T Minus 90 with Placid
November 30, 2011 by Daniel Smith
Since 1990 Placid aka Paul Wise has been spinning the platters that matter. Best known for sets of the purest acid house, he has a reputation as 'the Dj's Dj' with a gigging biography that has taken him to Detroit, New York, Berlin, France, Spain, and Holland, as well as Glastonbury and BLOC music festivals.
Currently the resident DJ at I Love Acid in London, Placid also guest gigs all around England playing the best of any genre he dared to play: Acid House, Techno, Electro Deep House, Dub Techno. He also broadcasts his fortnightly radio show across the internet on future-music.co.uk, and he has been running acid-house.net for years, keeping tabs on all things new and old relating to the wonderful world of the TB-303.
How long have you been doing this for & what originally attracted to you become a DJ?
Probably been DJing since 1990.. so 21 years now. The attraction was a combination of being in control of what music got palyed and a desire to make new records by mixing 2 other together... this was way before any form of digital music playing came out, so using two records to create a third new one was quite novel... and I still try to do it every now and then....a long blend of 3 or 4 minutes of two perfectly synced records...
Did you study under anyone in particular?
No, not really... if there is any one person I guess it was probably my brother, Mark, he got me into the music in the first place, since then its been a procession of friends and parties which have motivated me...
What is keeping you inspired to keep doing this?
I have a monthly residency at I Love Acid in London, I love doing that, and my radio show give me an opportunity to play the music I love and try to spread what I consider to be good music. I must have put about 3 or 4 hundred mixes online now over the past 8 or 9 years.
How do you feel about the current state of electronic music?
I could quite easily spend 100 pounds a week on new music. Theres some absolute gems out there. I dont buy or download mp3's so thats probably only 11 or 12 records. The digital market is an unknown for me. I don't go near it, but from the odd foray onto beatport or some such is that it appears to be saturated with lots of mediocre music, all sounding the same, as if everyone uses one mode of compression which takes out highs, lows and soul. The sheer quantity of stuff being released digitally is overwhelming for me anyway. I'm quite happy to let others sift through the releases and find the good stuff then download a mix of something or get it on vinyl if its available. In a nutshell, I would say electronic music is pretty healthy, as long as you're prepared to do a bit of digging.
Have you ever felt compelled to make the transition into a digital medium?
Nope. Never. I like playing records too much, I am not DJing every weekend around the world so carrying some records around when i do play gigs really isn't an issue. I used to fix computers so the thought of listening to music by looking at a computer screen was an alien concept. I can see why people like it, and it's cool if it works for them, but for me it's always been about the vinyl. I haven't even ever used any CDJs either, I only own 2 cds, not quite sure how I've managed to do this but there you go. Ultimately I think I'm just a bit too lazy too digitise my collection and I'm perfectly happy with my records. For me, I like getting records out of their sleeve and putting them on the deck a bit too much to let that go I think...
What kind of equipment did you use to make this mix and what was it recorded on?
I use purely vinyl, so the mix is simply created on 2x technics 1210's.
How do you approach mixes as opposed to live DJing?
I approach both in the same way... although if im DJ'ing live at a night I'll usually pack a few more 'bangers'... played to the right crowd at the right time, I'm sure the mixes would go down a storm but usually I reserve the more cerebral music for my mixes... I never plan a set, the nearest I get to planning something is to know what my first two records will be, it's all just made up from there on. I usually work a couple of records in advance, so while ones playing, I'll be thinking what goes nicely with this and what can follow that... sometimes it's genius, sometimes it stops the whole flow of the mix, and I'll have to try and build it up again but that's just part of the joy.
What was the main inspiration behind your tracklist?
About half of them I'd never played before as I had bought them that day or when I was In Berlin and hadn't had time to hear them yet. A few I had played out the weekend before and thought they sound awesome so I put them in the mix... a few others just happened to be sitting next to the deck and I thought they would fit in nicely... so, in answer to your question, I'm not really sure what the inspiration apart from just to try and spread good music to those people who like it and throw a few things in people might not have heard so they get a bit of exposure...
You are known for your deep knowledge of tracks, especially of acid house, are there any tracks you try to incorporate no matter what?
To be honest I will try to do the complete opposite. If I played something last month, I'll take it out of my bag as soon as I get home and I'll take something different next... same with my radio shows, I try to not play the same stuff at all.
What are top five of your all time favorite tracks?
Top 5 would probably change on a daily basis, but today's Top 5, in no particular order are:
1. Reese - Just Want Another Chance - Incognito
2. Pierre's Fantasy Club - Fantasy Girl - SRO
3. Armando - Confusions Revenge - Jack Trax
4. Risqué III* - Essence Of A Dream
5. James Jack Rabbit - Rabbittrax - Yoton
It's hard enough to narrow down to 50...
Tracklist
Neon Marshmallow Mix 02 - Placid (69:11)
All original vinyl mixed by Placid (Official Site)
Marco M. Bernd – Aurora - Ehrenfels
Fudge Fingas – What Works - Firecracker
Codine – Circadian Rhythms - Blank Artists
Iron Curtis –You, On A Friday Night - Retreat
Levon Vincent - Man Or Mistress - Novel Sound
Omar-S – Psychotic Photosynthesis - FXHE
Kowton – Keep Walking - NakedLunch
A:xus – When I Fall Remix Project - Guidance
Edanticonf – Winter Morning - Eclipsemusic
Parallel 9 – Dominus - Music Man
Chris Brann - Soul Star - Peacefrog
Steven Tang – The Verged Sessions - Aesthetic Audio
Conforce – Lonely Run - Delsin
