Flux Pavilion: I Don't Care About What's Cool; I'm Just Doing What I Love

Tooting your own horn isn't always a good thing. In moderation, though, what's the problem? It's just a way of telling others you're happy or proud about something--and there's nothing wrong with that, right?

Assuming that you answered "Right!" or "No, not at all," I guess it's okay for me to toot my horn a bit. After months of emails, hoping, and simply praying, I scored a phone interview with Flux Pavilion. Man, is that dude busy. I'm not going to say I have an obsession, but he was one of the first producers and DJs that ever hooked me.

I was excited. And it was nice to hear that Flux doesn't mind being boastful sometimes either.

Flux Pavilion will be headlining Wet Electric, Saturday, October 5 at Big Surf.

Up On The Sun talked to Flux about how he just can't stop, literally and his interesting relationships with other DJ's.

I've never seen you outside of Texas, so Phoenix should be a treat. Flux: Yeah, I just remember the Phoenix area being really hot and in the desert. I had never really been in a place like that before. Should be interesting coming back.

Your remix of DJ Fresh's "Gold Dust," "Bass Canon", and "I Can't Stop" have become such anthems. How do you feel about he growth and progression of your work? Yeah, I never really had any sort of expectations. I didn't have much of an ego. I've just kind of been writing music, and I always thought it was mixed up, but I didn't really expect to get involved with everything I have--you just end up there. I just have to kind of give myself a pat on the back and continue doing what I love. And it's nice to get a pat on the back in return for my music.

It's not like I was ever vouching for anyone or anything, it's just that over time you get better [and] people take notice and say, "Oh yeah that sounds good." It's just a process. I always try to write epic music; I wouldn't necessarily say anthems, because I want to just focus on this epic emotional connection. How people take it determines whether it is an anthem to them or not.

This process of creating 'epicness' is quite a great feeling. I've nailed it a few times and I'm happy about that.

What inspired you to take "I Can't Stop" and make a remastered version titled, "I Still Can't Stop?" I just kind of took the classic idea within EDM, really. If you have a big track, you then create a VIP. It's a variation in production. I mean, if you have a big track you could just play that one on and on forever, but [then] there's no progression or emergence of it.

I basically made that track in order to give to other DJ's and kind of get it noticed. But I ended up deciding, instead of just a single release, fuck it--why not put it on the new EP?

And I'll probably do another one at some point. [Laughs] I'd have to come up with a new track title involving can't and stop. But I'll probably be rehashing that track throughout the rest of my life, and just keep coming up with a variety of undertones and such for it.

Any plans on making any other VIPs? It's just remixing your own track to kind of update it a bit. It's kind of a way of playing fresh stuff without having to completely writing a new song. It may be seen as a lazy way of DJing, but I don't know--I was just sitting in a hotel room just clicking away and I ended up writing that VIP. Sounded pretty cool, so I ran with it. It just kind of happened, so I don't necessarily know for others.

I've noticed that the dubstep genre and sound has progressed over time. For example, Doorly is someone who has a more traditional and U.K. based sound, where Americans brought a more metal influence to the genre, hosting more bass and undertones. How did you find yourself within the dubstep scene? I think it was kind of me and Doctor P hashing out things, but especially from [the U.S.] within music today, that kind of helped take me in that direction. There was already this sound of dubstep that I had known from being from the U.K., and then I used to really love listening to Exision, Datsik and Skrillex.

So rather than sticking to the U.K. sound, I was actually quite inspired by the American sound. I don't know--it didn't really change the way I would write music, but sometimes when you hear something that you really like you can't help but imitate it. So I was never, like, in the old scene and then all of the sudden it changed and I didn't know what to do with myself. I just--I was kind of more a part of how the scene changed, if you're going to put me into a box. [Laughs] "The new wave box."

I always play music that I like or want to listen to, so that's kind of how I evolved. Regardless of how dubstep may change from today, it doesn't really affect the way that I think about what I do. I'm aware of what's happening within electronic music, but I kind of just put it to the back of my mind, because it doesn't really make a difference to my music. I don't really care about what's cool and what's not; I'm just doing what I love.

Today within EDM, many people consider themselves producers as well as DJ's. Would you see yourself more as a producer or a DJ? For me, personally, I've always been a producer. I only DJ because it's the easiest and best way to communicate my music to people. The only way to show people my work is to turn it into a DJ set and show them my new production.

I know today, with social media, it's really easy to keep in contact and follow people. I saw that you inspired Dillon Francis to dye his hair just like yours. [Laughs] I took him to my hairdresser and I told him, "Give him my hair cut." So I forced him to have my hair. We did a tour together, and he lived at my house for about two-and-a-half weeks.

Datsik and I have a tour together this coming December. I feel like he would be more reluctant to do that... I do have my ways, though.

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