Ask A Sound Guy

Vincent Thomas

Vincent Thomas was nice enough to answer my Twitter request for an AASG interview. I asked him a few questions and he wrote back with some pretty solid answers.

First off, who is Vincent Thomas? Check out his bio and see for yourself:

When it comes to records Vincent Thomas knows both sides. In most producers’ biographies there is a straight line from spinning records to producing records. In his case it’s different: Vincent had his hands at the production controls as well as on the turntables.

The Producer

“Shingaling” evolved from an underground club track to an international chart hit in the course of only a few weeks. For Vincent Thomas, who produced the track jointly with Jean Claude Ades, this is the final breakthrough: “Shingaling” was #1 in the German Club Charts, #1 in the Belgian dance charts, the Italian Dance & sales charts, and (even for two weeks) at the top of Beatport.com. The Original Mix of “Shingaing” was the best selling Electro House Track on Beatport.com in 2008! In the German Dance charts “Shingaling” reached #3 and #6 in the Dutch Nieuwe Top 40 singles charts. The song has been published in seven countries by different labels: Great Stuff, Ministry of Sound, Vendetta, Blanco y Negro, Ego, NEWS.

Various singles and remixes have been licensed for the following compilations: “Love Parade 2008 – Highway to Love Compilation”, “Viva Rotary Club Summer 2008″, “Pacha Ibiza 2008″, “Clubbers Guide to Ibiza 08″, “Ministry of Sound Bites Summer Club 2008″ and many, many more.

Even though chart performance is not his benchmark for success and he doesn’t adjusts his production work to that, Vincent rejoices it as a form of appreciation. Being in the charts with “Girl” and “Let It Burn” last year was a welcome confirmation.

In SWINGS, a sub-label of Great Stuff Records, Vincent had found a record company with the same philosophy as he represents himself: to create good, successful club tracks. His follow-up single “Let It Burn” featuring American singer Avalon Frost from Washington DC was also published in SWINGS, while “Shingaling” is a Great Stuff Records release.

After numerous remixes for acts like Tom Novy, Paul Harris, Jean Claude Ades, Jerome Isma-Ae, Orli & Martie on labels like Ministry of Sound, CR2, Kosmo, Swings, Ultra and Kontor, Vincent Thomas was able to definitively establish himself in the music scene.

Letting real musicians, a 15-member Cuban band, re-record an old Latin Jazz hit instead of just using a sample of the original song, was an unusual approach, Vincent admits. “Sometimes it’s better to leave the well-trodden tracks.”

The decisive factor was the support of acts such as Eric Morillo, Tiger Stripes, Deetron, Ida Engberg, Chus, Agoria and Tim Deluxe, who played “Shingaling” again and again. “That remains, even in times of the Internet, the foundation for success,” Vincent Thomas is convinced.

The DJ

“DJing has to be performance”, reckons Vincent Thomas and adds: “For me, DJing isn’t just putting on one record after the other.” Due to technical evolution the role of the DJ has changed more and more to being an entertainer and performer.

His mixing style reflects his approach towards music and production: “Diversified, but consistent with a concept.”

Combining different styles of electronic music from all over the world in order to conceive a coherent, danceable sound – that’s how Vincent describes his method of operation. House and Techno magazine “Partysan” declared his style “Electro House at it’s best!”.

That’s why Vincent doesn’t stuff his case with music from only one style but with a rich variety of records from Club House via Electro to rather tech-housy, progressive sounds. That implies not to follow an already falling trend yet to trace current sounds and having tomorrow’s sounds already in his DJ case.

For the Love Parade in Dortmund, Vincent was DJing at “Rocker und Freunde”, an after-show party presented by the renowned radio station 1LIVE and played with acts such as Fedde le Grand and Westbam. A year earlier at Love Parade in the city of Essen, he played with acts like Bad Boy Bill, Moonbootica, Lexy & K-Paul.

In the summer of 2008 the event magazine PRINZ featured Vincent as one of the best DJs in the Ruhr region.

AskASoundGuy: Which came first for you: DJing or producing? Which do you enjoy more?
Vincent Thomas: Producing is what I do and performing is what I am!

AASG: What platform do you produce on? Mac or PC? Logic or Live?
VT: I produce on a MacBookPro using Logic Pro. For dj mixes and time streching I love Abelton Live! Time Streching in Logic still sucks! ;)

AASG: What’s your workflow like when you’re creating a track?

VT: My workflow changes with every production….But first of all I work on a nice groove, a nice beat, nice drums…whatever! Tight and rocking drums/beats are essential for me to go further.

AASG: What’s in your studio right now? What gear are you dying to buy?
VT: I’m really happy with my setup right now. MacBookPro G4 2GB RAM, Korg Triton, Genelec 8040A, RME Fireface 400. ;)

AASG: When you play live, what’s your setup like?

VT: I perform with 3 Pioneers CDJ-1000 and the DJM 800! In the near future I’ll perform as a live artist using Abelton, Logic and some other creative tools.

AASG: What’s on your iPod and what songs are blowing up when you play live?

VT: I have an iPod in my iPhone but I don’t use it ;) During the week I need contrast in music. I like listening to cool and sexy pop music or urban r’nb sounds

AASG: Any new releases or big shows coming up?

VT: Be prepared for my new single and some nice edits and remixes! Visit www.vincentthomas.dj and myspace.com/djvincentthomas to be the first to know…

AASG: Any advice for new producers?

VT: Create new sounds with forward thinking ideas! Don’t copy! Create unique productions.

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