Whilst you probably need a few extra legs in order to dance to a club set by London-based producer Arthur Cayzer – the R&S signed musician known as Pariah – Australian audiences did their best to keep up. Well known for his 2009 release the hip-hop sampled ‘Detroit Falls’ and his early two EPs, Pariah and label-mate Blawan recently toured for the first time ahead of their collaboration ‘Karenn’ and joint label ‘Works the Long Nights’ – ACCLAIM catches up with Pariah to discuss why he calls his music, from melodic beats to thumping techno, ‘a work in progress’…
For our readers that don’t know, can you describe the music you produce and tell us a little bit about how got started?
I started making music about three years ago when I got myself a copy of Logic and a half decent laptop. Like with most people, when I first started out I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and didn’t really have a clear vision for where I wanted to take the music I was making. All I knew for sure was that I wanted the focus to be on strong melodies and to make tracks that work equally well in a club as they do in a home listening environment. I see my first two releases for R&S as the sound of me finding my feet as a producer… a work in progress. Even today I don’t feel as though I’m 100% there yet with the sound I want to have but I’m definitely getting close and learning a lot along the way.
Already successful as individual artists, you and Blawan formed as the duo ‘Karenn’ – can you tell us a little behind why you’ve chosen to work together?
I guess the Karenn project stemmed from a shared passion for techno and we both saw it as an opportunity to do something different to what we were already known for. Neither of us view Karenn as a ‘Pariah & Blawan’ collaboration; it’s supposed to be something that is separate from what we do on our own. I’m not sure if everyone sees it the same way as we do though because, often, when we play Karenn shows we get people asking us to play Pariah or Blawan tracks. However, I understand these things take time to establish themselves properly and we’re working on a full analogue Karenn live show at the moment which I hope will show that this project is something that we are both taking very seriously and is not something that will just produce the odd 12″ here and there.
You’ve also started a label ‘Works the Long Nights’ – what was the idea behind starting a new imprint?
The label came about, quite simply, because we were struggling to find a label that would put out the exact tracks that we wanted for our first release so it just seemed to make sense to do it ourselves. It’s actually turned out really nicely because we’ve had total control over how we present the music that we want to release.
Is the SHEWORKS001 12” definitive of the sound you want to put out on Works The Long Nights?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s definitive but it certainly acts a a good blueprint for the kind of music that the label is going to be releasing. For example, the second release on the label is from a guy called Sunil Sharpe and its a lot harder than SHEWORKS001 but I think the music shares a similar vibe and aesthetic with the first one and, to me, that’s what is most important.
This will be your first Australian tour, how do more remote gigs compare to the bigger audiences like in the UK and US?
To be honest, often it is the gigs that are off the beaten track that turn out to be the best. Last summer myself, Jamie and Space Dimension Controller all played in Derry, which is a small city in Northern Ireland. I thought it was probably going to be good one because Ireland has a really strong connection with electronic music but I was completely blown away by how up for it and energetic the crowd were. It’s definitely a night that I’ll remember for a long time to come!
What can we expect from a Pariah DJ gig?
I try to make sure that the records that I play make sense when placed in context with one and other because coherence and flow are really important to me. If I can look back on a set and confidently say that I managed to get from A to B in a logical way, then I feel as though I’ve achieved something. I also don’t like rushing things and another aspect of DJ’ing that I find really important is to start from nothing and gradually build up the energy levels. It might not be the best way to do things… but it’s how I’ve always enjoyed doing it the most.
What’s coming up next for you?
The next thing from me is a 3 track EP on R&S that should be dropping either in the last week of May or the first week of June. After that I’ve got a collaborative 12″ with Midland which will come out sometime in the summer. I’m also working on something more substantial for later in the year.