The Wolf + Lamb label has caused a mini revolution in certain area's of house music, slowing down tempos and bringing more soul and song-based components to the genre. The label brought the likes of Seth Troxler, Lee Curtis, Shaun Reeves, Nicolas Jaar, No Regular Play and Soul Clap to the worlds attention. The people at Vitalik Recordings have invited the seminal label to Ibiza in an effort to kindle the modern Balearic experience; with a low key secret beach party. In this interview Eli Goldstein of Soul Clap steps up to the plate to answer our questions on the impending party.
Spotlight: You recently had your music stolen from the dj booth at Sankeys in Manchester, do you think someone was trying to teach you a lesson in irony – was Bobby Womack lurking in the crowd?
Eli from Soulclap: I think it was probably Chris Isaak who stole them. karma's a bitch.
Is it ever a worry that Sony might send the heavys round one day?
Not really. We have a secret hideaway set up in Mexico if anything ever goes down. We hate major labels anyway :P
Re-edits on the whole are nothing ground breaking, lot's of producers deconstruct old records that have resonance with them, few have nailed it quite as well as you though. What elements of the original do you try to bring out and which elements do you add of your own when you approach an edit?
For us making edits is not about which elements of the original we use, it's all about capturing the feeling of the original song, but updating it so it works in our dj sets and on the dancefloor.
Wolf + Lamb isn't a new lablel, are you surprised by the success and attention the label and your music has received recently?
Success is usually a surprise, but both us and Wolf + Lamb have been working really hard for many years so we're really psyched that people are finally paying attention. thanks everybody :)
I imagine the press attention has increased your bookings, how hit and miss is the programing of the events you play – do you feel you are reaching your audience?
Our agent (Geist) does a really amazing job finding the right bookings for us. the whole w+l family is on there so we play alot of shows with other artists from the crew, which always makes parties more fun and better fits musically. usually the first time we goto a city it can be a bit tough because we play so much slower than most djs right now, but by the second time we have a nice crowd.
The last time I heard you play was poolside in the sunshine at a friends villa, your music made total sense in that setting, is this a good scenario for you?
A pool party is our favorite setting hands down and really anything outside in the sunshine is amazing for us..
So your next gig in Ibiza is for the Wolf + Lamb Eperience at a secret beach location, how do you feel about playing this kind of event?
The only setting i like more than a pool is a beach! so yeah really excited for this, i'm playing with gadi so we'll definately be going on a musical journey.
You have Gadi with you this time, I have heard he was a bit aprehensive about doing Ibiza gigs this year, is this because of programing issue's ie being booked for the wrong gigs and how do you think he will fair this time round?
I think it's pretty obvious that most of the clubs in Ibiza are about money first, completely impersonal and the music is fast and pumping. this is basically the opposite of the wolf + lamb philosophy. We're all about slow sexy music first, making people get down and connecting with people in an intimate setting. We did play with gadi in the seal pit at channel zoo, it was outside so we got to keep it in the pocket and it was awesome.
Most of you have been hanging out in Berlin over the summer, Have you got a studio set up in Berlin?
Nope. we often produce of our laptop speakers or with headphones anyway so it's not a big deal.
How has your sound evolved over the past couple of years, do you see your self moving in different directions?
We've gotten way deeper than 2 years ago and really found ourselves over that period. we're also always experimenting so we're constantly moving in different directions and the sound is always changing.
Whats next in terms of production for you?
We've got a bunch of remixes coming in the next few months: greg paulus (from no regular play), Tiefschwarz, Michael J Collins, a band called c.r.e.e.p. and something on under the shade records. then we get to work on our first album!
Can you give us five tracks best played in the sunshine?
maybe not all time, but this summer we're feeling these:
Laidback - Sunshine Reggae
this amazing anonymous 7" called "You Know"
Duff Disco - Return Of The Duff
Washed Out - Life Of Leisure EP
and of course our edit of Love Light :) (listen below)
For more info on the Wolf + Lamb Secret Beach Party, contact: info@wearevitalkik.com
