Olav Basoski Climax Interview 2013
Hi Olav. You’re headlining Climax’s 15th birthday at the Roxy on 30th November. Do you
remember where you were and what music you were into when you were 15?
I was in highschool and already pretty determined to go and do what I do now; making
music and DJ'ing. I was listening to a lot of the then underground clubmusic. Dutch
mixing pioneer Ben Liebrand had a weekly spot on national radio and he became my big
inspiration.
It’s not your first time at Climax. Do you have any particular memories from your previous
times there?
Oh it's been great every time. Big party vibe, I loved it, really loved it!
You’ve been DJing for many years now but as far as I know you’ve never had your own
regular night a club. Is this because you didn’t want to get tied down to anything or just
because it just didn’t happen?
In the first year of Rootz Records we did do our own clubnight in Amsterdam. It wasn't
a big success, we were no promoters by any means :-) So we stopped after 1 year or so. It
didn't help either that sometimes I was not playing the night myself cause I had gigs
elsewhere.
Whatever happened to Rootz?
Funny you should ask; as we speak I'm in the middle of restarting it. A couple years ago
I was not feeling any of the new electro-type housemusic that emerged and I decided to
put Rootz to sleep for a moment. Now I feel it's time to bring it back to life and I'll be
releasing new music on it shortly!
You release music quite often on Dutch label Spinnin (or its sub-label Work) who also release
a lot of big-drop style “epic” EDM. What’s your opinion on this type of Dmitri Vegas & Like
Mike / Martin Garrix style music?
Not my thing. Can't put it any clearer :-)
The DJ Mag Top 100 poll has just come out. Do you think such polls have any real value
other than for the management of the DJs that make it on the list?
No. If you're in the top20 you can make lots of money. That's awesome. And the
appreciation of the audience that allegedly voted for you is great. Other than that it's of
no real value.
In The DJ Mag Top 100 six of the top 10 DJs are from Holland. Considering Holland has a
relatively small population (smaller than the Czech Republic even) why do you think your
country is such a super-power in the worldwide dance scene?
Cause we started with housemusic very early, like in 1988 or so. We have a lot of
experience with making the music and organizing the big events. Mysteryland is Dutch,
Dance Valley, Sensation, all Dutch. That's the reason I think.
As a Dutch person, how much do you worry about the increasing threat rising sea levels pose
to Holland’s future?
Haha, well not really. We have a long history of fighting the threats of the sea. There's a
lot of knowledge in that area in Holland. I trust we'll be alright! And if not I'll just move
to Prague :-)
Do you believe in Global Warming as a result of mankind’s activities or do you think it just
hype and badly interpreted statistics?
Whuut? No way, we did it. We're fucking killing this planet and it's such a shame... You
can only push nature so far till it starts to fight back, so I think we really need to get a
grip on ourselves.
You recently took part in the Amsterdam Dance Event which is becoming an important
fixture in the dance scene’s annual calendar. Could you explain for those not in the know
what ADE is all about?
ADE started out as our own little Dutch Miami. People from the music industry
gathering to do business, throw a couple parties, have a little fun, meet old friends. It's
still about that all, only so much bigger now. The biggest DJ's in the world play here
that week, all in one week, every single night there's huge parties all around the city.
Pretty cool!
Meet up with anyone interesting while you were there?
Yeah I had a couple business meetings about my label Rootz and met up with a few old
friends in the industry, like Simon (Head of Defected records) and Stonebridge. It's hard
to get together with friends like that cause we're all so busy, so that's a great
opportunity.
The last time you were in the Czech Republic you played the Beats For Love Festival in the
industrial heart of Ostrava. How was the gig and what did you think about the location?
Both amazing. It doesn't happen a lot that I take pictures of the venue and send them to
my friends, so that should tell you enough. And the vibe at the party was surreal too, so
much love and so much fun!!
Your last release was a collaboration with Jaxxon. Do you have any more interesting colabs
lined up and if you could chose anyone from history, living or dead, what would be your
absolute dream collaboration?
