VIRTUS //

GAIST

Hi guys thanks for taking the time to be with us here at Virtus. Where in the world are you right now?

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Hey guys, so right now were at IMS in Ibiza. making the most of slightly fragile poolside hour or two. Lets just say the Tronic Label launch party at Eden last night was a little crazy. 

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Can you tell us a little bit about how the project GAIST come about?

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So GAIST is a project that Adam & I (Stu) have been working on since 2014. We had been working on different projects together for a while and we always knew that we wanted to fully commit to a duo project together. We both had a passion for all things Techno and the scene starting to lineup with how we felt about our music. So in 2014 we finished all of our other ventures to fully launch GAIST. We had our current studios built around a year or so later and the music has been flowing since then really. Fuelled by a clear cut vision of where we want our career to head, a passion for music and a love of technology we are counting 4 great years and looking forward to many more.

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How did you first get into Electronic Music?

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Our paths into the industry were quite varied. I (Stu) have been DJing out of University and branching out into production came as a natural progression. Adam on the other hand began his musical career as a drummer in band. It wasn't until a few years later until Adam became a regular at Gatecrasher 1 in Sheffield that he knew the switch to DJing was what he needed to do. We both crossed paths at a gig we were playing together, as things sometimes go the schedule got moved around and we were asked to do a back to back. The feedback from the promoters and the crowd was that 'we needed to do this again' So we did and the rest is history. 

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From what we understand you guys are from Nottingham, can you tell us a little bit about the scene in Nottingham?

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The scene in Nott's is not great for Techno to be fair, I mean its getting there, but it has a way to go to call its self a scene. The focus for electronic music is very much angled towards tech house. That being said we are actually playing a really cool gig at Saltwater in August with O.C & Verde for Movement Music. Those boys are really trying to get Techno into Nottingham. So to lend a helping hand we are bringing our PLAYdifferently set to the party to see what happens. 

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What inspires you when making a track? Do you take influences from any other artists or genres of music?

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Inspiration comes from all angles when we are in the studio. As a duo we obviously have two perspectives to consider when looking for that creative spark. Usually it doesn't take long to find a groove and begin a track. That being said there is always the odd occasion where the '"F**k it, I just can't get my head into this track" attitude comes along. For the most part tho we are very driven when it comes to the studio. With a busy lifestyle comes plenty of inspiration and we can usually get that sound down into the track quite quickly once we arrive at the studio. 

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In the Studio, what are your favourite go-to pieces of equipment? (VST/Hardware)

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We switch between software and hardware quite fluidly. Usually our tracks will begin with Ableton, so the ease of opening our favourite VST 'Spire' comes as a reflex action. We have plenty of 'out of the box' toys in our studio to have a mess about with while the other one of us is in the DAW. It can sometime be that Adam will be working on the synth in Spire or Ju8 and I (Stu) will be playing with percs on the TR8 or firing up the SubPhatty to get a bass laid down. We don't really have a concrete formula as we feel that working like that could limit our creativity. We both do have our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to producing, but if you don't do something just because someone else is better/quicker then you could potentially be missing out on the 'happy accidents' that sometimes occur from not being good at something. 

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What would you say is your most memorable gig to date? 

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We have a long list of gigs that could take that title, but we both agree that our set at Magdalena in Berlin a couple years ago is a real stand out gig for us. It was our first gig in Berlin and that club was insane. The custom build Pioneer system literally made your eyelids vibrate. The crowd were intense and everyone in the place was just so up for it! Walking out of there at something like 8am after our set was a real moment of 'Holy S**t that was epic'. It was also our first live set out on our new PLAYdifferently MODEL1. 

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For aspiring DJ’s/Producers, what one piece of advice would you give them?

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Work as hard as you can, If you do feel you are working hard enough then double or even triple your efforts because you are probably not doing enough. Every day is a day where you can learn, grow and improve yourself as an artist.

Are there any Producer’s out there right now you feel the world should be keeping an eye on?

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We have one for sure a friend of ours who goes by the name of Halvy. He is a London based techno producer who for us right now is killing it. We have an exclusive track from him that we literally play in every set! when it comes out maybe sometime later this year it will be HUGE! keep your eyes out for Halvy & Nevik - Black Mirror. There may even be a cheeky GAIST remix to go with it......... 

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Can we expect any new releases anytime soon?

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So coming up on June 11th we have our debut E.P. on Hydrozoa Records. This has already been getting hammered by John Digweed so we are looking forward to the response from everyone else when it comes out. 

We have just recently recorded a studio mix for Pig & Dans ELEVATE Radio Podcast which should be out real soon and we are on guest mix duties for Sian's Octopus Podcast in late June too so keep your ears peeled for that too. 

Keep up to date with all of GAIST's new music and sets here.