DJ Ron Slomowicz: Without a doubt, Put 'Em High was the record of the WMC 2004.
Stonebridge: Oh, thank you.
RS Everywhere I went, it was playing at every single party.
Stonebridge: Yes.
RS Were you prepared for that?
Stonebridge: The single was a bit of an Ibiza tune that summer before, 2003, so I didn't think it would be possible for that to become a Miami tune since it'd been around for a while. But it was actually never properly released until March, so that's why I think we made it. No, I was blown away, but it's hard these days to say what is the tune of the conference because there's quite a few, isn't there, and there's so many parties.
RS When you go from party to party, every time you hear people go nuts.
Stonebridge: Yes, and that's a good feeling.
RS Where did the idea for the song come from?
Stonebridge: I did a remix for this girl Therese, and then I said let's do a track, and she came with a hook and we worked from scratch and this came out. I didn't think much of it then, but I gave it to Hed Kandi and they said 'yes, that's really good,' and when we played it a few times out we saw the reactions and it's always the same, it's one for the ladies, there's something in it.
RS So you worked from a track, was that Monkey or Time or…?
Stonebridge: That's right, Monkey was the first one I did for Therese.
RS Is that how you found a lot of vocalists for the album, like DaYeene?
Stonebridge: DaYeene is a band that's two girls that I've worked with since the early 90s, and on the album the first thing I did was to call all my old friends, people I've worked with in the past, to do collaborations. And then the rest of the singers, you know, some of them I met on Hed Kandi parties, some of them were recommendations from others.
RS What did you think of Ultra Nate?
Stonebridge: We met a few times on various conventions- I think we met the first time in Billboard conference in Chicago in '96 or something, but we have never actually talked about it. And then we have a common friend who is a songwriter and I told him I really love Ultra, and he said 'oh, I can hook her up, you know, no problem,' and it was like that, very, very easy.
RS With most of the songs on the album, did you start with the track and put some notes to it?
Stonebridge: That's right, I'm a track guy.
RS A track guy, so you do the track, you get the singer and you write the vocals to that track?
Stonebridge: That's right. Sometimes the singer is a writer and sometimes there was a third person involved, you know, who wrote the thing tighter with the singer.
RS I notice tomorrow you're presenting here at the Amsterdam Dance Event on how the record was made. Do you think it's important for you to share your techniques with the next generation?
Stonebridge: Absolutely. I know I didn't get any help in the early days, but I remember it was really tough to get going. I think it's important to share.
RS Are you PC or Mac?
Stonebridge: I'm a Mac guy.
RS Do you use Logic?
Stonebridge: Yes, Logic.
RS What's your favorite piece of outboard gear that you've used?
Stonebridge: I have a tube EQ, TC Logic. It's not very expensive but it's a very nice filter that I use for my bass sound.
RS What's your favorite keyboard?
Stonebridge: I still use the JV a lot; it's an old workhorse but I think the Virus is very nice as well.
RS So you still use outboard gear?
Stonebridge: Sometimes. The bass comes from the outside and through that tube thing to create a bit of warmth, and then the JV's obviously analogue still.
RS What was the inspiration to do the artist album?
Stonebridge: Well, first it was like 'how am I going to do this, you know, a whole album?', so I didn't really know in the beginning, I just did five or six tracks in July 2002. And then I sent them to the various singers. One of them came back really early and then with the others, I thought nothing's going to happen. And then I got one track together, two tracks, three, and then I'm sort of thinking maybe I should have a direction for the whole thing now, let's just see what happens. And I think it spans through everything I like myself, there's a lot of retro, Jam and Lewis, Quincy Jones kind of thing, there's also a lot of funky house things and it sort of shows everything I like since I started as a DJ more or less, you know.
