If you’re a fan of tasty tech house and techno vibes, Lee Van Dowski is just one artist name you should be very familiar with. Previously a central chief with the Cadenza crew, Van Dowski’s now moved in with Mobilee to showcase his talents and after meeting Dean Demanuele back in December, the creative juices began to flow again for the French born Genevan. A string of tidy collaborations arose and we sat back and took note (you may have noticed The Impossible EP get a feature).
What was surprising to read in a recent Ibiza-Voice article was that these productions were all coming together over the medium of Skype. So when the promo of their latest release, Function Is Tension, landed in our inbox last month, we caught up with Mr. Lewandowski about the collaborations with his new Maltese friend Dean. Dublin promoters, get your booking boots on!
In an ideal world how would you guys like to collab? Lock yourselves in the studio or does working from afar via Skype work best for you guys?
We only have tried the one yet, which is through Skype. We both have our busy lives both in Geneva and Malta so we never had the chance for both of us to get in the same studio although we talk about it a lot! When this will happen it will either be a total disaster or an amazing experience, but we bet the sounds and the creative sides will prevail. We already have an amazing result working through Skype, we can’t imagine what working on the same computer and gear will look like, but it will happen very soon I’m sure, as Dean is building his own studio in Malta at the moment so thats the first step done.
The upcoming release on Intacto is pure fire! Loved it. Opens with a banger, more of that with Foo Gas and closes with slightly softer, more minimal vibes. Was the end product what you guys set out to accomplish?
We never really know what we want to achieve at the end, we just go with our gut feeling and move on if we like something. Everything has to be in its place and we have to like every second of the tracks we make. There is no half done track or something we are not sure about, just sounds we love and are excited about. With the Intacto we just new that we had to make top tracks and before that would happen we would not stop, thats the vibe in the studio and how we work. We look for quality.
From your recent posts on social networks it seems you have the 1st track of an album down? Is there an album in the pipeline?
Sometimes we look for further ideas and possibilities then the normal routine and one day Lee was in such an inspiring mood he just went into an album direction. We already have ideas and some tracks done for it and I’m pretty sure it will happen one day or another. We are going on such a strong pace we want to keep on delivering and the cherry on the cake would be the album later on. Just expect the unexpected.
Are you guys strictly producing together or have you been or do you plan to play out together in the future?
We both feel very comfortable working together and that was the main aim of this collab, we wanted to open new doors for each other and get motivated to get the best possible music out there. It is always better to work on music with like-minded people, it gives you a satisfactory feeling. With regards to playing together we already have some dates this year and the interest is growing day by day. We have no live shows planned to happen although never say never in life.
Lee you were just in Barcelona for OFF week and Sonar. What is it that attracts so many to the city for the week?
First and for-most Barcelona is a very beautiful city and its a central location for many europeans. The artists that plan to be there and the program are always top.
I’ve been invited to play there for almost 10 years now and i was never disappointed in any way. It’s probably the best opportunity during the year to meet up with friends and colleagues I don’t see that often, so fun is always round the corner.
This year i’ve been listening to so much good music, it was really insane and very inspiring as everybody tried to make special sets for this occasion. I wanna be there next year already!
Out of the major music weeks like ADE, Miami, Barcelona. Which of these do you guys look forward to most and why?
In our opinion we think Sonar tops our music weeks and we really look for to it. Especially this year where I (Lee) joined in time to play the mobilee rooftop which has been a top event for years now. Unfortunately Dean couldn’t make it as he had to attend other festival duties, but he was definetly there in spirit.
The top 3 tracks for your Summer 2014 soundtrack ?
hmmm, there’s really too much good stuffs going on lately to select only three, it wouldn’t be reflective of the reality…making top tens is already a torture, so only three….sorry impossible question for us heheh.
Your plans for the summer. That album? Ibiza? Festivals?
Summer in the studio will be pretty busy, we have a new record on Dean’s label Dazed & Confused Records, plus remixes and new Ep’s in the pipeline. We will also play a mobilee showcase together at the Sunscape Festival in Gozo, Lee’s playing with mobilee in ibiza at their new venue, plus obviously touring with our normal schedule.
Lee you were in Dublin a couple years back. Will we be seeing you guys here any time soon?
Promoters this is for you haha Joking aside I would love to come over with Dean this time, its a great destination to play some good quality music and its a pity i don’t come that often.
Lee van Dowski & Dean Demanuele’s ‘Function is Tension’ is out now on Intatco. Grab your copy on
Beatport HERE.
