Pulse Loves... Patrice Baumel

Dutch native Patrice Baumel is a busy guy, and not just during the Amsterdam Dance Event. The creator of huge tracks such as Mutant Pop and Just Electricity besides tracks on Trapez, Manual Music, Dirt Cre and more. He also made the fantastic album Vapour for local stable Trouw and runs his own fantastic 360 events at club 11, whilst his reputation for spinning thought provoking sets have gained him further recognition across the globe. Read on as we look at this prolific and integral DJ as e nestle up in his hometown... 

Pulse Loves… artists with broad vision and scope… what are your influences outside of dance music and how do your incorporate these into your tracks? I am generally interested in a lot of things. From art to politics, from cinema to travelling. I soak it all up like a sponge, and that creates a certain awareness of what it feels like to live in these times. I just try to capture that mood, that zeitgeist. But it's a totally subconscious process, I try to keep the music-making process as intuitive and naive as possible.

Pulse Loves… underground scenes. Netherlands are known for all types of electronic music – but what is the underground house and techno scenes like at present at home? If you look at the amount of people showing up at clubs and festivals, it's absolutely thriving. From a creative point of view I think there is a bit too much looking back and paying hommage to the past. I feel that the scene could do with a proper quantum leap forward, totally new ways of making and experiencing music and a more social experience between party people. It's a bit too much a matter of showing up at a club and consuming what's being offered.

Pulse Loves… live shows. Tell us about your new live concept EX…? EX is an audiovisual live concept where I synchronise audio, video and lights, basically unifying the job of musician, vj and light jockey in one person. I want to create something really dynamic and trigger all senses in unison. I also want to incorporate fresh stage/room design ideas with every show. Every venue gets its unique design and I work with extras recruited from the crowd to create that extra bit of interaction. EX is like a fusion of art installation and live set. Whether people like or do not like the music is important but secondary to wanting to give them a new experience that makes them see things in a different light, that triggers inspiration and offers a fresh point of view.

Pulse Loves… ADE. Are you looking forward to playing at ADE and hat does a conference of this size mean for the future of dance music? I am very much looking forward to all the lovely friends and colleagues coming to ADE. It's a special time of the year and a great way for us locals to show off the city and the scene. The business aspect is much less interesting to me, these networking events can be so calculated and soulless - the polar opposite of the essence of dance music. ADE is first and foremost a social gathering. I don't think the conference has any influence whatsoever on the future of dance music. Brilliant artists shape the future, people with vision and passion. You find those all over the world.

Pulse Loves… Amsterdam in general. what is your favourite thing about the city and is there anything off the beaten track you can recommend? I love the fact that Amsterdam is so well-connected to the rest of the world. It's in the heart of Europe - Berlin, London and Paris are just an hour away, and we have a great airport, which makes my job a lot easier. Also the fact that it feels like a village but has the possibilities of a big city makes it a pleasant home base. Last but not least, it's only a 30 minute drive from the beach. With regards to recommendations, I just prepared an ADE survival guide with a lot of inside info:
http://www.wilddayshub.com/downloads/ade-survivalguide-2012.pdf

Pulse Loves… prolific DJs. hat releases do you have coming up into next year? Is there another album on the cards? Since I have started my free EX label I have all the freedom to release whenever I want to. Release number 2 is going to hit the streets in the coming days, distributed via my Soundcloud account. I want to keep doing this very regularilywithout any firm schedule. I am also currently working on an exciting collaboration with the french indie band Colder. The fruits of that collab should hit the road somewhere in 2013. I don't want to make another album any time soon, it's a time-consuming process yet people don't really pay all that much attention to albums anymore, their listening habits have changed irreversibly. I want to come up with some new formats that work better in an audiovisual context and also work with artists from different creative fields, like film and photography.

Listen to Patrice Baumel on Pulse Radio,