A-Trak's new mixtape, Infinity+1 is out today on Thrive records! Wooo! This mixtape "effortlessly melds A-Trak’s hip-hop, house and electro influences into a creative and highly melodic uptempo party-rocking set." Sounds pretty damn good to us.
Infinity+1 - Don't sleep!
After touring around the US to promote it these last couple of months, A-Trak managed to find some time to answer some questions for his friends at Serato (thanks!). Read on to see the whole interview plus a competition for copies of Infiinity+1 and Limited Edition Whitelabel Picture Discs at the end!
Infinity+1 Interview with A-Trak
Going from being a champion turntablist and hip-hop DJ, to his recent expansion into the electronic performance realm, A-Trak is a DJ that is constantly surprising everyone with his originality and flexibility as a performer. His name is synonymous with DJing and he harbors one of the biggest and most eclectic fan bases in the world. His label Fool’s Gold is no sleeper either, with diverse releases from some of the top indie artists around.
This month A-Trak’s new mixtape, Infinity+1, hits physical and digital shelves everywhere. The project took quite a while to plan and finally came together when A-Trak was approached by Thrive Records. “Yeah we started planning this mixtape many months ago,” explains A-Trak. “It takes a while to get the music cleared and it was originally going to be released last fall but we moved it just as I was about to start recording it. This project basically came about when the label Thrive approached me about doing a CD for them. They wanted to keep the Fool's Gold branding and let me do what I wanted with it, which is why I agreed to sign on.”
Infinity+1 is definitely a departure from his last mixtape, Dirty South Dance, and is more in line with his current sound. While still incorporating elements of turntabalism, the mix is refreshing and captures the essence of a really good night out. “The track selection follows a common thread. This mix CD definitely has a sound, it's very melodic, there's a strong disco influence. Every mix I make has a concept behind it. This one is defined by this sonic style and also by the way I assembled it, where it's sort of a megamix.” More of his unique style can be heard on the soon to be released Fabriclive.45.
Infinity+1 is everything he describes and more. The mix is a well produced assortment of electronica and outlines all the good things about the digital DJing revolution. Good music is good music, and A-Trak, it seems, likes it all. “I really like Fool's Gold!” he states. “I like all our peers, labels like Stones Throw, Ed Banger, Institubes, Turbo. One of my favorite new groups is Aeroplane. I also love Fleet Foxes.”
The introduction of vinyl emulation software has given DJs more flexibility with their song selection and opened up the possibility for the traditional DJ to play more abstract, all encompassing sets. “The way I look at it, it doesn't matter what you're using anymore,” says A-Trak. “It's all about the effect. I tend to stick to two turntables and a mixer, but that could very well change.”
A-Trak is commonly known as one of the first DJs to use Serato Scratch Live and continues to use it to this day. Known to also dabble in Ableton and various other production software, he confesses that his favourite piece of studio equipment is one that is hardly touched. “My favorite piece of a studio gear is my Minimoog Voyager even though I barely know how to use it. It sits in my studio looking very pretty.”
Serato and A-Trak go way back to when Scratch Live existed as Scratch Studio Edition, a plug-in for Pro-Tools. After meeting at NAMM show a relationship formed with the creators. “When they started developing Scratch Live they would send me beta versions which I tested out and gave them tons of feedback.” Talking to the team here that worked with A-Trak, it’s easy to see why he was Serato’s yardstick when it came to vinyl control. With his experience in turntablism, he was a great judge on latency and responsiveness.
A-Trak returned from being on tour in Australasia earlier this year and quickly embarked on a new tour to promote Infinity+1. You would think that the 26 year old would slowly go mad with all the travel. “There are lots of great aspects of touring: getting to play shows in different clubs every night, seeing the world, meeting interesting people, getting inspired by all these different environments. The worst part of touring is just the way it wears you down physically. And it makes it hard to have a normal life.”
Along with his prolific DJing career, A-Trak heads up top independent label Fool’s Gold along with friend and fellow DJ Nick Catchdubs. Recognising the impact that DJ culture was having on the music scene, the label was created in order to put out their own and their friend’s music. And with friends like Kid Sister, Jokers of the Scene and Kid Cudi (to name just a few), why not? If 2008 is anything to go by then 2009 should be a big one for Fools Gold. “We're continuing to put out a steady stream of singles, back- to-back,” says A-Trak. “And we're preparing a Fool's Gold compilation to come out this summer.”
What about the man himself? The release of his debut single “Say Whoa” was a massive success and a definite dance floor filler. Whitelabel.net and Nike+ commemorated the release of the single with a limited edition Scratch Live picture disc featuring artwork by resident Fool’s Gold artist, Dust La Rock. “Right now I'm finishing up the Kid Sister album and after that I'm going to start working on my own album.”
Anticipation for his new album is building steadily throughout his diverse fan base. With a unique flair for production and a great love of parties they will not be disappointed.
25 people who download this mix will be chosen at random to win a copy of Infinity+1 and a pair of the exclusive Whitelabel.net Nike+ A-Trak Picture discs that we featured here on our blog. You can NOT buy these records, so get clicking to be in to win. You have one week....GO!
A-Trak has always been an inspiration to me and now he is to my three year old son. We watch the 15 year old champ on youtube and then go practice together.
