Focus On: Youandewan

Nowadays, it's more and more often young producers who make the biggest waves. From the dusty, Dilla-esque house of Kyle Hall, to the fresh purple progstep of Joker, it seems the young-guns are bound by less rules; are weighed down by less history. As a result, such artists are creating more freely than are their older peers, and with much fresher results.

One such newcomer is Leeds based DJ and producer Ewan Smith, aka Youandewan. His records to date (on labels like Magicbag) have had props from Radio 1's experimental tastemaker Mary Anne Hobbs, and have pricked the ears of 2020 Vision boss Ralph Lawson, whislt a couple have topped Beatport download charts for weeks on end. They are restrained, Berlin influenced tracks which mould dub, house and techno into subtle sonic atmospheres of the sort anyone from Scuba to Villalobos might employ.

Unlike most up-and-comers, Youandewan is confident enough to let his music do the talking (his bio in full reads: "You don't care") and so he should be when it sounds this accomplished. Earlier this week we caught up with him via Skype to talk producing, influences, Leeds idiots and his forthcoming release for Solomun's Diynamic label.


How are you?

Yeah, good thank you - good to go.

Cool , so, tell me a bit about yourself - how has life lead you to this point?

I started out trying to do a music course at Uni, failing miserably because the course covered too much crap I didn't care about. I just wanted to concentrate on making records and getting heard and getting out there. I met a couple of people and things slowly get going and eventually I started to get a bit more self belief and began taking it seriously. I do a couple of shifts at Mint Club in Leeds, keeping myself in the environment and interested (to pay the bills) but mostly now I'm putting all my effort into making music.

What do you do at Mint?

Just work behind the bar... it's a great place...bar the Jagerbomb massive; the Leeds Uni students who come out with no money and complain about Mint not having a gold card dispenser

So you have some records coming out on Ralph Lawson’s 2020 Vision? How did that come about?

Well, it's all in the pipeline. Through mutual friends in Leeds, my latest EP on Magicbag got to Ralph & Andy, they called Dan [Blackledge, boss of Leeds label Magicbag and promoter-in-chief of Wax: On] and we had a meeting at 2020 HQ to discuss doing remixes and a future EP in 2010.

Cool, so let’s go back a bit - what music did you grow up around and when did electronic music seep into your conscious?

I went through various stuff during my teens. In the 00s I was trance mad, buying a set of belt drives and starting buying records. Loved the melody and atmosphere and the whole DJ world seemed like amazing lifestyle. But I have a love for all sorts of music, I played in indie and metal bands and then really got into electronic bands such as the later Radiohead stuff etc. Eventually, going to college, dance music came back and I started to really get into it again.

I guess the Leeds scene influenced what you listened to quite a bit?

Yeah I'm still fairly young...only really started to get a 'head' on dance music when I first started going out in Leeds - it was during the minimal thing which was great at the time. These days obviously house is back...something I was never into when I was younger, but genres evolve I guess -taking a bit of everything good from the past and moving forward.

How old are you if I may ask?

21

I thought so, but the sounds you make certainly belie your age, as does your whole MySpace really - no over the top biog, very nice artwork on your records...

Yeah...I'm not a massive fan of "I started playing piano when I was 2 and then basically played drums, guitar blahbla " I've learnt no one cares....It's important to have a good image to your work and let the music create the picture... without sounding pretentious of course.

No no, I get it. How involved in the artwork are you? How important is it?

I think art is very important and Magicbag has a great artist who will be doing the sleeves...a friend of Dan I believe. I love a lot of contemporary artists - like the stuff on my page - I think art and music bounce off each other with more underground stuff.

So what do you bounce off? What are you listening to at the moment, what inspires and influences your sound?

I'm really into the whole Ostgut Ton sound as well the stuff coming from labels like Smallville and Delsin...so I guess I take a little techno influence from that sound...but I really love what Rozzo and the Mountain People are doing as well....stripped deep house....great simple rhythm loops, cuts and drops.

So when you make a track - why are you doing it? to reflect a mood or for a specific time and place or...?

I just generally aim to not make a tech house vocal chanter when I sit down...try and do stuff a little different but still relative to current dance floor ears. It really depends; I don't set out trying to do anything....Just press a few buttons.

So how do you decide when it’s finished and ready for people to hear?

Before I used to bang out stuff in a couple of hours...then plonk it online to get immediate feedback...I've learnt that is a bad idea. I usually come up with 32 bar loops with 3 elements to the track in there and mix that down and put it in my iTunes. Leave it for days or a couple of weeks, listen back to it and gather ideas to finish it off.

So you make it all on PC? Ableton?

I use reason mainly...tried a bit of Ableton and Logic, great programs but I know what I’m doing in reason...it's enough for me.

