Although hardly a household name amongst Techno heads as of yet, with his Perc Trax debut “Tarantula” out this week, Oktave’s Jeff Derringer is heading into 2011 with the afterburners on full. A former indie rock drummer who made the jump to producing and eventually DJing Techno some six years ago, Jeff, along with Oktave partner Kevin Gregor, has immersed himself fully in multiple facets of the scene. With his move from NYC back to his hometown of Chicago, he’s taken up the mission of spreading American Techno through education, promotion, marketing and networking… but mostly through making and playing quality music and putting on great artistically uncompromising events. halcyon’s Techno beat reporter Albert Freeman took some time to chat with Jeff about the long, hard road, its twists and turns, and what the crystal ball has in store…
halcyon: So let’s start at the beginning Jeff. How and when did you become interested in DJing and especially production?
JD: I’ve been interested in production for a lot longer than DJing. I’ve been making and recording music for about 20 years. It’s only in the last 6 years or so that I’ve been interested in producing dance music, and in particular Techno. I was originally a drummer, so you could call that my native instrument. I think that makes me a better producer, it gives me a feel for rhythm and polyrhythm, but I’m basically a writer at heart. I’ve only been doing Techno for 6 years, and since then I’ve been getting into DJing.
h: So what were you doing before that?
JD: I was doing rock and indie basically, playing drums, travelling. We were practicing in between TV on the Radio and Interpol in Williamsburg. Then I got into producing scores for commercials. It pays great but it’s hell. It just doesn’t work after awhile, I’m not married to the music. A lot of the times it’s like, they give you a song they like, and they’re like “rip it off,” and it got really tiring. After awhile I just wanted to focus on my own music, I was getting into Techno and production, so I stopped doing commercial.
h: I’m also interested in how you started Oktave with Kevin Gregor. Of course I remember the first parties you did last year, but there must be some pre-history here too. So what’s there to tell?
JD: Kevin and I have been friends for nearly 10 years. I met Kevin when I was playing drums in a Williamsburg band back in 2002. He was a friend of our singer and Kevin was a huge supporter of our music. He literally came out to every show. He has always been really good with people and networking, something I’m less than good at. When I started making Techno, I knew very well from my experience with rock and indie that it’s much better to create and play at your own shows than it is to go around asking people to book you, especially when no one knows who you are. So when I decided that I wanted to start a Techno event, I went to Kevin with the idea. He was also a big fan of dance music and when I pitched what would become Oktave to him, he jumped right in.
h: You had a solid start on Subtrak, but the jump to Perc Trax represents a move upwards in the ranks – Perc has been on fire recently, and his label seems well suited for your music. How did you link up with Ali?
JD: Ali and I got connected through Zak (DVS1). Ali had some tour dates get cancelled in the early summer and he asked Zak to refer him to promoters in the US. Zak and I had already been talking about the first Oktave Chicago show and he told Ali to talk to me. I think Ali already knew what Oktave was and so we started emailing. Of course I told Ali how much I liked his work and his label, and we started doing a little bit of corresponding. When I was finished with “Tarantula,” I sent it to him.
h: Outside of any closely guarded secrets, can you give us a bit of insight into your production methods? I know you were using Logic for some things but started in Ableton, but that’s not really saying much. Is there any particular hardware or software you find really essential or has really changed your game?
JD: I actually learned digital production in ProTools, as back then I was still doing a lot of indie rock stuff and ProTools was what the engineers I was working with used for doing scores for TV commercials. So I got an MBox and started cranking out extremely primitive demos. Once I transitioned into Techno, I knew I needed something that was more flexible, and I kept hearing all this positive stuff from dance and Hip-Hop music producers about Ableton Live. So I took a bunch of classes at Dubspot in Manhattan and got smart on Ableton. For a while that’s all I was using – sequencing and mixing and everything in Ableton. But I noticed that my tracks sounded thin and a little plastic, and everyone by this point was talking about how amazing the sound engine is in Logic. I had a great teacher at Dubspot named Daniel Wyatt who I took a mixing and mastering class with. He basically insisted I get Logic and use it to mix, so that’s what I did. I learned Logic on my own with some textbooks. Now my method is the same as a lot of guys out there – sequence, sound design and arrange in Ableton, and then do the remaining signal processing, group mixing, final mix and mastering in Logic.
