By ThinkInElectronic / Thursday, July 10, 2014 / No comments /
Danny Howard and The Futuristic Polar Bears go Head to Head
Danny Howard Vs Futuristic Polar Bears
With their track ‘Vargo’
currently smashing the Beatport charts, we thought that it’d make a nice change
to the standard interview process if we took a back seat this time round and
invited the guys to interview each other instead. Want to know why the Polar Bears would rather
pogo to a gig, or what Danny’s cooking skills (or lack of) are like?! Then read on…
First up, it’s the Polar
Bears chance to interview Danny Howard…
FPB: There’s been a lot of buzz around the
internet about the Video we had made for Vargo, what have everybody’s reactions
been like when you’ve showed it to friends & family etc?
DANNY: The reaction is always a positive one. You
see the smile appear on people’s faces as soon as the kid starts dancing which
is exactly what I want to see. When I saw the first cut I couldn’t stop
laughing!
FPB: You are travelling and flying as much as we
are at the moment, what do you do to keep yourself entertained? Do you have any
pre-flight rituals?
DH: I don’t have any pre-flight rituals other
than to actually make the flight on time!!! I’ve been known to miss the odd one
but I’m working on that :D
In terms of keeping
myself entertained, I actually use the time on a flight to get work done or
sleep… A bit boring really but what else can you productively do on a flight?!
FPB: Being resident at Pacha Ibiza & BCM
Mallorca must be great fun, how do your sets differ between the 2 venues?
DH: Both venues are an absolute dream come true.
Pacha is because my all-time hero Erick Morillo had a residency there and I saw
him play many times which was always amazing. I never in a million years
thought I’d blag it into the DJ box, never mind a residency! BCM is always fun
because you’re playing a world class set up but without the pressure of musical
snobbery so the atmosphere is always top class.
Musically, I play much
deeper and upfront at Pacha whereas BCM is more chaotic so it’s all about the
big room bangers so the music matches the madness on the dance floor!
FPB: You are that busy at the minute that even we
struggle to get hold of you on the phone and Skype etc... How are balancing
your time over the summer between radio shows, gigs, studio time?
DH: This is true!! I’m actually answering your
questions in the back of a taxi on the way to the airport right now!! Ha! Never
stops but it’s the way I like it… Being busy is a good thing! I’m on a tight schedule
and my whole of July is planned out day to day… The trick is to stick to the
plan and hopefully everything will get done!! Unfortunately I’m not exactly the
most organised person in the world so I’ll end up chasing my tail at some point
this summer I’m sure!
FPB: We’ve set a benchmark with the Vargo
video! How will we top it with the next one?!
DH: It’s about thinking up an idea that isn’t to
cliché to the scene already. Club & Festival shots are great because they
really capture the atmosphere that the track can create in a live environment
but every producer in the world is doing this style so I’d like to stay away
from that again.
I’d quite like to get a
real life Polar Bear in the video… Possibly make it dance. Something like that.
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS:
FPB: Who’s your favourite polar bear and why?
DH: Lars. I like that he’s a banana eating polar
bear and I like bananas too… I think we’d really get on.
FPB: What is your favourite Vodka or Jaeger?
DH: Jaeger! Although I think I need to stop
drinking it as it’s not doing anything for my beach bod. My two-pack is fading…
FPB: If you could add one word to the dictionary,
what would it be and why?
DH: Vargo!! It didn’t mean anything until we made
it up!!
FPB: Next time we get in the studio together,
we’ve decided you are providing the studio food. What are you going to cook us?
DH: Well the problem is I never cook! I just burn
everything so I would attempt to cook something, burn it and then repeat the
process until we all decided that buying in a Nando’s is the safest option for
all.
FPB: Finally when are we coming to Ibiza to write
some new music together? ;)
DH: Haha!! Anytime… Always welcome!!
Now it’s Danny’s turn
to grill the Futuristic Polar Bears…
DH:
Many producers around the world strive to have a number 1 track on the
Beatport main chart, something that you guys achieved earlier this year with
‘Back To Earth’. I know all three of you were very excited but what is the
closest feeling you’ve ever experienced that could compare to getting the top
spot?
