Dennis Ferrer Interview

by Czarina Mirani | Published August 2007 | Features Archives

THE FUNKY, IRRESISTIBLE DRUMBEAT that kicks off "Touch the Sky" has graced practically every DJs' mix CD recently. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a selector without at least one Dennis Ferrer track in his playlist these past few years. His sound is redefining what people call House Music, and is pushing the boundaries without sacrificing the essential soulful element within the genre.

One of the most well-rounded of songwriter/producers and a forerunner for the newschool movement of House, Dennis' past arsenal has spanned the range from Afro-House to ambient to gospel to straight up techno.

Launching his career in the early '90s as a techno producer and putting out records under the Synewave label, he later hooked up with Kerri Chandler and formed Sfere Recordings in 1998. He is responsible for some of the hottest records of the last three years: "Sandcastles", "Son of Raw", "Timbuktu", "Most Precious Love" and "The Cure and The Cause". He continues to push the musical envelope by allowing tech-house and soulful-house lovers to actually vibe off of the same song.

Dennis' debut LP for King Street/Defected, The World As I See It, is a hybrid of deep, funky, soulful and, yes, tech-inspired. And he pulls it off brilliantly. "Church Lady", "Touch The Sky", "P2 Da J" and "How Do I Let Go" are just some of the hot tracks that should have everyone clamoring to own this album. His new label Objektivity Records promises to bring you more sonic surprises that are anything but predictable.

Amazed that I was actually able to catch this incredibly busy man, we sat and talked about his influences, the illness that kept him from music, and his plans for the future. He is intense, brutally straightforward and charming as hell.

DENNIS FERRER: Oh I was definitely into hiphop. I grew up with the whole bboy episode, with all the block parties.

5: When did you start getting more into house?

DENNIS: The thing is, hiphop was kinda combined with dance, you know... People tend to forget that you had a lot of the dancing that was mixed with the hiphop. On the one hand you had "Jam On It", and on the other hand you had a DJ International record. There really were no cut boundaries.

5: Did you have any musical training?

DENNIS: None formally, except for what I taught myself.

5: I read that you like the '80s more because they were more song-oriented. What were some of the groups from that time that you liked?

DENNIS: Oh wow, there were so many. AC/DC, The Petshop Boys - I mean I came across a big, big spectrum of influences. Learning how to DJ came on much later in the mix of everything.

5: So you began as a techno producer in the early 90's?

DENNIS: Oh yeah, definitely. We did a lot of electronic music growing up. A lot of stuff with Damon Wild and this label we created called Synewave Records. It was a fun time but there wasn't enough money in it to keep it going.

5: I really enjoyed your album and I noticed that every song has a very strong percussive intro. Is that kind of like a signature of yours?

DENNIS: I don't know if that's a signature... I just don't like sleepy tunes too much! I fall into the harder edge of drum programming, probably. My thing is is that I'm not afraid to say that I make dance music. I'm not trying to change the world.

5: So would you say the most important thing for you is to make the crowd dance?

DENNIS: That's right, that's what you get paid for!

5: Tell me some of your thoughts with regards to techno and tech-house. You had a story about playing one of your songs ("Sandcastles") in Miami last year and you were a little nervous that the crowd might be too freaked out about hearing tech-house?

DENNIS: Well with "Sandcastles" we were kind of scared, but sometimes you have to go backwards to take two steps forward. And when I played that in Miami everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

5: And they ended up liking it in the end!

DENNIS: But then all the soulful heads started to play it. We couldn't understand how the hell that happened!

5: How long did it take for them to warm up to it?

DENNIS: Around six or seven months.

5: When you break in a song do you find that they tend to love it right away or is it a constant repetition with it?

DENNIS: For some odd reason, my songs seem to take some time to sink in.

5: And then they become big hits!

DENNIS: And then they're hits. I don't understand it. Some people, they get it and it jumps off right away. My songs seem to have a longevity to them which I really can't explain.

5: Are there any that became immediate hits from the songs you've done?

DENNIS: No, it's always a slow burn. It's crazy! I mean love it - don't get me wrong - because my songs have more lasting power than most people's. But it's always a slow burn and then it turns into a huge thing.

5: Are you working with anyone right now or are you just by yourself?

DENNIS: I do everything myself... engineer, mix, the whole thing. What you hear - that's all me.

5: Do you not like collaborating with other people?

DENNIS: I'm not a big fan of collaboration unless... See, collaborations don't work unless you respect the person to a high degree. They just don't work. And I'm the kind of person... I don't respect too many people! [laughs]

5: Oooh! Do you have any favorite producers right now?

DENNIS: A few favorites. You know I'd love to do some of the songwriting to Frankie Feliciano, Kerri Chandler... There's a bunch of them.

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