Personality Clash…

Swayzak Versus Troy Pierce

Personality Clash: Swayzak Versus Troy Pierce

Two gargantuan figures in the world of dance music; Swayzak are one of the most consistent dance acts on the long running !K7 label. This duo forming in London harboured their secret yet burgeoning talents for what seemed like for too long.

Eventually after friends badgered them they self released an EP and the dance community literally swallowed them up. 1998’s ‘Snowboarding in Argentina’ was voted 1998’s best dance LP by the US electronic bible Mixer and ever since James Taylor and David Brown have been touring their lush dance edge.

Troy Pierce; a relative new comer has made fast impact with forging a wide niche on techno’s almost sacred minimal label – Minus – making him not only the envy of many of his peers but a massive pull in his adopted home of Berlin.

Two gargantuan figures in the world of dance music

Clash pitched them together to find out what they had been up to…..

Swayzak : We met at Fabric one evening when we were both playing, I was very impressed with your live show and you concentration levels! You seemed very serious when playing. Was it nerves or are you always like that?

Troy Pierce : Fabric was a great night; that was one of the rare Louderbach live gigs. I’m pretty much always like that whether it’s a live or DJ gig. I stopped getting nervous after Sonar three years ago. Magda and I were DJing together at the Sonar by night venue – the outside one with no roof. It was so amazing but so nerve racking. The guy before us – who shall remain nameless (but HE knows who he is!!!) – was playing so hard and fast and this was like at 11pm. It was a ‘Minus’ stage with Marc Houle, Mathew Jonson and Rich (Hawtin) playing after us. We had done a sound check in the afternoon setting up all of our gear – separate mixers, samplers, tons of stuff – and when we arrived later – to pounding techno – this guy had changed the mixer, and unplugged all of our gear. When he finished, we plugged our stuff back in and the power on the stage went out. Just Magda and I on stage (with my mom in the corner) oh, and 10,000 people in front of us… Then we just got on with it and had one of the best parties ever… Nerves went and never came back… I have never been a ‘hands in the air’ jump around DJ, I’m always doing too much other stuff, loops effects, no time to wave a record sleeve in the air.

Swayzak : I enjoy the underline label and minus releases too but louderbach is my fave! Do you have a fave Swayzak track (better not say no!!)

Troy Pierce : Of course… top three…

1. Ping pong – when this track came out, it was so unique, so stripped down and simple. It really made a lasting impression on me (such a bomb, I still play it)

2. Make up your mind

3. State of disgrace (but the headgear remix, does that still count?)

Swayzak : You seem to dress in dark in all your images, are you a goth ? Or do you like the current trend for dayglo colours ?

Troy Pierce : Depends on your definition of a Goth… I don’t smoke clove cigarettes (all Goths where I am from in Indiana smoke cloves, these awful smelling little brown cigarettes) but I love Bauhaus. Dayglo, please. Turns my stomach.

Swayzak : I got a white label of Depeche Mode bootlegs, really rocking when I play it! Was this you? Is it bootleg or did you get clearance ?

Troy Pierce : It was me actually. It was an official remix from Mute that I did along with Ricardo, Heartthrob and a few others. But it was sent out only as a DJ promo CD. So I guess some genius decided to press it, bastards. I bought my only copy in Japan.

Swayzak : What was your first band? First band I ever saw was Joy Division, it changed my life though I was only 12.

Troy Pierce : I think the first band I ever saw was Journey… with my mom when I was 12/13. Didn’t really change much in my life. They just played typical American rock ballads. I don’t really remember being wowed by any bands until Danzig, what a bad-ass band… Ooooo moootha!!!!

Swayzak : When we met you mentioned our older tracks, we released on minus way back in 1999, what were you doing then ?

Troy Pierce : I lived in New York from 94 – 04 and studied photography from 94 – 97. I was always buying records and started playing out at small parties in 95/96. There were quite a few really good shops there with great records. We mostly played in small bars or did our own private parties at lofts in Brooklyn.

