Featuring DJ Led Manville | Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl | 13 januari 2009
Thanks Led Manville that you have found time to give answers to these questions,
How and why did you come about starting DJ Led Manville?
Well,i started djing in 1987,with 17 years old.DJ Led Manville came as the need of having one name for spinning.
your work are: Graphic Designer / International DJ & Musician / Architect tell me more about it?
Yes,well,the story is long but simple.I've studied Architecture at the University,but i've never worked as architect because i was more into graphic design,so at the same time that i was studying architecture i started to work as graphic designer in the video games industry.After some years i moved to the general advertising industry,working more with photoshop and making big formats and photoretouch for international companies.The music career runs in parallel all these years,like a second life.I started making my own music with 16 years old and a year after i started to spin with vinyls.Through all these years i formed a solo project,The Led Company,and i was involved in the band Kandinsky for some years (later on the band formed Silica Gel),playing drums and synths.
What else inspires you to DJ create?
Well, to do anything in this life you need to like what you're doing,you have to love what you do.Inspiration is something that comes when you work hard on what you like many hours a week.Of course thare are more things that make you be more creative or inspired when you spin,the mood is very important,what you feel in that moment determines in some way how will run the set.The love for music and songs that make me feel alive are a great inspiration always.
How is the scene EBM -Industrial in Spain?
Well,in Spain you are not able to listen to this music in the mainstream so,as in many other places,it's part of the underground scene.You have to be a bit more eager and find this music only in certain places and clubs and shops. But the underground scene keeps growing with the little help that we,as Djs,can give.Some people are not into this scene just because they had no chance to listen to what this scene can offer,you cannot like music that you've never listened to.Here is where DJs have to work hard,to show through their sets the incredible potential that this scene has,no matter if you're in or out of it.And the skills of the DJs are very important in this stage too,just take a look to he best DJs of other genres and see how many people they can move. Good skills and a good music selection makes people to take you seriously,you're a professional so they believe on what you do and they find themselves discovering new songs and new bands on your sets,even things that they didn't knew they could like, they start believing in your musical taste,and this feeling can run as gunpowder,like when you watch a movie and you tell all your friends not to miss it.
Can you give an introduction DJ Led Manville?
One of my passions is music,doing and Djing it too.I mix mainly EBM,Futurepop,Industrial,Synthpop,Electro,Trance, Noise,Gothic...I do harmonic mixing so,appart from beatmatching i try also to fit the melodies from one song to another."I am the computer,you're under my control,you gonna dance on the music of the future"
You've been djing 21 years in many clubs and parties in Madrid how it with the new and younger DJ?
Well,the work of a DJ is to play music,make people dance,drink,and have a great night.It's not really a matter of age,but to get good spinning skills there's nothing you can do but practice a lot and,depending on each one,this could be some years.Always there's something new that you can learn or improve.I always try to spin several hours a week appart of any event.I study every song to get it's key and structure,as for harmonic mixing it's essential to know very well each track.
Your work / mixed-album "Apoptygma Berzerk mixed by Led 2002 ". Tell me more about it?
It's the first recorded set i did in 2002.Apoptygma Berzerk has been always a great band for me,their first albums are a must have for someone into ebm and futurepop,the latest ones are more into mainstream but they are very talented anyway.So i decided to make a set mixing only songs from them.3 years after this came APB Remixed II with more songs from the newer albums again mixed in an exclusive APB set.
Have you full album by labels and the lyrical compositions what you can tell about the done work?
Well,all albums have name and a little story behind them.I like to go beyond the mixing experience and give names to the sets and build an artwork around the story,so the music is like the soundtrack of the story.Stories about dragons,war,darkness,god,robots,the evil and the good side of us...
In what ways has this discography gone beyond expectations in your myspace?
In all ways, in fact.I never thought that it was going to have such success.I have made my myspace profile because a german fan and now friend wrote to me asking me to do it,because he was not able to find any reference to my works in any place.He was Ralph from the band Stahlnebel.Since that the visits have grown exponentially on the site,aswell as friends and fans all over the globe.And it has been also a way to meet people that already knew about my sets and my way of djing.
