Preemptive Action _ Interview with George Lanham

How good would it be for Dave Clarke to say that your music is unique & modern?  George knows what it feels like.

We originally did this interview back in May 2012 when Pareto Park did “Preemptive Action part 1”, and spoke to GL about his motives for setting up the label & plans for the future. Fast forward a couple of months and we are proud to have the mix and artist that we’ve been waiting to showcase for so long. Thats the problem with scheduling mixes so far ahead – you have to be patient haha.

George will be on Fnoob @ 2200GMT on Wednesday 19th September 2012

Listen live: http://fnoob.com/radios/fnoob-techno-radio

And it will be available on Soundcloud afterwards.

Hi George, so what was themain  idea behind setting up the Pareto Park label?

Right now there is so much innovation in techno and electronic music, particularly in the deep / dubby side of the scene and music for the early hours which I like a lot. But I fell in love with techno from hearing it at peak time in a club and it sounded so uncompromising. So with Pareto Park my aim is to get back to the peak time. I love detuned, analogue evolving synths and Pareto Park is a platform for a modern take on that sound.

In terms of  a manifesto, what are your aims? Classic question I know, but where do you expect Pareto Park to be in 5 years time?

Manifesto. To release dark, analogue techno for the peak time dancefloor. The sort of music that asks no one’s permission.

Where are things going to be in 5 years time? That’s a difficult question mate, 5 years seems like an eternity! Honestly I simply hope that we can continue to put out music we believe in. We want to continue growing with our artists as well as bringing in new talent. We will definitely be putting out vinyl soon and because I have always promoted events you can also expect to see some label nights very soon.

Of course, thats right –  you have a lot of experience in promotion. What was it like promoting events?

I ran a night over the last 6 years mainly in Cambridge, but also London and Brighton which I really enjoyed. The other residents and I always came on after the guests for the last hour, and this was where I tested my music. Making tracks directly for a dancefloor every month is motivation like no other for a producer.

So what is that motivation? As a producer what is your approach?

I’m a dj and I make tracks for my dj sets. I love my my hardware especially the Doepfer Dark Energy, alongside a few software plugins from D16 and Audiorealism. I try to keep the set up to a few things I can work well with. I start a lot of tracks and try to get an idea down as quickly as possibly and then only the best get sequenced out and then tested in DJ sets.

So what’s coming up next for Pareto park?

We have two Preemptive Action EPs coming up, that both feature tracks from various artists including C-System, Dead Sound and more. The first one is out this week. After the pair of Preemptive Action EPs, we will have an EP by Birmingham’s Dare & Haste, which is a really strong 6 track release that’ll be out late summer.

The first Preemptive Action EP can be heard below:

Do you think the techno scene is in a good place right now?

I do, yeah. The scene is very healthy in almost every way. Parties take place every weekend in various shapes and sizes across different genres of techno, it’s the healthiest it has been for a long long time.

There is a lot of creativity and innovation across the board, from underground niche scenes at the fringe, like ‘drone’ to the hugely successful music emintating from Berghain and its residents. Most importantly a huge amount of people are enjoying techno on the dancefloor.

I would say I notice that a lot of people define ‘the scene’ by what they read in a few big publications and websites that talk about what they think is ‘popular now’. But is important to realise that there is much, much more out there that makes up the techno scene than it what is covered by a handful of journalists.

Talented crews of djs and producers are running underground nights all over and pushing boundaries under the radar. In particular, there is a wealth of hugely talented Spanish techno artists, and there’s a new Birmingham scene emerging of immensely talented producers and party throwers. Also the scenes in Netherlands and Belguim seem really strong, with micro scenes like Ghent having their own sound which harbours labels like Token, plus there’s loads of other great artists doing there own thing, like Minimum Syndicat from Paris, playing to great crowds every weekend without the glare of the dance music media.

There too many to mention here, but the techno scene as a whole is in a great place right now.

You’ve been getting great support on PA Pt.II & your track “Rationale for Revenge” in particular is an utter destroyer. Are we going to see more solo releases coming up for GL & PP? 

Are you going to keep the “various artists” format or will we see more “solo artist” EP’s in the future? Do things find a natural path after a while?

So things are going really well.. Excellent! Now that you have 3 releases under your belt, whats been the most important lesson you’ve learned? Any “what the fuck” or eureka moments? haha.

I suppose the ‘what the fuck moment’ is seeing the support for the last EP. I’m very happy with how the releases have been supported by artists I would consider the best at that what they do, like Surgeon, Inigo Kennedy, Dave Clarke, Norman Nodge

Can’t get any better than that I guess! Haha

Can I ask too.. What was your thinking in moving from the UK to Spain? Are you staying there for the duration?

I wanted to get out of the UK for a break and to launch my label, but I do plan to return someday, although I keep pushing the date back!

Spain is a great place. If you want to live somewhere with a beach where the weather is good, but also in a city with a music scene, there’s not many places in Europe where both are possible. Barcelona is a great city, the food is immense, as is the music. There are a lot of independent businesses and shops here, there are two vinyl record shops on the block where I live. It’s a relatively small city as its pinned in by the beach and mountains, so it’s easy to get around but its big enough to support a good music scene. In particular, Moog manages to put on great techno artists week in and week out for a good ol’ midweek session!

Yeah, Spain has always had a strong connection with techno, who are the new breed to look out for?

As well as the well known Oscar Mulero, Exium, Reeko, Christian Wünsch and crew there is a huge amount of talented producers and DJs, I reckon you should keep an eye on C-System, Drugstore, David Meiser and Agony Forces. Also Subsist from Valencia is a great label with some strong releases and events. There is too many to mention, with so many micro scenes and events across the country.

Coming to an end now.. What advice could you give to anyone who was thinking about setting up a label?

You have to know yourself musically to know what your label stands for. The best way you can do this is to DJ and to run you own night, to see the music and it’s relevance to a dancefloor. Don’t just sit behind a laptop at home!

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Preemptive Action Part II

Released in August 2012 – Barcelona’s Pareto Park continues its run of intense and sinister peak-time beats and angular techno with Preemptive Action Part II. A five track EP featuring tough-edged analogue techno from Spain’s Horacio Cruz and C-System (as Morfogen), Birmingham’s Jake Conlon and label head George Lanham. Plus Japanese acid techno from the Dave Clarke favourite, Ryogo Yamamori; and a vocal track from the UK’s Dead Sound and Videohead in their broken-techno, industrial style.

(Listen to “Rationale for Revenge” by George Lanham in the player below – UNREAL )

Juno: http://www.junodownload.com/labels/Pareto+Park/releases/

Pareto Park:http://www.facebook.com/ParetoPark

Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/georgelanham/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeLanham