Parties: Haezer Tours Gauteng + Interview

Haezer brings myth, muscle and etiquette to a hungry local scene. Born and raised on a heady combination of early Warp & punk from The Clash and Bad Religion, he's the prodigal son of Propoghandi and other industrial pioneers. Growing up on the fat of the land that is Bellville Rock City and finally graduating among rock revolutionaries Fokofpolisiekar, his career is near breaking point on the tip of a burgeoning electro punk movement.

Haezer's sets are a frenetic energy discharge assaulting the senses and now, he's bringing the noise to the city of gold. We caught him before his great trek to entertain our curiousity so long.


Interview:

You were the founder of the T.I.T.E.S. parties. How did that all come about exactly? Who were all involved, when did you start it and what was your motivation to do it in the first place?

H: "I love partying, I love electronic music (not just electro) and I love playing music to other people.

Firstly, I wanted to start a party where I could hear harder, dirtier electro and create an environment where DJs/producers could play their own music without feeling the organizer was hating them, since the crowd wouldn't know a particular song.

Secondly, I didn't want to go through the painful process of 'becoming cool enough' to play at parties and give out a mix to every tom dick and harry I meet. So I decided to just start my own party.

Lastly, I got tired of going to the same clubs over and over again and wanted to throw parties at interesting venues like warehouses and lofts.

I got Alain (one of the organizers of Rocking the Daisies) to help out on the planning front. Then I got all the DJs who's mixes, original music and attitudes I respect to play. At the first T.I.T.E.S. I got Markie from The Dirty Skirts, Alex from Eat This Horse, Lapse, Phil Kramer (Battle Beyond The Stars) and myself to play. The music was excellent, the venue (Le Studio - a photographic studio) was rad, but the marketing was bad and the vibe was pretty lousy. That was my fault for the sponsors raped the walls and the lighting wasn't great... But that's how you learn. Making a party work takes a hell of a lot of energy, patience and organizing skills."

Which came first - producer or DJ? How and when did you first get into it all?

H: "I've been making music for the past 10 years or so... I completed a full album of downbeat/experimental electronica and was about to do a final mix on it, when my laptop with all the data got stolen out of my room. I was such an idiot for not backing anything up. A week after it got stolen I was at The Assembly at an electro gig and thought: "Shit man, I'ld love to make 'fun' music'". All my older stuff was very deep and heavy and the production process was very straining. The idea of just making music I'ld like to dance to was just such an uplifting thought.

The next week I got a new midi keyboard, new monitors and I was on my way.

So, to answer your question, definitely producer. Even today I see myself more as a producer than a DJ.

I started DJing primarily to promote my own music and also 'cause I love it. Now, I DJ 'cause I love it and just want to play music people can party to. Hard."

Any plans for another party soon?

H: "I'm doing so many DJ gigs that I don't know when I'll have time to throw another T.I.T.E.S. But, when I do, it will be for my EP launch.

Cape Town has a healthy scene going with yourself, the Get Nasty & Daydream Nation crews, Arcade, the brothers Malcolm and Ian Skene/Grave Danger (Magnum Hi-Fi and Kid Colt), Dario and Lapse all being synonymous and influential with the indie dance and electro sound going down there. Do you feel there is some sort of camaraderie to help grow and nurture the scene or is it more like friendly competition to push everything further?

H: "I definitely think at this stage all the organizers and DJs just want to push things forward. More and more DJs are banging out their own material and you know what, it's fucking good. DJ Lapse's remixes are all over the net. Grave Danger also recently blessed my ears with some fine tunes and Phil from Get Nasty is gonna blow us all away when he brings out an EP... That boy is uber talented. Not to mention The Sound and Codec.

So, my point is, more and more DJs are focusing on production and creating their own sound.

I remember when I started T.I.T.E.S. there was some kak vibes in the air... It seemed like every party tried to be cooler than the other. I mean you had Get Nasty, Arcade, Daydream Nation, Dark Side Of The Boom and then T.I.T.E.S....

But now I think people realize that every party has its own vibe and everyone is partying together. That's great. Plus, there is still that competition element that pushes the organizers to throw a kick ass party with cool lighting, design and visuals so that their party isn't lame compared to the others...

What is your view on the current underground dance scenes in South Africa at the moment? Any hopes and dreams?

H:  "Jonothan Muir from the Daydream Nation parties made an interesting comment on his blog the other day about people just DJing songs that's hyped on blog sites. I agree partly. It does seem that 'underground' does not exist anymore...and if it does, you must show it to me.

My dream is that all our local (electro/electronic/figdet/wobble/indie dance/whatever the fuck you play) DJs get to a point where they play their own produced music only in a set. That would be fantastic. That is why I enjoyed The Bloody Beetroots' set so much. It was all remixes they've done and songs of their own."

Any new SA producers/DJs we should be looking out for?