Swayzak : Everyone thinks we have glamorous lives, I don’t (anymore) but do you? Perhaps a drink in the Ritz? Speedboats and villas in Ibiza?

Troy Pierce : Depends I guess, is hanging out with Magda glamorous? Some might think so. Last Sunday we ate pizza and watched Norbit (a movie with Eddie Murphy where he plays most of the characters – super funny) in our hotel in Romania, how glamorous is that?

Swayzak : You lived with Magda, and Konrad (Todd) black in Berlin, who did the washing up? I bet it wasn’t Todd !!!

Troy Pierce : We pretty much all took care of our own knickers.

Swayzak : I live in London where its jolly damned expensive, you lived in New Yoik, similar expense! but cheap pizza! Do you think Berlin helps in your career or would you like to move to say Scunthorpe or more cutting edge places ?

Troy Pierce : Berlin is perfect for me. When I was in New York I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. But once I moved here it all made sense. I couldn’t have made the music I have made here, in New York. Too many distractions, too many friends. In Berlin I am a little bit of a recluse, I rarely go out here. I have a lot of friends in the city but we are all doing the same thing which means studio/gigs all the time.

Swayzak : My mum says our music is good, do I believe her? What do your folks say?

Troy Pierce : Remember the crappy drawings you did when you were 7? Yeah, straight up on the fridge gallery. My mom likes my stuff, she loved ‘25 Bitches’ when she heard it, thought it was hilarious. My dad on the other hand, I am not really sure if has ever listened to anything, he is really into country music and thinks he won’t get it so he doesn’t listen I think. He says he does but when asked for a favorite… um… all.

Swayzak : You mentioned before she was at the Sonar gig – does your mum come to a lot of your gigs?

Troy Pierce : She has come to a few, the last being my birthday party in Berlin. she stayed until 3am or so. She was so happy when i started playing because, as she put it “everyone was screaming when you started to play”. Luckily when I crawled home at 4pm the next day she was out to lunch.

Swayzak : What would you remix her for 500 euros? We all have a fave Madonna track apparently. Mine is ‘Borderline’, and I can visualize her now on Top of the Pops.

Troy Pierce : Flock of seagulls – ‘I Ran’ (I forced my “classic rock” guitar instructor to teach me, he must have been mortified) I would do that one for €500. Prince – ‘Little Red Corvette’, i would do that one for free!!!

Swayzak : I got the remixes you did of Cybotron on Juno. Very good (I prefer Troy mix) but whats the difference between Troy and Louderbach? Did you get two fees?

Troy Pierce : Louderbach vs Troy Pierce. Louderbach is a collaboration between myself and one of my best friends Gibby Miller. Louderbach is darker with more vocals (Gibby writes all the lyrics and sings). We came up with the term minimal gothic. All of our stuff is sad and about love or losing it. My solo stuff is a little more dancefloor oriented I guess but still a little dark. I am not really into much upbeat/happy stuff…. we only got one fee for that one which was okay with me, it was such an honor to be asked to remix that track, and they liked the Louderbach ‘cover’ version so we were super happy.

Swayzak : In the music business there are many sharks to watch out for, but we found Rich Hawtin to be the kindest label boss!!!! Does any shady music biz persona owe you money? would you like us to send our boys round ?

Troy Pierce : Totally!!! and they are probably just around the corner from you.

Swayzak : Ok, your favorite club and why? or show?

Troy Pierce : There are so many cool places it’s tough… Sonar 2006, on the beach with Matthew Dear was one of the most memorable gigs. The worst sound ever but one of the best parties. Hot chicks in bikini’s with cowboy boots frolicking in the sand. We ended up playing from 3-10 (Rich didn’t show up til 9:30) with people going totally crazy, rammed all the way to the water, the largest crowd I had ever seen at a Sonar beach party, it was amazing and so much fun.

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