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Edison Factor interview: a preview to Saturday's live set @ Twisted
Reported by Simon Rutherford
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Submitted 04-05-05 18:09
Knowingly or otherwise, anyone that’s been in a hard dance club at any point over the past 5 years would be familiar with the sound of Edison Factor. From the driving, groovy bass lines and signature tight, clean kicks through to the euphoric breakdowns and mind-blowing deliveries, they’ve brought more smiles to faces than the sound of the ice cream man, raised more hands to the air than the L.A.P.D. and caused more hairs to stand up on backs of necks than a Thorpe Park roller coaster.
Making up the Edison Factor are James Lawson and Matt Williams. Both very much established and respected djs/producers in their own right, the two have been churning out anthems over the years with a level of consistency not matched by many. Right from the birth of the partnership their production careers were off to a flying start, with their first two releases being the dance floor fillers ‘Nervous Breakdown’ and ‘The Beginning’ (with Dean Peters). Since then they’ve worked with every major DJ and producer in the hard dance scene and had tracks signed to and appearing on a list of labels across the world including Ministry of Sound, Freezing Point, Nukleuz, Tidy Trax, Impact, React and many more.
Following the recent launch of their own record label – www.edisonfactor.net - this Saturday night sees two of the industry’s most loved and esteemed performers come together for their first ever ‘live’ performance at The Fridge. Not content to follow with tradition, James and Matt have worked hard for the past few months to create something completely unique and fresh, and from what I’ve heard so far, it promises to be something pretty special.
After much poking, prodding and nagging, I managed to tear them away from the studio long enough to get a bit of background on what they had in store for their debut.
There are an increasing number of ‘live’ acts making the rounds these days. An obvious question would have to be how will the “Edison Factor Live!” show differ from what we’d see from the usual bunch?
The first most noticeable thing will be the production on stage. This really is a show with lots happening to back up the music. Those helping out with the production are professionals and this will be quite obvious to you when you see it.
Secondly, as well as the normal synths and sequencer control (that we are both involved with) James will be playing his guitar and Matt will be playing drums, and believe it or not, his trombone.
Thirdly, the latest update to a sequencer package called Ableton Live 4 has, in our opinion, revolutionised live dance music. The update allows us to do what we want in terms of the live aspect of our show, hence the reason we are now doing it.
Do you think the increasing number of dj/producers making the leap into live sets will improve the overall quality of a ‘live act’, or can you see it becoming a rinsed bandwagon and losing its appeal in the near future?
That largely depends on whether they are any good or not. If something is done well then there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be exciting. We like to think of it more as a way for the scene to evolve. The more live acts there are the better. The bands will be watching each other play and getting inspired by each other. It will help add creativity too. When these bands go back into the studio to write their next tracks we bet their experience on stage will bring a whole new dimension to what they are doing, which can only be a positive thing for the dance scene.
Performing a totally ‘live’ show would have to be near impossible for our style of dance music, but there are plenty of ways an act can create an original and unique mix on the fly. What will you be bringing to your performance that wouldn’t be heard when we normally hear Edison Factor tracks played in a club?
In the traditional sense of the word LIVE we would agree with you. In order to play our music totally live without the aid of sequencers it would actually be impossible for us to do. The drummer would need 10 pairs of hands and we’d need another 20 people on stage to play the rest of the instruments. In addition, the very essence of the dance music “sound” is created by manipulating samples (pre-recorded snippets, say a drum loop or a synth hit), so without the samples you would lose much of the feel of the music that we believe it is important to keep.
What we have attempted to do is to combine playing live instruments (keyboards, the guitar, electric drums, the trombone) with the use of a sequencer (computer programme) called Ableton 4, which has been specifically designed to be used in a live setting. I guess you could say that one of our instruments is Ableton.
The beauty of Ableton is that we can control multiple sounds at once with a controller keyboard. For example, we could play, stop or filter a drum loop at the same time as changing what the bass line is doing, while also tweaking a vocal. While this is going on the other person could be changing the effects used in the track or be giving it some on the guitar etc.. etc... This means we can change just about any element that makes up the track on the spot. In other words, we can remix the track live while playing live instruments over the top.
A DJ can not do this. Even with the sampling functions available on a CDJ1000, the DJ can not rearrange the track how s/he wants it. S/he is constrained by the content of pre-recorded music. We are only constrained by our imagination. Like a traditional band we could play another verse before giving you the chorus, but when we give you the chorus we could remove the vocal and then add a new line over the top. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities and, hopefully, a new experience for the audience. The main thing to remember is that if we stop playing, so does the music.
Do you think live acts should bring more than just music to their performance? How much emphasis do you think should be placed on the visual aspect to provide the audience with a complete audio-visual experience?
The music comes first but we think a show has to be visual. For example, when Matt is playing the drums or James is playing his guitar there is something to watch as well as hear. However, there will be points in the show where both of us are needed to control and play the rest of the music. This is not so interesting to watch as it’s two people twiddling knobs and making mouse clicks, so we have some exciting things happening on stage at the same time as that is going on.
What made you decide becoming a live act would be a fun thing to do? Surely turning up to a gig with a bag of records and a few cdrs is a hell of a lot easier than all that setting up and packing away of equipment?!
Sure, DJing is a whole lot easier to prepare for than playing live, but for us the rewards are greater when you play live. We get a lot more satisfaction from playing live. It’s also a great excuse to put on a show, and it is something we have been thinking about since we started The Edison Factor 5 years ago.
