When I received a copy of Balance Presents Guy J CD in the mail, my heart started beating with excitement. The first Balance Presents with Jozif had quickly become my favorite, its track selection so well curated and emotional, I was enthralled. Israeli DJ/producer Guy J was the perfect follow up, since I have always loved his captivating work that easily brings you to a trancelike state. I knew before I even listened to it, that I was holding in my hands the perfect mix.
The anatomy of the compilation is thought through well, from an excellently timed buildup in the beginning to the gradual dissolution of sound at the end. The first track, Guy J's remix of DJ Yellow & Flowers and Sea Creatures "No One Get Left Behind" is an absolutely stunning opener, with vocals that are reminiscent of Radiohead, but I would dare say are even better. I've hardly begun, and already I feel like I am transported to my own reverie. The bassline builds steadily, but it doesn't drop until Guy's edit with Radio Slave a cappella of APM001's "Migrants," which adds that heavier and darker twist to the mix. The warped a cappella adds texture and that extra dimension of the surreal. Beautiful melodies are weaved throughout the mix, until I was hit with a wave of nostalgia as the Guy J remix of Way Out West's "Killa" came on, a track I had always turned to in my childhood reveling in its progression and melodic notes. Perfection, in my mind, was just attained. Guy J had taken me back to some of my favorite memories. I could ask no more of this mix.
The compilation was released this week on Tuesday, August 6th. We sat down with the man behind the magic, Guy J himself, to see what went into this beautiful mix.
There is, of course, an ocean of music to choose from when asked to create a compilation. When Balance approached you to do "Balance Presents…," what was the story you wanted to tell and how did you go about deciding on each track? What I had in mind with "Balance" is a compilation that gives the DJ freedom to do what he wants. Straight away I thought it would involve a lot of work in the studio; I didn't want it to be original music of mine, but music I will make inspired by great producers. I asked a few producers and producers' friends to remix one of their tracks and began to build the whole CD around those first tracks I had.
You mentioned in an interview with Balance that in order to make this mix perfect, you wanted to ' create, write and produce it.' That is a rather interesting approach for a mix, where you could have opted to simply leave tracks as is. Besides making it your own, did you do it because you felt some of these tracks needed an updated feel to be relevant today? Two tracks on the album are remixes of classics, Echomen and the WOW track, but the rest are new tracks and some unreleased tracks. I believe the next compilation I'll do will be a traditional mix of music by other producers, but because it was for Balance and the first compilation of mine, I wanted to make it more personal and challenging.
I was delighted to hear Way Out West's "Killa," which is also one of my childhood favorites. What is another oldie but goodie track that you would like to bring back into rotation, perhaps with an interpretation of your own? Would love to do "CM - Dream Universe," one of best tracks ever.
Progressive house is a mislabeled genre in today's music scene, often confused for a 'big room' and more aggressive sound that is propagating. Do you feel that affects you when releasing your music? It does, my music and also other producers' great music is not being exposed at all because it's losing focus by these "big room" tracks. I believe it also led to progressive house tracks, but real progressive house tracks, to go to other genres as well, so it's a bit of a mess now.
Your style of music contains strains of very emotional melodies, almost trance-like and absolutely dreamy. Tell us, what is one of your favorite dreams that you find yourself coming back to? I find myself entering the club, waiting for the moment to start and pressing play. Every time and again, it's a dream, every time it's different, I love it.
What are some of your sources of inspiration or muses when producing? What drives your imagination? The places I go and those moments before I head to a new place. Nightlife is very inspiring, the music in the club can change everything on the night. Every place in the world is different and I come back with something new. Before I leave, I want to create something new to bring with me. My personal life influences at me a lot - there are ups and downs and I take it out through music.
My Israeli friend would tell me he would go to amazing beachside raves as a kid. Besides attending the Love Parade at the age of 14 in Tel Aviv, what other chances did you have at experiencing the music as a kid? On the radio in Israel, I heard some of the best records ever on a radio show every Thursday that played music that was the most influential like James Holden, Mara, WOW, Bedrock and more. To hear this music on the radio, in Love Parade and in clubs, it opened my mind for another channel of how music can be done.
Would you say the Israeli electronic music scene cultivated itself on the same timeline as the European one? Definitely, even better than some places in Europe. Electronic music used to be everywhere, now it's gone more into small clubs and the underground scene, but still it's there.
You're in the growing ranks of Israeli producers such as Guy Gerber, Infected Mushroom, Shlomi Aber, and Gel Abril that are making waves internationally as well. On your journey to where you are today, is there anything you wish you had done differently? Not at all, I'm the happiest man to be where I am. I wouldn't risk doing it differently and not knowing where it would take me.
You currently have your own label, Lost & Found. What is perhaps the most challenging aspect of setting one up? Is there anyone you'd like to highlight on it, that we should be keeping an eye on? The most challenging part is to find good original music. I'm lucky to be surrounded by good producers that I know personally, but the label is doing very well now and there is a lot of great music coming on it! Watch out for some great music from Navar, Eelke Kleijn, Juan Deminicis and more.
Tracklisting:
1. DJ Yellow & Flowers and Sea Creatures – No One Get Left Behind (Guy J Remix)
2. Roger Martinez & Secret Cinema – Menthol Raga (Guy J remix)
3. Henry Saiz featuring Fab Morvan – Santa Fe (Guy J Remix)
4. APM 001 – Migrants (Radio Slave Accapella) (Guy J Edit)
5. Juan Deminicis – Once upon a time (Guy J remix)
6. Navar – Phases Of Grief (Guy J remix)
7. Pavel Petrov – Fever (Pezzner mix)/DJ T Ft. Cari Golden – City Life (Accapella) (Guy J Edit)
8. Lanoiraude – Waitin’ (Charles Webster mix) (Guy J Edit)
9. Dactilar – Day one (Guy J remix)
10. Echomen – Perpetual (Guy J remix)
11. Guy Mantzur – I’m your country (Guy J remix)
12. WOW – Killa (Guy J Remix)
13. Robert Babicz – Duba (Guy J Remix)