Over the last few years, Copyright have been synonymous with pretty much everything Defected, so much so that you’d be forgiven for thinking the group comprised of several dozen members. The truth is, even back in the early days there were only ever three of them and in recent years the Copyright we know and love comprises just two members, but it’s just possible that they have secret powers that enable them to be in several places at once.
The fact remains though that Sam Holt and Gavin ‘Face’ Mills have been a bit quiet since they released their debut – and critically acclaimed – artist album ‘Voices and Visions’ back in early 2009. Sure, they’ve done a remix here and there, most notably their mix of Michel Cleis’ all-conquering ‘La Mezcla’ for the Ibiza season, but their cheery faces and uplifting vocal anthems were beginning to be sorely missed. “We haven’t swung by the office for our usual cuppa because we’ve locked ourselves away in deepest North London making some new records” explains Sam of their uncharacteristic absence. “The end of last year was pretty crazy as we played 3 dates in Brazil around New Year’s Eve and also toured Asia including the amazing Defected In The House at Zouk Out” continues Gav. “So we’ve been on a good run. January/February is usually a good time for us to take a breather from touring, and it’s also a good time to get busy writing in the studio; with Miami coming up very shortly it’s always a good feeling to know you have a couple of bullets ready to fire. When you’re playing at great parties it gives you great inspiration when you get back into the studio”.
And it’s exactly this inspiration in the studio that we want to hear about. Gigs are all very well for those of us lucky enough to either live locally, or be in a position where we can jet off to far-flung corners of the globe to catch them performing live. However, the rest of us are crying out for something more tangible we can get our teeth into. ‘Where are the tunes!?’ we cry. “Well, we’ve got one for you” laughs Sam. “This is our first production since our last album, and it’s a collaboration with two of our favourite artists, Tasita D’Mour and Imaani. We’ve worked with these guys for years, and were really happy with how this one came out”. So, what’s it like? “It’s back to the peaktime vocal sound we love to make and play. We’ve been road-testing this for a while now and the reaction has been great so far” he enthuses. “And with Miami just round the corner it’s a great time to release it.”
Copyright are known for producing feel-good, dancefloor tracks with a positive message, and while such blatant optimism might receive criticism from some quarters, it’s refreshing that some artists can still deliver such catchy hooks and heartwarming vibes in an genre that is increasingly dominated by a bleaker outlook and sound. The story of how the collaborations in itself warms the proverbial cockles…“‘Someday’ started out being a song we were going to write with Imaani” explains Gav. “She came down to the studio and we wrote a chorus together and then before we had the chance to get her back to write some verses she had a baby! So we decided we would get Tasita D'amour to come and fill in the spaces in the song. The dynamic between them works brilliantly, considering they were never in the studio together!”
It’s a dynamic that comes across beautifully in the finished product, but when asked how they approach the dynamic of making a track Sam is emphatic in his response. “We always start with the beats!” he exclaims. “Our tracks are always built from the drums upwards, but sometimes we can have a vocal idea and build the track with that in our minds. It’s always an organic process, and things evolve and develop over time. “Usually we start the idea by trying to work out what we want the end product to sound like” adds Gav. “What is it going to be? Maybe afro or soulful, minimal, electronic, do we have a song or hook idea…? Then build a basic drum groove kick, hats, percussion, snares etc. Once we have a groove that’s working we'll keep adding layers of sounds but in no particular order sometimes starting with a chord sequence or stab pattern, other times a bass or if its a remix we'd put the vocal in at this point . I guess there are no rules and sometimes it works equally well to go into the studio with no pre-conceived ideas and just see what comes out”.
Although both originally from the UK, they arguably spend more time abroad than at home – except when holed up in their North London studio – due to their overwhelming demand in clubs around the world. Try and catch them spinning in the UK however and you’ll be a little more hard-pressed to find them. The music scene in the UK at present, compared to the rest of Europe and beyond, is perhaps not as receptive to the particular blend of house music they concoct. Is this something they’d like to change? “Yes of course” answers Sam. “We’ve got some UK dates starting to filter in and although we do around 70 dates a year, in the past maybe 3 or 4 have been in the UK. It would be great to get more of a profile here. It’s hard sometimes as a UK act to get UK gigs, but we do as many as we can”. So hopefully now the scene is experiencing a house revival, this may start to happen? “I hope so, it’s funny that you talk of a revival…like, where did it go?” grins Gav. “It has seemed like house has been pushed back to the underground for the last couple of years. If I listen to the radio here there's very little support for our music on the radio compared to other countries we travel to. For instance if we are in France or Portugal and listen to the radio there is lots of upfront house on air but in the UK it's seemed like only the pirates or online stations play our music. I think if there was more support from mainstream radio then there would be more opportunities to play here.” “It always feels like there’s a ‘house revival’ going on” adds Sam “But it can only be good for house producers. I know a lot of pop producers are paying a lot more attention to what’s going on in the house scene at the moment, which shows it is definitely getting stronger”.
