With Caprices festival only a matter of weeks away, we sat down with a couple of local artists, who will look after resident duties and take on the important role of setting the tone and creating the vibes on the mountain. First up, James Mc Hale. Originally from Bern, James has relocated to the bustling city of Barcelona to set out his stall. However, being a resident at Sunday Breakfast, Zurich & MDNRTY Events, it won’t be long until his return home for their flagship, Caprices Festival.

Find out more about James, and what he’s got in store for his Caprices residency below…

For those who may not have come across your names before – tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in Swiss nightlife

Hi I’m James Mc Hale, I’m from Switzerland but have recently moved to Barcelona.
The first time I came in touch with the electronic music scene was probably around 18/19 years, I went to an afterhour in my hometown Bern. The Dj’s were playing vinyl and i got kinda fascinated and suddenly i bought my first technics mk2.
So a friend of mine came to my place, listened to me playing and asked me to become a resident for his new started label.

Caprices must be one of the most impressive location’s a festival is held and brings the eyes of the electronic music world on to Switzerland each year. Particularly now with the rise of social media and video content. Aside from Caprices, what’s the state of Swiss nightlife currently? People may not necessarily think of Switzerland as a place to go clubbing like Berlin or Amsterdam. what would a typical clubbing weekend look like for travelling clubbers? What cities are hopping and what parties/promoters are doing great things?

A lot has changed in the last few years, in both ways. The electronic music scene got a lot of attention, which is good, but therefore, there are too many parties now for the amount of people we have in our small cities. Caprices brings me an exclusive and wonderful opportunity to play in very beautiful places. For me it is always a pleasure to play at festivals like that, because it brings a nice contrast and different vibes.

What is the local DJ/producer scene like where you are? Is it a close community? Who is making waves and should our readers look out for?

In the same way that more attention came to our scene, the number of dj’s grew too.
There are a lot of good new Dj’s and Producers, which you could wait for, but the new generation which is definitely having the most attention for now are good friends and great artists like, Alci, Gianni Callipari, Giorgo Maulini and Ezikiel.

What can the people expect to hear you playing at Caprices?

As I play twice, it’s gonna be two different sets, the one saturday daytime at the MDRNTY festival, which will be a b2b with Giorgio Maulini, we warm up the stage from 12 to 3 and we’re gonna create some groovy, warm vibes.
The second set which is Saturday night, at the Caprices festival, I will warm up for Marcel Dettmann, so it’s gonna be not as chilled out like the daytime one.

If you were to put 5 tracks into a playlist to whet people’s appetite for Caprices what would they be?

Untitled – Unknown (Unreleased) hahaha I’m joking.

I like to play a lot of music, unreleased stuff from friends and a lot of different artists, it would not be possible to tell you five tracks i’d definitely play as everything happens spontaneous in context with the people, but this one you should definitely check out.

Petre Inspirescu – Cupidon [Seren:dipia Edit]

Who are you most looking forward to checking out at this year’s festival?

To see all my friends from around the world that come and of course Ricardo Villalobos and Raresh.

I understand you are a resident at Sunday Breakfast in Zurich? For you, what is the key to creating the vibe there?

When I play, I start and see how the people react and try to find a common ground and build up the vibe from there.

What’s are the staple tracks in your warm up & closing sets?

This always depends on day or night and the location. So I always play different music and try to not repeat myself from gigs before.

What was the best party there in 2018 and what’s upcoming for you at Sunday Breakfast in 2019?

Probably the one at Off Sonar. Upcoming is the next release on Sunday Breakfast Records, which will be from myself with a remix from an outstanding artist.

Are you planning on/currently producing?

I’ve produced for a couple of years now. I’ve concentrated on my machines and all that outboard gear like the Modular and all that stuff. Now I’m ready to show everyone my work and release what I’ve done the last few years.

What are your goals for 2019? What do you want to have achieved when you look back at end of year?

To have a good start in Barcelona. I’m planning some projects with Guti which I can’t wait for and of course, to produce a lot of quality music.

At the end of this year, it’s important to me to be able to look back and still can stand for the decisions i took.

Catch James Mc Hale and co at Caprices Festival between 11th – 14th April in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

Follow James:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamesmchalemusic/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/james-mc-hale

Follow Caprices
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/capricesfest
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Caprices_fest