Thursday Thoughts 012: Our Interview with Simon Lee & Alvin
They say that music is the universal language of mankind. The Internet has allowed for the dance music industry to expand throughout the entire world. Every day, there are new names from different places on the map creating music they hope will captivate the world. Hailing from Malaysia, duo Simon Lee & Alvin know what it takes to make a hit that resonates. Their single “XCELERATE,” out now on Armada Captivating, brought incredible energy to worldwide festivals in the sets of Armin van Buuren and Blasterjaxx. We had the chance to chat with the duo about dance music in Malaysia, the importance of big-name support and much more. Enjoy!
Where do you find your inspiration as an artist?
Simon: Hello Dance Rebels! Thank you for having us today. My early exposure to electronic music was through Chicane, Robert Miles, and ATB. They inspired me to pursuit music. I have also been following KSHMR, Shaun Frank, and Delaney Jane‘s music recently, I love what they are doing! And Markus Schulz‘s DJ sets are always a great wealth of ideas for me.
Alvin: I am inspired by artistes who continue evolve their sound – Dash Berlin, Tritonal, Ummet Ozcan, and Sander van Doorn come to mind. And yes, we are also constantly inspired by the new wave of producers joining the scene every year. They have a really fresh approach on crafting sounds and production techniques, and also they work really fast!
Simon: When Alvin and me work on music together, we try to build on formulas and sounds that work, while evolving and adding on to it to turn it into something unique.
Who has been your greatest mentor as you build your career?
Simon: A Malaysian DJ called Jungle Jerry pioneered electronic music and events here during its formation. This was way back when there was no social media, the Internet was still young, and dance music was still very much underground, yet Jerry was already doing some amazing things. The music was great and the shows were packed! So it was great to have that opportunity to speak to him when we first started out this project. I am happy to see him continue to mentor young talent in Australia these days.
Alvin: We are pretty much self-taught DJs and producers. So in a way we have been mentored in combination by all the YouTube tutorials and online resources which helped us figure out a lot of things and chart our journey. We started off hosting an online mixshow and from there we had to progressively learn about DJing, producing, and everything else in between. Myon & Shane54 perfected the art of the mashup, so they were a mentor for the our bootlegs that we call SLAshups.
Simon: In a way, the local scene as a whole has mentored and shaped our music as well.
Alvin: For those back home who are looking for a professional course on music production and DJing, check out Mile High Sounds. I wish we had mentors like them when we started our journey.
There aren’t too many Malaysian artists in the mainstream dance music industry. Are you proud to put your country on the dance music map?
Simon: There is an explosion of Malaysian talent that are just waiting to be discovered by the world! Right now, we are working to export quality music to the globe, and my personal ambition is to contribute back to the community that has supported us. We saw very early on that the real challenge was beyond these borders, so I would like to see the local industry mature to become more professional and structured. By providing raw talent here with the infrastructure and support to showcase themselves, collectively we can groom and shape them for the world market. As more opportunities open up for us, we want to share these with local producers and pass on what we’ve learned so they can get there faster. We do have plans to develop our record label when our influence is stronger and when we have the right backing.
Alvin: Having the right connections and sponsors will always be important, but for great talent and merit to shine, the community needs to concert our efforts together. It involves everyone within the music industry, and even beyond. Say we channel all our efforts and creativity behind an artiste – connect him or her with the right management team, record label, music video director, sponsors, publicist – imagine how far this artiste will go. Major markets for dance music around the world all have a thriving local scene, so combining all our resources will benefit the industry as a whole.
Simon: Local electronic artistes like Yusef Kifah, Young & Loud, Starlyte, Ramsey Westwood, Chukiess & Whackboi, and ZenNeuro are already making some serious headway. They understand that to break it locally, they will have to make a mark internationally first. So we are not the first Malaysians to make a mark in the dance music world, and we definitely won’t be the last!
Your SoundCloud profile includes an impressive support list. How important is other artists’ support and feedback on your music?
Alvin: Thank you! For a relatively new artiste like us to break internationally, having the support of Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Tritonal, JES, Dash Berlin, and recognizable names have been essential to our exposure. They are known as tastemakers and have a strong influence. But it did not happen overnight – it took years (and plenty of experimentation and rejection) to come up with a decent record. So to finally get their support is in some ways a validation that we are now on the right course.
Simon: I love how collaborative the dance music world is. Soundcloud lets us share our original music while supporting other artistes. Guys like Olly James, The Chainsmokers, and TWIIG, who are all now signed to big labels were already popular on Soundcloud. It is a great place to learn and interact, and it is nice to know you are not an island.
Alvin: Rejections will happen when you start producing music, but that kind of tells you what labels or other artistes have in mind. And at least you will know if you are on the right path or not.
Simon: We really have to also thank the music community, record labels, radio stations, music services, reviewers, and sites like Dance Rebels for supporting our releases and getting our music in front of the right audience :)
What experience in your musical career have you learned from the most?
Simon: I think this music project of ours has really shown me how far passion and hard work can get me. I immersed myself into this universe and I am trying to learn and experience everything about it. This hobby has really turned out to be something bigger than we imagined. Next year we would have been working on music part time for 10 years, and I am glad to have this experience. More importantly, all the amazing people we have met. We are hoping to keep this momentum going.
Alvin: In my opinion, if you are willing to stay focused and patient, and really throw yourself into any field, you can turn anything from just a hobby into something bigger.
Simon: The one thing I overlooked for a long time was the power of having a good backing team and the right connections. Just like most electronic music artistes starting off, we had to learn music production, DJing, radio show production, video editing, marketing, social media, web development, making flyers, and all kinds of things on our own. Perhaps we should have gotten some help the last few years and allow us to work on the more essential core things. But you know, none of that knowledge goes to waste.