Tell me about your discography 7 in 2008 / 7 in 2007 / 4 in 2006 / 3 in 2005 / 5 in 2004 and 4 in 2003?
It's a long list, 30 in total:
Futurepop & Industrial (recorded live at Moloko 8-02-2003, Madrid)
Futurepop & Industrial II (recorded live at Moloko 25-04-2003, Madrid)
Electronic States (2003)
Futurepop & Industrial III (recorded live at Moloko 08-11-2003, Madrid)
Lights Over Mind (2004)
Ein Stück Music (2004)
The Led Company - Not Enough Universe Ep (2004)
Per-Versions (2004)
Tranz Futurepop Express (2004)
Live in Las Vegas (2005)
Roots (2005)
APB Remixed II (2005)
Reborn (2006)
Versus Satanicus (2006)
Digital Industrial Darkness (2006)
Nude for Infused (2006)
Lust (2007)
Nude for Infused II (2007)
God Plays Dice (2007)
Inside the Asylum (2007)
Krieg (2007)
Versus Satanicus II (2007)
State Of Being (2007)
Live At The Asylum (2008) (recorded live at Dark Asylum, Gloucester (UK))
Android (2008)
Avalon (2008)
Cyber Angels & The Devil (2008) (recorded live at Cyber Angels party III, Tilburg (NL))
God Sent Us To Destroy (2008) (recorded live in Birmingham at Barfly, with Combichrist, Novus UK & Asbury Heights)
Versus Satanicus III (2008)
Cyber Angels & The Devil II (2008) (recorded live at Cyber Angels party IV, Tilburg (NL))
Well,not to much to say about it except is very long,lol.What you see is that during 2007 and 2008 my activity has grown and i've been very,very busy,hehe,which is great for me.All the playlists can be consulted in my myspace blog:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAllCustom&friendID=88850416&swapped=true
Also i want to let you know that club owners,promoters,etc,can ask for a promotional copy in my myspace profile www.myspace.com/ledmanville of any of them to get an idea of my skills.
You've been working with Cyber Angels how has your relationship with Cyber Angels been like so far?
Excellent in fact.Ed and An from Cyber Angels are fantastic persons.They contacted me through myspace and a few weeks later we were doing our first party in Tilburg with Agapesis and Misery playing and Vasi Vallis from Reaper and me djing.Some months after this came the second party with them,this time with the bands TrümmerFrau and reAdjust.I have to say that my experience with them has been fantastic in all ways and now i can say i have trully good friends on Ed and An.
Tell me how Cyber Angels & The Devil 2008 and Cyber Angels & The Devil II 2008 with Cyber Angels came about?
They are the recorded sets of both Cyber Angels parties III and IV in Tilburg at Little Devil venue.Both sets were played live there.Fantastic parties and people had a lot of fun at them and i got very nice friends there,i have very good memories of both parties :)
And DJ Led Manville - Cyber Angels & The Devil II Live in Tilburg October 18th 2008 tell me about it?
This one is the recorded set of the second party that took place in Tilburg in october 18th.
How did you come up with the name of your DJ name Led Manville or is it your real name?
Part is real part is not.Led means in my own conception Light Emitting Duality.We have an evil part and an angelic one,that's the meaning of it.Manville is on of my surnames.
What inspires you to keep growing as a DJ?
The need of being constantly learning.
What are your top ten favorite EBM / Industrial Club Songs of all time?
Thats's a very dificult question for me.I could give you more than 100 but let's try to make a selection,in no particular order:
Nitzer Ebb - Let Your Body Learn
Front 242 - Welcome To Paradise (V1.0)
Icon of Coil - Repeat It
Project Pitchfork - Timekiller (And One remix)
Seabound - Hooked
VNV Nation - Radius 2
Apoptygma Berzerk - Non-Stop Violence
Combichrist - This Is My Rifle
Xmh - Global Killer (RX-78 remix by NG-Pro)
The Invincible Spirit - Push
I know most of them are classics,maybe because of that they are deeper inside my heart.
