CHRISTIAN CAMBAS AND HIS BLOG

May 14th, 2013 at 7:15PM

Giving Life Back To Music?

Could I be quiet about the Daft Punk hype? No I couldn’t.

They make some great points: “Technology has made music accessible, but when everyone can make magic, it’s like there’s no more magic”.

And some of the songs on “Random Access Memories” are indeed magical.

However, have we crossed over to the complete opposite side where we are now considering what is essentially a funk album as the saviour of Dance Music?

May 3rd, 2013 at 2:30PM

1605 Ways To Deal With Christian Cambas

This week I put together the latest installment of 1605’s Beatport mixes and made it a point to focus on the tracks that meant the most to me both sound-wise and, of course, emotionally - just because I’m such an emotional guy.

Since I made the first ever “1605 Ways To Deal With…” compilation a couple of years ago, things have definitely changed in our scene and in the ever-evolving 1605 sound. But while the choice of tracks might seem like a retrospective of sorts, it is in no way a nostalgic look to the past, but a firm nod to the sound that established my identity as a producer.

Another very important aspect regarding the artists who appear on this compilation is that I have developed a personal relationship with pretty much all of them, either by playing together at events, getting together for drinks or just even chatting online. And I’m not talking about strictly business relationships, but just plain-old messing around, most of the time.

In a recent talk I had with Bizzy from Dataminions, we were wondering the usual: where the sound was going, what would be the next wave to evolve, the standard stuff. I told him that after struggling with my own sound, I came to the conclusion that it’s probably better for me to be consistent with my tracks even when trends come and go. My initial “1605 sound” is what I’m into 100% and it’s also what most of the people who support me, associate me with. So, to honor all of the above, I chose these 13 tracks that sum up everything I do :)

Here is the link for you to check out the mix: http://mixes.beatport.com/mix/id/60882

Clockwise from top left: Umek, Spartaque, Piatto, Bizzy from Dataminions

And the cover from the first “1605 Ways To Deal With Christian Cambas” from 2011:

You can check it here: http://www.beatport.com/release/1605-ways-to-deal-with-christian-cambas/818733

April 26th, 2013 at 11:07AM

Carl Cox, UMEK and me!

OK, time for me to get emotional. Carl Cox was the first DJ I ever opened up for. That party also marked my first proper gig as a professional DJ, so it was a pretty lucky break, if you ask me :)

Over the years, I played with Carl once or twice again, I can’t really remember. And of course, I have done quite a few things with lord Umek who is the nicest guy in the business. So this past weekend, more than 10 years after the first time I shared the stage with Carl Cox, we played in my hometown of Athens, with a lineup that summed up a lot about what we know about Techno and Tech House these days: Carl Cox, Umek, and Ramon Tapia. And it was a fucking blast. It was fun.

So, looking back over a decade, there is only one thing for me to say: As long as we are having FUN, that’s all that matters.

April 11th, 2013 at 9:18PM

From Start To Finish

Today I listened to a whole album. It wasn’t a planned “aural experience”, I just had my iPod with me while walking around, and on my way back home I realized that I had listened to the whole thing.

It’s been a while since I’ve done that, and it’s been a while since artists of any genre made an album that you can actually sit through and enjoy. (This one wasn’t some classic album from yesteryear, it was very recent and nothing groundbreaking, genre-wise.)

In our short-attention-span, singles-driven market, does a full album even matter?

March 28th, 2013 at 4:46PM

Sabotage Records Is Back!

After almost a year, I have decided to relaunch my Sabotage label. The reason I had paused it all this time was that I wasn’t really feeling the whole direction that the sound was evolving towards.

On one hand, I wanted Sabotage to reflect the style that I play, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to release tracks that sounded exactly the same. Also, quality was a great issue and I did not want to put anything out that would not satisfy my loyal Saboteurs 100%.

So now, I am starting fresh and will try to make each release as special as possible. In view of that, the Sabotage plan for now is to release just one-track singles with no remixes, so that each artist can shine properly in his release.

Where do you think Sabotage should go?

2 notes

March 18th, 2013 at 5:18PM

Behind the scenes of my “Traffic Dreams” music video

Here’s a pictorial of how we made the “Traffic Dreams” video! Thanks to everyone for putting up with me :)

Click HERE to watch the full video.

Director & D.O.P: Manos Dedevesis
Starring: Fani Enfer
Executive Producer: Desmond Kind
Special Thanks: Patroklos Kouvakas

Directly to the fans!

For those of you who buy tracks, would you prefer to buy them from the usual places (Beatport, iTunes, etc.) or would you like to have the option to buy directly from the artist himself through his website/Facebook/whatever page?

As always, let me. know :)

February 5th, 2013 at 1:52PM

The cash cow is falling on my head and I want mommy.

Certain high profile DJs are “taking a stand for EDM” as if they’re talking about Punk Rock or some activist movement. In reality, a mere fraction of the people involved in the EDM scene today were around 20 years ago, “paying their dues”, as they claim. Plus, 20 years ago no one was paying dues because they had no idea what to do. People are even trying to portray the U.S. as having proto-rave culture.

So now the big boys are crying over the media drug outrage caused by their TicketMaster-fuelled success? Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, man.

1 note

December 3rd, 2012 at 11:54AM

Alias Or Not?

Here is today’s pondering:

When an artist decides to branch out into another genre for something such as a side-project, is it better to use an alias or to use his already established name?

On one hand, an artist might want to show that he is able to work in various styles, and keep his name to prove it. On the other hand, however, some of his die-hard fans (which every artist has) might become upset or feel betrayed by the fact that their favorite artist now does something totally different.

Any thoughts on this?

November 19th, 2012 at 4:54PM

Young Guns

I’ve been listening to a lot of music lately. Not just my usual burn-out sessions with Metal, but electronic stuff as well - surprisingly enough.

There is nothing more refreshing than hearing a track pumped out by some young kid which literally serves as a slap to the face of producers who think they are hot shit. For example: Effortlessly whipping up a beat that would make most bling-flashing hip hop producers green with envy, before going head-on into a dubstep frenzy. Or some Techno kid slowing things down just enough to get the Deep House heads crying back to Berlin.

Bring it on!