The Mix
Talk us through the track selection of the mix.
"Basically like any mix I do it's records that I'm feeling or playing at the moment I'm making the mix. There never is any planning apart from the first track. After that I just look around my booth (where all the records that I've been playing in recent months/weeks are situated) and select the next one and mix it in. Pretty much the same as I would in a club really Looking at the tracklist now, it is pretty rare that apart from one track everything is new. Usually there's more older stuff in mixes I do."
Where and how was the mix recorded?
"At home, in my living (and vinyl) room, one take with two turntables and my old trusted Rodec Mixer. No effects on that one, because you don't need that when playing good music in my opinion."
What are the musical influences that have allowed you to arrive at this podcast?
"Have you got a minute to look into the last 30 years or so of dance music?"
The Plug
What is keeping you busy at the moment?
"Well, at the moment is mostly about finding a balance between travelling, studio time, running my label We Play House Recordings and still finding time to help out as a buyer in Ghent's main vinyl shop Music Mania (also the official home my label). But I'm having massive fun doing it all, so who's complaining anyway? Apart maybe from my football team mates who are missing their goal keeper on too many occasions lately…"
How did you guys come together, through the Belgian scene? I guess the youth and experience formula works for you guys?
"Nicolas (San Soda) just walked into the bar where I have been resident for 16 years (Clues in Deinze, near Ghent) when I had a night on with Chicago legend Tyree Cooper. He was hooked, and as the phrase goes, the rest was history. By now it's no longer about youth and experience, because Nicolas has gained more experience than anyone I know. It simply works on the basis of friendship, and an very unhealthy dose of abstract humour, tour shenanigans and enjoying what we do."
We Play House Recordings is the home for much of your productions, how's the label coming along since its inception back in 2008?
"Well, stronger than ever, and in our 5th year of operation I think 2013 is gonna be extremely exciting on the release front. I have our 4 x 12” plus digital album ‘Our Beat Is Still New' ready for release, paying tribute to the Belgian sound of new beat. A veritable who's who of people whose music I love have all made a new track inspired by the sound. Aboard are Jacob Korn, Jacques Renault, Aril Brikha, Locked Groove, San Soda and many many more. I'm also very excited to be the label that will debut Kiani & His Legion's music. He's a young cat from the East of Belgium who will absolutely stun people with his incredibly melodic take on house music. And further down I'm planning release by Art Of Tones, TJ Kong, Lauer, etc, all tracks that are the reason I've started my label in the first place: stuff I'm dying to play."
You're around on the island a fair bit this season, where might we catch you?
"Mostly at Bomba Ibiza for Defected In The House (13 July and 24 August) and also at Ushuaia Tower, also for Defected on July 1st. Nicolas is then playing as San Soda in Sankeys and Space as well this season, and I might be there for some more occasions."
You'll be known to many for the release of a certain dance floor bomb titled 'It's You', have you noticed your exposure grow or seen many benefits since the release of that track?
"Well, obviously more people know us now, and the Defected gigs alone are on a bigger scale than what we did before. But to be honest it's been a pretty natural and steady adventure for us. Starting with WPH and then of course our ‘Let's Go' and ‘More Than Seven' tracks, and the remix with did for Audiojack's ‘Stay Glued'. I'm sure than most of the people into house had heard of us before ‘It's You', or at least they should have!"
What does the future hold with productions, tours and so on?
"I'm very much looking forward to the imminent release of the remix we did for Defected of Rachel Row's ‘Follow The Step', a killer Kink production. With him being among our favourite producers of the last years it's really grand to be able to remix his music. We've also got an older more underground track coming out on 2020 Vision in September, with our Belgian friend Locked Groove and Felix Wentink on remix duties. And yes, we do have a follow-up to ‘It's You' as well, surprisingly another cover of a very obscure Chicago track. We'll reveal more on that later…"
Finally, you have a weekend off. Where do you go? What do you do?
"In no particular order: hanging at the local bar with the lads, going out to very good restaurants with the lady, going out to see other people play, etc. Basically the same I do on other weekend, except there's no bag of records with me…"
Biography
Let's avoid questions as to what FCL stands for: it's the abbreviation and calling name for FC Leiejongens, a local football team in Deinze (home of WPH, near Ghent) where San Soda used to be a right-winger and Red D still is the goalkeeper... So now you already know who this outfit consists of. San Soda is the young and eager producer who has racked up one big release and remix after another since his debut in 2008, and Red D is the seasoned veteran who has been playing house music in its broadest sense all over Belgium and beyond since the early 90ies.
Their spiritual home is We Play House Recordings, the label set up by Red D in 2008 with the initial purpose to release music by San Soda exclusively. Since then the label has grown to become a home for more than just San Soda, releasing music by Reggie Dokes, Russ Gabriel, Sebastien San, DJ Yellow and Raoul Lambert amongst others. It was only logical that San Soda and Red D ended up in the studio together, hence the collaboration FCL.
The first studio work the pair indulged in was a remix for WPH 002 of ‘Highway', a track by Belgians Maxim Lany and Ramon Tapia, shortly after followed by an edit of an old Reggie Dokes track for WPH 004. Some more remixes followed suit and it wasn't long before ‘Vocals For Everyone' hit the shops, the first full original E.P. of FCL on We Play House Recordings. This E.P. featured the tracks ‘Let's Go' and ‘More Than Seven', the latter with vocals by Belgian jazz diva Lady Linn. Both tracks are already house music history, being played and charted by almost everyone from Kerri Chandler to Move D, and surely two of the most memorable pieces of house music in 2010.
In 2011 the duo released a split E.P. on Delusions Of Grandeur with VFB, the moniker for the collaboration between Danilo Plessow of M.C.D.E. fame and Red D. This was backed up with more remix work for 2020 Vision amongst other. Early on in 2012 the duo released ‘More Vocals For Everyone E.P.' on WPH, the much anticipated follow-up to the ‘Vocals For Everyone E.P.'. And a couple of months later they did a devastating remix of Audiojack's ‘Stay Glued' track, which was literally played and charted by almost every house dj on the map, firmly confirming that ‘Their Beat Does Control You' and that ‘Let's Go' was not the work of a one-hit wonder partnership. To top of the year 2012 they released a beatless cover version of house classic ‘It's You' by ESP, which was only released on 150 copies, vinyl-only, and has become an overnight club classic being played by Prosumer, Gerd Janson, Joy Orbison and many many more.
On the gig front FCL have been plying their vinyl trade together or separately as San Soda and Red D all over Europe and beyond in the last two years, including such club and festival standards as Panorama Bar, Trouw, Tomorrowland, Dimensions and many more.
What can you expect from an FCL DJ set? Just talk to people who booked the guys, and book them yourselves to see if what they say is true...
