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Put your hands in the mother f*****g air! It’s time to get euphoric: Basic welcomes Euphony
Reported by taktikal london
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Submitted 25-08-05 00:35
Star collaborations are not a rarity in the hard dance scene. We’ve seen BK & Andy Farley, Nick Sentience & Phil Reynolds and various back to backs. But when star producers/djs team up and form their own unique joint alias it’s always worth shouting about!
Lee Haslam & Guyver are names who will be familiar to you for their block rocking hard dance production and DJ sets. Having championed the UK hard trance sounds for many moons they are responsible for some of the key production moments of the last five years.
Foundation players of the Tidy Trax phenomenon, their alias Euphony is one of the most exciting production partnerships ever to grace our beloved scene. Now, and for the very first time in London, they join a forward thinking and inspirational line up at Basic’s Autumn Ball in September.
Not wanting to be slated for saying we ‘caught up with them’, ‘found time to sit down with them’ ‘chatted to them’ etc we went one step further. To get this interview taktikal London traversed a mine field, completed an iron man challenge, tight rope walked the grand canyon and finally base jumped off Lord Nelsons column… no honestly we did.
Ladies and Gentleman… put your hands together for the entity that is Euphony!!!
So come on then fellas fill us in — why did two of the world’s best hard dance producers team up?
Lee Haslam: It seemed the natural thing to do. Both Guy and I have very similar tastes in music and we work so well in the studio together and that is the same for when we DJ. We bounce ideas off each other and it works!
Guyver: We have worked together for a few things before, I engineer Lee’s music sometimes and we have done remixes together before, so it just seemed logical to start making tracks together as one united guise.
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How did Euphony come about as a name?
Lee Haslam: We wanted a name which really encapsulated what we are about so I looked through the thesaurus and under “the euphoric” and there it was: “euphony”... a state of euphoria… it summed our sound up so well, so I told Guy and he said yes straight away.
Guyver: Lee suggested the name and I liked it too. It seemed to fit our style perfectly.
You took a gamble in remixing ‘Carte Blanche’ as it was such a legendary hit the first time round… but it paid off. What about the original made you pick that one to work on?
Lee Haslam: We were asked to do the first ever Euphony DJ set back at TW4. Both Guy & I talked for a while about doing a few special mixes for the set. ‘Carte Blanche’ was probably the first track that Guy and I mentioned, it seemed the right track to update. We both love it so much as it is arguably the best trance record ever written and we felt we could do it justice. We didn’t want to change it too much, just update it and give it a bit of an edge which I think we did to great effect.
Guyver: Yeah, the plan was just to play it out as a special treat but the reaction was so good that it made sense to release it and it seemed to go down well with the clubbers, although you’re always going to get people not liking it as it’s a true classic and can never be bettered in its original form, just updated to suit a particular style, which is what we did.
You’ve obviously produced a few original tracks now but have you got any more anthem remixes lined up?
Lee Haslam: We try to keep the Euphony name for really big releases. My first ever single ‘Here Comes The Pain’ and Breather’s ‘Come On’ have both had the Euphony treatment and the next track we are remixing is Steve Morley’s ‘Reincarnation’ for Essential Recordings. Other than that I think both Guy and I want to keep the Euphony name a bit special and also concentrate on original material, as there is so little of it around at the minute and we both want to progress our own individual sounds.
Basic will see your first ever performance as Euphony in London — are you looking forward to it?
Lee Haslam: Definitely. I love playing in London as the crowds are so up for it and I think we can certainly deliver a corking set and make sure Euphony is a name you will see in London again very soon.
Guyver: Of course, it’s always great fun playing with Lee (no not in that way!) and we have a good laugh. I really like the London crowds also, they’re always very up for it!
What is the difference between a Euphony set and an individual Guyver/Lee Haslam set?
Lee Haslam: These days there is a lot of difference as I have gone more trance based and slowed things down a lot, and I know Guy is also experimenting a lot more with his sound as well, so when we do DJ together it’s like a breath of fresh air. He will play things that I really like and visa versa, whereas a year ago we would play pretty much the same records.
I think this is such an important issue if the scene in general to progress. The hard trance sound has to change. Right now it is very predictable and all everyone seems to be doing is covers, which is all well and good, but producers need to start writing original material for the sound to develop otherwise it will get very boring and die. For the scene to carry on we have to get inspired and you do that from listening to other sounds, other DJs and other producers, rather than just carry on with hard trance by numbers.
Guyver: I think that when Lee and I collaborate under the euphony guise with anything, whether it be production or djing, then we can be a bit more experimental as it’s a new project and people don’t really know what to expect. I think it will always have a trance edge to it though as this is what Lee and I truly love and that will always shine through in our work.
Tidy is your backbone label; would we ever see a Euphony remix on another label?
Lee Haslam:For sure... Why not?!
Guyver: Definitely, in fact there is one coming up on Essential Recordings as Lee mentioned earlier.
It would be interesting to see who you see as ‘the competition’ production wise: who has caught your eye or ear recently?
Lee Haslam: I wouldn’t say competition is the right word. The more talent there is the healthier our scene is. For me there are some great talents around: people like Alf Bamford, Michael Dow, Chris Hoff, Shawn Cartwright, Marcos Euphonic & Montana have all caught my eye and are great producers.
Guyver: Pretty much the same as Lee to be honest, we’re always discussing new music together. My personal favourite up and coming producer is Alf Bamford/Technikal as his style also reflects what I love about hard trance, tough energetic and uplifting music.
