EXCLUSIVE - Meroz Interview & Mix

Meroz is an artist who has gone down a storm here at Danced On Arrival. His enigmatic and exuberant French house tracks have completely bowled us over. Though he may be American, there's no doubt Meroz has the musical soul of a true Gauloises-smoking, turtleneck-wearing Parisien.

A few months back we reviewed his track 'Summertime Shandy' and were so impressed that we thought we would try and arrange an interview. We wanted to know how he comes up with such great tunes. The man didn't disappoint - sharing everything, from his views on club music to why he couldn't care less about a number one single. He was also kind enough to whip together a little mix for us - chucking in a few exclusive joints aswell. Ladies and gentlemen - I give you Meroz.

DOA: What tunes are you currently spinning?
M: As far as tunes go it's always changing but these artists pretty much make it in there, here's a short list:

Phonat, Vanguard, Solid Bump Crew, Mixchopin, Sedat, GK, Leonardus, DJ Sneak, Paul Johnson, Sebastian Leger (early stuff), Siriusmo, Le Batman, Bitfunk. It all depends on my mood honestly, I'm all over the place.

DOA: What music did you listen to when you were growing up?
M: Mainly rock & hip-hop, but then in about 1992, I started falling in love with the house music scene while still playing drums in rock & hip-hop acts.

DOA: Which artists have influenced your style of music and why?
M: Probably Paul Johnson, anything he does has soul and funk to it. Daft Punk (who didn't they influence) Sebastian Leger - his early stuff was so raw, and Todd Edwards, he has created a style by chopping up songs and making them entirely new.

DOA: Which of your tracks are you most proud of and why?
M: 'Elixir' & 'Lust', These 2 tracks are just meant to be fun for DJ's. I'm proud of how 'Your Lover' did but I never thought it was a strong track, It was meant to be a "B side". That just goes to show that you may not enjoy your creation as much as other people will. Put it [your music] out there, play with it a bit & see what happens. I do have a couple of tracks not yet released that I am extremely proud of so keep a look out.

DOA: What is that organ sample for 'Summertime Shandy' and where on Earth did you find it?
M: For all the old school DJ's out there I found it by "DITC" (digging in the crates) - busting out the dustys!

DOA: If somebody were to offer you a number one single, at the expense of the integrity and originality of your music, would you take it?
M: Hell Nah! Even at number 1 I still wouldn't see any cash, besides at that point you wouldn't really even be considered an artist, just a face and name to market. Besides my music really isn't all that original anyways. it's basically a mash up of French and Chicago house hahaha. I'm just trying to have fun making music and if other people enjoy it... well that is awesome!!

DOA: What projects are you currently working on?
M: About 5 projects - I better get my ass moving! A few singles, a couple of remixes and a joint-effort between Mykill & myself.

DOA: Where would you hope to see yourself in five years time?
M: Still making music, hopefully a little better off but either way I'm ok with where I am now. I should be out playing more shows though.

DOA: There is a lot of hype about nu-disco and a renaissance in French touch, do you believe that nu-disco can really replace tech-house as the choice genre amongst the majority of club DJ's?
M: Probably not, but I believe the nu-disco, French touch blah blah blah - whatever they want to call it next week - is making its way back into boring straight tech-house sets. I love all the styles but too much of anything loses my interest. There are a ton of new artists doing their thing and I hope to see more of it get supported. "House Music"

DOA: If you could work with any DJ/producer, who would it be and why?
M: Todd Edwards, only because I want to see him chop up those tracks like he does. But straight up producer wise goes to Brian Eno. That guy man - anywhere from Roxy Music to U2, besides the fact on his solo record he snuck in a girl pissing on his album cover - that is some real talent!

Meroz's MySpace
Buy Meroz tracks from Beatport

Meroz Doa Mix by Meroz on Mixcloud