were really good remixes. Unfortunately, I lost the CD…
What does your studio set up look like? Is it more on the digital or more on the analog base?
It’s funny how things developed. In the beginning I spent a lot of money in buying synthesizers and sound modules. So, I had a big studio setup with many devices. But at some point I just decided to sell all my synthesizers... Then I started making music just on a computer. For me the greatest advantage of producing 'in the box' is that you can be a lot more creative and flexible. I have a studio PC and I have a laptop with all the same software on it because I like to make music wherever I go.
Could you make a list with your whole set up?
DAWs: Reason and Reaper working together using ReWire
Plugins/Rack Extension in Reason: Korg Polysix, Korg MonoPoly, Radical Piano, PredatorRE, Synapse Antidote, PX7 FM Synthesizer, Blamsoft Viking, Glitch Effect, Polar, Pulsar, Audiomatic
Plugins/VSTs: Sylenth1, Nexus2, Massive, Break Tweaker, Stutter Edit, Obxd
Lots and lots of samples, refills and patches
Studio hardware and instruments: Powerful desktop computer, two LCD monitors, M-Audio Axiom 61 Midi/USB keyboard, Alesis MultiMix USB mixer/soundcard, TSM condenser mic for recording vocals and acoustic instruments, Sonab speakers connected to Sony amp, classical acoustic guitar, electro-acoustic guitar, DJ equipment & software, Sony DJ headphones
Portable studio setup: Powerful Asus laptop loaded with all the above software, Alesis Photon x25 Midi/USB keyboard, Sony DJ headphones
With the last artists who I talked to it always turned out that spirituality plays a big part in their life. What about you? What role does spirituality play in your life?
I think music – especially emotional Trance – is very spiritual. When I listen to a very emotional track, things happen in my brain which I can't explain. Also, when I'm making music I'm going through some kind of spiritual state of mind.
Photo: Daniel Ascot
Further information about Daniel Ascot can be found on http://www.danielascot.com/
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