Dave Clake

Resident Advisor Review of Day 3 ADE.

The interview with Dave Clarke went really well. If someone were still to call him gruffy, unpleasant or unkind in an interview I'd have to argue with them immediately. Clarke was actually the most informative, smartest and funniest guy of the whole conference.

Torsten Smidth asked him about his career, about what he'd experienced while being on the road but also of course about the new era of downloading music and the first time he actually touched and played with CD players.

The key to his success seems to be lie in his passion for the music and the scene, just like he described his manager who has been with him for the last 7 years. "If it was for the money this all would not have happened. That's why I play at smaller clubs besides the big events. I don't do that for the money. You also learn from different crowds as a DJ. Just like I did at 11 in Amsterdam on Thursday or Doornroosje in Nijmegen last night, or even that night I played in Liverpool for 300 people a few weeks back."

Clarke is still one of the best technically gifted DJs out there and he doesn't seem to be nervous before any gig at all. No matter how big the event is. But once asked about one of his live performances he was very honest: "It was nervewrecking! That's something I was really nervous about. I almost shitted my pants sometimes. On one side you want to pull off a good show but there are so many people involved as well, so I also did it for them. For those who were with me on the road all the time. I just couldn't dissapoint them for all the hard work they'd put in. When I am playing as a DJ it's just me and that's a totally different story."

A question from the audience about "the DJ being on tour" and how bad it sometimes can be soon followed with the reference point being the festivals in the UK. Clarke joked about it, saying: "You should get yourself a personal toilet when you play at a festival in the UK. It's shite. You even should consider that as a part of your contract!"



With the interview being part of the Dutch DJ Day, a few questions from the audience were raised not only about being a DJ, producer but also about being a VJ. Clarke: "To be honest I prefer the attention of the people not being drawn away by images because it's just about the music for me. But actually there are some great VJs out there which I like. Last Thursday my party at 11 had some wicked images but if a club has some extra budget to spend I would definitely go for more bass!".

Overall the interview was very informative but sometimes you couldn't really hear the questions that were asked from both the interviewer as well as people in the audience. They should bring extra microphones and put the volume up next time!!

Since Derrick May had missed his plane Dave Clarke was also part of the "Demolition part X" in the same room. After everyone took a break the day continued with the demos from the audience. You just had to leave a demo CD in the Demo Box to get an honest opinion on your music production from the professionals.

Apart from Dave Clarke, three other music professionals joined the panel. Among them were Dutch DJ/producers Marcella and Lucien Foort. The demos were randomly picked, played in the room and discussed by the panel. Unfortunately the tracks weren't that good and were mainly too electro'ish and too hard. There was even some pumping Drum "n Bass in there as well as the "Rotterdam-style stuff" as Clarke put it while making the usual Gabber moves.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/review_view.asp?ID=3372

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