With such achievements as 20 original UK Top 40 tracks and countless successes with each and every release, it is no wonder that the legendary Lange has rightfully earned the highest respect from some of the biggest Trance DJ’s in the world. Apart from his consistent output as a solo artist, Lange also delivers sheer quality with his fantastic Trance offshoot, Lange Recordings, which has featured some of the brightest upcoming artists including Johnny Yono and Stephen Kirkwood. Additionally, his 13 year career as a top shelf DJ has also earned him the right to perform at some of the UK’s biggest Trance venues and events, including Cream, Gatecrasher, Tomorrowland and EDC. The secret to his success is his powerfully smooth and technical sound that he has been maintaining throughout his career that make his productions pop with confidence, clarity and depth, and it is this model of musical creation that has both fascinated and inspired many future Trance producers. This year has largely seen the culmination of his brand new album entitled We Are Lucky People, which featuring beautifully crafted singles such as A Different Shade Of Crazy and Imagineer, and also featured vocal talents such as Hysteria! and Stine Grove. To commemorate the exciting, upcoming release of his new remixes album for WALP, (which spotlights high quality artists such as John O’Callaghan, Adam Ellis and Alex M.O.R.P.H.), we sat down with Lange for a personal one on one interview, where he talks shop about the creation process of the album, his personal inspirations and how he has truly evolved as an artist over his decorated career. Check out his musings below.
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1. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Lange. For those of us who may not know of you, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My pleasure! I’ve been writing trance and related genres for over 15 years. I’ve had quite a few club and top 40 chart hits over that time but I have mostly kept to a more progressive Trance kind of sound. In terms of DJing, I started spinning a little later around 2001 and now tour worldwide on a weekly basis. I’ve also been featured in that top 100 poll around 8 times. During my career, I’ve written 3 albums, ‘Better Late Than Never’ (2007) ‘Harmonic Motion’ (2010), and ‘We Are Lucky People’ (2013), and I’ve mixed a few compilations over the years that recently includes Richard Durrand’s ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ series (2014) & ‘Trance Nation’ (2013).
2. Your individual productions are technical in design and err on the side of Trance, and yet, your label of Lange Recordings is more experimental in terms of styles and textural designs. Why the stark difference? And are there any plans to make your sound more experimental and/or make you label more Trance-like in the future?
I play a much wider range of music than I currently produce, and my DJ sets have progressively become darker, more driving, and more progressive. The past year or so saw me return to a more melodic Trance sound in the studio, and I had a very clear idea for my ‘We Are Lucky People’ album which shaped my sound throughout 2013. It’s definitely time for something different within my sound and I’m now producing some darker, more progressive stuff in the studio right now.
3. How have your musical outlooks and ideaologies changed over time? Are certain aspects of music more important to you now than they were 10 years ago?
Music has always been important to me, (that will never change), but you do approach it a little differently as your career progresses. It’s a constant learning curve and as a producer, you’re always striving to make the ultimate track, but never quite achieving that. I love a wide range of music from big, epic music to groovy techno. I certainly think as times gone by I have a much bigger respect to those producers who manage to keep their tracks so simple and minimal, yet can create such an impact. That’s something I strive for more now in the studio. ‘Less is more’ as they say.
4. As well as maintaining a full-fledged DJ, label and production schedule, you also state in your Facebook bio that you are a mentor to many upcoming talents. Which talents have you been helping out and how has this role impacted your thoughts as a musician?
I don’t write my bio’s and didn’t know it said that (!) but I am personally involved with my label, Lange Recordings, and I do offer my artists as much advice as I can in helping them advance their own careers and obviously offer feedback on the tracks they send over. Artists to look out for on the label are Johnny Yono, Stephen Kirkwood, Mateusz, Fabio XB, Noah Neiman just to name a few.
5. Do you have any tips for aspiring producers, both technical and musical?
Write for yourself and enjoy. That’s what makes you an artist, when you believe in what you’re doing. Of course, the temptation is there to just copy what’s popular into your own tracks and if popularity and fame are your sole motives, then go do the latter or just pay some other producer to do it for you! Marketing is obviously hugely important these days. Get the word out on everything you do and give your fan-base the attention it deserves.
6. What are your inspirations, including Trance, EDM, non-EDM and non-musical? What drives your passion?
You naturally find yourself influenced from the scene in general, which can be from something Trance or a something more experimental. Film soundtracks often influence me too as does classical music in general. Life events can of course be an extra motivation to write something – it’s always easier when you have something in mind you want to say or represent.
7. Describe the thought process and creation of your album, We Are Lucky People, in brief. What were some of the interactions with the vocalists like and how did the outcome of the album affect you?
The original ‘We Are Lucky People’ album quickly evolved into a unique concept for me. I’d already written the single ‘We Are Lucky People’ and it was a track that marked a turning point for me in the studio. I was very much feeling the melodic trance again and wanted to write a very musical album against the harsher, harder sounds taking over clubland. I’ve nothing against the EDM wave in particular, other than the lack of diversity in it. Anyway, I wrote the tracks throughout 2013, and promo’d and released them as soon as they were finished. That was part of the concept, to share the album as it was written. By the time the album was released there had already been 9 singles, but the final album had different versions of most of the tracks and it was written as a non-stop ‘long player’ for people to listen to from start to finish. In the end, every track was released as a single, but the album still did really well, hitting the top 15 album chart on iTunes in North America. The key thing for me was the end product though; I’m very proud of how the album turned out.
8. Your upcoming remixes package to your album is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2014. How did you choose your remixers for the album? What did they individually bring to the table?
Yeah, it’s really shaped up nicely. Obviously with remixes it’s not easy to predict the outcome, but I think I’ve managed to keep some of the concept of’ ‘We Are Lucky People‘ alive in the Remixes album. The remixes were pretty varied, mostly across the Trance spectrum and some artists provided additional album versions as well as myself interspersing some transitional elements to create a soundscape LP kind of album. As with the original album, I’ve also included all the club mixes as part of the digital package. Choosing remixers was pretty easy, the aim was to capture the whole trance spectrum, as well as throw in a few curveball mixes, such as the breakbeat remix of ‘A Different Shade Of Crazy’ by Refracture.
9. What are your plans post WALP in terms of collaborations, upcoming releases and upcoming shows?
The next big event for me is the 200th episode of my Intercity Radio Show. Last year’s celebration was marked with a 24 hour broadcast with some awesome guests including Paul Van Dyk, Markus Schulz, Ferry Corsten, Paul Oakenfold, John O ‘Callaghan, Andy Moor, Andrew Rayel, etc. The event hit the No.1 trending spot on Twitter and ended up being the 7th biggest trend of the day in USA that day! I’m just about to announce this year’s event!
10. I leave you now with the last word. Say anything that you want our readers to hear.
Thanks for all the support and please check out We Are Lucky People Remixed – all the remixers have done an awesome job!
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Thanks for the awesome interview Lange, and be sure to check out our forthcoming review of Lange’s Remixes album for We Are Lucky People, which will be out next week!
Keep the music alive. -Q