H: "The Sound, Codec and Battle Beyond the Stars"

You are the first DJ/Producer that Griet signed. How did that come about?

H: "I invited Dominique (Gawlowski) to a pre-T.I.T.E.S. house party. She thought I had a good vibe. I gave her my demo and then got signed."

Your latest "Quickfix Minimix" sounds like you were having a quite a bit of fun, while "Ugly People Dance Too" seemed a bit more serious. Is there perhaps any reason for that?

H: "Two reasons.

1. "Ugly People Dance Too" was done on Traktor and the "Quickfix" was done on Ableton.

2. "UPDT" was specially made for Listen Up and so I spent quite a bit of time selecting which tracks I wanted to drop in the mix. I sat in my studio mixing, trying to squeeze in as many songs as possible that would give people an idea of what music I'm into ('cause
pretty much no one has ever heard me play); but with the "Quickfix" I just had fun...Sat in front of my girlfriend's fireplace and started jamming
and thought I'll record what I'm playing... I'm also much more comfortable with Ableton."

The lines between various genres are getting blurrier with every new production and remix that comes out. Subgenres are becoming a made up mouthful and there seems no end to creating new sounds. Do you sometimes struggle with distinction when you produce? Or is it more what you are into at the time that has an influence on the sound you end up with?

H: "I try and not get influenced when going into my producer headspace. I've got very distinct sounds that are 'very HAEZER'. I take my influence from punk, hardcore, industrial and rock rather from other electronic artists.

How do you go about creating a new Haezer production?

H: It's always different. Sometimes I start with noise, sidechain the noise and effect it and go from there. Sometimes I start with a melody that's in my head or sometimes I just get onto my synth and jam until I hear something I can work with."

What gear and or software can you absolutely not be without?

H: "I love my Reason 4, Logic Pro, the PSP vintagewarmer plugin - oooh, love it soo much - Ableton and my PCR-500 Roland Edirol midi keyboard is my baby..."

What does your live rig consist of?

H: "Audio 8-DJ soundcard, Macbook Pro and my PCR-500. That's it. I'm planning on getting the new AKAI console that's made for Ableton and a sampler for deejaying - when I'm not broke."

For the sake of some insight or perspective, what would your "Top 10 albums that influenced Haezer" look like?

H: "This one is tough, 'cause there's a lot of albums I like, but they don't necessarily influence me.. I'll try my best... This is not in any particular order:

Gary Numan - Sacrifice And The pleasure Principle
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Deftones - Around The Fur
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years
Radiohead - Kid A
Daniel Johnston - Hi, How Are You?
ACDC - Back In Black
Daft Punk - Can't choose a particular album
MR OIZO - Moustache
The Clash - London Calling
Living Sacrifice - Reject

There are others, but this is what I can think of now."

Who are your current favourite producers at the moment? If you could open for or go on tour with anyone, who would it be?

H: "I would have to say either SebastiAn or Mr. Oizo."

What words of wisdom do you have for budding & aspiring producers/DJs?

H: Do what you want. Stick to your guns and don't copy someone else's sound or try and sound like someone else. Mix your shit properly and get it mastered before releasing it."

What’s next for Haezer? Any upcoming projects you can tell us about? When is your album due for release?

H:  "I'm doing this Joburg tour this week and finishing up my EP. Expect a lot more remixes and some collaborations. I'm aiming to take a break from deejaying for a while later this year to finish my full album."


Haezer hits Gauteng this week - here are the dates:

"Flick The Switch"
13 June @ Back2Basix with Data Takashi, Commodore 64,  Nathan Scott Phillips, Kodiac & No Skippy No School (Johannesburg)
Facebook Event here.

15 June @ Tings an Times with kidofdoom and Yesterday's Pupil (Pretoria)
Facebook Event here.

17 June @ Gin (Johannesburg)

20 June @ Woods with Yesterday's Pupil and Sassquatch (Johannesburg)
Facebook event here.

He'll also be live on air:

19 June MK Live @ 20:00 (Johannesburg)

20 June - Live on 5FM @ 18:00 (Johannesburg)

And here are some more sonic treats:

kidofdoom - Gotham City(Haezer's Only For The Brave Remix) (MediaFire)

Overthrill - The Big Fuck Up (Haezer Remix) (right click save as)

Haezer's Quick Fix Minimix (zShare)

Tracklisting:

Show'em the bass(Acapella)
Will Smith - Fresh Prince Of Bel Air(Mustard Pimp Remix)
N.A.S.A - Gifted(Steve Aoki remix)
Zodiac Cartel - We Don't Play That(Aniki's Playground mix)
Messinian - Throw It Away(Designer Drugs remix)
Don Rimini - Rave On
Smashing Pumpkins - Zero Machine(Le Castle Vania remix)
Foamo - Everything Cool
The Bloody Beetroots - Warp(Blaze Tripp remix)
Rambrandt - Alarm

More Haezer promos over here.