By The Sword _ Interview With Ryan Dallas
I’ve seen you talking about Native Instruments Maschine a few times. What adventures have you had so far?
I’ll be totally honest here, I haven’t ever really been much of a producer. I got the Maschine with the thought that it might help kick me into making something, but I just haven’t got the patience to sit and get properly stuck in. Plus, I sit in front of a computer all day in work so I find it hard to come home and get onto the computer and stare at another screen. I’m definitely more of a DJ than a producer, but I’m not ruling it out. I do the odd edit in Ableton but that’s really about it for now.
Never say never!
Ok, so you’re part of the DSNT crew now. How did that come about?
Well I’d known all the other guys from DSNT well before I joined. Belfast is such a small city that it’s hard not to know everyone! It really all started through talking with Oisin online and getting friendly that way. He said he enjoyed listening to my mixes and had asked me to play a few times but unfortunately I was kinda tied to the Stiff Kitten. Over time though I felt things had run their course with Stiff and there wasn’t as many techno gigs coming in for me and let’s be honest the DSNT outlook on music is pretty much perfect for me. Thankfully the lads were kind enough to take me on board to help with things!
We did an interview with Oisín at the start of the year [INTERVIEW] and since then there’s been a vinyl release with Dead Sound and Xhin, Exium & Monster X and parties with AnD, Lucy, Chrissy Murderbot.. and the 2nd DSNT birthday party with Marcel Dettmann of course. Did I miss anything? Haha. How is that going for you? Any funny stories?
You missed out Ancient Methods and Rebekah.
Haha.. ok. Of course.. It’s hard to keep up with everything. There’s the proof!
The Dettmann gig was the first one for me, so no better way to kick things off! It’s been great so far really. Previously in Stiff I was a resident, but that was it. I got no say in anything to do with their nights. Just basically turn up and play music. So it’s great to be properly involved with the DSNT brand. That includes everything from the nights and the label. It’s still Oisin’s baby though! No funny stories for you unfortunately, techno is serious business don’t you know?
Boo! Boring – haha
Have you got any nights coming up soon? I always watch out for who you’ve got coming over next, as you seem to always get really great people over.
Next up we have our Halloween Shakedown party alongside the Ackright boys! It’s going to double up as the release party for DSNT03, so we have JoeFarr and a special guest coming along as well. Got the day after booked off work already. It’s probably going to be a mad one.
I’m always thinking about how Oisín’s head works when I see people coming over. It’s intriguing to see who is going to pop up later for a release or remix haha. Are there any plans for a follow-up to Dead Sounds release?’
Yeah, the release of DSNT03 is imminent. It’s an absolute beast of an EP from JoeFarr with remixes from Truss and Tessela. You can actually hear the Truss remix in the mix. DSNT 04 is also lined up for the future as well, so things are looking promising for the next load of months.
Any possibility for Ryan Dallas or DSNT to get out of the city / country and play somewhere further afield? Antarctica seems cool haha. Is that something that you’d like to do? Have you been to anywhere else?
Oisin is always a few steps ahead of us when it comes to future gigs. He’s always scheming what to be up to next haha. I think there will definitely be DSNT gigs outside Belfast in the future, but it’s all just being talked about at the minute. Personally I’m all for playing further afield if the opportunity arises, but I haven’t been outside Ireland as of yet.
We’ve got a few short questions for you now Mate. Thanks again – Looking forward to hearing the mix on the radio!
Describe yourself in 5 words.
Easily distracted, lazy and hungry
The 5 words would other people describe you with.
I don’t know really! People must do all their talking about me behind my back haha
Favourite TV show and why?
Past: The Sopranos – I love mafia related stuff and Tony Soprano was one of the best characters ever created.
Present: Homeland – great story and I quite like Claire Danes haha.
A little known fact about Belfast.
A popular snack in Belfast is a sausage roll in a bap. It’s called a sausage roll bap. Madness, I know.
The worst / best Halloween trick or treat.
I’ll not go into too much detail but it involved a firework, someone’s window and a smash. We were young and stupid haha!
Safesearch on or off? Always off!
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
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http://www.facebook.com/rdallasmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/ryan-dallas
Music production and history are my biggest passions in life.
Though people often say that Techno is faceless and should be about the music blah, blah, blah.. I believe in the need to document the people and stories behind it. Techno is a very small world in reality and I think it needs a proper resource.
I hope that everyone who is interested in Techno finds this blog accessible in terms of the way that it is written. I personally prefer to hear the artists voice as loud as the music and never enjoy synopsised and pasteurised versions of old conversation; the sort that's peppered with the occasional quote here and there.