This edition of Basic sees them go with a very producer-based, forward-thinking line up. As well as yourselves there is Technikal and K Series. Do you support the idea of shaking things up and bringing new ideas and concepts to the forefront?
Lee Haslam: Totally! Going back to what I said earlier about inspiration and the progression of our scene, it’s important to do things like this else it gets very stale.
Guyver: Absolutely, although I have a main love of a certain style it can get boring if you listen to it constantly, you need to throw in something different to freshen things up and ultimately it makes the other music sound better as you get a nice contrast of styles.
Tidytwo was something you were both heavily involved with [Lee Haslam is the current label manager for Tidy and Guyver was a resident producer]. Can you clarify the reason for its winding down and what benefits will it bring?
Lee Haslam: I think tidytwo had run its course and I just wanted to consolidate everything onto one imprint for simplicity. In 2002 when tidytwo was set up the hard trance sound was very fresh and new but these days the music crosses so many boundaries that it got quite difficult to define what track went on what label and because of that it kind of wasn’t special anymore, so in December 2004 Amo and I called tidytwo a day.
The other reason was that people simply identify us these days as just tidy. No matter what we do, be it an event, a 12” or an album... if you spoke to someone in the street about the label or even the brand everyone would always calls us tidy rather than tidy trax or say it’s on tidy rather than it’s on tidytwo. Tidy the name was our major strength and we wanted to develop it.
It’s Tidy’s 10th Anniversary this year. How do you think the organisation can make the next 10 better than the last 10?
Lee Haslam: By simply carrying on with what we are doing. With what ever we do, be it releasing music or putting on an event, we will always do it to the best of our ability. We are very much a community-led label and have never been this faceless label which no one can relate too. We are always in contact with our fans and listen to what they want and by doing that we have given the label longevity and also given them something that they feel part of. Tidy is no longer just a record label... for some people it’s almost a lifestyle.
You’ve both played at countless venues across the world and you’re soon to be back at one of the UK’s most legendary establishments. What is it about The Fridge that makes it so special?
Lee Haslam: The Fridge is an awesome venue, since its refurb it’s one of my favourite places to play. The main plus point for me is the sound system.., it’s simply breath taking!
Guyver: I’ve only played there once and that was my first set in London! But I really enjoyed it, I loved the venue and the people!
Do you see the Euphony concept eventually moving to a live P.A. status?
Lee Haslam: In an ideal world yes but it’s just finding the time for me. With everything that I have to do it’s a struggle to find the time to get into the studio to make a track, never mind perfect a live P.A. If I am honest though, I am not a big fan of live P.As. I prefer a DJ performance, simply because you have more control over your set and you can work the crowd a lot more, which for me creates more atmosphere.
Guyver: It’s something I’ve thought about having a go with, but again, I’m not a massive fan of it, I like watching it but I don't quite trust a pc enough to be able to do my set with it. I also think it would be harder to get into the set and really enjoying yourself as much as you can when djing.
There is still the age of argument about what is, and what isn’t “live” — if you did move into that field how would you approach it?
Lee Haslam:See above 
Guyver: Well, to be honest, a human is never going to be as tight as a computer, so I’d prefer it if more things were pre-programmed and just triggered manually but kept in time with the sequencer (I believe this is what ableton live does). If I was ever to do a live set it would be this way, I’d never trust myself to be able to play a synth live unless I’ve had a lot of practice doing so, I’m gonna stick to djing and producing for the time being!
If you were at a dinner party; and someone asked you what you did for a living — what would the answer be and how would you explain it to someone ‘not in the know’?
Lee Haslam: I would tell them that I run a record label and that I DJ every weekend. I have to explain what I do all the time to my family and people I meet which sometimes can be fun. It’s best to keep it very simple and stick to the basics. The most frequently asked question is “do you take your own lights and equipment with you to your gigs” ha ha. I can see it now... a flashing board saying Lee Haslam Roadshow!!!!
Guyver: I would tell them I produce music mainly for record labels and I also remix tracks and engineer for other producers. I would probably have to dumb it down a bit and not get too technical but I’ve had to do it a few times to my Mum’s friends and it’s not that hard to get across. It helps having your name on some compilations so you can just show them your music.
Finally: to both of you; if you had to have this dinner party and invite three guests from the past or present, dead or alive — who would they be & why?
Lee Haslam:
TDV — my idol and one of the reasons why I started Djing
My Dad — I miss him a lot since he passed away in January
Matt Morris — my best mate and driver... he always makes me laugh!
Guyver:
Ferry Corsten — so I can pick his brain and also the absolute number one reason I got into trance and dance music.
Karl Pilkington — for those of you that know who this man is, then you will understand my choice! Those of you who don’t, shame on you! Haha!
Dan Doran — my best mate, always a good laugh, and he’s going to be big in the house scene!
Thanks to Euphony, Lee & Guy for their time. It’s back across the Grand Canyon for me.
All photos courtesy of taktikal london.
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Region:
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London
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Music:
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Trance. Euro Trance. Hard Trance. Tech Trance. Psy Trance. Hi NRG. Techno.
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DJ's:
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The Ball Room:
Euphony
[London Debut // Lee Haslam & Guyver // Tidy Two ]
Technikal [a.k.a. Alf Bamford]
K Series L.I.V.E.
[London Debut]
Lee Pasch
[Tidy Two]
El Greko
Nick Basic
2Trance Room:
[In assoc with Mad Records]
K.A.R.L. [WORLD EXCLUSIVE 4 HOUR SET]
Anthony Sergeant
Del Walsh
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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