Jason Shawhan: What approach do you take to your live shows that distinguishes you from other
dance acts?
Infusion: We have never taken the easy way out - it's not electronic karaoke, which I think a lot of acts slip into. Every set of ours is unique in that we improvise all the arrangements on the spot in front of the crowd. It takes a lot of preparation to get to that point, but it really is worth it for us. It's risky and things can go wrong, but it's far more exciting that way! There is no "hit play and stand back" button so it is honestly as hands on as you can get with this type of music. We've never had a rehearsal once and I think the audiences pick up on our adrenaline when we get up there and say "OK, let's see what we can do this time.” It really is a lot of fun for us to play to different crowds and get an instant reaction. I feel really sorry for most electronic bands that have their set mapped out and all they can do is hope the crowd will get into their set.
JS: Do you have different philosophies when it comes to producing and recording your own material versus when you are remixing a track?
I: I don't think our philosophy varies- We always strive to do the best that we possibly can every time we go into the studio. We're real perfectionists and we couldn't let anything out of our studio until it was absolutely right to our ears, be it a remix or our own material. All
three of us grew up listening to albums that had obviously been worked on in painstaking detail that still stands up after the twentieth listen. That's the kind of music we want to make. We want people to listen back to our music in years’ time and still hold up as good music and it takes time to do it well.
JS: Let's talk about Transformer 2 - "Just Can't Get Enough." How do you approach remixing a semi-classic like that? Also, on a side note, the point about a minute and a half or so into the track when the bass drum starts to pound is just electric, and I've played that for people who weren't necessarily dance fans and at that point hands fly into the air and people just have to dance.
I: That's great to hear! I love tracks that grab attention like that. We don't get excited by the average plodding filler track. We want to make tracks that stand out and make people jump around when they hear it. To be honest it was a pretty big honour to be contacted by Positiva to do that track. The difficulty in tackling a classic track like that is that there is little point in just replicating it but still somehow, in your own way, remaining faithful to it. We love having a new palette of sounds to use that you didn't come up with yourself because it inspires you to do new things. With this track, I couldn't find a copy of the version that everyone knows that every progressive house DJ back in the day played, so we produced a remix by being inspired by the original sounds and cutting those up. When we're thinking about putting together a 12", be it our own or a remix, our belief is that it's all about dynamics. Dynamics are highly underrated these days because every bedroom producer just wants their tracks loud, loud and loud. It's great to mess around with the dynamics of the bass and kick, teasing and building tension. This is hardly a new concept but these days so many tracks are just "bang bang bang, breakdown, bang bang, end.” There are so many more interesting ways to structure tracks by subtly playing with the dynamics, letting tracks breathe for a while, hitting hard, letting it breathe a little more, etc. We also spend a lot of time creating our kick drums and bass sounds- because if the foundations aren't right...