Steady, Eddie, go!

It’s been a busy month for Eddie Halliwell, the man renowned for his nimble fingered dexterity behind the decks and utilisation of the latest technology to create out of this world type sound.

First up, he’s recorded the cover CD for the August issue of DJmag, a rip-roaring rave-up taking in Deadmau5, Funkagenda, Fedde Le Grand and Michael Woods.

Then there’s the fact the today sees the launch of Eddie Debut single ‘Neon’, the opening account of his very own FIUR label. If you love synth (and we all love synth), then there’s no way you’ll be unmoved by its soaring breakdown – check it out now on Beatport.

Next projects on the horizon will be Eddie's second release following 'Neon' from his new 'Elements' series and ‘Eddie Halliwell Presents ED-IT-1’, the first in a series of tracks released with parts enabling people to remix and re-edit the tracks in the studio or live on stage in their DJ sets.

“For me, it’s about bringing production and DJing together, bridging it,” he explains. “You might not necessarily like the full track, but there might be a sample in it that you’ll think ‘Right, that’s brilliant, I’ll use that’.”

He’s also takes this concept on the road, doing an Ed-it stage show that sees him integrating the music with dynamic visuals. The next one is on 18th August at his Cream Ibiza residency at Amnesia - a one-off terrace special.

Famed for his unique DJing style, that sees him reassembling hundreds of shards of tracks into a highly danceable juggernaut of tough electro, house, techno and trance rhythms, Halliwell rose to notoriety for his insane skills and originality, holding down a Radio One show and his syndicated Fire It Up global radio show, delivering six legendary editions of the Essential Mix - with his seventh coming up from Creamfields in August! - and residencies at some of the biggest clubs/brands in the world.

We snagged a window with him in-between his gigs in Canada, San Diego and Las Vegas on the morning before he heads back to Ibiza...

You’re starting to do productions now. How has this come about?
“First and foremost, I started as a DJ and that’s been my No.1 passion. I’ve never considered myself a producer, despite what people have said over the years, ‘When are you gonna make music, when you gonna do this and that?’ All the time, I’ve been learning and developing and working with programmes and different bits of kit.

“I never wanted to be one of those DJs that sat in the studio five days a week and then went out at the weekend and strung a few records together, because DJing has always been my passion and I’ve always been driven to enhance the DJing aspect of things.

“So I suppose it’s got to the stage now where the kit that I’m using and the skills I’m learning to develop as a DJ are actually becoming as one with the production side. What you learn to DJ with, you produce with. So that’s why with me personally, DJing and producing is coming together.

“What I’d been doing five years ago or whatever, messing around, I’ve never played the stuff out and I’m actually happy to play it. And also evolving through the gigs, and being on a circuit of gigs that’s already evolving and changing and growing. I think when I started out, the music that I enjoyed, I couldn’t create. I’ve had to learn that sort of stuff. But now I’ve got a good range of gigs where I can play music that I appreciate. I would never have been one of those people that would be so narrow-minded to say ‘Right, this is what I’m doing, like it or lump it’. I think it’s very important to try to adapt to your environment to try to put your edge to it and to steer yourself into the direction that you want to be in.”

You must get ideas while you’re playing...
“I do get inspired all the time, by different styles of music that are coming through, and that’s what’s exciting now — I can actually grab things and do stuff that I enjoy, that can be used in my DJ sets. I wasn’t at that stage a few years ago. It would be very frustrating in some ways, because you know what you want to do. I also get inspired by watching other people or hearing a new track that’s coming through.”

Where do you think your excitement and passion for music comes from?
“I’d say when I started clubbing. But I do remember as a kid getting Christmas presents like a synthesizer, but I wasn’t at that stage of learning music theory or whatever. I didn’t actually know that I was really into music until I went clubbing, and then discovered DJing, and obviously the love of music got me into it.”

Do you have a masterplan for your productions?
“I just think I’m going with the flow of it. You know when stuff’s right. An album will come together when you’ve got the material. Obviously I’d like to do that at some point in the future.”

Check out Eddie's debut release on Beatport now.

Visit www.eddiehalliwell.com / www.facebook.com/eddiehalliwell / www.twitter.com/eddiehalliwell for more information on tour dates and releases.

Read the rest of the interview and hear Eddie’s exclusive 60 minute mix in the August issue of DJmag.