There are many great DJs and producers who often don't get proper recognition for the contributions that they make to club music. For that reason, last year I posted a list of the top ten reasons to love Peter Presta. The response has been tremendous, and with the slew of singles Peter will be releasing over the next few months, its time we spoke again to Peter Presta about his DJing, production and record labels.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Your new single "I Want You" is getting radio and club play.
What was your inspiration to redo the Shana single?
Peter Presta: I was a big fan of the song for a very long time and I
didn't think that anybody else had done it, so I thought, let me get
in the studio and record it.
RS: You've had really good luck with covers. The version of
"More That a Feeling" you did with Bonse was massive.
Peter Presta: That was another one where I loved the song and
thought it was going to be one of those types of records that was
going to be like lady mojo or lady luck.
RS: How did you find the singer Bonse.
Peter Presta: He'd been a friend of mine for a very, very long time
and we just said that we were going to get in and record, and we had
the time. It was the right timing and that was it.
RS: You work with some really interesting singers, I see you're
working with Vanity. Is that the same Vanity as like Prince's Vanity?
Peter Presta: Yes. The song is called "Blow Your Mind" and it's the
follow up to "I Want It Liquid" which was being rocked by practically
almost every top international DJ around the globe. I'm finishing up
"Blow Your Mind" now and I'm not going to mention the name of the big
sample because I don't want anybody else getting the idea until it's
out. This one's going to be even bigger.
RS: I read you're working with another classic singer, David
Hasselhoff. You've got to tell me the story behind that one.
Peter Presta: David's my boy. He was listening to a track of mine
in the UK and he fell in love with it. We did a song, "You're Not
Guilty," which was inspired by the Michael Jackson trial, with a
sample of Four Seasons' "Oh What a Night." We couldn't get the clearance to "Oh What a Night" as they wanted a lot of money to clear. Since I already went down that road paying a ton of money for Boston's "More Than A Feeling," I said screw this and played something similiar to "Oh What a Night" but bigger. Its coming out in late spring and they're expecting it to go number one in Germany.
RS: That's one of the many reasons I respect you Peter, because
you hang out with a lot of the New York crew of DJs and producers but
you always seem to have your eye on the international world.
Peter Presta: The US is a very closed market and if you're not in
with the right clique you really can't make money. You always need to
branch out because there's always more gold on the other side of the
rainbow.
RS: Speaking about the rainbow, "Everyone Is Gay," where did
that one come from?
Peter Presta: Manny Lehman is a close friend of mine and I ended up
writing this record "Everyone Is Gay" which could mean that everyone
is happy or however you want to take it. He is very big on the
circuit scene and I'm just getting noticed on that scene so I thought
this record, if done right, would help me break bigger on the circuit.
RS: You definitely have a lot of music coming out. You also
recently started the Digital Jaxx label. How's that going for you?
Peter Presta: The Digital Jaxx label is doing very well. It's for
up-and-coming producers who are having a hard time finding a deal. It
took a very long time for me to get where I am so I came up with this
label to try to give the newcomers that hope, instead of saying, oh
well, you can't make money in this music industry.
RS: Do you distribute Digital Jaxx through Beatport or other sites?
Peter Presta: I'm distributed by approximately two hundred different
digital download sites, I have somebody in the UK and in the
Netherlands running my label, Apple Jaxx Recordings and Digital Jaxx.
RS: Getting back to your production, when you're in the studio,
are you Mac or PC?
Peter Presta: PC, screw the Mac.
RS: What software are you using?
Peter Presta: I used Sony's Acid and that's all I use. No outboard
gear. I had a $100,000 studio and I sold it all just to use Acid.
RS: You're the first producer I've spoken to who is all Acid.
Peter Presta: Yes, I'm all Acid and not the drugs.
RS: You're playing out a lot right now, where have you been
playing lately?
Peter Presta: I've been playing a lot internationally and I've been
playing a lot across North America. I have a ton of dates that are
pending right now in Brazil, Mexico City, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
Germany - it goes all over the world.
RS: What's your big record right now?
Peter Presta: "Get Down (In My House)" which is coming out on Lickin'
Tribe in Germany.
RS: That's one of your records. Aside from that, what's another
big record.
Peter Presta: "Crowd Pleazer" on Fatal Records in the Netherlands.
RS: OK, Todd.. I mean Peter. Seriously though, when you play out you, do you
play only your own stuff?
Peter Presta: No, not at all. I play a lot of tribal and pumping
disco tracks. Right now I'm blank right now with titles and
everything.
RS: The whole Mix of Trix name, where did that come from?
Peter Presta: This is funny. I used to go to this club back in the
day called Trix and I was like eleven or twelve years old when I first
started DJing and needed to come up with a production name. I ended
up rhyming mix with tricks and just ended up doing Mix of Tricks. I
always had a lot of tricks up my sleeve and never ran out of ideas, so
I thought that was perfect.
RS: What do you want to say to all your fans out there?
Peter Presta: I want everybody to know that I love them very much
and I thank them because without them I am nothing.
Interview posted - March 6, 2007
