Artist To Remixer - Spencer Parker & Ryan Elliott

Music

Not sure if you've noticed but we've had someone called Work Them Records stop by this week to takeover the site.

As part of said takeover we asked label head Spencer Parker to chat to the great Berghain resident Ryan Elliott…
You want the connection? Well if you're averse to reading titles or you've been living under a rock you won't know that Ryan has remixed Spencer's Change Yo Beat. Well you do now so you better stick it on.

Spencer… ask away.

As someone who is Detroit born and raised and now a resident of Berlin, can you comment a little on the main similarities and differences you noticed between the two cities, and their respective music scenes, when you first arrived in berlin, and also now?

Detroit and Berlin "feel" the same to me. I remember coming to play in Berlin the first time 8 years ago, and being really surprised at how at home I felt right from the beginning. Everyone knows what Berlin means to dance music – in terms of clubs but also as a place where producers thrive. Detroit still has many thriving producers, but there really is no club scene at all to speak of.

You are resident at the infamous Berghain and about to release the next in the Panorama Bar mix series, can you give us a little insight into how you compiled the mix? I know you have a lot of exclusives, are we allowed to hear about any of them yet?

More Info coming on that very soon. I will say I've been working hard since February compiling tracks. I want it to be a direct representation of what it would sound like if you walked into Panorama Bar at 8PM on a Sunday. I want it to have the life and energy of a live recording from the club.

As a certified vinyl junkie can you let us know some of your favourite spots in Berlin for digging in the crates?

Hardwax of course, but also Rotation, Oye, and Mitte Music.

Your sets are well known for including a lot of your own personal edits of tracks, can you give us a brief idea of how you approach these? What is it that inspires you to get the scissors out and come up with your own special version of a track?

Doing edits has always been one of those things that came very naturally to me. As soon as I hear a song for the first time, I know right away what I want to do to it. In this day and age, most people know most tracks in the club, and when they hear that its been changed somehow, they appreciate that you took the time to give them something a little different.

After a long weekend of traveling, can you please let us know what music/album sits at the top of your iphone/ipod playlist as you’re on your way home? Are you checking out the latest Function track in preparation for the next weekends manoeuvres, or head nodding to some Mobb Deep for example?

Ha – this is a loaded question because Spencer knows my Monday playlists! I try to listen to different music on Mondays. Rap, Rock, Classical, and of course some Annie Lennox is always a must.