Immediately, the entire dance world dissected and analysed Richard Durand. His beginnings in hard dance put many trance fans on edge – trance was trance and there was just no other way about it. Others simply couldn’t accept that Tiesto could be replaced. Indeed, it was one of the best kept secrets in the industry, and caused intense shock waves to reverberate around the world. What a dramatic entrance for any performer! But while it was all incredibly spectacular, Richard Durand has taken the decision made by Black Hole Recordings and emerged as his own person in his own right. Taking up the gauntlet must have been a bitter-sweet trial with such speculation surrounding him and such a huge job ahead. But take it, he did. With the smashing successes of ‘In Search of Sunrise 8 - South Africa’ and now ‘In Search of Sunrise 9 – India’ as well as performances all across the world, Tiesto’s shadow has long receded. Richard Durand surfaces from the sunrise as a dedicated artist with solid mixing and production skills, performing big sounds that fuse aspects of hard, tech and pop with trance. It’s a unique combination, and a winner on the dancefloor.
This fusion of sound is a reflection of the musical path Richard has traveled. A young Richard van Schooenveld found himself behind the decks after taking an initial interest in music playing with keyboard. The decks were a natural progression thanks to an enduring love for layered musical textures. His solid production skills would become especially prominent in the hard arena under the alias of G Spott, where hard vocal tracks like ‘Sadness’ and ‘N.R.G’ are still saluted across the world.
But though he was banging it out across Europe in the hard dance arena, Richard’s own special edits, remixes and bootlegs incorporated into his energizing sets demonstrated his reach as a versatile producer and remixer. From Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ to Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’, Madonna’s ‘Music’ or Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’, Richard knows how to shake things up and keep the dancefloor moving. And this is what represents Richard’s sound: hard and made for dancing. Every artist must evolve after all.
As Richard prepares for Australia’s upcoming Godskitchen tour, it is another chance to play before a crowd who are up for a good time. It has been a resolute path for Richard; one that has ultimately led in the one direction. Richard Durand is his own man with his own sound, and when you see him play, you won’t forget it.
QWhat do you think makes a great DJ?
AI think a great DJ is a good performer who takes his job seriously and has the right skills to put on a good show; an artist who gives the audience a good time who plays not only for himself. I sometimes see that DJs are only really playing because they like the record and not seeing if the audience does. A good DJ has to do everything.
QAnd what about song selection?
AThe collection you have and when you play it at the right moment is definitely important.
QThere is an impression throughout the industry that trance is a dirty word. Where do you think this comes from – and do you think this is true?
AIt’s something really stupid actually. If you look at some house productions now, they use loads of trance sounds – and why would they do that? Because it’s dirty? No – it’s because people love the big sound. People love that big trance sound. Sometimes they want to have it in a hard way, a trance way, with 145BPMs or in a smooth way, or the Swedish House Mafia way. All those sounds are quite trancey. If you look at the last productions of Ferry Corsten, there are loads of house influences but also trance influences. I can say that I don’t like hiphop – but I wouldn’t call it a dirty word. It’s just something silly.
QWhat do you what to achieve each time you perform a set?
AI just want to have a good night - not only for myself - but for the crowd and to leave everyone with that unforgettable feeling.
QYour mixing is absolutely incredible: Your Live at Euphoria set comes to mind here. What does it take for you to put together a great set?
AThat’s a difficult question: it’s like asking a soccer player why they are so good? Practice. Just do your best. Try out new things. Take the risk. Sometimes, you will win. Sometimes you will lose. Sometimes you can make a big mess, but it can also come off.
QThey say ‘practice makes perfect’. What do you do to perfect your mixing technique? How do you work on your mixing so it’s tight?
AI think you have to have a good feel for rhythm and a good ear. If you hear a record, you have to hear everything and separate each layer and think about it for mixing.
QYour remixes of Michael Jackson and Madonna have been remixed so well to perfectly suit you as an artist: what process do you go through before you are happy with releasing it?
AWhen it’s working on the dancefloor – it’s enough. When I have a good reaction, that’s enough.
QIt’s been a few months since in Search of Sunrise: do you feel you have lived up to the expectations of taking over from Tiesto?
AI don’t know what Tiesto ever wanted – I never asked. I don’t whether he liked it or not, or whether he had expectations. I didn’t think about that: it was important that the brand was kept alive. It’s been a very important CD for me. I really loved the producing and the mixing, and to have an album as well as a compilation CD. That was important to me.
QTaking over In Search of Sunrise was such a significant moment for you to establish your name globally . What are you working on now?
AI’ve been working on a remix of Sean Tyas at the moment and other remixes and new productions. I have no plans for the last few months of the year - this is a good thing! I’m really looking forward to playing in Australia. I am so happy for this. When I first heard about it, I was so excited. It’s a really important show for me. I can’t wait to get there!
Courtesy of Future Entertainment