Nothing planned at the moment. Dream collab would be with either Freddy Mercury, or
to stay in housemusic Axwell or Fedde le Grand.
You’re very much in tune with new music technology and often publish tech tutorials. But
who teaches the teacher? Or is it just a case of you playing around with new programs and
plug-ins until you fully understand them?
Yep. I get asked sometimes to do some video about for instance a new version of Apple
Logic. I need to lock myself in the studio for days to fully know what I'm talking about
and to make sure what I'm about to say is correct. And at other times someone teaches
me. Like my friend Bartski from Poland who taught me Ableton Live at the time.
You’ve also done some tutorials for Native Instruments and their DJ controllers. Have you
tried all their products and is there a “must have” in their range for DJs who take their shit
seriously?
I have no idea really. I tried a couple controllers and they're all pretty cool. It's just a
different mindset. You need to forget about the CDJ's, it's a different approach. It's cool
though. One of my oldest DJ friends, and the guy who taught me how to DJ when we
were 15, DJ Hocke, plays with traktor these days. He's amazing with vinyl and CD's too
but he doesn't care about the medium, he cares about the music. Which is the only thing
that really matters I think.
Top 5 favourite plug-ins?
1 PSP Vintagewarmer, 2 Waves C1, 3 Valhalla Room, 4 Waves Oneknob Phatter, 5
anything Audiodamage.
Top 5 favourite producers?
1 Axwell, 2 Eric Prydz, 3 Fedde le Grand, 4 Bingo Players, 5 Olav
Top 5 favourite clubs?
1 Minstry of Sound, 2 Warehouse Calgary, 3 Piekarnia Warsaw, 4 Pacha Ibiza, 5
ROXY!
Can you remember how many tracks and remixes you’ve released over the years?
No, but it's a couple of hundred I guess.
Which track or remix sold the most units?
Waterman
Which is your personal favourite or which one are you most proud of?
Opium Scumbagz. Cause it's all my own, no samples. Very nice harmonies. And my ex
girlfriend sings the vocal part.
Ever thought about doing a proper album?
Yes, and I tried, but it messed my head up. It was too much bullshit. Minstry of Sound
wanted to sign an album but it had to have 3 hit records. Haha I'm not a hitmaker
unfortunately so I decided not to do it.
You’re renowned for your trademark funky, filtered house with the liberal use of disco
samples. I realize you probably don’t want to give away all your secrets but do listen to a lot
of old 70s and 80s disco records for inspiration or have you made up your own library of
disco samples?
Well, I grew up in the 70s and 80s of course. So I just know a lot of music from that
period. And the rest is just looking and listening and digging and searching for that one
gem! :-)
You’re into healthy living an often go out jogging. How many kilometers do you run each
week?
Not that much. About 20-25.
Do you have a favourite route?
Yes, but I'm getting bored of it. I need to look for a new route but I hate it when I run
into dogs, so it'll take some searching to find something nice.
The other day I was running towards a woman who had her two dogs walking loose. A
huge fucking pitbull and another big black dog. They didn't look like happy playful
ones. The pitbull followed me for a couple moments and I did not enjoy the thought of
becoming his lunch wahaha!
I don't want to have to drive for 20 minutes first either before I can start a little run. I
run about 45 minutes to an hour every time and time is always precious of course, so it
needs to be closeby.
A part of healthy living is also healthy eating. Can you conclude this interview with an “Olav
Basoski Top Healthy Eating Recipe” for our readers?
Well, let me get that straight; the only reason I try to eat healthy is because I had gotten
diabetes BECAUSE I had become a fat ass. I had quit smoking a couple years ago and
put on weight. I'm trying to loose the weight, which can be hard. But the diabetes fades
away with it, which is fantastic, I'm so happy about that. Anyway, my eating is about a
lot of vegetables and fruits, natural stuff like oatmeal (porridge) and leafy greens.
Sometimes chicken and fish, but most of the time vegetarian. If possible at all, nothing
loaded with chemicals and sugar. Sugar is pretty much restricted area for me anyway.
Thanks very much for your time and I look forward to welcoming you back to the Roxy on
30th November.
ME TOO!!!!