What year did Kult start and what was the inspiration behind it? 

Kult started up in 1994. I did not come into the picture until 1998 so I can only speak for myself and as to what inspired me to come work for the label; I simply loved the label’s sound plus my love for underground house music. 

Would you say that Dance music has become less song orientated and does that matter? 

Yes it has, and yes it does matter. DJs are spinnin more instrumentals or dubs in clubs now a days. This trend has become a very popular partly due to underground clubs being very drug oriented and therefore more into the hypnotic ride that is created without the use of vocal records and so vocals do not work on many of today’s underground dancefloors. The drugs people take are different and much harder than stuff around a decade ago. Maybe being so stoned requires less vocals to please the brain…however it has also contributed to the loss of live performances in many clubs and the loss of many great club singers that stopped making records because they can’t sustain themselves without gigs. 

There still is a small number of DJs playing vocals whether they are commercial or underground releases. Most trance DJs play lots of vocals unlike a Tech-House DJ that just plays snippets of vocal samples every few tracks. It’s really a matter of what genre is your question inquiring about as not all of these recently created genre or style include vocals or song structure for that matter. If you are into vocals then the short answer is that clubland is not gonna deliver.  

How do you approach production/remixing, do you have a favourite piece of studio equipment? 

A lot of inspiration will come from either a sound or vocal performance from whatever project or remix I may be working on. I don’t really have any favorite piece of gear but really on a few to execute the job. Logic & Protools on a MAC is where all the magic happens accompanied by a few trusted plug-ins like McDSP, WaveArts, Sonnex plus various others. I also favor out-board gear by Summit Audio, API, Tube Tech + others. 

Vinyl / digital: do you have a preference and why? 

I’ve been DJing for over 20 years now and miss Vinyl for its warm sound but don’t miss carrying creates of records from gig to gig.  Digital CDs started off being time consuming to burn and in the end heavy all most as Vinyl to carry around but discs made it easier and much more organize for the DJ on the go. Ultimately, the weights is shaved off considerably and the organization is improved even more once one goes all digital . Going digital is as a matter of convenience for most djs and not a matter of liking using dj software  over using turn tables and vinyl (which is always more fun to use). I currently use NI’s Traktor Pro with the X1 controllers. 

What makes a good DJ, how do you put a set of music together? 

Being able to connect with the crowd makes a good DJ along with having a sharp technical sense of sound and musicality. I do not prepare my set, i feed of the crowd and the club’s vibe and take it from there….sometimes i lock on a ride a vibe a sound and carry forth from song to song a particular element that seems to sow the otherwise unique songs together..whatever I do is just spontaneously chosen on the spot and I have fun with it…