The WWD Podcast is back! We’re delighted to have one of the leading lights in Techno, and a homegrown talent to boot, take up the hotseat for episode 11. This week we feature a man who has rocked numerous iconic imprint including the likes of Tronic, Bedrock, KMS & Connaisseur. His recent works have also been winning plaudits from global stars such as Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin and Adam Beyer. We’re talking of course about Limerick’s Ian O’Donovan. He’s provided an exclusive hour from his recent set at Artheater, Cologne. We also chatted Tronic, Last Night On Earth and much more. Enjoy!
WWD : It’s been a busy 9 months for you Ian since we last talked in January. How has 2014 been so far?
Ian : Yeah, it’s been good. I was studying until June doing a ‘music for games/film’ course so that was interesting and I learned a lot. I’ve had less releases this year but they’ve all been on really good labels and I’ve been pretty happy with them. I’ve been working on new stuff lately including an album which I’ve actually taken a break from at the moment.
Got to play some really nice gigs as well this year.
WWD : ‘Millennia’ must seem like the standout solo track for you this year, it saw massive support from the likes of Adam Beyer & Richie Hawtin. Finishing it off in the studio did you think this is going to be such a big track?
Ian : Originally I did… I thought it was one of my best tracks but sometimes when you make lots of tunes it’s hard to know which are the standout ones. Christian (Smith) had asked me to do some stuff for Tronic and I had the melodies, synths and some of the drums done of ‘Millennia’ ages ago but was never happy with it. I thought it could suit Tronic so I went and finished it properly. He originally wasn’t going to sign it but decided to put it on the EP later. I sent it to Laurent Garnier as I thought he’d like it and it wasn’t until I saw him playing it live a week later and saw the reaction that I knew it could be big. Then seeing Adam Beyer finishing Awakenings festival with it and Richie Hawtin playing it was really cool as well!
WWD : You’re just back from Cologne, where you played Artheater. How did it go?
Ian : It was fun! Nice proper underground crowd who were up for it, cool venue and promoters who do it for the love of it. It was a ‘200 records’ label night, a label that releases quality stuff. I had done a podcast for them earlier in the year and they decided to bring me over.
WWD : You’re kicking off our winter mix series with an exclusive hour from your Cologne set. Can you set the scene for us? Can you tell us a little bit about the tracks one will find in there?
Ian : I started my set at about 02:30, it was dark and smokey with a nice atmosphere. The part of the set you’ll hear was near the start, some deep trippy techno for a while then some more straight up stuff.
You’ll hear a couple of Innervisions tracks, a couple of new Nicloas Masseyeff tunes as well as Stephan Bodzin, Patric Baumel, HMC and an unreleased one from myself.
WWD : Featuring on Sasha’s Last Night On Earth imprint would be an honour for any producer. How did the collaboration with the Japanese Popstars come about?
Yeah it’s a nice label. The collab came about as I had done a remix for the Japanese Popstars and we decided to do a track together. We did 2 tracks actually. Maybe we’ll finish it or do another at some point. There is also another really nice version of ‘Elevate’ too but it’s unlikely to see the light of day now.
WWD : Lastly, you’re back playing on home soil at the end of the Month, playing Intersection @ Revolution, are you excited for that?
Yes it’s always nice to play within driving distance and I haven’t played there before so I’m looking forward to it. Irish crowds are one of best around! I’ll be at Twisted Pepper in Dublin in November as well.
@IanODonovan
https://www.facebook.com/ianodonovanofficial
https://soundcloud.com/ian-odonovan