Cesar Merveille - Berlin Calling

Cesar Merveille, for some, materialised into our consciousness via a superbly delivered mix on a well known podcast series. After many listens and some armchair research it became clear that Merveille was not going to disappear from our minds in any hurry. Several YouTube video's later his DJing talents were revealed at seminal gigs at a plethora of London's underground parties. Before we knew it he was taken under the wing of Luciano and his Cadenza imprint, subsequently propelling Cesar into the house music stratosphere. Merveilles infectious jazz and tribal influenced production style has recently joined forces with Ryan Crosson in a collaborative EP/Album effort hitting us through Visionquest. Dan Whyles spoke with Cesar about 

Download Pulse.059 - Cesar Merveille here

Hey Cesar, thanks for taking the time to do this, how and where are you? I'm very good thanks! I'm in Berlin in my new place, I just moved here recently.

How are you finding life over there and what new avenues has the move allowed you to explore? Life in berlin is very different from life in london. It's very relaxed, there's a lot of space, people are laid back, quite a change from busy london! I'm enjoying this side a lot. It offers time and space which is important for the creative process.  And Berlin has a lot to offer culturally, exhibitions, shows, it has as well lots of amazing record stores! Of course i miss London, after 10 years there.  It's where i spent the most important years of my life so far and i stay very attached to it. Luckily i come back regularly to play and catch up with friends. I always try to stay a few days when possible. 

As we've come to the end of 2011, what have been some of your fond memories from the last 12 months?  Lots of good memories! Amazing parties like the after of the closing in ibiza. Lots of changes too, moving to Berlin, some nice collaborations in the studio and some personal projects. It's been a great year.

What does it mean to you to be part of the Cadenza stable of artists? Well... Cadenza has been one of my favourite label from its beginning, it means a lot to be a part of it. But it's not just the music, it's as well a fantastic family with who we share amazing moments.

You've played so many underground events such as Lo*kee in London where you're a firm favourite. How do these gigs compare with the Vagabundo's parties in Ibiza? It's different in size and atmosphere. The lo*kee parties are very intimate, the crowd is mainly made of friends and it creates a very special feeling. But i love equally the Vagabundos parties, in which we get together with the cadenza family and play bigger floor. It's a different energy but i love it too. It's important for me to play both, they bring different things and push to play differently.

Speaking of the White Isle, do you have any insights, hopes or expectations for the impending season? My hope would be for the different parties to be a little bit less political,  so artists and nights could mix up a bit more easily.

Your Ibiza Voice podcast was well received and you've just mixed the latest podcast for Pulse. How do you approach a recorded mix for a podcast as opposed to a live DJ set? This set is slower than my previous podcast or than my DJ set. When you play a DJ set you react to a crowd and play accordingly. I prefer a podcast with shorter mixes, letting the tracks breath.

Is there a theme or particular mood for the Pulse Radio podcast? Was there any particular feeling that you wanted listeners to get from the mix?I went back to some french deep house from the 90's lately, so there is a little touch of that. Those are mixed with a few more actual records. I tried to keep a certain drive but slow.

You have an album collobaration with Ryan Crosson coming up this year. How has the creative process been so far with Ryan since you have been working with him? And how has the partnership evolved (if at all) since the Visionquest EP came out? The creative process has been great and a lot of fun. We've struggled a bit over the summer to keep up with the studio work  because of our schedule and the fact that i was moving here, but when we get together we both push each other and combine our influences in a positive way.

What's exciting you looking forwards to 2012? Re-building my studio in berlin, discovering the city, more music and of course the end of the world!

Pulse.059 - Tracklisting
Ark - Holy Day
David Joseph - Latenight
Oskar Offerman - Apple crumble beneath my feet
Djiun & Douglas - Zuidw
Small People - Black ice
C rock present Dubstar - Anxious
Marc Schneider & Aera - Sumback
Ion Ludwig on Trelik
Chicken Lips remix
Merveille and Crosson - The Day You Left

Listen to Cesar Merveille on Pulse Radio