Monday, November 26, 2007

OSCAR G BREAKS IT DOWN

Known for his productions as Murk and Funky Green Dogs alongside Ralph Falcon, and a DJ residency at Space Miami, Oscar G is one of America’s most influential house heads.
With his new mix album for Cr2 — ‘Oscar G Live & Direct Space Miami’ —out now, DJmag snagged Oscar to talk dance music in the US, club memories and new productions...

Being resident at Space Miami must have provided some memorable moments. Any recent occasions that stick out in your mind?
“Having an audience like the one I have at Space, in my hometown, is a DJ’s dream come true. There's a level of trust built over the years with that audience that allows me to experiment at will. That makes for a lot of memorable nights.
“One morning that sticks out in my head was during a Winter Music Conference a few years back. We had a closing party on the terrace with a last minute line-up. I ended up playing with Danny Howells, Sasha and Sharam. Halfway through it began pouring with rain and people just seemed to take it up a notch at that point. It was pretty amazing, it lasted till 7pm the next day.”

Much of North America is immune to the charms of house music. Why do you think that Miami is an exception?“Miami has a long history of dance music so it’s no surprise that it has welcomed house as well. I think the combination of so many different cultures that live in Miami make it a hot bed for music. It’s similar to New York, Chicago and other big American cities.
“House has remained somewhat like jazz is in the US. It was born here but is appreciated greatly across the globe. Yet it remains a niche market and small club scene in the US.”

What kind of vibe did you want to capture with your ‘Live & Direct’ mix?
“I wanted it to be honest and unpretentious, to give people a feeling of what a Saturday night at Space Miami is about. I prepared this set for a live audience, playing music I felt would move that room and define what I like to play. I set up microphones across the room to capture the audience’s reactions. I wanted to hear them because I felt they would really bring an element of energy to the CD with their reactions to the music.”

What’s going on with your Murk project alongside Ralph Falcon?
“We have recently re-released Funky Green Dogs’ ‘Reach For Me’ with great new mixes on Cr2. They will also be re-releasing our Murk Records catalogue with all new mixes. We are also re-launching the Murk label digitally and have several original things in the works.”

Do you have any more production work in the pipeline?
“I’m releasing a new track titled ‘Chunky Buddha’, which is also featured on the ‘Live & Direct’ album. I think Ralph and I may also have a new Funky Green Dogs single finished soon.”

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