Interview || Adam Ellis Gives Us A Reason To Believe

Exclusive Interview || Adam Ellis Speaks Remixing Lange's Risk Worth Taking, Trance and Producing 

Adam Ellis is a name which has became synonymous with the global Trance fraternity in recent times, born and bred in Sheffield - Trance music's *spiritual home thanks to the original 'Superclub' - Gatecrasher One. It comes as no surprise that his early music influences* came from artists like Armin Van Buuren, *Paul Van Dyk* & *Eddie Haliwell*.

Finding a real passion for music, Adam dedicated many years to music production and made his first major impact with a remix of the seminal Planet Perfecto - 'Bullet In The Gun'. Adam reworked the classic hit into a modern peak time floorfiller, which reaped huge support by the man himself - Paul Oakenfold as well as being an exclusive* addition to 'Perfecto Records Collected - Volume Three'*.

Adam is also well known for his remixes of John O Callaghan - Big Sky, Menno De Jong - Creatures Of The Night and 'ReOrder - Gemini to name a few, tracks which further showcase this instantly recognisable *signature sound*. 

In the way of Original's, Adam delivered his debut single 'Napalm Poet' via Kearnage Recordings in summer 2013, a staple track in the sets of many artists including John O Callaghan, Bryan Kearney, Aly & Fila, Simon Patterson & Armin Van Buuren to name a few. This was Adam's first number 1 on Beatport followed by his Subculture hit 'Mandarine' which also toped the Beaport Trance Top 100 charts. Adam went on to produce two more Top 10 singles in 2014 and has had every single played on ASOT so far. As far as collaborations go Adam has worked with 2 of the leading names in the Trance scene today, Bryan Kearney & Menno De Jong. 

One of the rare breed of producers who writes 100% of their own material without the help of engineers or ghost writers, Adam has many more projects to come on Kearnage Recording, AVA, Damaged, Outburst, Pure Trance, Blackhole Recordings and much more. He is without doubt one young artist to bookmark in the who's who of exciting new music producers. 

Hello Adam!! A big welcome to think IN electronic , Thank you for taking time out to do this interview with us. It’s a huge pleasure.

How are you doing? And if you were a chocolate what chocolate would you be and why?

 Hmmm, good question. I would be a Maltesers (strictly out of the box as they taste nicer) and I would be that chocolate so I could eat my self haha

1. This is a staple TIE question, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear South Africa?

Beatuiftul scenery

2. Can you tell us a little more about who you are when you not making music?

I am just a 27 year old who enjoys spending time with family & friends, having fun growing up.

3. You are born and bred in Sheffield - Trance music's *spiritual home* what are some of your fondest clubbing or trance memories?

I remember seeing Mauro Picotto playing Komodo in Gatecrasher 1. That moment changed my life forever, literally. I always remember the good old Gatecrasher parties in Magna (A big warehouse) and when Armin came to Sheffield for another Gatecrasher party in the what is now the 02 building. Great time !!

4. Music has always been your passion is there any reason why?

I was brought up as a kid listening to music. From a young age I was always interested in instruments (Guitar and Piano) and after teaching myself to play the guitar to a fairly high standard I guess Trance production was a natural step due to my love of the music. I feel at home working full time on music. It’s a dream come true.

5. You have dedicated years to music production and your first “big” break came from your remix of the classic Planet Perfecto - 'Bullet In The Gun' did you expect the remix to blow up?

Not at all. I made that track right after I finished but hadn’t mixed down Napalm Poet. I have a new found sense of confidence after nearly finishing Napalm Poet and the rest is history I guess.

6. ‘Napalm Poet’ took you three years to produce because you were trying to find your sound. We love your work and your sound. How did you go about finding your sound and are you happy with your current sound?

