East coast clothing giant Cmonwealth once again hosts another giant night of turntable dominance at DC’s U Street Music Hall on Thursday night joining with TurntableLab.com as Richmond’s top mixer Viking joins alongside top notch Brooklyn spinner and producer Dre Skull, musical chameleon and Ghostly International Records head Michna, and the man we interview here, XXXChange. Baltimore born and NYC bred, the DJ, producer and remixer is a cornerstone of the underground sound, having produced for cornerstone artists like Spank Rock, Pase Rock, Amanda Blank and Kid Sister. As well, he’s remixed a laundry list of top names including but not limited to Robyn, Lily Allen and Bjork, showing himself to be a true professional with taste and style. Having produced Bloc Party’s Kele Okeyere’s solo debut and with a hand in The Death Set’s latest he continues to stay forever eclectic and important. I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his inspirations and creative process and about DJing in general. Enjoy!
1. What has been your most fulfilling moment as a producer? What was the album or piece of music that you assisted in creating that you felt the most passionate about in completion?
Each new thing I do I feel like is a step closer, towards where I want to go musically I guess. Right now I’m doing new stuff with Amanda Blank, Deathset and Gang Gang Dance, and it all feels really exciting. In a few months it’ll be something else probably. I try and only work with people who I can relate to personally and musically.
2. How do you approach the creative process with an artist? Are there set in stone ways that you work with everyone, or do you work differently with an Amanda Blank as you would Kele Okeyere?
It’s all over the map, with Amanda I’ll usually supply all the music and she’ll write a song to it then we’ll finish it together. With Kele, he sends me rough demos and then I produce them, sometimes I write a bridge or something but usually he’s got most of his idea already there.
3. Having been born and raised in Baltimore what either specifically or in general about the cultural melting pot in that city has assisted in or defined your work as an artist, producer and remixer?
It’s hard to say. I moved away to New York as soon as I turned 18. as far a cities go, NYC has had a really big musical influence on me. I still love my Baltimore club records though. I was never part of the scene in Baltimore or anything but I used to love to get the records. there’s something raw about that music that I love. I think a lot of people connect with that part of it too. those are some of the best records to dj at a party because people just go buck wild to that stuff. doesn’t matter if you’re playing in Baltimore or Sweden or Japan or whatever people just immediately connect with that stuff.
4. In crafting and creating remixes are there any artists or remixers that you tend to look to or listen to for inspiration? Who, and why?
It’s always changing because dance music is so trendy, but some of my long time favorites include Erol Alkan (for his taste), Fake Blood (sound), and Blaqstarr (swagger). Also I’m always listening back to my favorite old Baltimore records from the late 90’s – early 00’s, to DJ’s like Technics, Rod Lee and KW Griff for inspiration.
5. Do you still enjoy doing live DJ sets, or is it now more a broader part of everything that you do musically? What records have you heard in the least year have been particularly motivating or inspiring to you?
I totally still enjoy doing dj sets. Generally when I do remixes I remix the track to be something I would play in my DJ sets. Lately I’ve been doing so much more producing though that DJ gigs are kind of few and far between.
6. Before you even decided to be a musician, who were some of the influential artists and/or songs in your life that you feel steered you in that direction?
I think I started playing right around the time I got interested in music so it’s kind of hard to tell which came first. Definitely Michael Jackson was a big one, also Guns ‘n’ Roses. Just pop stuff I guess, nothing too obscure or anything like that.
7. If you were pressed to give a description, in your mind, what best defines “DC music?”
Go-go…lots of drums
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