What ideas, movements and personalities would you say were crucial for the definition and development of DJ as a creative entity?
I guess my mother was the responsible of this.Since i was very young music was very important in my life.She always supported me studying music at the conservatory and in every musical project i've done.She's a great fan :)
While EBM / synhpop is your main musical pallet, what other music do you listen to?
There are two types of music, the one you like and the one you don't like,the rest is not so important.I like every music that is capable of making me feel i'm alive.I like electronic music above others,but it's just a little preference.
How long have you been in the DJ industry and how has it changed over time?
I started with 17,so 21 years now.I guess the main change has been done on the equipment that can be used.I started using turntables,later on i moved to cd players and now i use computers and midi hardware controllers.But the basic principle remains the same,playing music for the crowd in the best way you can.
Can you tell us something about the beginnings of DJ Led Manville how and why did you begin to DJ? Why various electronic styles?
I started to spin in a club close to home.There i met other djs with more experience and skills than me so i learnt a lot during those years and started to beatmatch.The reason for playing different styles is that i like songs above styles,so if a song is good and suitable for mixing why not? Appart from that i find very interesting the result that can be obtained by mixing two songs of different genres.Usually the resulting one can be something in the middle of both styles,but sometimes is something really different from them,and that's what i try to get,exploring new ways for music is always an enriching eperience.
Tell us about your Remixes from XMH? your styl is very cool a like this maybe XMH and Led Manville fans too?
It has been one of the nice surprises i had during the last year.I made a mix with Global Killer from XMH and Love to Blame from Apoptygma Berzerk for Versus Satanicus II.XMH listened to it and they wrote me saying how much they liked it,it was an honour for me.Later on we talked about doing some more mixes with their songs so i did them and sent to Wim (their manager).A few weeks later we were surprised by the success they had reaching the 5th position in the Dutch Underground Chart in July,it was great.
Tell us about your unique style of mixing music and who are your major influences? Where do you typically get your inspiration for DJ Led Manville?
I do what is called harmonic mixing.Which means that,appart from beatmatching the rythm i mix songs in a compatible key,so that allows me to do longer fades,which can mean sometimes that one song is playing "inside" another one.In that way i can make that melodies from one song play harmonically on another one,or make for example that the bass of one song fits in the other song.That makes the mixing experience much more interesting and creative,as the music flows and the ear of the listener recives the music as a whole, not as different songs. The best example for this can be listened in any of the Versus Satanicus series i've done,where the songs play together from their beginning to their end,doing the neccesary adjustments live to make them fit and sound as only one track.I've always admired the Djs that are able to play with music as if it was clay,giving it a shape depending on the audience, on the feelings, so every set is different from the another. I admire Djs that are able to tell stories through music.I admire everyone that's able to teach me something new,that makes me grow as Dj,it's a constant learn.My inspiration comes from life,dreams,the everyday.Inspiration is something that comes when you work hard on what you like.For me it's very important the frame of mind i have in the moment i start spinning as i don't prepare the sets before spinning,it determines significantly what direction the set will take.
Are you currently working on or planning any new releases any work on new material what is the future for your DJ?
Yes,i'm currently working on the new release's artwork.It's name is The White Album.I'm building a whole 3D scene for it.I haven't thought too much yet about the songs that will be mixed, but i want it to be instrumental,not necessarily using instrumental songs or instrumental versions,i want to use also instrumental parts of many other songs.I've also started to work in the artwork for the second part of Avalon,but it's still in a early stage and it will require some months to see the light.
It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
First of all i want to thank www.ebm-industrial.nl for this interview and to show my gratitude to all listeners and music lovers in this scene.Secondly the wish that some day this music gets to the place it must be,there are lots of great artists in this musical genres who should get the recognition that they deserve.
In closing this interview,we'd like to thank you for your time.Do you have any final words or requests?
Wishing you the best in the future and long life to www.ebm-industrial.nl
Any last words for www.ebm-industrial. nl
See you in my next live performance ;)
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