I’ve shed the majority of my analogue gear and re-invested that money into a Metric Halo soundcard and quite a lot of plug-ins. I’ve consolidated my production rig dramatically over the last year. Convolution Technology has allowed the quality of signal processing plug-ins to explode. I use a URS plug-in called Strip Pro that has about 60 convolution compressors in it. It sounds amazing. I also use the Sound Toys suite of delays (Echo Boy and Crystallizer in particular) that sound better than any other delay I’ve ever heard – Echo Boy in particular is a beast. Lastly, Altiverb for reverb is absolutely essential, especially if you’re using Ableton. I don’t like the way the Ableton reverbs sound at all. I use the Arturia synths quite a bit, particularly the Minimoog and the Arp, and I’m a big fan of NI’s Kore for sound management.
h: I’m pretty familiar with what your interests are in contemporary Techno, but that’s only part of the story I’m sure. What other interests musical and otherwise have shaped your listening interests and production style?
JD: I was influenced by a wide variety of rock and pop, but I’ve always been interested in soundtracks – Morricone, Moroder, Tangerine Dream. I also was really into industrial music, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and I like ’80s electronic pop, Eno and Bowie, Depeche Mode, etc. I was heavily into Trip-Hop, Massive Attack and Portishead in particular – I loved everything Nellee Hooper touched, even the Madonna crap. Back in those days I was into the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, but the first big club act that I obsessed over was Underworld. I think those guys are geniuses. I still go back to “Second Toughest In the Infants” a lot. The BPMs are faster than what I’m doing, but the textures and atmospheres they create with synthesis and sequencing blow me away. Incredible energy and a fat, focused sound.
h: I know you’re a big supporter of digital DJing, and I’m aware of some of its advantages seeing it’s nothing really new anymore. Still, I’m curious as to how much traditional DJing you’ve done and what your exact reasons for doing the all -digital thing are, whether they be creative or otherwise. Do you see this as something that’s changing the landscape as people continue to explore it more?
JD: I’ve done about 30 minutes of traditional DJing. I learned DJing on Serato and was using their vinyl timecode emulation for a while. I used CDJs for a while and really didn’t feel that at all. As soon as I started learning Ableton I got rid of all that. I know there’s a big respectability issue with vinyl DJing, but I spent 10 years lugging a full drum kit around, sleeping on floors, eating ramen noodles, so I don’t feel these issues. I’ve lived that already.
I’m not the world’s greatest DJ and I’m still learning every day. I think digital DJing is fine and it suits me, especially since I started using Traktor and the X1 controllers for the four deck interface. It really opened up my DJing from a place that I think was pretty static when I was using Ableton to play – I was bored and you could hear it in my sets. I love the X1 controllers and I love Traktor. Recently I got Maschine and I’m learning how to use it now – I hope to be incorporating that into my sets by the spring. Ease of downloading, flexibility of software, portability of your rig and your music – there’s just too many advantages to the digital method.
h: It certainly seems as if the Midwest Techno scene is starting to perk up, and Oktave has been on top of this. You brought Timefog to NYC, and both Silent Servant and DVS1 have played for you in Chicago. Of course in NYC we’re a little divorced from this and don’t hear much about it. It’s still under the radar a bit it seems to me. I’m very curious to hear your front line reports on this. How is it west of here and where does it seem to be going?
JD: I think there’s a lot of potential in America for Techno music, generally. This goes back to your previous question – the availability of software and hardware, along with the complete collapse of the label system, are combining to make a very fertile market for electronic music in America. The next Beatles isn’t a rock band – it’s Apple and Native Instruments and Ableton and the rise of the project studio. Kids all over are banging out cheap beats and tracks, and I only see that trend growing.
