Interview:

Ahead of this weekend’s Clone Basement imprint showcase @ fabric, Ransom Note caught up with Serge and Alden Tyrell from the label on their breakdown of what inspired the series, working with electro legends, what to expect on Saturday and a whole lot more. Hi Serge, Alden. Can you tell us a bit about the influences inspiring the Clone Basement series ? Serge: Basement series is just basic tracks that show its real nature being played out loud in a dark basement or a no-nonsens club where people come just to dance and get sweaty. Alden Tyrell: Clone has always been catogorized as being an “electro-label”…in fact its just one of those genres that have been influencing us over the years..as was disco/italo/techno and house which themselves are genres closery related if u look at the history of it as clone’s serge felt he needed to refresh and update the label, he decided to quit the label Clone Records to come up with several sublabels. all being a bit more focused on a certain sound …… his clone basement series is a sublabel which focusses on the more chicago house/jack culture… Alden, you’ve covered a wide sonic spectrum over the years, what can people expect from the Fabric live set ? are you going to be bringing over any hardware or mostly sticking to the laptop ? AT: It wil be a mixture of the old and the new…i’m currently working on new trax and a new live set which will be a bit more loop-based then my previous stuff….but its still in progress and i don’t feel comfortable enough to bring that stuff out there yet.. In the past you’ve said you want to move away from production, and it seems your relationship with music isn’t always easy, how do you feel at the moment ? are there any new releases in the pipeline ? AT: hehe..yeah maybe….i guess that goes for life in general……its not that i have a hard relation with music..i love it…its more a matter of a bad relationship with myself , the choices that i make and what i do.. at the moment most of my time is taken by mastering….so working on my own stuff comes 2nd place right now…..i love doing it..i’m still working with sounds…and to a certain degree i dont have to depend so much on my own instincts .. theres a 12 coming up soon on clonerecords..andsome other stuff that will go as a different project , different name, just different..because i need it.. You’ve often talked about the influence electro and italo had on you as a teenager, do you think teenagers now have anything so potent to fire their imagination ? i dunno…i think every generation will have its own genres/styles or ….but as one grows older i do sometimes think that music , especially dancemusic, becomes more and more a superficial tool or standard recipe to make ppl move their butts …..but …i do think there will always be good and bad music..there was crapmusic back then as there is crap music now……in the end u can only know the impact music has on ppl as you get into a teenagers mind……as i sonmetimes see kids going wild on music and im like …is it me or are those kids not getting it??…its probably me;) You’ve worked with Egyptian Lover on a track with Dexter & E Lover, would there be other electro icons that you’d like to work with ? As far as im concerned i only made 1 or 2 records that fit the catagorie “electro’ ..i think my stuff is more influenced by electronic euro – italodisco then by electro….. no electro producer collabs on the wish list… Do you think there are many classics that remain to be discovered ? Are you still hunting for vinyl, and is there a chance of more stuff being unearthed on Clone Classic Cuts ? S: Yes we have some things lined up. But to be honest motivation is pretty low for re-issues. Many records are being bootlegged, and then there are so many official re-issue labels at the moment that i don’t feel a strong urge to spend a lot of time finding a producer (that often is very hard to trace down) and then finding out someone just bootlegged the track. Beside that, there is so much good new music out there that i enjoy working with a small group of producers and try to get some of their best works out their in a good way. But like i said… there are several releases lined up, and i stll am looking for 2 or 3 producers to license their music… so i guess every now and then there will be a new Clone Classic Cuts AT: I have to admit the vinyl hunting is on a very low level..also because i stopped DJing many years ago……and also I am a victim of the whole youtube and internet culture… And finally, what are youre five favourite tunes at the moment ? S: wow… difficult.. that will be different if you ask me again tomorrow but its probably some tracks that i enjoyed a lot last weekend during my gigs. – Genius Of Time – Drifting Back – Gerd – Time & Space – Red Rack’em – How I Programm – Brawther – Chains & Funk – Obsolete Music Technology – Machime Dreams 3 A: well..if have to be honest here… that would be 1 Motorhead “Overkill” 2 Motorhead; “ace of spades” 3 Geeeman Rubberband2 4 legowelt phochos rmx 5 all levon vincent stuff Interview by Ian Mcquaid Don’t forge to check Clone Basement Podcast 1 (mixed by Serge) – a UK exclusive mix on R$N. You’re hearing it first here on Ransom Note to showcase the Basement series on Clone. Full download below. We have 5 pairs of tickets to giveaway to the fabric event this weekend with Clone Showcase in Room 2. Simply email comps@theransomnote.co.uk with “Man, I love Clone and that Alden Tyrell was ace last time I saw him play live…pick me, pick me!” Winners to be notified by 6pm tomorrow (Friday). The Clone Basement imprint showcases at fabric on 19th February Alden Tyrell LIVE, Gerd LIVE, Serge, Mark Du Mosch. Get full info and tickets here

Direct download link here Serge, the hardest working man in Rotterdam! A world renowned record store, multiple record labels, international DJ career. We’ve no idea how this man has time to have such good taste. Founding Clone the record store in the early 90s after Hotmix had closed, Serge created a store on the caliber of Hard Wax and Rub-A-Dub but infused his own unique musical view that allows for thicker and sometimes warmer soulful sounds to come to the fore. With CLone he released Adult.’s iconic “Hand to Phone” and Drexciya’s final album. Since the label restart, the quality and love put into the reissues really outshines everyone else… Check the podcast in full here Interview with Serge and ticket comp coming next week on Ransom Note. Watch this space people! x