RYAN CROSSON

Drop the Mustard’s Charles Darkly speaks with one quarter of Visionquest: Ryan Crosson…

Charles Darkly: You grew your music from the fire and water of Detroit. How do the elements of different cities affect the growth of your music?

Ryan Crosson: I’ve only lived in two places my entire life: Metropolitan Detroit and Berlin. Both have amazing and graphic histories. For someone who doesn’t know me, or my friends, you may look at that first sentence and say, “Jesus, how could those cities not affect you and the growth of your music in a profound way!”, and while these cities have such rich pasts and attitudes with post apocalyptic landscapes and worn down economies, I feel it’s the people you surround yourself that have the most impact. Me and my friends and you and your friends could be standing in the same club, at the same restaurant or at the same intersection and be having two different experiences depending the attitudes, ideas and tastes of who we’re with. Whether it is your girlfriend, parents, schoolmates, co-workers, or whoever you expose each other to new ideas and sometimes you discover things together (which is the best). Through that you choose which people you will spend more time with because, for me at least, similar taste in music is the thing I have in common with most people So, while different venues, parties, art scenes, etc. in each city have had an affect on my musical growth, I’d say it’s more the people I’ve surrounded myself in those environments that has had the greatest impact, helping me grow and shaping my own personal taste or style.

CD: There’s a strong sense of family that emanates from the Visionquest bond, not only as a dj collective but as a record label too. Does each member play a different family role? 

RC: We each have certain things we do better than the other but there are no predetermined roles. We all pick up slack for one another and are glad to do it most of the time. We each realize that no matter what we are a stronger force together than we are apart, no matter if people want to lump praise in one direction or another. It’s not one person doing everything, we’ve said it time and time again it’s a collective and it always will be…otherwise the label will be over and each of us will do something else.

CD: The ‘interview’ can be a tenuous task for some artists. As listeners, we should be able to recognize that the artist has already conveyed much of themselves through the medium of their music. So if we let the music really speak for itself, and you had to pick just one Ryan Crosson track to answer an entire interview. What would that track be?

RC: I couldn’t do that at this point and time. I don’t think I’ve written something that completely encompasses what I’m about personally and what I’d like to be doing musically. Even if you looked at my discography to date as well as the releases that Visionquest have had so far, it still wouldn’t tell it all. Maybe people could view it as how amateur my first productions were and how now, although I am still learning, they’re getting better and my thought process and ideas continue to grow. 

CD: I particularly enjoyed your recent remix of Alex Smoke’s ‘Make My Day’. The vocals are softly strained amidst a wavering undertone of acidic warble, keeping close to the warm aqueous atmospheres of the Visionquest catalogue. It’s such ‘warmth’ that seems to be a common trait on a Visionquest release. Are there any particular artists or labels that initially inspired this idea of ‘warmth’ within the Visionquest catalogue?

RC: Just off the top of my head, Dial is always good for some warmth but is a bit too deep for me to regularly feature it in sets week in and week out. We’re all fans of different labels both Lee, Seth, Shaun and I but also the artists that we’ve chosen to release, like Karm and Matteo, feed us with cozy gems, and artists like Benoit and Sergio clue me in regularly to stuff on more of an indie tip. The warm weird sound is always useful but after I complete my project with Cesar Merveille I’d like to at least try to break away from that a bit and turn up the party for a while. As far as Visionquest goes, we just look for the most interesting music we can and to date we’ve been lucky enough to have a cohesion of warm, deep music. 

CD: What’s your favorite piece of gear in your studio right now?

RC: I’m working purchasing a nice board right now, once I have that I’m sure it will instantly become my favorite. 

CD: Around this time last year, ‘Metro Bunker’ was Damian Lazarus’ opening title track on his Fabric: 54 compilation. December 2011 sees Visionquest rounding off a year of notable Fabric compilations, marking the tradition at 61 Fabric releases to date. Have you guys got something special planned for the mix?

RC: We’ve done our best to convey a mix of our past, present and future. It was a very painstaking task but as our first commercial mix as Visionquest I think we gave an accurate representation of what we’re about. I can’t believe it actually came about to be honest! I mean, Fuck! fabric! really??? The first nightclub I ever went to in Europe was fabric, the first year it opened actually, and it changed a lot for me as far as club experiences go. The size, the sound and also it being my first trip overseas. Every time I think about it, it still doesn’t seem to add up!

CD: Your latest Various Artists compilation burned bright with praise across the dance hemisphere, leaving the telescope locked firmly on the Visionquest constellation. The A-sides traversed the interstellar boundaries of wayward cosmos electronica, while the B-sides explored the cinematic depths of the after hours black hole. The B-sides could be a fitting CinemaScope for many a Sci-Fi film. Would film scoring a Sci-Fi film be appealing to you?

RC: Film scoring would be an absolute dream for me. If I could perfectly script my career that would be next. Although it would be difficult because I don’t read music or play an instrument. However, I don’t want that to stop me. Hopefully within a few years I can build a body of work that doesn’t include dance tracks that I can submit to certain people and get my foot in that door some how. It would be such a new experience and a new sort of template to work on a new inspiration for music that I haven’t done before.

CD: This one’s for the kids…who would you like to teach to DJ?

RC: Snow White or Poccahontas? Oh and why of course?

Most likely I’d take Poccahontas, 

CD: One tune that is killing it for you right here and now?

RC: My Favourite Robot ‘Forest Fires’ on the new Visionquest Autumn/Winter sampler

CD: What’s on your to do list?

RC: Build my new studio in Berlin, I finally have a space and have a contractor working on it for me. 

CD: Any exciting projects on the horizon?

RC: Wrapping my album with Cesar Merveille (which has been dragging on for some time now), finishing the last remixes for a while and then on to major Visionquest studio time. We’re remixing David Lynch at the end of November and start on original tracks finally. We’re hoping to make a major push with our own music in 2012. We’re also planning our off location parties for the coming year which should be exciting. Taking Visionquest nights outside of clubs and building custom futuristic environments where we can display our music and enjoy with people.

CD: Few are fortunate enough to make a living touring the world playing their favorite songs, yet to find yourself in such a position takes clear dedication and hard work. Is there any advice you’d like to give aspiring producers and dj’s out there?

RC: Have fun but work your ass off. Once something good happens, work some more. Be respectful to everyone and remember those who have helped you along the way. Realize you will need help and will always need help. Nobody can do anything in life alone.

Merveille & Crosson ‘DRM Part 1’ is released on Visionquest on 5th December

‘Fabric 61’ mixed by Visionquest is also out on the 5th December

  1. justinpywell reblogged this from dropthemustard
  2. dropthemustard posted this