How do you think becoming a live act will affect your DJ careers? Will you be pushing to be booked more to perform your live act over DJ sets, or is it something that you will take as it comes?
The Edison Factor is a different animal from either Matt Williams or James Lawson DJing. They are different and so we think they will be treated as such.
Do you plan on taking your act internationally? It’d be a helluva job carting all that kit around!
The core of our setup will definitely be taken with us, but we can also hire some bits and pieces that are needed in our countries. We are told that this is quite normal practise for touring bands.
It’s a possibly little known fact (until now) that you’ve had your voice on a number of yours and other people’s productions in the past. Can we expect to hear you break out in a heart-felt solo mid-set?
Neither of us will be singing during this first show, but vocals will be part of The Edison Factor in the future.
How do you think your different musical backgrounds affect the music you make?
Our ideas are influenced by the different musical influences we have had, and it’s exciting for both of us when one of us suggests something that the other hasn’t thought of.
Who does the driving (of the studio)? And are there many lovers tiffs when one gets to play with the mouse or keyboard more than the other? Have your girlfriends ever had to step in and break up any squabbles?
We do as much engineering/driving as each other and we disagree with each other as much as we agree. Their have been no really bad lovers tiffs, except when James forgot Matt’s birthday last year! He was sent to the naughty corner till he apologised properly.
Every clubber, DJ and producer that’s been around at any point in the last 5 years or so would know that the Edison Factor sound has always been about uplifting riffs and mind-blowing euphoric break-downs, even when so many producers went down the ‘hard as nails’ route. Do you see the Edison Factor sound changing in the near future, or will you stick to the tried and tested (and obviously still much loved) formula that still works so well?
The Edison Factor sound will morph into something as time goes on. What that will be, we don’t even know yet, but it will be something that we both love, so hopefully everyone else will too.
Thanks very much for your time guys, and I definitely look forward to seeing it all come together on Saturday!
Photos courtesy of James and Joeyxx.
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TWISTED presents EDISON FACTOR LIVE
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On:
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Saturday 7th May 2005
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At:
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The Fridge [map]
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From:
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22:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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£12 Advanced Tickets. More on the Door.
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Website:
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www.twisteduk.com
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Ticket Info:
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£12 Advanced Tickets. More on the Door
Ticketweb 08700 600 100,
Info: 0774 826 5270 / 08707 454 940 or andi@mostwanteduk.com
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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An opportunity to witness a first doesn't come around that often in a lifetime.
The premier of the Edison Factor Live Show is one of the most eagerly awaited performances of 2005.
Respected and established producers in their own right, the Edison Factor, A.K.A. James Lawson and Matt Williams, are arguably responsible for more anthems than any other production partnership in Hard Dance. From their early releases such as "Nervous Breakdown" and "The Beginning" to their more recent highly acclaimed offerings "Hallucination" and "Is there anybody out there", their well deserved reputation for creating mayhem on the dance-floor will be visible in full-effect for the first time at Twisted.
Highly qualified, musicians, entertainers and performers, this is not going to be any run of the mill live show. Expect James and Matt to add their own unique flavour to their performance in a show unlike any other you may have witnessed before.
A defining moment in the history of clubbing, where will you be for the debut of Edison Factor Live?
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Other Features By Simon Rutherford:
Innovate 1st birthday preview: interview with promoters Nick Sentience and Craig Paxton
Tidy Euphoria Album Launch Preview, Sat 28 May @ Turnmills
Polysexual preview: interview with Hinsley
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Richard Launch on 4th May 2005 18:20.17
Can't wait you animals. Better get the sweat towels ready for Matt...!
From: K.A.R.L. on 4th May 2005 18:55.05
Roll on saturday....!!! Am looking forward to seeing this live show....
From: Hatsta on 5th May 2005 06:42.19
Good on ya both, 2 of the friendliest producers/DJs I know getting exactly what they deserve !
From: ~deleted3264 on 5th May 2005 08:48.00
This will be well worth the wait!
From: Elz on 5th May 2005 11:49.14
Great interview Simon...Can't wait for Saturday...
P.S James..Love the shirt in the last photo ;o)
From: Charlie Rox on 5th May 2005 12:13.42
Wowwwwww!!! At last the show we've all been waiting for, despite a hectic wkend I intend not to miss james twanging his guitar, no dodgy shirts I hope or edison factor lycra!!! see u at the front!!!!
From: Jon Rundell on 5th May 2005 12:47.45
I walked in on Matt playing his trombone once
From: Red5 on 6th May 2005 13:09.39
 at Jon
Great interview Simon!!! Won't be able to see the boys on Sat, but I know I will be catching them in the near future
From: Amanda FB on 6th May 2005 15:27.59
Sorry I can't be there guys as I know its going to be such a great show from you two, as always! Amanda xx
From: Nikki S on 6th May 2005 19:28.35
Nice one boyz. Can't wait for Saturday night. I'll be down the front!
Nx
From: Spherical on 6th May 2005 20:27.34
This is going to be amazing.
Its just damn annoying I am stuck up north ill 
From: benz on 7th May 2005 00:12.56
I'm so so fucking gutted Im missing this but i am right in the middle of exams....good luck dudes and hope to catch the live show soon. You guys rule
b
From: Maria on 7th May 2005 11:52.41
Can't believe that I'll miss it. Im still in Brazil, just back from a very nice party and they played Edison Factor tunes at a nice arena for more than 5.000 people! Was wicked and good to remember the good times in London. Need to bring you guys to play in Brazil very soon!!! Love you both...Mwwwhhhhhaaaa
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