RS: I would totally agree with you. Speaking about name brands, I notice you do a lot of productions and you don't do as many remixes as say other people in your caliber would have the opportunity to do. Are you very selective with the remixes you choose to do, or how do you choose which projects you want to be involved with on the remix level?
Tom Stephan: Well I did, when they first started all coming my way I did do quite a few, loads I thought that first year which was a couple of years ago. Then I realized that it was basically getting in the way of me doing any new Superchumbo projects. I really like doing remixes but at the end of the day it was more important for me to do the original stuff as well.
So, I'm just sitting in the studio now and finishing up this album which I've been working on. Ever since I started the album I made the decision to prioritize the album and I haven't really done too many remixes lately. Although I did actually just do one about a month ago, because it was really good and I couldn't say no.
RS: Can I ask what it was?
Tom Stephan: Yes, her name is Jodie Lei, and the track's called "Just The Music." It's out very soon on a label in the UK called Independiente.
RS: Well, speaking about that, do you approach remixing a pop act like say Kylie or Pet Shop Boys differently than something more underground like Simon or X-Press 2?
Tom Stephan: No. In fact I don't think I would do a mix if I had to, because then it wouldn't really be Superchumbo. I mean, when I was approached to do Kylie I didn't think it sounded like a good idea. I know what they're going to want and I can't really give that to them. Her manager or someone from the record company actually called me and said listen, we want you to just go nuts and do your Superchumbo thing, whatever you want. They weren't expecting me to do a full vocal mix and that was why I did it. Because I think a lot of times if you're remixing a pop song, they expect you to keep everything intact which sometimes makes it hard to make it dance floor friendly.
RS: I'm sort of guessing that when you were approached to X-Press 2, you were really honored to do it because you're a big fan of theirs.
Tom Stephan: Totally. I've had a chance to remix a lot of people who were totally my heroes, X-Press 2, Basement Jaxx, DJ Pierre, Danny Tenaglia. It's been perfect and I was lucky to have a chance to do those things.
