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Since the start of his career in 1991, Dave Tarrida has been
involved in a number of projects. His legendary club Scotland
club, Sativa, gave artists such as Cristian Vogel, Claude
Young, and DJ Hell their first British debuts and his Sativae
label was responsible for incredible Techno material from
Tobias Schmidt, Cristian Vogel, Subhead and others. His skills
as a DJ have taken him all over the world and he has recorded
a number of tunes for labels like Tresor, Mosquito, Predicaments,
and Extras. After a move from Scotland to Barcelona, Tarrida
has completed his intense debut long-player ‘Paranoid’ for
Tresor. His ten-year history as a DJ seems to have given him
the insight into the raw sound that he wanted when producing
his own material.
Could you tell me a little about your new 'Paranoid' album
and what you
tried to accomplish? Between the titles and some of the
sounds you use on
the record, there seem to be some 
darker overtones. Paranoid is my first LP, and I was trying
to put down 12 tracks that work together as a project, with
varying styles, rather than just all 4 to the floor dancefloor
tracks. I don’t think I’ve ever been a producer of nice
happy tracks, so the sounds and track titles really just
carry on from my older material. Hopefully it all works together.
 After
DJing for so long, what inspired you to move over into production?
Do you feel it was a natural progression? I suppose
it was a natural progression, I had been dj’ing and running
Sativae Recordings, and was surrounded by my friends who were
also producing, so it seemed natural to do this. It was something
I had been dabbling in for a long time, and had been collecting
studio equipment slowly for years. I think most people who
are really into the music, do this, given the opportunity.
What do you shoot for when you begin constructing a new
track, any system that works well for you? I don’t really
work to any system. Each track is different, and usually I’ll
build the track around a hook or some drums. Whatever really.
Are there any new releases in the works for the Sativae
label? On Sativae we are releasing a compilation album,
this is of new tracks from the usual suspects, Landstrumm,
Schmidt, Hacker, etc… After that another album is in the pipeline
from one of our artists. On Drought there is a 12" from
Q-ik and Stevenson, and then a 12" from myself. Also
Penalty 5 just came out.
What brought about your move from Scotland to Barcelona?
I was born here in Barcelona, and felt it was the best
place for me to go to from Scotland. There came a time when
I felt like leaving, and trying something different. The lifestyle
and weather, are better suited, and so far I’m loving it here.
The summer has just started.
How has your DJ and performance experience been in the
U.S.? It’s been pretty varied; the last party I played
was at Limelight in NYC, in December, which was great. Opposed
to that, I’ve been at some raves where the massive crowd hasn’t
danced?? I’ve been lucky enough to have played on both coasts
and mid west, some really good parties, some not so. But,
from what I can see and from what I’m told, the scene in the
US is getting better and stronger all the time, the idea of
techno at clubs rather that at Rave events, I think seems
to be catching on.
What is your opinion on the status of the UK club scene?
Not so good just now, from having loads of good techno
clubs, maybe 4 years ago to a handful now, is not a good thing.
I think that the creation of the super club and the UK media
obsessed by these places and the scene that follows them hasn’t
helped. There are still a lot of producers and labels
though, but a lot of the UK DJ’s seem to work abroad these
days more. But, all is cyclical, and things always change.
How do you feel about Napster and file trading? Has it
had any effect on you as a producer? I see the Napster
thing the same as what we had before, but with cassettes.
Before we had people taping records, and now we have people
downloading files, I don’t see much difference, apart from
the technology has improved. I doesn’t affect me too much,
I’m not Metallica.
Where do you see in the future for Techno and club music?
Hard question, Techno will mutate and survive, as always,
there are so many people into it and supporting it that, it’ll
be about for a while yet.
Are there any future remix or production projects we should
look out for? Remix wise, I have done a mix of Marco
Cannata on Utils, and a Mix of Ibrahim Alfa on Automatic out
soon. Also a 12" on Drought to follow, and a 12"
for Neue Heimat in Stuttgart in the pipeline. Also some compilation
tracks too, ones for Sativae, 360 degree booking comp, and
one for a Spanish company.
Any last comments? Hopefully, I’ll be out to the
US as soon as possible, I always have a great time over there,
and the sooner the better… Bye.
Dave Tarrida and Tresor info: www.tresorberlin.de
-Justin Hardison
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