Exclusive Chris Grabiec Interview January 2011
by Rachel Rixham – Beatsmedia

Introduction

• Beatsmedia:
  Hi Chris, It’s a pleasure to grab a chat with you today, hows things going?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Hey Rachel, yeah things are going very well and I’m getting loads done so I’m in really good place right now! Had a small break over the Christmas period which was really nice but the new year is here and there’s always lots to do so I’m back on it!!!

• Beatsmedia:
  Please introduce yourself and tell us where you are from.

• Chris Grabiec:
  Well I’m a Trance artist/producer/dj based in London. I was born in Sarnia,Canada and moved to the UK when I was 6 months. I have lived in and around the West London area ever since. My whole family is from Poland and I was raised in a Polish speaking household.

• Beatsmedia:
  Who were some of your earliest influences back in the day?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I first started going out when I was 15 and this was the time that the UK’s rave scene was at its peak. The first music that I used to go out and dance to was UK hardcore and drum and bass so I guess the djs at the time first influenced my love for dance music. Some names that spring to mind are Djs Hype, Randall, LTJ Bukem, Seduction and the Grooverider.

• Beatsmedia:
  Whilst on the subject of back in the day, can you tell everyone what one would find little Chris doing as a child, can you remember any funny incidents?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Well I was always getting into all sorts of mischief with my pals and my older brother when I was a boy. Before I got into djing and music production I used to skateboard and used to spend most of my time either street skating or visiting skate parks up and down and the country. It was loads of fun but I fell onto my hip too many times and after a minor operation I decided to give up and at the same time I got interested in djing so bought my first set of decks and then that became my passion until my early twenties.With regards funny incidents, one happened when I was on a skiing holiday when I was 16. I was basically coming down a black run going real real fast!!! At the bottom of the slope were loads of kiddies having a skiing lesson and so I was really concentrating on avoiding them and did not notice the slope leading up to an open air café until I was actually on the slope!! Next thing I knew I was in mid-air and then landed on a cafe table “James Bond” style. Beer and hot chocolates went flying all over the place. Luckily no one was hurt and I walked away from that one without a scratch!!! It would have looked great on film though……. This would have been perfect for “You Been Framed”!!

Motivation

• Beatsmedia:
  When do you feel you completely dedicated yourself to a musical career, and how did your parents feel about your chosen career path?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Well I’ve only just started working on music full time. I had been working as an operations manager within the healthcare industry and left my last role just recently. This is something I had been doing for almost 15 years so it’s been a big change for me.I found working a full time job and then on music in the evenings and weekends was quite tough as I was literally spending all my time either at the office, in my studio writing music or at Nat Clarkson’s studio producing and mixing the tracks which left little time for anything else but now I feel very relaxed and so much happier concentrating on music full time!

  My mum loves my music and she has always been very supportive, she has all my tracks and listens to them in her car. She would rather see me in a career where I was totally happy and passionate about, and she knows that’s exactly how I feel about my music career and I know that she has full hopes that I’m successful! My father passed away a few years ago but I’m sure that he would have been proud of what I have achieved so far.

• Beatsmedia:
  When do you feel at your most creative, how do you get yourself in to that mused state, and what motivates you?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I feel most creative when I have had plenty of sleep and when I’m in a positive frame of mind. Films play a big part and really help me get into an emotional mood as well as other artists music. I don’t force a mused state though! Sometimes I turn on the studio and things just don’t work and rather than persevere with something that probably won’t be a good result I turn my attention to other things. My studio is in my house so if I’m feeling creative I can work on tracks there and then no matter what time it is.

• Beatsmedia:
  Can you tell us a little bit about your musical philosophy and the message behind your music.

• Chris Grabiec:
  The music I make is Trance and as you well know Trance is all about being uplifting music. It makes people really happy! I’ve never been to a Trance event where there has been a fight or a sign of any trouble in the crowd! Trance combines all the best things I love about music uplifting melodies, cool beats, beautiful vocals and amazing energy and I simply want to be part of delivering that “good feeling” to the world with all my productions!

Production & Methods

• Beatsmedia:
  We hear you have your first artist album coming out soon, namely ‘Pride and Honour’ Care to share your intentions with the album and what we can expect?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I spent 2009 writing singles and released those throughout 2010 but there are so many artists these days producing singles so rather than be a new artist that is totally lost in an already saturated market I decided to produce an album instead which I thought would be much more meaningful so I locked myself away for most of 2010 writing and producing Pride and Honour.The album has 18 tracks and its meant to progress like a dj set starting with the first track at 132 bpm and increases in tempo to the last tracks which are 140bpm. I have also brought some other music genres into the album including breakbeat and dubstep. You will also find remixes of two of my favourite tracks from 2009 “Guardian Angel” and “Rescue Me” as well as “Heart of Fire” and “Salvation” which I already released as singles but decided to include them as they are great tracks.

  I wanted everyone to have a sample of my music so I decided to give 8 promo tracks from the album away as a free download starting on Christmas Day. This download will be available via my web-site until mid February 2011.

• Beatsmedia:
  In addition, talk to us about ‘Protected’ and your collaboration with the lovely Christina. And what do you look for in a vocalist?

