Whether it’s Jurgen Vries, Orion, DT8 Project, Citizen Caned, or Angelic, the mastermind artiste behind all of those personas, UK’s Darren Tate, is undeniably one of dance music’s most important contributor to the genre. Having already achieved wide success with “The Opera Song,” “Destination,” “It’s My Turn,” “Journey,” “Wilderness,” “Perfect World,” “Hold Me Till The End,” and “The Sun Is Shining,” Darren also runs Mondo Records together with another outstanding artiste, Dale Corderoy.

Darren’s personal album Horizons has seen two installments, and in between all this, he tours extensively. The new Tokyo / Vespers EP and a 2010 redux of his hit with Jono Grant “Let The Light Shine In” (that includes a brilliant remix from newcomer Arty) are making headway on radio stations and club speakers all around the world, and Darren himself will be performing live in the city this weekend.

We have him here for this Radio KUL Extra exclusive interview.


Darren Tate

Hi Darren, thanks for doing this interview. Where are you currently and what has been a recent highlight?
I’m currently in Mumbai. I’m about to head off to Delhi to play at the CIBO Lounge, then back to Mumbai for Bluefrog followed by Bottles & Chimneys in Hyderabad. Then home! I’m a big fan of Bluefrog in particular as the crowd are really responsive to all kinds of music. Most recent DJ highlight was probably a rocking Off The Rails classics event in Sheffield (haven’t done one of those for a while)!

“Let The Light Shine In” has been remixed for 2010 by luminaries such as Arty, Corderoy, and Filo & Peri. Listening to this today, how has this remix package adapted it in comparison with the original?
To be honest I don’t like revamping records. But as Filo & Peri went ahead and did a mix that Armin end up supporting pretty all of last summer we almost felt compelled (due to the overwhelming response) to do something with the record. In addition I had been wanting to do my own update to the original for some time as (even I have to admit) it’s showing it’s age so this was a good opportunity to do just that. Then we pulled in different names that would each provide their own unique perceptive; Arty who we’re particularly fond of on the prog-trance tip and Dale for the techier side. Plus we have two further mixes that were done by Spanish producers (where the record was a big hit) that were simply done for the love of it!

How did your remix for “The Journey” by Nitrous Oxide and Mysterious Movement come about?
I oversee every signing to Mondo and I loved “The Journey” from the off (even though it shared the same title with my previous offering as Citizen Caned)! I therefore thought it would be a particularly good record for me to remix in a slightly harder style for the label.

“Tokyo” and “Vespers” were heavily supported by the cream of the crop early this year. How long did it take to produce both these gems?
In all honesty both records took about 2-3 days each. I tend to produce trance records more quickly than more genres (probably because I’ve been doing it for so long)!

Any more upcoming releases or remixes this year? Any plans for Horizons 03 perhaps?
Horizons 03 is almost finished and will be released late summer. We will be releasing the Midnight EP first which consists of (unsurprisingly) the single “Midnight” featuring newcomer Ally Hammond and the alternative mix of “Sun Electra” which featured on Horizons 02. Other singles to keep your eye out for include records with Aruna, Nicolai Prowse and Pippa Fulton. I’ll also be adding some mixes to some forthcoming releases on Mondo such as the forthcoming “Solstice” by Lewis Dodkins. And if that’s not enough I’ve been ploughing away with releases on the progressive-house side with some major name remixes but I’ve been told to keep that hush hush so I best not get into trouble..

Who are some of your favourite artistes on your record label Mondo right now? Tell us about Lee Osborne.
Lee Osborne has got a great techy-trance sound and his single “Eight” has been big with many DJs. You and expect more singles from Lee on Mondo shortly. Dale Corderoy works for Mondo but his records are also a great addition as are his mixes. Other great artists includes the aformentioned Nitrous Oxide and Mysterious Movement, Sunny Lax, Ben Preston, Avenger, Lewis Dodkins, Crimson and many many more.

Are there any artistes or perhaps vocalists that you’re interested to work with at the moment?
Well as I mentioned I’d been meaning to do a single with Aruna for last few years so I’m pleased we finally got around to doing that. Outside of that it’s just the usual unreachable names (Stevie Wonder etc etc)..

What can fans expect from your gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this weekend?
I’m going to be playing my usual blend of hot new singles intermingled with some classic dance hall moments, and the set will span everything from deep and dirty progressive house through to euphoric trance. It will rock’da’house!!

And where does your tour take you after that?
Back to England where I’ll be playing locally for once (Mass in Brixton), plus gigs in Manchester, Coventry and Ireland. Just keep checking MySpace for all the updates.

Any message to your fans reading this!
Thanks for all your support over the years and I look forward to seeing you out there on the club floor. And if you don’t already, make sure you tune into Dale and I on the Mondo Sessions radio show for top quality tunage (not forgetting us talking complete garbage as usual)! :)

Darren Tate performs live at Euphoria by Ministry of Sound Pres Trance Nation Feat Darren Tate (DT8) on Friday 25th June 2010. For more info, go to http://www.euphoria.com.my/

Catch an exclusive guestmix by Darren Tate on Radio KUL 146 with Simon Lee & Alvin. The first hour will be mixed by Simon Lee & Alvin and will feature a selection of Darren Tate’s discography, followed by the guestmix from Darren Tate himself. Airs Friday, 25th June 2010 at http://www.radiokul.com/ and available as a podcast on iTunes and on Mugasha. Radio Hi-Tec Netherlands and 1Mix Radio UK will also stream the show live, see website for schedule.

“Let The Light Shine In 2010″ is out now on Mondo.

More info :

  • Darren Tate- http://www.darrentate.com/