D. Ramirez - dj Set Music Dowload! & Interview
Who: D. Ramirez
What: artist interview and music download
Where: This Is London, 364 Richmond St. West, Toronto
When: August 28th 2009
He's been credited as being the creator of the electro-house sound, with his remixes of Bodyrox "Yeah Yeah, Plump DJs "Electric Disco" and his own Pleasure Me and La Discotek. He's remixed, been remixed by and co-produced with everyone from Underworld, Roger Sanches, Dirty South, Moby, Dirty Vegas, Mark Knight, Dubfire, Gabriel & Dresden...the list goes on and on.
His recent departure from the electro sound into to the deep & dark is a welcomed one. This summer has been hot for Dean, with tunes like the hypnotic and twisted "Wired" EP and the groover "Satur8" getting played by everyone under the sun. His unreleased tunes "Bounce To Me" (deep sexy bounce) and "Downpipe with Mark Knight and Underworld are expected to get some serious airplay too.
You can download some of D. Ramirez unreleased tunes in this 60 minute mix, by the man himself, at the link below....we played this mix 3 times in a row when we got a hold of it.
Download mix here - Right click "Save link as" or "save target as"
You've been djing for 15 years. What keeps you interested and motivated?
I've always been interested in electronic music from a very early age, so I guess it must be something that's firmly imprinted in me. I come from a producer background which is where my interest comes from i.e I actually get to play the music I make in my sets which an amazing feeling!
Word is you'll be starting your own "Slave" nights. Can you give us any details? Will this be a night at one particular venue, or will this be a touring themed night?
Yeah, that's the plan but first I need to get the label off the ground a little more. So far in the last year there's only been one release due to difficulties with distribution companies going bust, but Slave is a digital only label now with few overheads so no there's excuse. Basically the plan is to feature artists and DJ's who have been affiliated with the label over the years - artists such as Robert Babitz, Jamie Stevens, Paul Woolford, Deepgroove will all be invited to play at the nights. We are trying to put together a Slave event in Miami next year but can't say too much yet so watch this space.
"The Road of Excess" has your signature pitched down, slightly demonic, vocals in it, but this tracks vocal rhythm is almost like a children's nursery rhyme. Was this a deliberate juxtaposition? Tell us about the creative process/inspiration for this song.
This is a featured artist called LDV who is a very famous Pop Star from my hometown of Sheffield who fancied doing a dark dance track but wanted to remain anonymous. He was the one who came up with the idea of the nursery rhythm idea but the lyrics are centered around the idea that if you want to experience something you have to immerse yourself fully into it i.e The Road Of Excess
You recently remixed Moby - Ohh Yeah. How did this opportunity come around? The original song is so different than the D. Ramirez sound. How do you approach remixing music that's completely different from your originals? What attracts you to these projects?
Mainly the fact that it was Moby was my main attraction as I've been a fan for years. Secondly the fact the original track was so downtempo and different making it a challenge was a big pull for me. I'm a firm believer that you can do anything with anything and this was an opportunity to prove my theory correct - I love doing stuff like that! 
It's seems you've ditched the electro sounds of tracks like "Pleasure Me", and your remixes of "Electric Disco" & "Bodyrocks - Yeah Yeah". Was this a conscious decision? Was it pressure to move with the underground "trends" of the darker/techier sounds?
When I got into the Electro-house thing it was new and fresh and exciting - My remixes became so big that they almost became a template for other producers to copy (badly) and at that point I realized the scene had become watered down and stale. At that same time there were some really interesting minimal techno sounds around which I found very inspiring as it was that what got me into the music in the first place. Sheffield was the home of bleepy techno back in the early nineties and was also the home of Warp records - that's where I cut my teeth so to go back to that sound was a natural progression for me.
You've said when you've had things cross over into the mainstream you don't feel entirely comfortable. What is it that makes you feel uncomfortable? Is it the success or the sound palette of the mainstream?
Good question! - Back in the nineties we had a big hit record and although it was great to have that kind of success, the implications of it weren't so great i.e we were basically two young guys who loved underground house music who got catapulted into the mainstream with a track that actually started off quite cool - after that the record companies only wanted hits from us and it left no room to be experimental or remain true to why we did it in the first place. It basically killed me and our partnership and it was the reason why I started the D.Ramirez moniker in the first place - so I could make the kind of underground music I loved.
A few years ago, we seen some "educational" type of videos with you explaining some tips and tricks in the studio. How did you learn the tools of the trade? What informational sources do you look to, to help push your technical ability in the studio?
I am purely self taught and I don't rely on other producers for tips and tricks - what I do though is analyze other music to see how it's been made, what software they might have used, what plug-in's etc. I've also always read mags like Sound On Sound and Future Music which are great sources of inspiration for me.
With releasing Wired, Road to Excess & Satur8, you've already had a solid summer season. Is there anything else we should be keeping our eyes out for over the next few months? With you label Slave as well as D. Ramirez releases on other labels.
I have just completed a project with Mark Knight and Underworld called 'Downpipe' which will be released on Toolroom in September. I've done a couple of remixes - one which i've revisited by Max Linen called 'The Soulshaker' which was originally my first D.Ramirez remix back in 2000. I've also done a remix of an old Skunk Anansie track called 'Twisted' which is part of a re-release package for them coming out soon. I've got various other projects in the pipeline which I'm currently working on and I'll be focusing a lot on Slave when I'm back from the States in September. 
How many hours a week do you spend on your hair and does it rival the amount of time you spend in the studio? Have you considered opening a traveling stylist chair at festival gigs, not for the money, but as a service for ragged looking touring djs?
Ha ha! My hair doesn't take me more than an hour to do. What are you talking about! -) And if those raggedy looking DJ's can't look after themselves I certainly won't be offering my services! Although come to think of it, I could do something quite interesting where I could be the hair stylist and the DJ at the same time - the traveling, mixing hairstyling, raver dude!
At Nightdreamer, we love weird stories that make you say "What the?". Do you have any recent bizarre stories?
Playing in a gay club to look over at the side of the DJ booth to see a whole film crew and actors filming a gay hard core video was pretty freaky!
Download mix here - Right click "Save link as" or "save target as"
1- D.Ramirez - 'Satur8' (Jamie Stevens Tech Dub)
2- Julian Chaptal - 'Mamdaye'
3 - Cozzy D - 'Longtime'
4 - Ramirez and Tolfrey - 'Bounce To Me'
5 - Twotrups - 'That Cello Track' (Namito Cello Kebab Remix)
6 - Max Linen - 'The Soulshaker' (D.Ramirez 2009 Remix)
7 - Reset Robot - 'Do The Slot'
8 - Dave Seaman - 'Attack Of The Abalones'
9 - Freakx Brothers - 'Ghettoblaster' (Tony Gomez Dubblaster Mix)
10 - D.Ramirez, Mark Knight & Underworld - Downpipe
11 - D.Ramirez vs. Joy Division - 'Control'
12 - D.Ramirez - 'Satur8' (Original Mix
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