We recently caught up with Dopamine - a breaks DJ/Producer from Australia. Dopamine's remix of "Rhythm Rock You" appears on the new Swiss compilation "Street Parade Underground" mixed by Smash FX. Matt's first single "Hold You" launched him onto the scene winning Breakspoll "Single of the Year" in 2006. Since then he has rocked many dancefloors and consistently put out remixes and original productions.
Tell us about the breaks scene in
It's not really that healthy to be honest. Sydney and Perth probably have the strongest scenes but in other states it's not so big.
How is it different in other places you play?
It's my home so I feel comfortable playing here. I usually know what to expect in each city and have a good circle of mates and fans around the country.
Where would you like to play in the world that you haven’t yet?
I'm really keen to play in Canada. Meat Katie was telling me about a brilliant party there and Myagi has been bigging it up for some time as well. I'm also hoping to get to South America and some more Eastern European countries.
How do your DJ sets influence your producing and vice-versa?
It helps to know what works on the dancefloor and being able to test out new tunes in the clubs. Also, being surrounded by the club scene and other producers I get to hear the latest music and see which directions people are going in.
I read once that you use hardware in the studio. Are you still sequencing without a computer? Any new gear in your setup?
I turned my back on sequencing with my computer for a couple of years. I was using a Yamaha RS7000 for almost everything. I would sample my synths and take that out on the road when I used to play live. It's a great machine and I released quite a few tracks with that but eventually I out grew it and needed the convenience of a computer based setup. I now use Sonar on a PC but will eventually make the switch to Logic purely for the reason that the people I collaborate with all use it and it'll make life a lot easier.
What is your philosophy when you approach a remix project?
It depends on the track I'm working on. If a track has an identifiable vocal then you can usually rewrite the track completely and make sure the vocal features heavily. That gives you a lot of freedom to be creative. If it's an instrumental I like to work with the parts in a way so they are identifiable as coming from the original but with my own twist. I don't like to just do something so completely that you can't recognize it as a remix. It defeats the purpose in my opinion.
What are some new projects you are working on now?
I have just finished two tech house singles with Madox for Mantra Vibes, one of which is being remixed by Maskio. I've also done another house track with Chris Carter for his REC label which I'm excited about. Unfortunately just prior to doing this interview my hard drive crashed so all of those are on hold until I can recover the data! I'm a bit worried to say the least.... this is why I went all hardware for a while although that turned out to be just as unreliable. It's a good thing I do regular backups otherwise I could stand to lose a lot more.
Who are some of your influences new and old?
Some influential people over the years have been Dave Clarke, Cevin Fisher, The Orb, Orbital, Chemical Brothers, Ben Simms, Glen Wilson, Elite Force and Meat Katie.
What are your website/myspace/other relevant links?
www.myspace.com/mattdopamine is the best link
my website is in dire need of an update - www.djdopamine.com
Any upcoming gigs you want to mention?
8.10.07 Pang @ Lot 33 - Canberra
8.11.07 Laundry @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
8.17.07 UTS Party - Sydney
8.17.07 Break Inn @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
8.31.07 Break Inn @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
9.01.07 Empire Hotel - Brisbane
9.29.07 Halo - Hobart, Tasmania
October - touring China
Thanks Matt. We'll be checking out all the new tracks. God bless.
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