Over the years the
UK has supplied the ever thriving scene of dance music with some of
its finest artists. An exemplary case is that of talented DJ/Producer
“Adam White”. Catching the dance music bug early on it became
something of a mission to Adam to follow this ever rising passion
building within. Honing his skills and performing as a DJ came
natural to him as he appeared to have that extra keen ear of what to
select and when to drop it. His skills as a DJ got him far indeed
gaining the opportunity to perform at some of the biggest events and
clubs around the world, entertaining thousands joyous music lovers.
His success as a DJ continued off the stage as well as he was
selected to prepare and mix “The Best Of Euphoria”, “Total
Euphoria” and “Absolute Euphoria” among others. He even spent
four exciting years touring with the “Euphoria” brand, spreading
his love for the music he cherished above all.
Aside from the
glamorous world of performing Adam had the itch for producing his own
tunes thus awakening another hidden talent. This was proven from the very
first moment as his track “Reverence” was supported by none
other than “Tiesto” throughout the whole summer of 2003. Other
accolades followed for Adam as his tracks continued to gain attention
from the who’s who of the scene. His partnership with fellow
English DJ/Producer “Andy Moor” under “The Whiteroom” project
was another highlight for him as well as his later involvement with
the “Perfecto Records” family and “Paul Oakenfold” himself.
This lead to releasing new material on Perfecto plus being selected
to continue the mix album “Perfecto presents...” tradition and
mix his very own installment for the series.
Adam continued to thrive
in the scene achieving goals many aspire to. At the height of his
career he decided to shift gears and take a long break from the scene
in search of a normal life and focus on family life. The years passed
and he has been sorely missed throughout the dance music community.
Every so often, fortunately for us, the desire to create arose from
within and he unleashed a couple new smashing tunes such as “Exodus”
alongside “Scott Bond” and “Time Stood Still” with “AJ
Gibson” and singer “Sheena”. With great pleasure we have witnessed him
producing more often plus doing a few DJ performances virtually
during the lockdown period. Enjoying his music for many years I am
fortunate to interview the man himself exclusively for “MusicTalk15”! Many thanks for the honor Adam!
Question
1:
For
those that may not be familiar with your origins in the scene, what
was the defining moment for you when everything started becoming dead
serious and your career began to take off?
It’s
hard to put it down to one moment but I a real turning point for me
in my career was working for "Inferno Records" as an A&R
Consultant. I signed some big records such as "Dutchforce-Deadline",
"Bad Habit Boys-Weekend", "Push-Strange World" and our
biggest record which was "Flickman-House of Bamboo". It opened
so many doors me both as a DJ and within the industry. It was my
successful run at Inferno that got me head hunted to get involved in
the Euphoria brand.
Question
2:
You
have had the pleasure of working with a good number of artists in the
past. Nowadays we see you focusing on solo work. If you would do a
future collab who would you choose to work with and who was your
favorite artist to work with in the past?
For
me, making a record is all about the journey and the experience.
Some people I’ve worked with I’ll never work with again, but I’ve
made lifelong friends with some of the people I’ve collaborated
with, "Andy Moor" being one of them. Working on your own in the studio
has its limitations. It’s nice to bounce ideas off someone and I
enjoy the collaborative process but it’s about finding the right
balance and the right people to work with. I like finding new talent
to work with too, I am currently working with a vocalist from the UK
called "Quinn Bailey" and she is amazing. To pick a favorite is
hard… but there is some exciting "Whiteroom" news on the horizon…
so that would be a clue.
Question
3:
During
lock down many fans have sought out a multitude of artists who had
abandoned
the
spotlight but continued to churn out releases every now and again.
You are definitely one
of those artists who have sorely been missed. How did it feel to
reconnect with the fans and
witness the love once more and will we perhaps see further “Adam
White” performances or a
number of fresh singles?
I
think everyone needs a break and time to reset. I was recently made
to feel like I wasn’t cutting it anymore in the studio, so I
thought to myself ‘fuck you… I’ll show I’ve got some more
records in me’. There is a lot more to come from me, not that I
have a point to prove (well maybe a little) but there is still a lot
I want to do now I am more settled in life.
Question
4:
The
reactions during your live streams were phenomenal as were your DJ
sets. Will this catapult you out into the clubs once again, giving us
a select amount of live performances as clubland regains its health
once more?
