Steve Mac

FX - How did you first get interested in making music and did you always want to make house music?

SM - Well I got into music at a very early age. I started to dj when I was 11 years old, I was mostly into electro and hiphop. I loved rap music and still do. I made my first record when I was 15 and I started out making hip hop records, later on I started making hardcore and drum n bass records then I got into the house thing when I was around 20 and that was the path I took. Recently I have started making electronic hip hop records again, going back to where I started from.

FX - What have been the main turning points in your career so far?

SM - Probably the big one was remixing Todd Terry's "Keep on Jumping" record in 96, I shot to the top of the charts and was in every djs box, its very rare to make an underground house record that crosses, was mental. The rest is history.

FX - What are you currently working on and what is your role?

SM - I have just finished a Steve Mac solo artist album for Nic Fancuilli's Saved Records, this is 15 tracks for the floor, good quality dj music, this is due end of March 2011, just got the mastered version back, I'm very happy with the results.

I'm also in the middle of producing 2 bands (one of them hip hop) been working on these for the last 6 months, can't say much about them at the mo as it's top secret.

FX - Where does your inspiration come from?

SM - Mostly from early hiphop and electro producers, the likes of George Clinton, James Brown, Marly Marl, The Bomb Squad, Kenny Dope, MK , Todd Terry... I have a full list on my soundcloud page.

FX - How did you first get to hear about DCAM: Synth Squad?

SM - I was one of the producers talking at future music's SAE producer sessions recently. My talk was mostly about mixing techniques and one question that came up many times was "how do you get the bass to sit with the kick?" In my owns words I said "I'm probably gonna regret saying this but I would never use a soft synth too do this, always use the analog" 30 minutes later, I had to eat my words as I was in the FXpansion room, and the guys there were showing me DCAM: Synth Squad in depth. I was totally blown away with the results, these soft synths are probably the best I have heard. I now have a copy and am happily using them, they sound fantastic.

FX - What other FXpansion products do you own and how do you use them?

SM - I have just got my hands on a copy of Geist. I'm at a very early stage with this at the mo, but really looking forward to getting stuck into this. I love working with samples and this is the perfect solution for making beats, cutting up samples and just being very creative.

FX - Do you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share?

SM - The only way to get there in music is to work god dam hard. Eat sleep music, when I started out, I hardly slept, was in the studio round the clock, also listen to what people have to say, take everything in, don't be the talker until you know what you're talking about.

FX - Where do you see yourself in ten years time in terms of making music?

SM - Producing all kinds of bands. I'm lucky that I still work in an analog world with all the latest digital technology so I know the best of both worlds. I wanna use this to make futuristic sounds for bands. (house music is my first love and that's what I do for fun)

Interview: December 2010