Hip-Hop
As such, there has been a switch-up in the recent MO of his approach to production. A recent session before summer has again taken its cues from Dice’s hip-hop heritage. “We produced nearly a whole album, we had so many tracks, I called up rappers, singers, dancers and some hip-hop guys were in the studio smoking joints and rapping and having fun. Guti was also there for a night and we were jamming and did the whole process of the album totally different to in Brooklyn [for the last album]. Martin and me were like, ‘Let's do it old school hip-hop style, let’s take three or four instruments and make small beats and produce like a hip-hop record.’ It's like making soup: you bring carrots,
potatoes, then on top a little twist of salt. Then you see your friend try that soup and go, ‘Heeell yeah, that shit is tiiiight’, you know?” You’d be excused for thinking that Dice might be a leading proponent in the return of hip-house, a once much-vaunted sound championed by the likes of Fast Eddie and Tyree back in '80s Chicago. But no, not just yet. “I don't like full obvious samples or hip-hop tracks layered over electric music,” he says. “It's too simple, it doesn't give you the right twist. I need something special or unique like ‘Party Non Stop’ [the Pirupa tune Desolat released last year]. “I want more people like Tyree,” he continues. “I think they are in their studios waiting for the right click in their head. When it does click, it will hit us so hard. Hip-hop is not that far away from house right now, like that Harvard Bass tune
‘Phat Dope Shit’ “This was my first track, and it's an almost true
story.”
‘Menina Brasilera’ “This took a while to finish. I was inspired by a movie in Brazil, a love story with lots of troubles. I wanted to create a certain tension in the middle of the track, drift away a little bit. It wasn't easy, because Martin didn't have a clue what I actually wanted and where I wanted to go — but that was good for the tune.”
‘Cellar Door’ “This was from a time when I had enough of
percussion and drums. I simply wanted to do something else, and it was the tune closest to my hip-hop roots.”
‘Seeing Through Shadows’ “Intense times in Ibiza. I went to almost every
party, didn't really sleep properly for almost a week, came back to the studio as a wreck — and all the time I had this ice machine from Amnesia in my head. Around that time several tracks were produced, it was probably the most intense time in the studio.”
‘Pimp Jackson Is
Talkin' Now!!!’ “Mr Jackson came in for a chat, and Martin simply pushed the record-button. It goes straight through, you hear a telephone ringing and Martin leave the studio to get the call. When he came back, he wanted to cut out parts, but there was nothing to cut out. We left it 1:1 like it was recorded on tape.”
‘Cream’ on Turbo… I'd like to produce something like this!”
It’s a good job Dice talks so often about the importance of having people around him. Just look at the pictures from the opening of Ushuaia this year and you’ll see thousands of people both vibing on the dancefloor but also in the booth around him. That said, his own night, Used + Abused, will be subtly different to many of the Ibiza nights on offer this summer, not least because of the headliners, which range from those who have “never had a real opportunity in Ibiza” like Anthea and Matthew Styles, but also some lesser-spotted names like personal Dice heroes and lesser-spotted Detroit talents including Eddie 'Flashin'' Fowlkes. “My party, I’ll try to make more intimate and close to the people. What I don't want is that festival feeling, you know. I don't wanna do that every week. It's not the music that will be different, just the feeling for the crowd that comes to dance and have a good time. At a festival you face the main stage and just look at the artist and see a performance. This you have
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