LAMP Weekly Mix #276 feat Chris Patrick

Last week we premiered a new track that I have been really loving called 'In Tha Kitchen' part of a new EP from Chris Patrick titled '2 tha Face'. He has been tearing it up over on the east coast since his teens when he was holding it down in sub rural Pennsylvania's to today where he is one of the highly respected resident DJ's for the SOUP NYC crew and parties. Additionally he is also heading up A&R for the label putting his incredible ear to good use finding some top talent which includes himself to put music out for SOUP NYC. I was lucky enough to run into him not too long ago and can also tell you he is an absolute connoisseur and student of the music he has dedicated his life to. You are all in for an amazing treat and I am happy to share Chris Patrick's mix with you here today.PZB: Hi Chris it’s great to have you put together a mix for us this week. With your mix we will have just about had the entire SOUP NYC family here at LAMP over the last year or so. We really enjoy the label and are looking forward to sharing your mix with our audience.Typically we always like to give our audience a feel for what to expect. What do you have in store for our listeners this week?Chris Patrick: This mix is a great representation of what I’ve been not only playing in my sets most recently, but also listening to for leisure outside of the club. It’s quite an eclectic mix featuring sounds ranging from deep & dusty lo-fi house to acid electro beats. I also wanted to feature some of music from my friends that I’m really digging at the moment including my boys from Mr. Falcon out of Philly and the stellar new release from NYC’s Sean Cormac that just released on Good Company Records, which is a label run by my close friends in Brooklyn that I’ve released music on over the years. I also share a studio with the guys from the label! And of course I had to include a couple tunes from my latest EP on SOUP.PZB: We just premiered your track ‘In Tha Kitchen’ from your new EP ‘2 Tha Face’ last week. Outside of that for most of our readers this will be there first exposure to your music. How would you describe the music you make to someone you just met off the street?CP: This is such a hard question to answer! I have a pretty broad taste in music, so I like to draw influence from all genres. To put it simply, I strive to make music that is emotive and intellectual, but at the same time raw and stripped-back and can be enjoyed both in the club and in headphones. I always try to be a little weird as well and not try to take myself too seriously, which I hope comes across in my music as well.PZB: Tell us a little about your musical journey. Where does the story begin for you as a musician and what led you to where you are today?CP: I don’t think my story is too uncommon from most of my contemporaries. I started off with guitar when I was 13 or 14 and played in crappy metal bands back in high school. It all changed when I went to my first rave in ’98 or ’99. The next day all I wanted to do was listen to electronic music, and I discovered what I would describe as proper house music on one of the Nick Warren Global Underground mixes. I sold my guitar, bought turntables, and started making loops on the family desktop computer in the first version of Reason. I was always the guy who had made a thousand loops on his laptop over the years but never really finished anything. Then when I started DJing with the SOUP crew when I moved to NYC, two of my best friends, AB Logic and Born I, were the ones who encouraged me when they heard what I was working on. Over the next few years I really took producing more seriously and got to the point where I am today where I can actually finish a tune once in awhile!PZB: Who have been some of the more influential people in your music career and what do you think has been the best piece of advice you have given that you still take to heart today?CP: I was deeply influenced by artists such as Mark Farina and Derrick Carter when I first started off. The Chicago house sound that they were pushing back in the early 2000s really shaped my tastes that still stick with me today. Nowadays I would say that the most influential people in my career are my friends here in NYC, and they know who they are. They’re the ones who I’m always DJing or making music with, so it’s cool to be pushed creatively by one another whether on the decks or in the studio. With regard to advice that I’ve been given over the years, nothing specific comes to mind; however, most people who are successful that I’ve encountered over the years and in some cases have become close friends with always say to be true to yourself, work hard, and treat people with respect and you can go far.PZB: In addition to production and event planning for the SOUP label you also do A&R for them. When you go through demo submissions what are some of the major boxes that a song needs to check for it to be considered for