Exclusive Pocket Interview w/ Android Cartel!
If you know the current sound of tech-house and techno then you gotta know Android Cartel. These guys produce amazing amounts of great music, manage two of their own record labels, Sketchbook & Riff Raff, and still find time to rock a dance floor. As one of our headliners on The Woogie Stage at Lightning in a Bottle 2011, Android Cartel has catapulted to the forefront of the underground EDM scene, rocking dance floors with sets comprised of almost entirely original music. Prolific is an understatement when describing these two masters of music production, with close to 200 tracks available on a miriad of labels via the world's largest EDM download site Beatport. We're thrillled to have gotten a chance to pick their brains a bit and can't wait to see what they crank out next! As a point of reference, we're talking with Christopher Mohn (CM) and Reagan Denius (RD).
Crank up this live recording by Android Cartel at Woogie Nights LA on Beat Soup!
Learn more about Android Cartel, listen to their mixes and get booking info!
POCKET: Heya fellers! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We know you guys are busy busy busy in the studio, so let’s jump right in! How did you guys meet and what was moving you in the dance music scene at the time?
RD: Chris and I met in San Diego back in 2006. We had been working together for a promotions crew in town called Realivze Tribe, which hosted events and promoted for Giant. They would pack us down like mules and send us in to bro-land (Pacific Beach) to hand out flyers to people who didn’t give a shit about dance music – not that it was a bad thing, it was just hard to get the word out. Well, after a solid round of promoting one night, we were at the club, and the DJ that we had busted our asses to promote for the following week was playing a top 40 train-wreck – seriously, not one mix was matched… it was terrible! So we went upstairs to have a cigarette and Chris turned to me and was all “You know what? If this guy can do it, we can too.” And that was that!
POCKET: Why “Android Cartel”?
CM: Its kind of funny actually, we were producing under a really lame name called Proper Villains, and when we got picked up by Fade Records, Chris Fortier asked us to come up with a different name. Being that we were trying to get into and produce techno, the word “android” came to mind. We then attached cartel to it . . . and actually the word or feeling of it was inspired by The Cartel from the old Dallas TV show. They were some kick ass kinda people. We have a few other monikers for different styles we enjoy creating.
The 'Droids playing at Woogie Nights LA, Oct. 2011!
POCKET: You guys have a pretty unique method when you spin out; can you describe it? Who does what and why?
RD: Well, the first time we ever really DJ’ed together was for a New Years party in Los Angeles in 2007, going into 2008. We played this Green Sector party at an underground spot in Venice Beach on the patio from 6AM – 8AM in the morning, and Chris had only ever DJ’ed with vinyl, and they had CDJ’s which I was more proficient at. So I took care of the beat matching and Chris took care of the mixing. We also only had one pair of headphones and no headphone splitter or anything, so I ended up using the headphones all night, so the next time we went to DJ together it just kind of stuck. There is always some one doing something though, we rarely just stand there.
CM: I find that we DJ the best when we have a good booking, and I have no idea what Reagan will be putting on next (which I rarely ever do.)
POCKET: Nice, keeps you on your toes! In the studio, what kind of gear are you using?
CM: We have lots of toys. The most important are the Elektron Machinedrum, Roland Juno-106, and the Native Instruments stuff. We sequence in the glorious and wonderful Logic 9.
RD: We also use the Fatso Jr. analog compressor to fatten things up a bit in our mix-downs and masters.
POCKET: Lately, it seems like tracks are just flying out of your heads. Can you give us some insight into what your process is when you’re producing?
CM: Not having a life, and listening to tons of dance music.
RD: Pretty much just that… also not thinking and just doing. Tapping into the 23rd dimension of hyperspace and letting it flow, dancing while making the tune also helps get the groove down.
POCKET: Dancing is key in a lot of activities we find, especially during sex. Just sayin’. Any plans to do any live PA sets in the near future?
RD: Definitely. This year is going to be the year of putting together our live show. Getting some new controllers and live performance toys for the mix, so stay tuned!
CM: Yes, it is a huge and painstaking process, especially with all the stuff we have made over the years. We have been playing a lot of our own material lately during our DJ sets, and it is making us feel comfortable with the idea of doing a live PA.
Android Cartel rockin' the masses dancing at The Woogie Stage at LIB2011! (photo by Grant Kaye)
POCKET: Awesome, we can’t wait to hear what you guys will be cooking up for a live show! What is the strangest experience you’ve had at a gig or on the road?
RD: Probably the girl with the fire hula-hoop that fell off the 12 foot stage when we were playing a festival down in Mexico.
POCKET: Ouch! You both look like you’re in pretty good shape. Do you work out or are you like this naturally. And what’s your workout schedule like?
RD: I like Häagan-Dazs chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. A lot.
CM: We make it to the gym 4-5 times a week. I started going to the gym a couple of years ago, and it feels great to exercise and rejuvenate your body. Before we started going we were scrawny little guys, it’s amazing how you can control and morph your body.
POCKET: Mmmmmm, ice cream . . . What other artists are out there right now that inspire you?
RD: Yikes too many… but ok here’s a few:
CM: There are tons of great producers and artists out there, but my top five are:
POCKET: It’s a brand new year, is there anything coming up for 2012 that you’d like to tell us about?
CM: Well, we are really looking forward to growing and learning this year, honing in on our craft and really developing the Android Cartel sound. We are constantly improving as artists, and right now we are in a place where we have a great skill set and great equipment to mess around with, so producing has become fun instead of painstaking. We also will be pushing along our Sketchbook label. We have a small little brotherhood going on at the moment with some fresh techno talent, and we are looking forward to growing our label family. Our other label, Riff Raff, is a project that we do with our friends Spacebyrdz out in Vegas. It is a more casual approach to putting music out there, and we just tend to keep it within our friends and network. We are going to be doing some vinyl releases that will have some killer music from Jay Tripwire and Mikael Stavostrand amongst others. As we said before, developing a live set. We are also going to Sonar for the first time at the beginning of summer, so it will be a treat to go out to Europe and meet people on the other side of the world that vibe off of us. As far as releases, we don’t have too much lined up. We are putting out our next Sketchbook release this month, and we have also been working on an EP for Rawthentic.
POCKET: Awesome guys! Well, thank you again for taking the time to chat with us and let your fans get a little insight into the who and what of Android Cartel. We for one are super stoked to see what comes flying out of your brains in 2012!
Android Cartel playing live on The Woogie Stage at LIB 2011!!
