G-Sounds 12: Geshe Ewing

Geshe and his deep techno tribal house sound…

Geshe Ewing was being influenced by music from a very young age and got his first pair of decks before he even hit his teens. By the time he was in his early teens, he was already DJing on London pirate radio stations, which finally lead him to play in some of London’s renowned clubs at the time.

Geshe is still a regular name on the London circuit, playing at Ministry of Sound, Egg, Public Life, Lightbox, Raving Buddha, alongside the likes of Hernan Cattaneo, Mr C and Saytek. Many of his appearances have been for London’s most renowned parties such as The Gallery, Leading Astray, Ketoloco and Alfalfa as well as plenty of label showcases. Now that Geshe has some of his deep productions starting to fly through labels such as Smiley Fingers and Freaky Vibes, things look even brighter for him and his deep techno tribal house sound.

Geshe Ewing is keeping true to his sound and not holding back on the amount of energy he has injected into his mix.

Firstly, tell us a bit about your musical background and how you first got into music and DJing?
Growing up there was all music being played at home, from Pink Floyd to Marvin Gaye to Aswad and later on everything from Soul 2 Soul to Rebel MC… My parents were both into the music and would buy vinyl. A friend of the family had a music studio and I used to go and muck about on the decks. There I took a liking for mixing and not long after I got decks for my birthday aged ten. If I remember correct they were Technics belt drive hi-fi decks bought from the local car boots and markets. My dad gave me his little acid house collection and began learning to mix. I also began to collect Hardcore/Jungle/Drum and Bass as well as a few US House/Garage tunes I had heard on the radio. By 14 I was on London pirate stations and well into the House and Garage scene. By 17 I was playing out most weekends in clubs around London including Gass Club, Coliseum and Bagleys.

What were your very first musical influences?
Too many to mention… but artists and genres ranging from King Tubby to Dr Dre… Prince to Chaka Khan… John Martyn to Buju Banton… Isley Brothers to Biggie Smalls. I could go on.

What medium are you using when DJing – Vinyl, CD or Laptop?
I use everything to be honest… I’ll usually bring CD’s and a few classics on Vinyl, depends the setup and the vibe of a venue/party.

Your “Rose Tinted EP” on Smiley Fingers was very much a deep driving tech-house number, would you say that’s typical of your production style?
Yes for sure, I love deep techy tunes that still have an organic feel to them… but I also like to just make tracks with a whatever comes attitude… although I tend to just keep these tracks saved… maybe one day I’ll upload some to the net.

Is your production style very much in line with you DJ style, or do they differ?
Again, it depends on the vibe of the party… but yeah my sets usually consist of deep techno tribal house…

How would you describe your style and where does the influence for that come from?
Deep Tech Organic Techno… or is that too many descriptions? Ive always loved House/Techno that had a kind of human element to it. Ive always veered towards tribal percussive tracks…. Whether it be a garage tune, or some techno or even a minimal tune from a few years ago, i would always look for tracks with a human element.

You recently had a new release out, what can you tell us about that?
Yes. It’s a two track EP entitled “Interact”. Both tracks have a very different feel to them “2 Step Back 4 Step Fwd” is a deep rolling hypnotic kind of track and “Interact” is a tech house track with spacey dubby tones which is aimed at the dancefloor. It was released on Freaky Vibes label.

Where are your favourite hangouts in London that you feel are a prime example of the city and its music culture?
Theres a few spaces around London I really like to party in and they tend to be around East London… You’ll most likely find me in some warehouse or creative space at the weekend… But when not, I love to hang around Portobello Market, mainly because I grew up and still live in the area. It has a complete mix of cultures and people and if the sun’s out the atmosphere can be brilliant.

What record are you rinsing out recently?
Structure – Patrick Seich /// Drumcode
Okain – O’Clock (Gerd’s Deep Mix) /// Tsuba
Lowboys – Gospelized (Fabian Argomedo Remix) /// Pressure Bomb
Sorry, can I have three

What record labels really stand out for you and why?
So many over the years, many of the obvious ones and many labels that have just released 1 or 2 tracks and never heard of again. But of course Poker Flat, Get Physical, Tsuba, Drumcode. As newer labels go, I’m liking KD Music and Smiley fingers.

Geshe Ewing’s Networks:
Facebook | MySpace | Twitter | Soundcloud | RA |