LAMP Weekly Mix #48 featuring Shark Faicol

LAMP Weekly Mix - Shark Faicol

Shark Faicol drops a dynamic, pulsating mix packed full of heavy-hitting bass tracks intertwined with old school break beats and sultry vocals. There's even a special LAMP VIP Mix of a new unreleased track from the man himself! MR PUZL got chance to chat with the man behind the shark. Check out the recent interview with him:MP: You spent part of your early childhood visiting the Philippines. Where else have you lived or traveled to? How has it had an impact on your music?SF: I lived in Berkeley and Oakland while I was going to UC up there. Outside of that I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a bunch of places in the US because of my job. I think in 2013 I was getting on a plane at least 2-3 times a month and it was great! What’s cool is every place is different and they each have their own sound. It’s always great to walk down the street and listen what the city is playing at their outdoor restaurants or hear what people are into and how the city breathes. It’s different everywhere. I guess a good analogy would be how people sometimes equate the rise of Detroit techno with the auto industry and technology; Techno being a genre that embodies an industrial and mechanical sound that (arguably) mirrored the environment at the time.I guess the impact that it’s had is that it really opened my ears to different music I don’t think I would have otherwise been able to have been exposed to. No matter how tired on the road I get, I usually always, always make it a point to go out and check out live music and DJs because that’s one thing that will always be unique every time. I think about how much time we dedicate to the events we throw, music we make, etc. and it’s super cool to check out new people, doing basically the same thing, but from a completely different environment. MP: How long have you been producing music under the Shark Faicol moniker? Got a good story behind the name?SF: It’s new. I got the name because I used to swim with sharks when I was little in the islands. MP: What instruments do you play / have you played? How do those instruments inspire your sound? SF: I started piano when I was about 5. Classical stuff. Picked up the sax in Junior High. Marched snare drum in my high school drumline then eventually transferred over to the kit. So yeah, total band geek, nerd, whatever. I always wanted to play drums though, even when I played the piano. Parents weren’t into drums (go figure). Eventually tried getting a kit and hiding it from them. That didn’t last so long.Interestingly enough, Modus (Josh Garcia) was probably the first one to get me into the drums back in 6th grade. I’m actually going to challenge him to a drum off a la Will Ferrell/Chad Smith style. Stay tuned, we should do a LAMP special feature for that.More than just sound I think the instruments influence how I think about djing. I try to think about subtle musical things that can make big impact in a track or live sets; groove, utilization of space, storytelling, phrasing, question and answer, that kinda stuff.MP: The successful release of "Higher Power" marked your return to the LA scene and a new collaborative project with Modus. Are there more releases for us to look for from you both. Are you exploring other partnerships and originals of your own?SF: Yes, lots of new material to expect. We’ve actually known each other since the 3rd grade so it’s been fun to see how our styles change over the years. Right now he’s into more dark techno stuff and I’m into more a funkier deep style and we meet somewhere in the middle. We recently moved into our place here in LA strictly to focus on music. Let’s just say our neighbors aren’t our best friends right now. Expect a lot more, and maybe some live collaborations I’m working on at the top of the year.MP: What DAWs do you use in your production? Do you have any preferred plugins?SF: Abbelton, and Glade usually works well.MP: Who are your top 5 producers at the moment? Have you seen any of them live?SF: Les Sins, Sidney Charles, Scott Diaz, Kaytranada, Frankie Knuckles… That’s a hard question, not only because the answer is always changing but that’s like asking to choose your favorite children. I did have the opportunity to see Frankie Knuckles play in Chicago in 2013. That was amazing. Great guy, a piece of history, and the quality of his tracks sounded better than anyone else’s. Considerably better. MP: Your a man of many talents. Besides DJing and producing you also work in the Marketing industry. Does that world crossover into your music life often?SF: Yep. It’s an interesting landscape now too because I feel like even the world’s best dis are surrounded by amazing business teams who are always looking for opportunities or new ideas. It’s great to know both as long as you don’t let the business aspect compromise or overshadow the creative. We all know how that can go…MP: You've spent time on both sides of the proverbial "curtain" of music events. What have you learned from the production aspect of it? Do you think knowing what you know now takes away from being a spectator?SF: I feel like there’s a kind of magic that comes with attending an event and not knowing how it all comes together. Like when you’re at a festival and there’s lights, and fireworks, sound and all these things going on at the same time; you can enjoy it and take it all in. When you see the other side of event production, you sometimes approach things differently cause you’re thinking about how they did it or possibly how you would do it and try and make it better. Blessing and a curse to know and not know at the same time….Then there’s load in and strike. The absolute BEST parts about working events (NOT). I guess while understanding event production kind of debunks the magical element of festivals, it also allows you to appreciate them differently because you know just how many hours go into it. And when it’s good, you know it’s really, really good. Especially when do you don’t have to load out…MP: Trends continue to shift in electronic music, and at an accelerating pace. How do you view the landscape of what's out there now? Where do you see the most dynamic shifts happening in the next year?SF: I’m no trend forecaster but I definitely feel like new electronic music adopters might be heading elsewhere or at least experimenting with different ways to experience the music; especially since this music is heavily dependent on social experience.Looking back I noticed that things that usually rise to popularity fast, sometimes fall equally fast as well. And when they fall, they never really get back up again (Like 90s boy bands and Spinner rims; you HAD to have them one day and a few years later, it’s absolutely ridiculous; why did we ever think that was cool)?I feel like people will be looking for new ways to experience music outside of their local, popular club. Then there’s also a newer tertiary/smaller collection of music festivals that I feel are gaining steam.I don’t know what’s next. I guess we’ll have to ride it out; which is the best part.

Tracklist:

1. Sonny Fodera, Cerevendos - Let's Go (Defected)2. Rampa, Meggy - Everything (Defected)3. Christian Nielsen - Do You Mind (Play It Down)4. Robosonic, Mat.Joe - Got Game (OFF)5. Sidney Charles - Soul Station (OFF)6. Green Velvet & Jay Lumen - It's All About Me (Relief Records)7. Chalk - Bunny (Avotre)8. Full Intention - Perspective (Suara)9. Shark Faicol feat. Porchlite - Sushi10 Claes Rosen - Daydreaming (Local Talk)Enjoy,LAMP