Cool. And you DJ as well, right?

Yeah I love DJing, but I much prefer warming up...I love being able to test really deep stuff in the clubs...too many DJs out there banging out tunes 11-1 which annoys me. I’m heading over to Vienna in May to play a night called Salon Berlin which should be fun. My first Euro outing hopefully more to come during the summer and fall.

Nice one - good luck. What is it about those deeper, more spacious sounds which turn you on?

Yeah, there is some amazing stuff out there that doesn't get enough recognition. Sven Weismann is amazing, I think I played about 5 of his tunes last week....sounds great and a lot of people haven’t heard stuff like that at your standard Leeds housey nights....sets a nice mood.

So mood's important for you? You’re not just about dance floor bombs...

Deffo. I can't speak for everyone, not everyone will agree at all. I do like a party bomb but I really enjoy the transition from slow and deep into tech and then the bombs drop....you appreciate the whole things more, from a punter’s experience.

I’d totally agree with that.

I know that happens out there - maybe I just keep seeing the same DJs at work.

Bigger the name generally worse the DJ I find - they get lazy...

Yeah, I know what you mean. But I dunno, it’s important not to take it all so seriously as well...people go out to have a wicked time and wanna just dance and enjoy themselves - that’s 75% of clubbers really so it's hard. It's either a party or a musical exploration that you love and everyone thinks it’s too laid back and not 'party' enough.

Depends on the crowd I guess; the venue, the night etc. Would you rather be allowed to explore when playing and producing, then?

Yeah. I love smaller intimate venues, big clubs are great also, and I don't mind it being a bit banging when there is a great atmosphere. Yeah of course, it's easier to explore and experiment when you have a bit more of a name for yourself and people relate your sound to you and know what to expect...it’s hard to try drum it and force it upon people at first.

So could we expect you to experiment even further once you a little more established?

For sure, I'm working on putting together a new live show but in the meantime I think getting on the DJ ladder is my main agenda. Once people know what I'm really about I can 'express' it more in the clubs.

Why Youandewan?

Aha, guess it's just a play on words. People abroad seem to have trouble pronouncing it however, I heard a German radio station pronounce it you and 'Evan'.

Yeah, ze Germans don’t do ws...

Aha!

So what you hope to achieve in 2010?

Well I'm talking to HOSH from Diyanmic who has asked me to do a remix on his forthcoming album and hopefully release an EP with them into 2010, then just see what happens...it's a lot of sitting on your arse...then every now and then I'll get an email which gets me going again and excited.

So you don’t pester people you let them come to you?

I hate pestering people... some people make themselves by it but I really appreciate when people approach me...it feels a bit better knowing you are being heard.

Word. Will Diyanmic be prescriptive in what they want or give you free reign?

I did my fair share of pestering a few years ago which got me to where I am now.... this is the things...HOSH heard a remix of mine and emailed me saying he liked it so that says to me I can just do what I'm doing which is great.

That's cool - no need for you to pester then. I like your confidence. A decent product doesn’t need selling, it sells itself, though...

Fo'sure

So, with such confidence in your sounds, if in a few years you weren’t making it, would you switch it up a bit or think 'fuck it, I've done my thing and they don’t like it so...'

Ahah, who knows...I change all the time...I get influenced by new stuff every week. I just wanna evolve, learn and better myself. generally reinterpret current sounds with my own take on things and hopefully things will be ok!

So I guess the infancy of your dance music submergence is being reflected in your productions - changing all the time... what if you were accused of being a trend follower? Aren’t you keen to find your own voice and style

Yeah of course...I struggle to keep to a style... people I'm sure will come across a track of mine and think I'm all about a certain sound and then a year down the line I might sound like a different producer but to me it doesn’t matter....infancy is true...I'm still learning and finding my feet taking in a lot of what is going on. I do have a catalogue of more electronic stuff which friends of mine actually say they prefer because it sounds more like "me" rather than a dance floor track.

Ahaaa - who knows if they are right? Who can you ask to judge?!

If my tracks last year were all minimal blip blop and now they were all vocal chant bongo tech house then maybe I would be guilty of being trendy. I have a lot of new ideas floating about which sound quite cool and different which I’m going to finish out...but it comes back to the original chat...I still love a great groove and a dance floor based track too....so maybe combining all this together is the key.

Yeah - the point is your styles changing according to what you are listening to which is not necessarily what’s popular at the moment, but more cos, owing to your youth, you’re still hearing new shit all the time, right? That’s what I was getting at...

Yeah, exactly.

And finally.... Is there anything you would like people to know about you, and what do you want to plug?

I'm a lovely young man GSOH looking for older woman 50+ and my Magicbag EP is out march 15th I believe...Plus I’m playing for Magicbag Music @ Back to Basics in Leeds on 20th march.