RS: In addition to the Evolve party in New York, where else have
you been playing out lately?
Victor Calderone: I played Montreal and that place for me is very
special because it was the first room the I every experienced freedom.
Whenever I play there, the people are so open and passionate about
music that I feel a sense of freedom that I didn't have to question
myself or doubt myself when I was about to play a certain record or go
in a different direction or experiment. I feel really open and not
self-conscious about what I was going to do next, where sometimes in
certain rooms you feel that way, that you can only get away with so
much and have to conform to the room. Montreal was the first place
that really changed me as a DJ and really allowed me to play from my
heart and experiment and play records that maybe I normally wouldn't.
It opened it up for me and I took that inspiration back to New York
with me with Evolve, because I would have amazing nights at Stereo in
Montreal and I thought I wish I had this in New York. Now I feel like
I do since Evolve has developed into a very similar vibe that I had in
Montreal at Stereo where there's this openness and where I'm really
pushing the envelope. I can go from tribal to a techno record to a
deep record, to an electro record or to a minimal record, and I never
did that in New York, but it's working for me now. I know I lost some
fans and that people that were expecting diva anthem vocals, but
that's not me anymore. I've evolved and that's why Evolve has such a
meaning for me. That's why I used it and took it where it did,
created this party and created this album. It has such a powerful
meaning because I felt like I evolved as a human musically and I ran
with it. I'm very inspired now and I feel it's just a new beginning
for me, I'm just turning forty now but I'm really ready to get busy.
RS: When you were coming our of your diva mixing period, one of
the last records you did sort of surprised me. At WMC 2004, I saw you
spin the Positiva party and you had just completed the Shapeshifters
remix. How did you get connected in to that scene?
Victor Calderone: Through working with some people in the UK. I was
working at the time with Miss Clerk handling my affairs down there and
she really linked me up with the Positiva people. They were very
interested in getting the mix from me and that's how kind of it all
went down.
RS: Also on the UK tip, how did you get involved with Goldfrapp project?
Victor Calderone: That came through actually another friend at the
time. That album was just released and I had heard that song and I
was really struck by it in an inspiring way. I thought wow this is
hot, I would like to get my hands on these vocals and I said that in
front of a friend who was connected with Mute Records. The next day
he called me up and he said guess what, you're going to be remixing
"Strict Machine." It was a nice surprise and the next thing I know I
was in the studio working on it and having fun. I was really inspired
by that vocal and it was a fun mix.
RS: I remember you used to work a lot with Mac Quayle. Are you
still in touch with him?
Victor Calderone: Yes. Mac actually is now on the West Coast, he
moved out of New York. I'm still in touch with him and we still could
kind of work long-distance. The Depeche Mode "Precious" remix we did
together was a long-distance mix. He was working in his studio on the
West Coast and I was here in New York. We were shooting parts back
and forth to each other. I mixed it down here in New York, but that's
the way we worked actually. I'd send him an idea and we were on iChat
bouncing things back and forth to each other. With the video, it
worked really well.
