1. Growing up, did You always aspire to be the successful Dj You are nowadays ? When did You commit Yourself to EDM as a career ?
Paul Thomas: It was back in 2006. The record shop I worked in Birmingham closed down, and I was working as a part time DJ anyway, so I decided to use my Godskitchen residency as a platform to become a full time DJ.
2. Everyone knows that You are a Godskitchen worldwide resident, Toolroom Records producer; Global Underground artist and stalwart member of the new breed of house music, but does Paul Thomas have a deeper wish to be known of ?
Paul Thomas: Not really. If I hadn't have made it as a Dj, I would like to have become a chef, so maybe 3 Michelen Star Chef Paul Thomas would have been cool!
3. What tracks are out there right now that You would recommend DJs absolutely have to include in their sets ?
Paul Thomas: There are loads of new artists breaking through all the time, and one of those is a guy called Ant Brooks. Check out any of his music, it's all doing the business.
4. Being an active producer for Toolroom Records, have You got any future plans for this venue ?
Paul Thomas: I have got another 2 tracks coming out on Toolroom in July. One is a collaboration between myself, Sonny Wharton and Ant Brooks called "Revolution" and the other is my new solo single called "Wookie". I had a text off Mark Knight the other day saying its been going off everywhere he's playing it, so fingers crossed it's a biggie!
5. What stands out about You as a producer ?
Paul Thomas: Taking a bit of care and going that extra yard with productions always stands out, and I like to think that's what I do. It's certainly what I try to do! Its easy to knock a track out in a few hours, but if You listen to all the really big producers out there, Eric Prydz, Funkagenda, Steve Angello etc, the quality of their productions, their mix downs especially, really stands out because of the extra time and effort they put into them.
6. Describe Your relationship with D Ramirez. What have You learned from him that made You successful ?
Paul Thomas: I've learned how to drink vodka! No, seriously, Dean's a really cool guy and someone I've always looked up to in the scene. I haven't had the pleasure of getting in the studio with him yet. We keep threatening to do it every time we see or speak to each other, but it hasn't happened just yet.
7. This year we did see the launch of Your label and the show, Dex In The City Recordings, any forthcoming plans with it ?
Paul Thomas: It's something I've wanted to do for a couple of years, but just never actually got around to it. We're launching at the end of June with a track called "Bigger" by the excellent Sebjak. We've just licensing my mix of that to Size Records. Then there's a new single from me that Spartaque has remixed. Then there's tracks from Danny Dove, Jeff Mason and a few others, plus some more of my own stuff.
8. What do You expect people to say after they hear "Imagine" from start to finish ?
Paul Thomas: That it's a decent track hopefully. Me and Manuel have done a couple of tracks, and he's a guy that's really going places. We combine well and cross the borders of Progressive and Techno and hopefully people will like the other tracks too.
9. What is it about Sonny Wharton that drew You to work with him ?
Paul Thomas: Sonny is one of the nicest guys I know, not just in the music industry, but in life in general! I think we first hooked up as we were on the same agency at the time. We had similar tastes in music so we thought we would hook up and do some tracks. The first track we did together was the "Meet Her At The Love Parade" remix which did really well for us. So from there we decided to make it a regular thing.
10. Which do You find more rewarding, working with some established artists, such as Funkagenda, Mark Knight, Kim Fai, just to name a few ?
Paul Thomas: Probably the things You learn from them in the studio. I have worked with Funkagenda for years and we are good pals. But I remember when we did the "Arena" track with Mark, I was a little starstruck in the studio. It took a few hours for me to come out of my shell on the first day!
11. Describe the process of creating music with Mark Knight - what was Your collaborative process like ?
Paul Thomas: Well we wanted to write something for the festival season that year. I came up with the idea of reworking the lead from Andy Ling's "Fixation" track. I asked Adam to come in on the track as I knew he loved the original, and he ask Mark, who also loved the idea. So we got our heads together in the studio for a couple of days down at the Toolroom studios in Maidstone. The first version we did we road tested, and it didn't quite get the reaction we hoped for, so we ended up reworking it again a few days later.
12. Name a few production influences that we might not expect from You ?
Paul Thomas: I'm a Progressive fan at heart, which You can probably tell with a lot of my work. I try and draw influences from all styles though, not just in House music either. In recent tracks I have been inspired by everyone, from Kings Of Leon to Oasis! Something I have picked up recently from Funkagenda is make music You really enjoy. For too long I made music to appeal to a wide audience, and not necessarily something that I would play myself. Then at the beginning of this year I decided to make music that I really like and what fits into my own sets. It seems to be working as I have signed tracks to pretty much every major house label this year.
13. What should fans of Your work be on the lookout for in the months to come ?
Paul Thomas: I don't know where to start, I've got that much on the way! "Konduktor" is out on 303 Lovers in June, "Revolution" & "Wookie" will be out on Toolroom in July, "Yello" & my "Bigger" remix will be out on Size in July too. Then I have got "La Bombo" out in August with a Funkagenda remix on his new label, and also "Painted Faces" is out in August on Starlight with an Avicii remix. My "Terrorstryka" track will be out on my Dex In The City label in August as well.
14. Any last thoughts for the ones reading this exclusive, especially the TranceSound.net members ?
Paul Thomas: Thanks for the PT love, and hope to see Y'all at a show soon.
Catch Paul Thomas @ The Gallery, Ministry of Sound 25th June alongside Richard Durand, Super 8 & Tab, Alex O'Rion, Sonny Wharton + more. For more info head to The Gallery @ Ministry of Sound's official website.
Interview made by Cosmin Lukacs (TranceSound.net admin/founder)
Links:
Paul Thomas official website
Paul Thomas @ MySpace
Cosmin Lukacs official website
Cosmin Lukacs @ MySpace
