Disconnected Podcast 001: Alex Arnout
For our first podcast we bring you Alex Arnout. The Sheffield born, London resident who runs Dogmatic Records brings a wealth of experience to our debut mix. This is a full-on house love-in.
Tell us about yourself… How long have you been involved with music, what is your passion and how did you get started?
I’ve been DJ’ing for about 18 years now and got into production in back in 98′. I got into it all in 89′, just as I was leaving school. The rave seen had just started and not many people really knew about it, so we got involved. As it was new and never seen before, the energy it gave us, without sounding cliche, changed our lives forever and I finally had a focus… Music.
Was it really as good as everyone says it was?
Are you kidding? There wasn’t anything else like it. It was a movement of youth and culture that still exists today. It’s hard to tell these days because there are so many parties but imagine stumbling on a warehouse party with massive sound systems and thousands of people dancin’ together no matter where you were from, what colour you were or which football team you supported. I doubt we’ll ever see so much love again.
What is the thinking behind your label, Dogmatik Records?
Dogmatik is about putting out great music and pushing new artist that don’t necessarily get heard or written about. It started in Sheffield in 2006 and after a couple of years I moved it down to London where I was living. I’ve recently set up Dogmatik Digital and I’m looking to experiment with that a little by putting out more than just house music.
Do you go back to the ‘Steel City’ much? If so, what’s the scene like there now-a-days?
I do go back to Sheffield but it’s definitely not the same place as when Warp Records lived there. There are still pockets of good underground nights going on (Don’t Walk…Boogie, Urban Gorilla etc.) but there was a time when Sheffield was classed as the Detroit of England… Not anymore.
How come you have used some many different names to produce under… DaLunartikz, Dread Poets, Sublunar, Ceramix and Output?
Simple really, they’ve all pretty much been different genres of music and some have been different projects with different writing partners. For my solo stuff I just use my name. I guess it’s a way of describing different working relationships.
You have played some amazing places, what’s your favourite city to DJ in?
Hard to say really but the places that immediately spring to mind are Tokyo, Miami, Barcelona and London of course.
Tell us about the mix, what’s in it and why have you picked it?
The mix is a fine balance between deep and dance floor. I hear so much loopy music that I wanted to have a bit of melody and soul running through the mix. I don’t think the younger generation realise how much body of music there is out there. It’s easy to go lookin’ in a DJ’s top ten and download the play list these days. It keeps some of the DJ’s in work, so why not… But you need to scratch below the surface to find the real gems.
Something that has been bothering us is the amount run of the mill ‘tech house’ about these days… What are your thoughts on all this?
That’s a hard one but I guess those sample packs don’t really help that much. You can have the parts to any track and make an average record but it’s down to what the producer is after, fame or quality.
What’s in the future for you and your label?
Upwards and onwards. I had a game plan when I started the label and haven’t veered from that at any point and it all seems to be working.
What’s your next release?
I have a few releases coming out. The first being my ‘Bay Of Bones EP’ on Jus’House due out Sept 22nd. My ‘Short Circuit EP’ on Phobic Records is out on Sept 29th and ‘Click City’ with a Gavin Herlihy remix will be dropping at the end of Oct on Dogmatik Digital.
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