I
wasn’t expecting that at all – I said to my wife one Saturday, I
might do one of those live stream things for a laugh… it ended up
having over 250k views which totally shocked me. It was fun to do a
couple and the feedback from people saying I helped them regain some
positivity was enough to encourage me to do a few more. I don’t
think I’ll ever find myself on tour again but a couple of select
shows could be on the cards. Being told you’re not allowed to play
in a club is very different from making the decision yourself and
lockdown has made me want to get back out and play a few more live
shows.
Question
5:
We
have seen some artists revive their aliases over the years. Are there
any plans of bringing back “BLANKA” from its slumber? Perhaps a
special E.P to re-introduce it properly?
"Blanka"
was a moment in time. "Adam Dowling" was the other half of that
project. Times have changed for us both now though we still speak
occasionally. I’d never say never, he was great to work with as he
really got stuck in.
Question6:
Would
you be willing to revive yet another “Perfecto Records” classic
as you recently did with Konkrete’s Law Unto Myself” alongside
“Susy Del Vecchio”, if the opportunity presented itself?
I
don’t think so…. Law was a bit of a fluke really and Susy nailed
the vocal but traditionally I am not a fan of going back over what
has already been done.
Question
7:
You
have certainly started off the new year in a big way. Glad to see you
taking charge and reminding the world of the ingenuity behind the
artist that is Adam White. What more can we expect to see this year?
"Stronger
Together" is out now on "Perfecto" and the follow up is already under
way. I have a couple of projects bubbling away in the background and
2021 will see a new "Whiteroom" record so there's a lot happening.
Question
8:
Your
recent collaboration with Nathan Martin dubbed “Stonger Together”
out on “Perfecto Records” has
made quite the impact in the scene, receiving a lot of praise and
support already. Have you and Nathan been friends for years? What
inspired this crafty collab?
I
met Nathan through a mutual friend and was introduced to Nathan’s
event called ‘Trance’ which is a daytime party in Kent here in
the UK. I played a couple of shows for Nathan and we just clicked,
like you do sometimes. We worked on a collaboration with Paul
Johnson under the name "Fourmula" and release a single called ‘Life’
on "Woody Van Eyden’s" label. Off the back of that we decided to get
together and hang out in the studio and get pissed and see what
happened. Lockdown hit so we couldn’t do anything but when
restrictions were lifted we got together and make the track – we
actually produced and mixed Stronger Together on my laptop on my
kitchen table as my studio had been ripped apart to make space for a
home office!! Proof that the strongest piece of kit in any studio is
imagination.
Question
9:
You
just released a killer trance remix for “Perfecto Records” of
Dave Ralph’s wondrous “Chasing Stars”. Any plans for future
remixes like that over the year and if so who’s in your agenda?
I’ve
been working on a remix for "Susy Del Vecchio’s" album, which is
pretty much done now, and I’ve remixes on the way for "Ian Green" and
"Meduza".
Question
10:
In
the not so distant past we saw you mixing the “Ultimate Rush”
series as well as an edition of the prestigious “Perfecto
presents...” DJ mix compilations. Do you have any plans on
showcasing your mixing skills and wise track selection on a new
compilation in the near future?
I
think this is unlikely. The Rush albums we did in 2002/2003 and
Perfecto was 2005. Times have really changed now with what people
expect from a mix album.
Question
11:
When
not engaging in your favorite music activities do you enjoy any other
activities, hobbies or interests?
My
little boy is 4 now and at such an exciting age so my time is devoted
to him and my wife. I’ve missed so many people through lockdown
and realized I need to make more effort with some of my friends that
I’ve missed. I can’t wait to reconnect with people once this is
all over, that’s what my time will be dedicated to.
Question
12:
What
has been your most special moment throughout your whole musical
career in the dance music industry and for what reason?
There
really are so many. For 15 years, I got to do my dream job. Make
music all week and fly around the world playing it to people… for
me that is all special.
Question
13:
What
software is your “daw” of choice and do you have any special
virtual instruments do you enjoy using
in your productions?
I
use Logic X – I’ve been a Logic boy since Notator when I got my
first studio at 12 years old! I used to have so many fucking plugins
it was stupid. 50 compressors, 100 reverbs, 200 synths which I
couldn’t use, it was like a pissing contest when you opened your AU
window… Now I use 3 synths and as much of the native Logic kit as I
can… simple, effective and I know it like the back of my hand. It
also keeps consistency in your production as you have you ‘go to’
FX and plugs.
Question
14:
Within
lockdown we witnessed a number of artists presenting their debut
artist album after year of releases (singles, E.P’s ). Have you
considered creating your own artist album soon and if so can you
please shed some light about it with us?
I have enough material for 4 albums but I think
if it was something I really wanted to do, I’d have done it by now.
