Ghostly International DJ Ryan Elliott is a busy head-spinner -- in Berlin one weekend; Miami the next; all the world between. And on the odd occasion when the cat's not on the road, he's back in Dearborn, Michigan remixing and serving as co-A&R (with Matthew Dear) of Ghostly's sister imprint, Spectral Sound.
In that role, he's scouted out new talent and overseen releases from the likes of Seth Troxler, Bodycode, and Kate Simko. All this has ensured that Elliott stays immersed in the type of deep, keen tracking that's made him and his various label mates so renowned.
Still, it's what Elliott does to a club that has him pegged among world's best. When New Times found out the swift-minded spin-man would be wiling at White Room, we got giddy too, and immediately sent off a few pertinent Qs. Here are the As that came back, after the jump.
New Times: If you were held at gunpoint and forced to define your genre, what would you say?
Ryan
Elliott: That's a pretty strange thing to hold someone at gunpoint for,
but if so, I would say I play a reduced mixture of techno and house.
Is there one track that goes with you wherever you play?
Since
I DJ with Traktor [Scratch Pro] (controlled by turntables) I have the
luxury of bringing all of my tracks into the DJ booth with me (on my
computer). But yes, there are some favorites that usually get played.
Usually anything from my DJ partner, Matthew Dear, or older Detroit
Classics -- like "Revenge of the Jaguar," or Octave One's "Blackwater"
What's hottest right now?
It seems like labels are either going back to proper House, or proper Techno. There isn't much in between right now.
You've spun at some of the world's best clubs -- do you have a favorite?
I
don't have one favorite, but I always leave places like Berghain [and]
Panorama Bar [Berlin], and Fabric [London] with a big smile on my face.
Ghostly
International seems like the dance music equivalent of Elephant 6 --
are you and the other Ghostlies close enough to be called a collective?
As
a label we are very close. But it's hard with out artists spread all
over the world (literally), and on top of that everyone is usually on
the road. We all share a common vision though, and I dare say we
(almost) all have the same sense of humor! We are not only label mates,
but friends.
PLOT presents Ryan Elliott at White Room 1306
N. Miami Avenue Downtown Miami. Admission is $10 before 1 a.m. 305-995-5050; www.whiteroommiami.com
