{"id":5648,"date":"2014-07-23T19:41:38","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T17:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouselondon.com\/?p=5648"},"modified":"2015-05-14T16:11:15","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T14:11:15","slug":"mix-010-cera-alba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/mix-010-cera-alba\/","title":{"rendered":"Mix #010 By Cera Alba"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cera Alba, AKA Liam Jones, came up in the north of the UK, establishing himself via the club scene in Leeds. As many of you will be aware, Leeds is a constant source of new talent and has one of the best electronic music scenes in the country (and don’t get us started on the after parties!) – so it was a great place for him to get stuck in to DJing and production. A little while ago he relocated to London in order to take his career to the next level, and he’s not doing too badly for himself. We caught up with Cera Alba for a chat recently, and he’s also turned in a mighty fine mix for us which you can check out at the bottom of this interview….<\/strong><\/p>\n

How\u2019s everything going? Last time we saw you you said you had some interesting bits on the way?<\/strong>
\nYeah, it\u2019s going really well. I just had the Gruuv EP out, which got some really good feedback \u2013 that was the start of the new sound that I\u2019m trying to push out there. Also there was the Electronique EP, which came out around the same time but was produced a little bit earlier and has a darker sound.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve just had an EP signed to VIVa, which is great! It\u2019s probably going to be out around September\/October. Just recently I\u2019ve had a track signed by Matthias Tanzmann to Moon Harbour, he picked up one of my tracks and played it in Barcelona during the Mobilee pool party and then signed it for a compilation that\u2019s forthcoming on his label. That\u2019s the direction I\u2019m moving in; the more European, Ibiza-style house and techno scene, which I\u2019ve always loved. It\u2019s a new direction that I\u2019m really enjoying.<\/p>\n

Were you at the Mobilee party when he played it?<\/strong>
\nNo, I was at home in the studio! I wanted to go to Barcelona, but it didn\u2019t happen. I noticed be-at TV had the Mobilee party on their site, and this was before I even realised Tanzmann had checked my demos and he played it. Obviously it\u2019s brilliant seeing people dancing to your tune in another country, and being associated with Moon Harbour, mobilee and Tanzmann is amazing, too.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the more European style of music you\u2019re working on, did you take a step back and decide \u2018That\u2019s where I want to go now\u2019, or has it been a gradual move towards that sound?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s been a gradual move but the last few months have been refining that sound, it\u2019s all inspired by labels, DJs and artist that I was getting into four to five years ago. Nick Curly and that Cecille sound, Steve Lawler, Tanzmann\u2026 those guys I remember seeing in Leeds years ago at places like the Asylum technique garden party. It was that sound that I really loved; that groove, that roll. It was definitely a more global kind of sound, whereas before I\u2019d been concentrating on a UK-inspired style. There\u2019s nothing wrong with the UK sound, but it\u2019s nice to focus on a more international sound as well.<\/p>\n

Is there anyone in particular at the moment you\u2019re feeling who\u2019s pushing that sound?<\/strong>
\nYeah, one of the guys who\u2019s definitely pushing that kind of style, who I\u2019m into, is Sable Sheep. He\u2019s like a mainstay on Moon Harbour and he\u2019s released on DFTD, Be As One and Desolat. I just think his music has got such great development, it\u2019s a lovely cross between tech house and techno \u2013 it\u2019s got that tough techno edge, but he keeps the percussion quite housey, so it\u2019s still accessible. Cuartero, who\u2019s just had an EP on Desolat, he\u2019s another one to watch \u2013 he\u2019s putting out music left, right and centre at the moment and it\u2019s all really, really well produced. Nathan Barato is another one, really tough again but with that tech house roll to it.<\/p>\n

