Micheal Gray, Danism, Rae 'You Will Remember' Defected by Defected Records

‘You Will Remember’ has been doing the rounds for some time now, and to say that its release has been hotly anticipated is something of an understatement. The time has finally arrived however, so we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with Michael and one half of Danism, Dan Liquid for a little chat about its creation.

What’s the best thing that’s happened to you so far this year?

Dan Liquid: Both myself and Dan Nutone just moved into new homes which is handy as our family are growing rapidly! The new studio will also be ready in a few weeks and looks amazing.

Tell us about this track…who’s ‘Me’ and why will we remember them??

DL: Anyone who sings along with the song becomes 'me' and we will leave the reason to be 'remembered' down to the imagination. :o)

Michael Gray: I think it’s about anybody who has ever f***ed you off! Haha.

You’ve previously collaborated with each other…why do you think you work well together?

DL: We have both have been making music for a very long time and although our individual styles are slightly different we both have the same high values towards production and the same beliefs on how to use vocals within house music. The bottom line is that we gel together well in the studio: that’s the most important thing.

MG: Dan & Dan are so easy to work with, we always seem to come up with ideas and hooks quickly. Plus none of us have egos which really helps (well, not knowingly!)

Who did what on this particular record? Was it a complete collaboration or did you work on different aspects of the track?

DL: Rae, of course, takes care of the vocals – both writing and performing. We started the backing track at our studio and then recorded the vocals at Michael's place and then we finished the track back at ours. A team effort all the way.

MG: When I work with Danism we normally work from their studio where Dan Nutone engineers, so it’s a bit of a break for me. It allows me to be more objective and come up with ideas quicker.

Is your studio set-up mostly soft or hard synths, or a combo of both? Is there a particular bit of kit that features heavily on the track?

MG: On this track, both. The kit that features most is Reason – the main synth line of this track was played on this.

DL: We use both hard and soft synths and on this project we also worked across studios - Michael's and our own. The most important part of the record to me is always the vocals so I would have to say Rae (via the Neumann Mic) is our not-so-secret weapon on this one.

On average, how often do you spend working on new music each week? Is it ever difficult to motivate yourself to get into the studio?

DL: Nutone is in the studio every day and we try to get in a least once a week together - sometimes more depending on our schedules. Inspiration is not always forthcoming but if you're not in the studio you can't capture the magic when it comes.

MG: I’d say normally about 7 - 9 hours a day, Monday to Friday, but never at the weekends. I love being in the studio, so Monday morning is never a problem for me.

What do you listen to when you’re not listening to house?

MG: Dubstep, funk, soul, disco, indie – a pretty varied selection.

DL: I guess on behalf of Nutone he would say d‘n’b or funk, but disco is the big one for me!!

What’s next on the agenda?

DL: Our next release is with Yasmeen on Strictly Rhythm, which is called Rise and is set to drop in July. We love our vocal projects and this one is some serious peak-time business. Stay tuned for further news.

MG: My new single Piece of You will be dropping in the summer, the video is about to be shot. Also watch out for a new track called ‘Remember’ (nothing to do with this single) with Marco Lys on Rising Records.

You Will Remember is out now on Defected.

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