Trial and error. Mainly error. It took me 5 years to get to the level where I could make Napalm Poet. I nearly gave up many times but the love for the music just got me though it. I had it in me. I think it was meant to be. Without sounding at all arrogant, making music is the only thing I think I have ever been consistently good at. That and Ice Skating haha. But that’s not really a career. It took me a long time to get to the point where I was making good enough quality tracks consistently but I do think this is my calling in life. There is literally nothing else that interests me enough to even think about a career elsewhere. Im never ever happy with my sound tbh. I think I have kind of accepted I never will be. Its cliché but I think a lot of guys are the same. It brings one advantage in that you’r always striving to achieve more. I really think the last 4 or 5 months have seen me step up my quality though and I wont ever stop trying to improve, learn, be educated !!

7. When do you know you are 100% confident with what you have produced?

Im getting better at knowing that the track is done to the best of my ability, I used to rely on others to tell me when it was done. That’s not an issue anymore but I always like to have trusted feedback from 3 or 4 people I regularly speak to and trust in the scene. Even when you think a track is done they can give tiny bits of advice that make you improve the track. Mark Sherry has magic ears and hears things I don’t sometimes. Having guys like that around to give you feedback now and again is priceless.

8. You are one of the lucky few to be featured as a remixer on Lange’s We Are Lucky People Remixed album. You remixed Risk Worth Taking, what were you aiming to achieve with your remix?

I was specifically asked to remix this track by Lange after he heard and heavily supported my single ‘Velocity In French’. He wanted me to go down the same route with the drop and that’s what I did. I aimed to improve on Velocity though. I was always thinking the drop could be fatter in Velocity. I’m really happy with how the remix turned out and it genuinely up ends clubs.

9. If you had to pick another track of We are Lucky People to remix which would it be and why?

To be honest I’m really happy with my remix of Risk Worth Taking and when you throw the likes of Susana in the mix, I couldn’t have asked for a better track to remix.

10. What’s your view on remixes vs originals releases?

Originals are more important to your career but remix’s are absolutely essential. I love remixing older tracks that are amazing but need a revamp too.

11. DJ’n is all about the journey you take the crowed on. What journey do you try and take your listeners on with your live sets and radio mixes?

I just try and play the best music that I have and see how the crowd reacts to certain tracks. I will build my set based around the audience. I am learning every day as a DJ and I’m just going to improve as time goes on. I consider myself a producer then a DJ but the two go hand in hand and I will be honest, there is no better feeling in the world than playing your music to a crowd that’s loving it.  

12.  In 2007 you spent four months in Ibiza... What was the experience like?

I actually did 5 seasons (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) and it shaped me into the person I am today. It really opened my eyes to the world of Dance music.

13. Listening to your Soundcloud reignited the trance love in us. What makes trance so special and is trance dying out?

That’s good to hear. I don’t think it will ever die out. In my opinion nothing connects people together like Trance music. It’s so special.

14. Now we couldn’t help but notice you follow Felix Cartal on Soundcloud. Out of the trance world who are some producers you look up to and listen to ?

The usual names spring to mind as they have shaped my youth. Armin, Ferry Corsten ect but the newer guys. I respect people make good music full stop. Mark Sherry, Bryan Kearney, John O Callaghan and all those guys I look up to because they have worked HARD to get where they are. How can you not respect that.

Adam Ellis 5 Best:

1. Best producer: Will Atkinson (Kids on a different level and can make multiple genres better than most)
2. Best Moment:  Playing Cream Amnesia this summer & my 4 hour set in Argentina also this year
3. Best Application: Macbook Air (I love it so much haha)
4. Best invention: Coke (The drink ;0)
5. Best scent: Onions cooking (what a smell)
6. Best sound:  Brian Mays guitar (The Red Special, unreal sound like nothing else in the world)

What can we expect in the coming months from Adam Ellis . Do you have any last message for you fans..

You can expect a LOT of new music. I have 6 or 7 unreleased tracks and some old classic remix’s coming up. I’m working hard in the studio to be varied and improve as a producer. You can also expect more gigs. They are flying in now. Ive played in 13 or 14 countries in the last 18 months and I can’t wait to keep travelling around and play in more places.

As for my fans. Just a big thank you for the support and belief. It truly keeps me going. See you all very soon I hope. !!!

Thank you so much for doing this interview with us. We hope to see you playing in South Africa soon J  Layla and Yasmin

Me too :0