release with SOUP?CP: First and foremost, it has to be different! A tune can be mixed down to perfection and impress in the technical sense, but if it’s got a boring groove or uses formulaic arrangements and transitions, my interest is going to fade fast. It can be a sample, an instrument, a vocal, or any other element that makes it different, but it has to come from an artist who thinks outside of the box and has something original to express.PZB: Let’s say you’re working on a new tune and you’ve got the chance to program some remixes for the EP. If you could have your pick and money, time etc were no object who are some of you favorite producers right now that you’d want to have a go at reworking your tracks?CP: There are so many. Jimmy Edgar is an artist that I’ve looked up to for years and is one of my all-time favorites. Paul Woolford’s Special Request alias would also be amazing. Right now I’m really feeling artists like Skee Mask, DJ Seinfeld, Bicep, Mall Grab, Palms Trax, Sync24 and Helena Hauff. I would say Walker & Royce, too, but I was lucky enough to have them remix one of my tracks already, which came out on the aforementioned Good Company Records a couple years back… check it out :PPZB: This was your first solo release tacking on to a handful of remixes which have been getting some good attention. What sort of process do you go through when you get into the studio to make music. Do you usually have something already in mind before you set out to start crafting? When you sit down to make a track, what are some initial things you always do before getting started?CP: I almost always have in mind what type of tune I want to make when I get to the studio. That usually depends on what kind of mood I’m in. If something that’s going on in my life isn’t going so well, or I had a shitty day, then it’s going to come through in the music. Same goes for if everything is rainbows and sunshine! Sometimes I might have heard something like a vocal in an R&B track or a drum break in rock song that I'll sample and build an idea for a track around that.PZB: When not engrossed in your own music or listening to other peoples demos and such is there a genre of music you like to fall back to when you need a break?CP: Absolutely! I actually rarely listen to dance music leisurely. I don’t really fall back on a specific genre so much as specific bands or artists. One of my favorite bands of all time is Talking Heads, along with random selections like Steely Dan and Ween. I’ve been listening to a lot of Phil Collins and earlier stuff from The Streets lately, too. I'm also a sucker for mainstream hip hop like Migos, 21 Savage, and Future. PZB: If we were sitting in your studio with you what sort of setup would we be looking at? Do you have any particular pieces of hardware or software that you really love to work with?CP: I'm running Ableton 10 as my DAW and this latest EP was done completely in the box using plug-ins from Arturia, Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass, as well as Diva and Hive from u-he. But, nowadays I am trying to incorporate more hardware into my music at my new studio space, which has a Juno-106, Moog Grandmother, Novation Bass Station II, Roland TR-8S, and few other toys from Korg. Right now I would say that the Juno and Grandmother are getting the most work.PZB: Is there anything else coming up in your world that we should know or you want to tell us about that we should be keeping an eye/ ear out for?CP: I’m currently remixing a tune coming out this summer on SOUP by NYC up and comer, James Hartnett, that’s going to be a little different than what folks have heard from me before. A lot of my time recently has been spent getting the new studio up and running, but I’m already working on more music now than ever since I’ve got a dedicated space instead of a corner in my tiny NYC bedroom. I’m set to remix a tune for Good Company Records’ bosses Roddy & Rusty coming in the next few months. Also, myself, and SOUP partners, Love & Logic and Born I, are putting the finishing touches on a secret project that we should be announcing soon!PZB: Thank you so much for your time and the incredible mix you put together. Please keep us posted on future releases and anything else coming up in your world.CP: Thanks for all the love, LAMP!

Track List

Mr. Falcon - Masks // WorshipSkee Mask - Muk FM // Ilian TapeSean Cormac - 707 to Chicago // Good CompanySpecial Request - Amnesia // XLMall Grab - Get Impetuous // Looking For TroubleBoris Divider - Electro Invader // MSXChristian Smith & Wehbba - Living In A Vacuum (Zeta Reticula Remix) // TronicSilicon Scally & Sync 24 - Clickjacking (Dub Edit) // Cultivated ElectronicsJason Burns - The Power // SOUPWalker & Royce - Fur // Moda BlackFranklyn Watts - Can’t Take It // Box Of CatsChris Patrick - 2 The Face // SOUPRick Wakley - Wake & Bake // SOUPRebūke - Sometimes // SOUPColdabank - Lovin’ You (DJ Seinfeld Remix) // AtlanticChris Patrick - Traces // SOUP