The Midwest music fan is awesome – very accepting and celebratory of the music they’re into. Less critical than New York. I’d honestly have to say that the Minneapolis Techno scene I witnessed briefly was the most impressive community I’ve seen. And there’s tons of potential in Chicago. The Chicago scene is a little bit behind New York in terms of sophistication, but there are some extremely cool and open-minded promoters here who are working to put Chicago back where it belongs from a Techno and House perspective. Nate Seider at Smart Bar (which, for my money, is the best Techno club in the country), Nadia Podolsky at Volatl, Steve Mizek at Little White Earbuds, Maryrose Moses, Mathias Matthew with Migrashun, the Trustus crew – these are just a few of the passionate, committed people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with since moving back here. I’m really excited about where the Chicago scene is going and that I get to play some small part in it.
h: While we’re on the subject of future events, what do you see as important trends in dancefloor oriented music right now, both in Techno and other areas?
JD: I think the access to Technology is a big game changer and you’re going to see more and more people involved in the production and DJ/live PA game. Guys are doing crazy shit that I marvel at when I see or hear it. There’s some crazy talented people out there. As i said, the next Beatles isn’t a rock band, it’s someone with Ableton and Logic and lots of plug-ins. Some people think that having more people making dance music or loop-based production is a bad thing, but honestly I don’t think those people like music. I think it’s good that more people are exploring new sounds and pushing the envelope and genre boundaries. If a guy’s music is uninspiring and flat, it’s likely that he won’t go anywhere. If a guy’s music is expressive and passionate and interesting, chances are good that he’ll get noticed.
h: After your fantastically successful Stroboscopic Artefacts showcase in NYC we’re really keen to see you guys going back to doing more frequent events in New York, especially seeing as you’ve been doing lots of stuff in Chicago recently. I know you had some hard spots with your initial run in NYC but do you have plans to come back more aggressively here after your January party?
JD: Thanks for your kind words on the Stroboscopic Artefacts showcase. That was a ton of fun and I was as blown away as anyone else at what Lucy and Greg brought to the show. I’m not breaking any hot news when I tell you that promoting shows is extremely difficult, and promoting Techno shows is even more so. Add the intense nightly competition of the New York market to the equation and you’ve got a very tough place to succeed. I do love New York however and I want to continue doing shows there, and doing shows in Chicago and New York has really raised our profile. Oktave has always been about putting on a show when we have a show to present, and we don’t feel an obligation to a particular schedule. When an excellent event opportunity presents itself, we do everything we can to make it happen.
It’s been helpful for Oktave to be able to offer gigs in two primary American cities, and it’s been exciting for us to do so. But it still costs money. It is exceptionally hard to make a profit or even get to the break even point putting on Techno shows – in either city. This is honestly the main obstacle for us right now – Oktave is an extremely small venture and believe me when I tell you we pull off whatever we do with smoke and mirrors. Do I want to continue putting on regular shows in New York? Absolutely. Is it viable? Time will tell.
h: So I’ll let you take the floor to close things out. Any big events on the horizon, new releases, new developments you’d like to discuss here? We’re all ears!
JD: I’m finishing a new EP right now with a couple of amazing remixers on board. I’ll be looking for a label home for that in the very early part of 2011. Oktave has upcoming shows in Chicago with Donato Dozzy and the Bunker residents, as well as the Raiz/Taimur Agha show in New York you referenced earlier. There’s a big New York event planned for March that will be a label showcase like the Stroboscopic Artefacts event. There’s another Smart Bar show planned as far ahead as June. As far as Oktave is concerned, there is a list of artists we want to book who are priorities – some who have already played for us that we want to introduce to Chicago, some who have not yet played an Oktave show. We’ll do what we can to make those shows happen.
Personally I’m working on my Mixlab:Chicago education project that I hope will be a major part of my life’s work going forward. Things with that are moving ahead and I begin teaching at Columbia College here in Chicago in January – ProTools and Ableton Live. I’m starting to take private students in my studio, and all this stuff is just starting to form into a cohesive idea and shape.
Lastly, I’m working with halcyon on putting together a loose network of American Techno promoters and distributors – we’d like to establish a viable touring and distribution route through the States. Shawn and I have spoken at length about how such an entity is necessary and possible, and how much it would help all of us who are involved and passionate about this music. With all of the new Technology, as we said before, people are starting get curious, and the Europeans would be really happy to see the American market open, especially for people that have passion and developed tastes. Lucy, Par Grindvik, Claro, and Cio d’Or all went back to Europe with really positive things to say about Oktave. We’re really pleased about that, and it’s helping us a lot. More on this to come…
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