Soul man Paul Farris
Author: Michelle Pirovich
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Arriving shortly on Melbourne shores to grace the decks with his blend of soulful house, TranZfusion caught up with Paul for a quick Q&A session.
How has the year 2003 been for you on a musical level-
It's been a great year, Hardsoul/Ron Carroll 'Back Together' has to be my track of the year - plus it's been a great year for the Groove Junkies, Rasmus Faber and UK producers Copyright who have gone from strength to strength with their bootleg mix of MAW 'I can't get no sleep' being one of my favourites.
You have been a part of Defected Management as well as a resident DJ throughout the labels many years, what is currently happening at Defected headquarters-
The new Kathy Brown track 'Never again' is doing really well and the Defected 'In the house' night at the Ministry of Sound is continuing to pack them in every month.
You are renowned for your never wavering commitment to soulful house, what attracts you to a particular piece of music-
It's difficult to single out just one factor - it may be the lyrics, it may be the production or the vibe the track creates, generally in terms of dance tracks I go for something with a soulful and funky feel to it - but I have to admit to being a sucker for a good vocal performance.
You ran Uptown Records in the latter part of the ninties, one of the leading independent dance music stores in the UK, how much of an influence did working in music retail have on you as a DJ-
Retail is a great way of getting a feel for the tracks - the customers at Uptown Records (the store I managed for 8 years) were incredibly upfront and you had to be on the ball to keep up with them. I was also in an envied position as I got my hands on many of the latest tracks before anybody else.
How do you feel about the influx of productions of late, particularly in house music-
I think that the standard remains very high, advances in technology mean that studio equipment is fairly cheap now, this has meant a rise in the number of mediocre tracks and bootlegs about - but at the end of the day the quality always shine through.
Your website receives over 2,500 new visitors per week from house music enthusiasts from all corners of the globe, how important is the internet to you and your career-
I cannot stress just how important the internet is to me - my website allows me to reach many people throughout the world who may not get a chance to check me out. Part of what attracted me to being a DJ in the first place was so I could share the music I love and the Internet is the ultimate way to spread the word.
What does the future hold for you-
This year I launched my promotions company 'FourFour', we already have a fantastic roster of labels so in the future I want to build on the company profile and get a few more labels on board. I am also about to launch a brand new dance music label called 'Con Brio' with the first release from Soularis coming out mid December. I have also recently installed a studio at home and wish to start producing some tracks that I can play out.
And 4 quickies
What song could you not live without-
Hard to answer with just one track but the Marvin Gaye 'Let's get it on' LP is a must have for any collection.
What song do you never want to hear again-
A track by a band called Junior Senior - I think it's called 'United' - utter trash with the worst 'rap' ever!!
The most amazing thing you recently heard-
Ron Carroll performing the Hardsoul track 'Back Together' at the FourFour party a couple of weeks ago.
Your greatest musical influence-
Probably the Motown record label.
Catch Paul Farris this Saturday November Tags