EXCLUSIVE! SOUL CLAP INTERVIEW & MIX

Music | jon.ramsay | June 5, 2010

Bostonian DJ duo Soul Clap (comprising Elyte and Cnyce) first appeared on our radar with their rather fantastic ‘FreE.P.’ Recently featured on Resident Advisor and XLR8R and with new release ‘Beautiful Thang’ on constant repeat at Tashed HQ, we caught up with the guys to get their thoughts on the Soul Clap success story.

Be sure to check out our exclusive live mix from Soul Clap… just click here!

—– SOUL CLAP INTERVIEW —–

TASHED: How did you guys meet? Were your tastes instantly compatible or was there a ‘getting to know each other’ period?

SOUL CLAP: We’re actually old friends from the 90’s east coast rave days. we partied together for about four years before we even started Soul Clap. Then we realized that our musical goals we’re pretty much identical. We have some very different influences (like funk for Charlie and Jazz for Eli), but all in all we’re both all about bringing the history of music into a new dimension.

TASHED: Like (we would imagine) many others, we first got into Soul Clap through the rather awesome FreE.P. Did you have any qualms about giving the whole EP away? Many producers seem to be in very different places now with regard to giving away their creative endeavours for free.

SOUL CLAP: Basically we felt that with so many people stealing music these days, giving away music in our own way would be a much better way for us to control the message. We’ve also been putting out a bunch of vinyl-only releases that never see digital release and by offering free digital options we can reach people that don’t buy vinyl. In the last couple months we’ve also given away our “Beautiful Thang” track we did with Gadi from Wolf + Lamb to promote our “Joint Custody EP” we did with him for his vinyl-only Double Standard Records as well as “Theive $krilla” a track to promote our new “SECT EP”, a project we’re doing with a couple of our Boston homies (TASHED: Soundcloud links at the end folks)

TASHED: Which of your productions or remixes are you most proud of and why?

SOUL CLAP: Original: 3 Wheel E-motion (because it really started the whole EFUNK thing). Coming Soon: Action/Satisfaction (because it’s our first original vocal track and the title track off our forthcoming Crosstown Rebels EP!). Remix: Greg Paulus – Suchashame [Soul Clap EFUNK Mix] (this one has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us musically… it’s forthcoming on Double Standard Records). Edit: Love Light (because it was our first edit and got us signed to Wolf + Lamb!)

TASHED: What major projects are you working on at the moment?

SOUL CLAP: We’re really focusing on SECT, which stands for Sergio Eli Charlie Tanner. We like to think of it as our Boston super group. The first EP was released on Culprit Records out of LA last month and now we’re finishing up a new EP for Johnny White’s No.19 imprint out of Toronto as well as another more experimental EP. On the Soul Clap front we’re finishing up a big batch of remixes: Tiefschwarz, Kathy Diamond (on Needwant Recs), our homie from Arizona Michael J Collins (for a new Spanish label called Apersonal Music) and a couple bands called C.R.E.E.P. out of NYC and Mystery Roar out of Boston. Then we head off for 3 months touring Europe (plus a weekend in Japan) and when we get back we’re gonna lock ourselves up and write our first album!

TASHED: Is RnB a big influence for both of you? If you could choose to work with one legendary soul/RnB vocalist (alive or dead) who would it be?

SOUL CLAP: George Clinton. Rick James (cause that would be the craziest studio session ever, biatch). Roger Troutman. R Kelly. Nile Rogers.

“A year from now we will most likely be herding goats in the hills of Louisiana.  We will own a biker bar with a tropical theme…”

TASHED: People don’t typically see Boston as a party town. Tell them how wrong they are.

SOUL CLAP: Unless you’re in university, they’re not wrong: literally half the city is students. Plus most parties start around lunchtime and have you home before supper, so I’m sure you get the picture. However, for the last 3 years we have done a weekly party on Wednesdays called midweek techno, which has brought through some worldclass talent. We also did an outdoor party called Dancing On The Charles, which Urb Magazine named one of the 5 best outdoor events in the states, but that got shut down by the city. LAME!

TASHED: The music consultancy is a smart business idea that fits right alongside your work as DJs and producers. What inspired you to take on the challenge, and why don’t you think more DJs diversify like you have?

SOUL CLAP: We started the music consultancy thing because playing everything and anywhere was the only way for us to survive as professional djs in Boston. I think other DJs don’t really do it because they don’t DJ for a living or they began their career somewhere where they had the luxury to only play a few genres of music and therefore never thought about expanding their musical repertoire.

TASHED: While browsing your rather impressive website we came across a tasty little techno mix you guys put together for a recent sunrise set. Do you relish the chance to go harder? Is the soulful element something that always has to remain?

SOUL CLAP: We’re firm believers that djs should wear many hats and that different moods and tempos of music are appropriate for different times and places. However, it’s always important for us to incorporate elements of funk and jazz in our sets and it’s alway very important to take the crowd on a journey with many different feelings and emotions.

TASHED: You guys seem to be doing a fair bit of touring in the next couple of months. Are there any particular dates you’re really looking forward to? We would love to catch you guys in the new T Bar (London)!

SOUL CLAP: We’re really excited for our July dates in Japan as well as our stops in Ibiza this summer. The T Bar date is also very exciting because we have full creative control over the lineup as well as lighting and theme. we also just found out we’re play the Resident Advisor party at Amsterdam Dance Event in october, which is super exciting.

TASHED: Where do you guys want to be in a year’s time? Is there a plan for world domination or are you just seeing how it goes?

SOUL CLAP: A year from now we will most likely be herding goats in the hills of Louisiana.  We will own a biker bar with a tropical theme and constantly be on the run from paying child support.  Not because we’re poor, but because it will greatly increase our chances at our own reality TV series.  Which will be called “I aint yo baby daddy: The tropical biker years”.

TASHED: Give us a little background on the mix. Where was it recorded and what was the setup?

SOUL CLAP: This mix was recorded live at our midweek techno residency.  It takes place at a tiny Irish dive bar called The Phoenix Landing which has been a central home for dance music in Boston for decades.  We’ve had so many guests there over the years and have built tons of long lasting friendships.  The party only goes 10pm-1am, so this was the warm up part of the night.  It’s also worthy to note that this took place the day after Guru from Gangstarr died, so we had to shout him out by including a Jazzmatazz track.  Guru is originally from Boston and his music has been a major influence on us growing up, Rest In Peace.

Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap – Beautiful Thang by Soul Clap

FREE DL! SECT – Thieve $krilla by Soul Clap

Be sure to check out our exclusive live mix from Soul Clap… just click here!

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