Alvin: Making a great record is still a great way to get your name out there. That is still the best piece of marketing for any artiste. We have learned quite a fair bit about contracts and legal stuff in the music world. That was a steep learning curve for us, and I recommend every artiste take time to understand the business side of things. This initiative is going to get you further later.
Simon: Also, try not to snub people with good intentions in general, because you never know when you might one day need their help!
How did it feel to watch Armin van Buuren support “XCELERATE” on the Tomorrowland Brasil mainstage?
Simon: I remember we first discovered this when people tagged us on Twitter. So we waited for the video of the liveset to be released, and it was amazing to see this! It is great to have our music represented at these large scale events, even though we cannot be there personally to hear it or play it. So yes it was a great surprise, and we have been told Armin still drops it now and then on his sets.
Alvin: First on A State of Trance radio then Tomorrowland Brasil mainstage! If we ever meet Armin in the future I would like to thank him personally! “Xcelerate” was also supported by Andrew Rayel, JES, Blasterjaxx, and it is on several Spotify playlists so we are extremely grateful that people love this record.
You guys typically produce trance, but make mashups of all genres. Do you bring that kind of diversity to your livesets?
Alvin: The bootlegs kind of give us a chance to have fun on our DJ sets. It could be an unofficial remix of a popular track or a dance classic. It is great to have these tracks so we don’t have to worry about what the other DJs before or after us are playing, and it is usually an unexpected surprise for those on the dancefloor. Actually we learned how to make bootlegs first before making originals.
Simon: We could play a set full of just our original tracks, but there will always be walk-ins who just want to have fun that night and want to hear something recognisable in between. That is where the bootlegs and mashups are handy, and we constantly feature them on our radio show.
How do you manage all of the hectic responsibilities and schedules of DJing and producing?
Alvin: Haha I would like to say it is fun and easy, but it is not always! We divide up tasks like the social media, going through promos/demos, website, and videos. We are constantly sending each other music production files. We have a schedule of datelines every week, and impromptu stuff that comes up now and then. There is a synergy between us that makes the process enjoyable, and that helps us to go that extra mile.
Simon: We do have busy day job schedules, so it is always a constant battle to get stuff done in between everything, but somehow we have managed to pull off a lot of things. Of course there will be days where creatively things are just not working, so we have just make full use of the days and nights that we have. Always interesting dynamics working in a duo, and there is always something new to learn.
How do you feel about the current state of the dance music industry? Do you think things like the DJ Mag Top 100 poll are still relevant and important?
Simon: I could be wrong, but my observation is there is an oversupply of acts with the same sound and formula these days (right down to their dress code!). So I can understand why people think the EDM sound is getting rather generic. Last year, everyone had at least one friend who decided to be a DJ! And you can jump in on the action relatively easy these days with very little groundwork. So I feel a market correction is coming. And at the same time, people are going to want to hear and experience something new. If you look at the acts that are still dominating the scene and survived the ultimate test of time, they were working on dance music from the early days and have a solid foundation.
Alvin: The DJ Mag Top 100 is always going to important whether we agree with the poll or not. In emerging markets, bookings are going to look at this list to sell tickets. So it serves a purpose as an introduction to the big league and popular DJs. But we hope over time, music fans will check out different styles and acts beyond the Top 100, because there is a whole universe of subgenres and artistes to explore. Some of these artistes are from your own city! So what matters more is who is #1 on your own list, and which artistes connect with you musically and beyond.
Simon: Celebrities will have their own appeal, but the music always needs to be the core of it.
Alvin: And it is the responsibilities of the artiste, fans, promoters, and media to showcase new and exciting acts.
What’s in store for Simon Lee & Alvin for this summer, and beyond? Any secrets you can let us in on?
Simon: In a few weeks it will be the 450th episode of our radio show Fly Fm #FlyFiveO which marks the 8th year on the air!
Alvin: New music is coming, we have a few tracks signed for release, including a really interesting collab with a DJ/producer from Manila that we cannot wait to share. Some of our tracks are making its rounds as “ID” too. We just have to be patient to announce it as the labels release them.
Simon: And we recently signed with a bookings manager who will helping out organize things in that department (Hello Luqman!!).
Alvin: I am looking forward to getting out there and playing shows whenever we can. We want to showcase all this new music we have been working on, and of course meet everyone at the shows everywhere. There is a lot of madness going on in the world right now, so if you can get a hundred or a thousand people in a place enjoying the same experience driven by great music, that is still amazing.
Simon: And by the way, it’s pretty much summer ALL YEAR in Malaysia :) So I am hoping those reading this around the world will come visit our beautiful country.
Top 5 Songs
Simon:
- Liuck & Neev Kennedy – Let This Go
- Birdy – Keeping Your Head Up (Don Diablo Remix)
- Sam Feldt feat. Joe Cleere – Forgiveness
- Cr3on & Marcus feat. Gwendolyne – Remember You
- DVBBS & Shaun Frank feat. Delaney Jane – LA LA LAND
Alvin:
- Yoel Lewis – Goldengate
- Ryos Feat KARRA – Where We Are
- Gareth Emery & Ben Gold – Until We Meet Again
- TWIIG – We Are
- Jochen Miller – Scope
Simon: Plugging our Spotify playlist for everyone to find out what tracks we love at the moment! :) http://tinyurl.com/SlamItRadio
Alvin: Thank you for this opportunity Dance Rebels!
About Thursday Thoughts:
At Dance Rebels, we strive to bring our readers as close to their favorite artists as possible. One of the best ways to make that connection is to discuss a wide range of topics with the biggest names in the dance music scene. If there is an artist that you think we need to talk to, reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter!
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