A-Trak's new mixtape, Infinity+1 is out today on Thrive records! Wooo! This mixtape "effortlessly melds A-Trak’s hip-hop, house and electro influences into a creative and highly melodic uptempo party-rocking set." Sounds pretty damn good to us.
After touring around the US to promote it these last couple of months, A-Trak managed to find some time to answer some questions for his friends at Serato (thanks!). Read on to see the whole interview plus a competition for copies of Infiinity+1 and Limited Edition Whitelabel Picture Discs at the end!
Infinity+1 Interview with A-Trak
Going from being a champion turntablist and hip-hop DJ, to his recent expansion into the electronic performance realm, A-Trak is a DJ that is constantly surprising everyone with his originality and flexibility as a performer. His name is synonymous with DJing and he harbors one of the biggest and most eclectic fan bases in the world. His label Fool’s Gold is no sleeper either, with diverse releases from some of the top indie artists around.
This month A-Trak’s new mixtape, Infinity+1, hits physical and digital shelves everywhere. The project took quite a while to plan and finally came together when A-Trak was approached by Thrive Records. “Yeah we started planning this mixtape many months ago,” explains A-Trak. “It takes a while to get the music cleared and it was originally going to be released last fall but we moved it just as I was about to start recording it. This project basically came about when the label Thrive approached me about doing a CD for them. They wanted to keep the Fool's Gold branding and let me do what I wanted with it, which is why I agreed to sign on.”
Infinity+1 is definitely a departure from his last mixtape, Dirty South Dance, and is more in line with his current sound. While still incorporating elements of turntabalism, the mix is refreshing and captures the essence of a really good night out. “The track selection follows a common thread. This mix CD definitely has a sound, it's very melodic, there's a strong disco influence. Every mix I make has a concept behind it. This one is defined by this sonic style and also by the way I assembled it, where it's sort of a megamix.” More of his unique style can be heard on the soon to be released Fabriclive.45.
Infinity+1 is everything he describes and more. The mix is a well produced assortment of electronica and outlines all the good things about the digital DJing revolution. Good music is good music, and A-Trak, it seems, likes it all. “I really like Fool's Gold!” he states. “I like all our peers, labels like Stones Throw, Ed Banger, Institubes, Turbo. One of my favorite new groups is Aeroplane. I also love Fleet Foxes.”
The introduction of vinyl emulation software has given DJs more flexibility with their song selection and opened up the possibility for the traditional DJ to play more abstract, all encompassing sets. “The way I look at it, it doesn't matter what you're using anymore,” says A-Trak. “It's all about the effect. I tend to stick to two turntables and a mixer, but that could very well change.”
A-Trak is commonly known as one of the first DJs to use Serato Scratch Live and continues to use it to this day. Known to also dabble in Ableton and various other production software, he confesses that his favourite piece of studio equipment is one that is hardly touched. “My favorite piece of a studio gear is my Minimoog Voyager even though I barely know how to use it. It sits in my studio looking very pretty.”
Serato and A-Trak go way back to when Scratch Live existed as Scratch Studio Edition, a plug-in for Pro-Tools. After meeting at NAMM show a relationship formed with the creators.
“When they started developing Scratch Live they would send me beta versions which I tested out and gave them tons of feedback.”
Talking to the team here that worked with A-Trak, it’s easy to see why he was Serato’s yardstick when it came to vinyl control. With his experience in turntablism, he was a great judge on latency and responsiveness.
A-Trak returned from being on tour in Australasia earlier this year and quickly embarked on a new tour to promote Infinity+1. You would think that the 26 year old would slowly go mad with all the travel.
“There are lots of great aspects of touring: getting to play shows in different clubs every night, seeing the world, meeting interesting people, getting inspired by all these different environments. The worst part of touring is just the way it wears you down physically. And it makes it hard to have a normal life.”
Along with his prolific DJing career, A-Trak heads up top independent label Fool’s Gold along with friend and fellow DJ Nick Catchdubs. Recognising the impact that DJ culture was having on the music scene, the label was created in order to put out their own and their friend’s music. And with friends like Kid Sister, Jokers of the Scene and Kid Cudi (to name just a few), why not? If 2008 is anything to go by then 2009 should be a big one for Fools Gold.
“We're continuing to put out a steady stream of singles, back- to-back,” says A-Trak. “And we're preparing a Fool's Gold compilation to come out this summer.”
What about the man himself? The release of his debut single “Say Whoa” was a massive success and a definite dance floor filler. Whitelabel.net and Nike+ commemorated the release of the single with a limited edition Scratch Live picture disc featuring artwork by resident Fool’s Gold artist, Dust La Rock. “Right now I'm finishing up the Kid Sister album and after that I'm going to start working on my own album.”
Anticipation for his new album is building steadily throughout his diverse fan base. With a unique flair for production and a great love of parties they will not be disappointed.
Download an 8-minute promo mix from Infinity+1 right here from Whitelabel.net (right click and save as).
25 people who download this mix will be chosen at random to win a copy of Infinity+1 and a pair of the exclusive Whitelabel.net Nike+ A-Trak Picture discs that we featured here on our blog. You can NOT buy these records, so get clicking to be in to win. You have one week....GO!
To buy the entire Infinity+1 mixtape, grab it off iTunes or from the Fool's Gold web store.
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