Of course, when you’re playing to 20,000 people at festival’s like Holland Tomorrowlands, or spinning to thousands of deliriously happy ravers on a beach in Singapore, perhaps playing cold, grimy UK clubs isn’t the first thing on your mind. “Our last Asia tour was pretty special” agrees Sam. “The Defected party at Zouk Out was amazing. We played the closing set but spent the whole night hanging out and checking out Simon Dunmore, Martin Solvieg & Martinez Brothers plus Shovell. The vibe was simply amazing from start to finish. We then went onto Phuket and then South Korea. And that’s where it got interesting” he laughs. “When we came to start our set, there was a black wall in front of the decks. We thought this looks a bit weird, until we realized that the whole stage was revolving. A minute later we were revealed to 2000 mad Koreans going absolutely crazy and by the time the flute kicked in on ‘La Mezcla’ the whole place erupted. Every club should have a revolving DJ booth!"
Sam and Gav rock the beach at Zouk Out Festival
“Tomorrowlands was pretty mad” recalls Gav. “We were told we would be picked up from the artist car park by a driver from Holland who was going to take us to our next gig. After waiting with our tour manager Chloe (aka Champagne Fontain) for about 20 minutes we called the driver, who said he was there and just pulling up. Then another 20 minutes would pass with still no sign. In the end we decided to go to the main road and look for him and managed to locate him half a mile up the road by a barrier. He looked like a roady from the 60s; a dutch rocker in leather pants and long blond hair and about 6’ 5” foot tall. We said “Hey man you better step on it we need to be at the next party in just 2 hours”. He leans over with the biggest joint I've ever seen sticking out of his mouth and says “No problem”. We then realised where the problem had been in him finding us.”
Avoiding lifts from stoned roadies aside, what else have they got planned for the next few months? “We’ve just delivered a new ‘One Track Minds EP’ to Defected, which sees us take a slightly tougher, tracky route” says Sam. “Writing songs and collaborating with artists is great, but it can be time consuming and we’ve been enjoying just making some tracks and testing them. ‘Circuit Break’ has been smashing it. Simon [Dunmore] called us after MAD club the other week and said he played it twice! We’ve got a couple of other vocal projects coming too. It’s funny” he continues “we’ve been making records for a while now and you go through periods where you’re working on loads of tracks but not releasing anything…then suddenly you hit a flow and it really comes together. The flow feels good this year, so we’re aiming to increase our output”.
“We are also currently putting together a House Masters compilation with Simon [Dunmore]” he goes on “and are also mixing a covermount CD for Pacha this summer. We’re really burning the candle at both ends at the moment to get some music finished before the summer madness kicks in. “We really want to try and break some new technology into our DJ sets as well” interrupts Gav. “We're really loving the new Pioneer CDJ2000. We now seem to be in the minority as we still play from CDs but these seem like a great way to go as we no longer have to burn the CDs and can plug our hardrive straight in, plus they play tracks in 24 bit studio quality!!!
Just a few short months into the year and it seems like the guys have already packed in enough activity to warrant a relatively chilled summer? Not a chance… “Firstly we’ve got our dates for Defected at Pacha, and then we’ve got our crazy schedules through July and August. It’s a magical combination of great times, terrible hangovers and sitting in airport lounges entertained by our iPhones!” chuckles Sam. “I’m really looking forward to playing at Pacha, Ibiza again this summer” adds Gav. “Whenever we get the question which is your favorite club then the answer is always the same; Pacha Ibiza. Plus we've been lucky enough to be given four Saturday dates there this summer for Defected In The House.”
The boys spinning at Pacha, Ibiza
It’s exhausting enough just asking them about it, but their boundless enthusiasm and hunger to meet the high expectations of their fans is apparent in everything they do, and Gav is quick to dispel any question that they might get sick of it. “Silly question!” he exclaims. “I guess we have good days and bad days like any other job, sometimes the creative juices are flowing in the studio and other days the computer might start wigging out, or suddenly we might decide that we have gone off the vibe we set out on. Likewise with gigs, you get the good ones and the bad” he admits “but fortunately the good far outweigh the bad and there is no other job in the world that I'd rather be doing. “It’s a great job and lifestyle” agrees Sam. “You have up and downs but at the end of the day it’s a great way to make a living. And I love being self employed; you get out what you put in.”
It seems then that a relatively quite spell by their standards is a busy day at the office for anyone else, and that the next few months will prove that there is no question of them slowing down anytime soon. Gigs? Check. Music? Check. But what about the cheery faces we’ve been missing so..?
“Get the kettle on then” laughs Sam. “We’re on our way!”
Words: Greg Sawyer
'Someday' is out March 10th on Defected Records - click to listen & buy