\"Artist-Template-760x320_Cera_Alba\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You also work at the music school Point Blank\u2026 Can you tell us a bit about that?<\/strong>
\nI work there part-time, doing a bit of DJ tuition at weekends and sometimes during the week when the main tutor, Ben Bristow, isn\u2019t there. It\u2019s really nice to be around those guys and people who do similar things to me, or who\u2019ve done things in the past, way before I even started doing it. It\u2019s great being involved with the education side of things and to feel that I\u2019m being beneficial to the younger DJs and producers who are coming through. It\u2019s a nice complement to what I\u2019m doing now with music.<\/p>\n

Is that something you can envisage doing more of in the future?<\/strong>
\nYeah for sure! I\u2019m already planning to a masters in music production, it\u2019s just down to when I can do it and when I can raise enough funds to pay the tuition fees, which are a lot steeper than they were when you and I were at uni. I need to concentrate on music full-time for now until I\u2019m stable enough to be able to do that. But it\u2019s something I want to do 100%, I really enjoy teaching and I think lecturing about music and so forth is something I\u2019d definitely enjoy too.<\/p>\n

It seems like moving down to London from Leeds is working out pretty well for you\u2026<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s funny, Burnski made the move from Leeds to London and, eventually, Berlin. He said to me a little while back, Leeds is great place to pick up your education and make those first steps. It\u2019s got a fantastic music scene and has had that for a number of years, with Burnski, Rob James, Tristan Da Cunha, all the Basics guys and the Dirty Disco guys\u2026 but, at some point you have to put yourself somewhere which you\u2019re unfamiliar with. Burnski said in Leeds you\u2019re a big fish in a small pond, which is great because you\u2019ve got good contacts and there\u2019s maybe not as much competition around \u2013 but in London, it\u2019s so big and there\u2019s so much. Pretty much each part of the city has its own sound. You put yourself in that situation, you develop, you meet more people and get more influences into what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

How are you coping financially, because that\u2019s always a stickler for a lot of creatives here?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m surviving! It\u2019s obviously difficult living here because the rent is expensive but I told myself if I do music full-time and I can\u2019t survive in London, then I don\u2019t want to do it because I don\u2019t want to do this anywhere but this city. I need to be able to live here and do what I do. I\u2019m getting by ok with gigs and the extra work with Point Blank is great because it\u2019s a bit of extra cash\u2026 The great thing about London is, there\u2019s always something going on so I\u2019m doing promo work for a few old mates I used to work with. It\u2019s survivable, but it\u2019s not really about the money it\u2019s about finding a job where you\u2019re happy doing what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t imagine going back to an office job now!<\/strong>
\nYeah someone said it\u2019s always difficult when you set off on the journey of trying to produce your own stuff and be creative, but If you put your full effort into it you can do it. As long as you commit to it 100%, you\u2019re bound to do well.<\/p>\n

Do you have much an idea about the direction you\u2019re taking? Are you taking as it comes or do you have a grand plan at all?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a difficult one because I\u2019ve come to a point where I need to make a decision on the direction I\u2019m going. Obviously, as I said, I like what Steve\u2019s doing, I like Moon Harbour and even pushing further on to labels like Desolat and Minus, that international standard. The thing you\u2019ve got to realise with a lot of these outlets is that they\u2019re pretty much all tight-knit groups and to be with them, you\u2019ve almost got to become a part of that. You have to be committed to the label 100%, which is totally understandable \u2013 they want someone to be making the best music they can, and to be contributing to the label and being the best representation of what they\u2019re about. But I also have a huge appreciation for the new generation of British artists and what they\u2019re about; Bicep, Dusky\u2026 these guys who are really pushing the boundaries of what they\u2019re doing. Dusky have just launched their label 17 Steps, which interests me quite a lot.<\/p>\n

For the moment though, I\u2019m just doing what I\u2019m doing and, if it gets to a point where I have to make a decision, then I\u2019ll deal with that when it happens. Until then I\u2019m going to carry on with all of this.<\/p>\n

Cera Alba is playing at Primo on 2nd August at Metropolis, London. Tickets on sale here: www.residentadvisor.net\/event.aspx?613165<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Artist Page<\/a><\/span>Soundcloud<\/a><\/span>Download<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n