INTERVIEW – Volta Bureau
January 3, 2012
Responsible for one of the diamonds in the rough at the back end of 2011, we caught up with the cosmic disco trio that is Will Eastman, Outputmessage (Bernard Farley) and Micah Vellian (Miguel Lacsamana) - aka Volta Bureau . Not to be mistaken for screaming groupies. Oh no.
Evening guys! How’s it going, where do we find you?
Very well, thanks. We all reside in Washington, DC.
For those of us reading about you for the first time, how would you best describe your sound if you had to?
A cosmic, hypnotic take on disco, house and techno.
How did Volta Bureau come together to stand as you are now?
Miguel and Bernard were actually roommates. We had our own separate solo projects, but also worked together in the studio at thier place. Will Eastman also started working with Miguel there on his solo stuff. We would all come down to visit each other in the studio and pretty soon we realized we all shared a common interest musically. The rest is history.
Looking back at 2011, how’s it gone for you?
2011 has been pretty good to us. We debuted our first material on Soundcloud in the summer. Next thing you know Pete Tong is playing our song “Alley Cat” on Radio 1 just a few months later and we are getting all kinds of great feedback and support. We are all looking forward to 2012 and feel like it can only get better.
What have been the highs?
The support from Pete Tong on Radio 1 was a big one for us as well as from Toddla T and Annie Mac. Not gonna lie, we all squealed like 1965 Beatles fan for about half an hour when that happened. Also, getting the love in the artist community from the likes of A-Trak, The Magician and Mike Skinner dropping us in a mix was really cool. We are all big fans of the first two Streets records.
“Alley Cat” really blew a hole in the back end of this year for us – has that been track been knocking around for a while?
Yeah, we were sitting on that one for a little bit. After we make tracks, we play them out a bunch of times in DJ sets, making tweaks here and there. We try to make each track sound and feel as good as we can. Will played it at Virgin Fest. When it came out in September, we were excited for the release, but honestly weren’t expecting much as we were a fairly new group. All of us couldn’t be happier with how well it’s been received!
For the techbods, what’s your studio set up?
Will – I work on Ableton on a Macbook Pro
Bernard – Ableton Live here as well on PC. Lots of MIDI keyboards and VST synths as well.
Miguel – Ableton Live on a PC as my main DAW and an assortment of outboard gear and vsts.
How did you get into this game in the first place?
All three of us have been around a while, actually. Bernard has been releasing music for 10 years now as Outputmessage. Will’s been DJing for over 10 years, has a great night here in DC called BLISS and co-owns U Street Music Hall. Miguel has been playing instruments for years, DJing and singing. He’s been in a number of bands and has released tunes as Michah Vellian. So we’ve actually been in the “game” for a while, but us coming together as a group is quite new and exciting.
Who are your heroes and why? Which track would you pick of theirs above all others?
Its a bit too tough to pick just one track but some of our heroes would be Kraftwerk, Chic, New Order, Cajmere, Daft Punk, Moroder, Prince, Larry Levan, all the early Detroit techno artists, Salsoul disco. The list is endless really.
Your favourite night this year you played at & favourite track of 2011?
Our record release party for “Hope” was really memorable. We were supposed to open for Gui Boratto but he had visa issues so we ended up headlining. Vibe and crowd were amazing.
What’s on the rider?
Hahaha. We don’t really have a rider yet.
Favourite club?
U Street Music Hall. Such a great music scene in DC these days, its inspiring.
In 10 years time you will be…?
Haha, we really have no idea. We’re focusing on making more great music right now and playing more shows. Wiser, hopefully.
Being a DJ/producer is a tough grind at time – what do you do/use to stay calm and healthy?
Bernard – I do yoga 4-5 times a week.
Will – I like exercising and drinking tea.
Miguel – I recently went on a 12-day juice fast and completely changed my diet to a “nutritarian” regimen.
Any interesting collabs/ releases coming up?
We’ve been working on lots of tracks and have a couple in the works for release, unfortunately we can’t really release any details just yet but stay tuned. Definitely keep a look out for a few big remixes in the first half of 2012 as well.
When are you over in the UK?
Not soon enough! We are all big fans of UK culture and music so we can’t wait to play there.
Nice one!