Interview: Five Minutes with Wax Tailor

World-acclaimed music producer Wax Tailor is in the process of producing his new album The Shadow Of Their Suns, along with a tour planned for post-pandemic. Wax Tailor’s talent has been celebrated with prestigious awards, including a US Indie Music Award, Sacem Great Prize, and French Music Award. While you wait in anticipation for The Shadow Of Their Suns album release,  you can feast your ears on the prolific DJ’s latest funky pick-me-up single ‘Keep It Movin’ with rising rapper D Smoke. The single was produced during this period of uncertainty and is sure to have you feeling happier after the first listen!

Find out more about the music producer’s future releases below.

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

As sure as we use words to carry and to constitute our thought, I use the sounds as a vehicle for my ideas, so most of the time It comes first. I’m really obsessed about textures, I consider myself like a kind of “sound plastic artist”.

Does your material feature any collaborations?

Quite often yes, I’m a DJ, a composer, a beatmaker, but to resume I consider myself more like a music director. I like to add some featuring on some of my tracks like a direct choosing a casting.

What’s on your current playlist?

A lot of old stuff mainly from the late 60′ &and early 70′, I’m quite obsessed about this period. Then I think there are more & more good artists in the hip-hop scene, way more than 15 years ago for me. I listen to Saba, Yugen Blakrok, D Smoke, Cal Scruby, Injury Reserve and  I’m happy to hear the new east coast with Griselda & Co. I also listen to Garage rock and this year in another field,  I’ve really loved Alexandra Savior album.

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

I think the live show is really the moment when you realize what music means for the people. Streaming numbers or records selling is a kind of abstraction, but once you’re on stage you can see faces & share this music so that’s a very special moment. It’s also a moment when you can re-invent tunes to surprise the crowd.

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

I’m all about sampling music. It’s all about the texture and creating a mood. Once I’ve said that it’s like a room with plenty of doors and you can choose the way you come in,  and you’ll get a different perspective and vision. On my side, it’s all about a mixture of “best of both worlds” talking about technology. I still use my old samplers from the early 90′ but not the way I used too. I like to use the 2020 flavor of the new technology.

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

I use to be a night bird but now I like to work in the morning with a coffee. I take a lot of time listening again and again to my demos. I work in cycles. Most of the time after something like 30 minutes on a track I feel like I need to stop to do something else and come back a bit later with fresh ears, or I switch on another track. I think it’s a lot about taking your time. It’s a long process

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

Probably when I was twenty, I was at the university and I was so much into music. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in life and I’ve decided to put all my energy into it.

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?

Definitely a towel. If you don’t need it, you probably don’t do the job 😉

Any emerging artists on your radar?

Most of the time when I discover an artist nowadays I think he’s probably unknown and I see that he has got millions of views. I used to be better for that but things are going too fast for me now 😉

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

It often begins with my ASR 10 Ensoniq sampler that I do consider as a texture machine. I use Cubase as a DAW and I use an Apollo x8 with all plugs. Of course, it comes first with vinyls sampling to create my own instruments and sounds.

Any side projects you’re working on?

I’ve worked on the sound design for a TV months ago and for a short movie, but for now, I focus on my next album.

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

I’ve been doing this for twenty-five years now so I really hope so 😉

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

New single with D Smoke and a new album coming, The Shadow Of Their Suns for 2021.

Famous last words?

“This Is The Album Of The Maturity”, probably the worst promotion argument 😉 .

Follow WAX TAILOR:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify

Follow D Smoke:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify