Tuesday 10th November, 2009 by
Matt Hope
With a soft plume of ginger beard and a pale ‘club to studio to airport to club [repeat to fade]’ complexion,
Oliver $ (pronounced Oliver Dollar)
divulges some of the lesser known conventions of his current lifestyle
with us ahead of his anticipated fabric appearance this Friday.
What are your top five favorite things?
1. Music
2. Vinyl
3. Bavette no. 13 (A type of French beef cut)
4. Analogue [music] equipment.
5. Fine Wine
What did you want to do when you grew up?
As a kid I always wanted to jump on the back of garbage trucks and ride
around the city, although I haven’t lived the dream yet, I may in the
near future.
Initially being presented on the tech-house scene in 2007 with co
producing ‘wake up’ with Jesse Rose which earned him his own release
‘Hotflash’ his debut release at the beginning of 2008 on Jesse Rose own
Made To Play imprint, getting him momentous attention. These releases
along with the huge response of Jesse playing the Oliver $ mix of
London boy, Grovesnor’s pop-cult ‘Drive your Car’ in Sydney on New
Years Day 2008, confirmed Oliver $ as a recognised contributor to the
scene.
What’s it like working with Jesse Rose - is he a significant role model for you?
Definitely, Jesse’s had a huge impact on my career. I went from his
biggest fan to his understudy (of sorts), which is something that I
don’t think happens to a lot of people. Since then he’s shaped my
musical tastes and pushed my releases on Made to Play. He’s also been
influential in showing me the ropes for DJ-ing at places like Panorama
Bar and perfecting my DJ set in general.
Oliver has steadily graduated a momentum as a key muse of the
Fidget/Tech-House scene. Appearances on Shir Khans celebrated
‘Exploited’ CD and the last Crookers’-mixed ‘I Love Techno’ compilation
along with a vast succession of remixes and one-offs on token labels
such as Polydor, Greco Roman, Rekids, Grand Petrol and Front Room
Recordings has affirmed his talent and measured his portfolio against
significant others.
His tracks and mixes hold a distinctive appeal among critics hailing
his use of technical rhythms and relentless combination of groovy bass
lines, intricately timed playful phrasing and toughened up drums that
put him apart from many popular and alongside rarer types of producers
of now.
Where is house music today?
Theres too much hype at the moment and way too many niche genres… House
has blown up recently and everyone seems to be doing it because it’s
the current trend. Otherwise, I think it’s alive and healthy and I’m
definitely happy to be a part of it.
Tell us about how you approach the club and the London scene?
I think it’s cool that the London scenes specifically are the current
trend setters. I really dig the fact that they take different genres
and make a coherent new sound and scene out of it. I really think it
would have been hard for anyone in Germany to do that.
His contribution to the ‘Cut‘n’Paste’ wonky house context has compared
him closely similar to the likes of artists such as Akufen (see Fabric
17, 2004) and fellow label mates Jan Driver and Riva Starr
complimenting Made to Play’s intrinsic signature sound with an obvious
commonality to Jesse Rose himself.
What’s been the best gig you have had since you started playing worldwide?
The Made to Play night at 2009s Winter Music Conference was absolutely
amazing and Ballaton Sound Festival with Justin Martin this summer was
up at the top too, definitely the highlight of my summer. There were a
couple of illegal parties this year that were also super dope.
Mr. $ has already earned himself a valuable name among current scene
leaders like Claude von Stroke, Derrick Carter and Ricardo Villalobos
for his consistent quality and light-hearted approach. Having performed
at top parties across the globe, including a regular residency at
Berlin’s own Panorama bar at the monthly label night Made to Play, his
relentless performance style has propelled his popularity as a mover of
the modern House scene. He now inherently works with ‘Made-to-play’
records as Jesse Rose’s assistant producer and general label ambassador.
With a rapid development of this sound leaning towards Ragtime and Jazz
samples with a bold Gypsy or Balkan feel demonstrated on the most
recent Riva Starr ‘I Was Drunk’ release (on Made To Play) and his new
track 'You Got It’ out on digital-only release on November 30th, we can
be sure to seriously experience an unrelenting barrage of groovy loops
and a conspicuous ‘loss of marbles’ on the fabric dance floor.
He has also put together a promo mix for the occasion which you can download from the link below.
Download: Oliver $ - fabric Promo Mix
Tracklist:
1. Trevor Loveys,Affie Yousuf feat Spoek_Bitch Fight_Made to Play Remix_Trunkfunk
2. Benga & Coki_Night_Geeneus Remix_Tempa
3. Ying Yang Twins_vs_Shlomi Aber & Kenny Larkin_Whispering Sketches_Oliver $ Edit
4. Riva Starr_Black Cat,White Cat_Made to Play
5. Genetic & Gio Martinez - Rempejack_Oliver $ Remix_Kingdom Kome
6. Poligono_Changes_Cdr
7. The Answer_Gipsy Kink Remix_UPS
8. Deetron_Orange_Music Man
9. Markus Homm Mihai Popoviciu Jay Bliss_Bis Co¬_Diynamic Music
10. Unknow_Bootleg_Cdr
11. Sick Jargon_Go Hump_Daniel Carro Rmx_Edit
12. Daniel Haaksman_Deixa Tocar_Consistent Rmx
13. Zed Bias_Bareknuckle_Sick Trumpet
Catch Oliver $ at Beatdown this Friday, and look
out for a special digital only release from him called 'You Got It' out
on beatport on 30th Nov