INTERVIEW: CHRISTIAN VANCE

As a youngster, Christian Vance was always interested in recreating the atmosphere of the DJ – that continuous flow of music to make you move, so to speak. As a result, the Melbourne-based Vance soon started to develop a live show that would do just that...

“Well, it’s a strange thing really,” he claims. “I started making electronic music at about the same time I started buying the records. In the beginning, it was as part of a strictly electronic band that I was developing my live shows, then slowly, over time, I started doing it on my own. Releasing records and DJing came much later. I play live 90 percent of the time and that’s what I’ve become known to do. It’s like a one-man band. All the instruments and sounds and so on, they are all ready to be launched on the fly from my equipment. No two performances will ever be the same. It keeps it much more interactive for me and I think also for the dancefloor. I like it that way. All my influences can come out that way too. It’s not just house and techno music then.”

 Live show... Australian Summer 2009/10... this is not a dj mix!! Long live live electronica x by christian vance 

Still, it was the sound of early techno and acid hose mix tapes that his uncle used to bring home in the late ‘80s which were responsible for arousing Vance’s love for analogue synthesizers and the dancefloor. These days he claims he’s more about ‘electronic music’ in general, rather than strictly techno, but it’s always hard to forget your roots...

“I was always into music, always made music,” Vance recalls. “I lost my shit to early house and techno as a teenager. Got bitten, never looked back. Some call it passion, some a ‘calling’. It really is a way of life and you sacrifice a lot for it sometimes. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. The ultimate achievement is really to be able to translate the ideas in my head and hear them and play them all the time, to have an audience for that and to enjoy the process. To be able to say in 10 years time, ‘I still love what I do’. And the highlight is doing it live. I guess it’s just the way everything made sense for me. I was always a musician first and record collector second. It’s one thing to cut a DJ track but it’s another to perform that outside of the studio in front of an audience. I get frustrated with the finite quality of some recordings and I like to have the ability to add, subtract and manipulate all the parts. For me, that’s when magic happens.”

Still, it’s hard to deny that the magic very much occurs outside the studio too. Currently anticipating the release of his third “12 for his own label Haul Music, titled Step 3000, Vance reflects on his Chase The Night which turned it all around for him when Carl Craig featured it on his Global Underground compilation. 

“I remember it was Craig McWhinney’s remix of my track Chase The Night that Carl chose for Global Underground. I’m pretty sure it was the fourth EP on our label Haul Music which was only digital at the time. He really liked the EP and loved the remix enough to have it on the CD. It was a real surprise, to be honest, and one that we really welcomed. It proved that what we were doing was able to reach a little further. I already had a few under my belt at that stage too, namely my “12, Tiger Snake, on Ripperton’s Perspectiv label from Switzerland. That record got me a little attention with several artists and other labels and ultimately led to me being invited to remix Etienne Jaumet on classic Parisian label Versatile. The song I remixed was released on Etienne’s album and was produced and mixed by Carl Craig. Right now, I’ve got the third 12” for Haul Music coming up, which will be the final one in the trilogy. It’s called Step 3000 and Kirk Degiorgio has produced a cracker remix. I’m pretty excited. I’ve been playing the live version for a few months now and it will be great when it hits the shelves in the coming weeks.”

In fact, Haul Music overall has blown up in recent times, according to its very proud owner, with the label also beginning to release vinyl for the first time since 2011. 

“The feeling is good. The studio has been getting a workout and I’m looking forward to a few new records and some great shows coming up. I’m super pumped for the label, as well... Yeah, it’s to be expected, but I’m really feeling the vibe in a big way. We’re enjoying the kudos from our peers and we just want to keep it up. Releasing vinyl for the first time on our label last year – that is my number one highlight. There’s always something special about touching wax!”

Words: Nina Bertok

Christian Vance plays Plastik at Sugar on Sat Feb 18.

 Philogresz - Thick Dean - Christian Vance version by christian vance 

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