Terminal V Podcast 102 || CLUB ANGEL
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Australia’s Club Angel is on a tear. Fresh off a breakout couple of years he has solidified his place at the forefront of dance music’s new school with sets everywhere from Hong Kong to Antwerp, Seoul to Ibiza. His tunes deal in infectious, relentless energy but with always with a warming core and euphoric overtones. They’re fast and furious in their rewiring of 90s and 00s club sounds and have earned him both critical praise and worldwide DJ and radio support.
His new podcast for Terminal V is a signature and slamming blend of speed garage, elastic and grimy bass, day-glo bounce, UKG, filthy bassline classics, and spring-loaded hard house with lush trance pads. It’s a thrilling joyride that needs to be played loud so stick it on and read about this creative process, this difference in dancers across the world and how he searches for new music.
How long did it take to hone in on your own sound, what were you searching for and what is that sound these days, would you say?
To be honest, I don’t really think about trying to craft my own sound. There are sounds that I am drawn to but naturally it changes over time. If I think about what I am drawn to most in my production, it would be the drums… but sounds and direction-wise it changes. I’ve been working on a bunch of new music for next year – there is a lot of variety in style, we’ll see what makes it out.
You’re over in Europe right now. How has it been compared other what you expected? What have you learnt about crowds and DJing here compared to back home in Australia?
Playing in Europe and the UK has been awesome – it’s been a dream of mine since I started producing. The crowds are different everywhere and each territory has its own unique flavour. It’s hard to remember what I thought it was going to be like but generally I’ve found that the UK crowds have an appetite for heavier tracks and the rest of Europe seems to love anything energetic and fun. I’ve been loving blending edits, Hard House, Speed Garage, and everything else that fits.
How often do you go diving for new music for your sets, where do you go looking – i.e. online or in record shops – and do you have a specific approach or process for it?
Are you always making music even on tour? Do your gigs feed back into the process and inspire you to write while on the road, or do you prefer to set aside specific studio time?
I would say I am always writing little ideas. It is easier and I feel most productive when working from my home studio but it’s also nice to strip things back and write on the road. The rewarding part of writing on tour is having the opportunity to test a lot of the new tracks every weekend. It gives me a good gauge of whether I’d want to release it or not. The instant feedback is exciting and inspiring.
Tell us about your mix the aim you had with it, and what you wanted it to say.
The mix starts off with a lot of the new tech house-esque garage that’s become quite popular in the UK scene at the moment. I don’t usually play it in my sets yet so it’s a bit different for me. Then the rest is classic Club Angel sound, big speed garage tracks, some French house and hard house weapons. Also mine and Mar Vista’s new single ‘Out Run.’
What gear did you use? Is that important to you?
Usually I’ll record on my XDJ set up at home but for this one I just went into a studio to record it. I’m not particularly fussy with gear as long as it works, is all I care about haha.
What are you working on for the rest of the year?
Mainly just finishing up a lot of the new demos. There’s a few featured in this mix. Other than I’m heading to the US for the first time – I’m supporting Sammy Virji on his tour and making my NY debut at Zone One.
kristan j caryl