FPB:
(LUKE) Nothing compares to it. It
was a moment of sheer elation and the culmination of 3 years hard work, it was
a great feeling and hopefully we’ll achieve it again someday.
If I had to compare it to something I’d say It was pretty
similar to when Blackburn won the Premiership title many moons ago, that was
also a pretty epic day..
DH:
When I come into the studio with you, I notice you have a board that you
created as a snapshot into what you would like to achieve in the future. A BBC
Radio 1 Essential Mix, Cover Stars of Mixmag and DJ Mag Number 1 DJ’s all
feature but if you had to pick just one, which goal would make you feel like
you’ve really made it?
FPB:
(FRAN) I think to do the essential mix on BBC Radio 1 would be
a massive achievement and something that I think is
a pinnacle of any DJs career, you only have to look at the
some of the greats that have done it, Eric Prydz, Steve Angello, Daft Punk,
Hardwell and then right back through the years to Carl Cox & Pete
Tong etc, it would be an honour (sort it out Danny! ;) )
DH:
When I first started making music with you, your style was very
different to how it is now. You went from making Tech & Funky House to more
Big Room, Progressive and Electro, how and why did you decide to make the
change?
FPB:
(Rhys) We always loved that style of music and we always
wanted to progress into the style. It was ghost producing for other DJs
and producers that gave us time to really develop our sound before we took the
plunge.
DH:
With their being three of you in the group, what is the process you go
through to make a track from start to finish… and is their ever a case of ‘Too
many cooks…’?
FPB:
(LUKE) We have a great system in place for making our own music. Rhys
and I usually come up with the ideas and then we play them to Fran to make sure
we’re all happy with the direction. We’ll then go ahead and put a
solid idea together before Fran gets to work on it. Fran is a really talented
Studio engineer and he does his thing developing the sounds in the track and
mixing it down. We’ll then go and road test it for a few weeks at gigs before
making the final adjustments and final mix. We probably scrap 50 – 60%
of the ideas we make, it’s all about quality over quantity :)
DH:
In a world where everyone is playing the same tunes… How do your DJ sets
differ from another artist in the same genre bracket as you? What’s the key
ingredient to that Polar Bear Magic?
FPB:
(Rhys) Re-edits of everything, that’s the key. We usually
spend a good few hours before gigs or when we’re flying re-editing the shit out
of everything to give it our own spin, it’s the only way to stand out. We
also try to incorporate a lot of new music and remixes we are working
on as testing them to crowds is the only way to make sure the track is good or
not.
NOT-SO-QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS:
DH:
If you could go back in time, would you still be Futuristic Polar Bears
or would you be living in the past?
FPB:
Polar Bears for Life ;)
DH:
Why do people who repair shoes, also cut keys?
FPB:
Maybe to supplement their
income? Most people buy new shoes these days instead of fixing them,
whereas you don’t buy a new house when you lose your keys, you
get another set cut ;)
DH:
Now Ryanair allocate seats and allow two pieces of hand luggage, do EasyJet
need to up their game?
FPB:
No chance. EasyJet will never have to up their game to compete with
Ryanair, I’d prefer to travel with a pogo stick to a gig than fly on
Ryanair.
DH:
Who does Rhys sit next to on the rides at Alton Towers?
FPB:
He likes sitting next to strangers so he can photobomb their snapshots especially on
the Nemesis and the Smiler.
DH:
We have the same manager who’s just had a baby with his girlfriend… If
you could have picked the name… what would it be and why?
FPB:
Rhys-Wyn Francis Luke the 2nd. Our names are
cool.
DH:
I heard Fran is scared of flying and prefers to actually run to gigs…
Can you confirm?
FPB:
I so wish this was true; I’d imagine it’d be like watching the
flash travel across the world. Maybe we can do one of those Top Gear
challenges against Fran. We’ll travel by Car and Plane and Fran can
run, let’s see who gets there first!
VARGO IS AVAILABLE NOW ON SPINNIN
To buy from Beatport
Danny Howard & Futuristic Polar
Bears – Vargo (Official Video)
Preview
Futuristic
Polar Bears
Danny Howard
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