• Chris Grabiec:
  “Protected” is our 4th collaboration. We started working together at the end of 2009 and working with Christina is great as we get on really well. As Christina lives quite close to me it has made working together that much easier. Our writing process is simple. Christina comes to my studio, we discuss the concept of the song and then work on the chords. Sometimes I write the chords myself or we will write them together so that the lyrics fit well with the track. Christina will then work on the lyrics and vocal melody in her own time and come back to mine so we can record a guide vocal.I will then work on the music, find suitable sounds and work an arrangement. When we feel the track is ready the vocals are then recorded at Nat’s studio. Nat and I then go on to finish the track.“Protected” was written in summer 2010 and I decided to invest in a music video as I really loved the track and wanted to do something special with a track featured on my album. Christina and I flew to Amsterdam and filmed the video in November when it was absolutely freezing and the day that we arrived there just happened to be a storm and it rained all day.

  The film crew were really fun to work with and very professional and even under the terrible weather conditions we continued with the day and visited different locations in Amsterdam city centre to get the shots. The end result was amazing and the bad weather actually added to the atmosphere of the video. Christina was amazing and delivered a great performance. I had a very small cameo role the very end. Acting is not really my thing but it was a great experience!

  With regards to new vocalists, I look for someone who has a great voice which goes without saying but also someone that I can get along with well. In addition the artists I have worked with so far don’t come from a trance back-ground, including Christina, so it has been great introducing new artists to the Trance scene.

• Beatsmedia:
  You own your own label? Can you fill us in on the details and what we can expect coming from the label in the future?

• Chris Grabiec:
  My label is “Dance Regime” which I co-own with Nat Clarkson. I use Dance Regime as a platform to release my own music. “Pride and Honour” and “Protected” are planned for release in early 2011 and probably some of my other productions throughout the rest of the year but it’s a little too early to say which ones. We will continue to grow the label naturally so that is another thing to look forward over the next year.

• Beatsmedia:
  Tell us about your studio, what is your most used piece of equipment? And what do you hope to buy next?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I use my studio as a project writing studio only. I have a Mac Pro running Logic Pro 9, Access Virus Ti and a JP8000 keyboard, Mackie HR824 Mk2 monitors as well as a whole heap of plugins. I buy new plugins whenever a decent new one is released but with regards to hardware I have as much as I will ever need for my own set-up. This might change if I move to other premises but for now what I have already does me well.When I have written the track to a suitable stage I take the project to Nat Clarkson’s NJC studio in Suffolk where together we produce the track to completion. Nat is responsible for mixing my tracks and not only is he is an amazing producer he is also is a top class mix engineer, a real talent with an excellent ear for detail! We don’t mix tracks internally we mix externally through Nat’s TL Audio mixing desk which gives a much superior balanced sound. Finally when the mix is right I send the mixed version to be mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis who puts that finishing touch to the track.

  Beatsmedia:
  We have spoken briefly about your plans for producing ‘Movie Scores’, can you tell us more about this?

• Chris Grabiec:
  This is a plan for way into the future and something I would want to do as a follow on from Dance Music. Composing film scores for me would be a possible way forward when I am much older and greyer!! For now I will stick with Trance and make what I love and know best!

Thoughts and Advice

• Beatsmedia:
  What are your thoughts on the digital media technological evolution, has the ease at which music can now be distributed been an advantage or a disadvantage in our global music scene?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I think that the media side is excellent and its amazing how everyone in the world has such easy access to your music and has access to information about artists. When I produced back in the day it was all about vinyl and that meant you could only reach a small number of music lovers especially if you were not signed by a major!On the downside file sharing is an absolute nightmare and therefore sales are poor and pose a serious risk to future music production. It’s a real shame when you have spent hours in the studio producing a track and also invested money into the overall production and then go on to find it on some torrent site for everyone to download it for free. Saying that I believe there are still many honest people out there and if they like a track they will buy it rather than try and download it for free!

• Beatsmedia:
  Many artists around the globe are trying to break into the global dance scene at the moment, what advice and tips can you offer?

• Chris Grabiec:
  My advice to any new artist is simple, keep going and believe in what you are doing! Nothing that is worthwhile is ever easy so don’t give up at the first hurdle! Pay attention to detail when producing and I would strongly recommend that you invest in getting the tracks that you believe in to be mixed and mastered professionally. Many places now days are doing on-line mixing. You will have to invest but if believe in your music it will be well worth it!!

Upcoming, Special & Downtime

• Beatsmedia:
  When you’re not working hard in the studio, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Like I mentioned earlier for the last two years I’ve been juggling a full time job and working on my music career at the same time and so I have not had much spare time but when I do find some I like to watch a lot of movies and I always make time to see my close friends and family.

• Beatsmedia:
  Name one place you have visited that you feel has inspired you the most?

• Chris Grabiec:
  It has to be IBIZA! I have experienced the best times in IBIZA and have had some of my fondest clubbing memories there and in particular at the club “Amnesia”! That to me is the best place to go clubbing in the world! I met my best friend in Amnesia and my sister also got married in IBIZA 8 years ago so for me the island is a very special place.
• Beatsmedia:
  Three things Chris will not leave the house without?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Iphone, credit card and spare contact lenses.

• Beatsmedia:
  An event you hope to headline one day?

• Chris Grabiec:
  It has to be the mainstage at “Trance Energy” or “Energy” as it’s called now! We went last year and it was truly awe inspiring! To play in front of that many people with that type of epic production would definitely be one of the highlights of my life!!

• Beatsmedia:
  Most inspirational Movie?

• Chris Grabiec:
  There are so many I love and they inspire me in different ways so I’m finding this one hard to answer but I will say “Gladiator”. In my eyes you can’t go wrong with a film where Hanz Zimmer has provided the soundtrack.

• Beatsmedia:
  What are your plans for 2011, and do you have any personal goals set for 2012?

• Chris Grabiec:
  I have several singles planned including a follow up to “Protected” with Christina which we will start working on within the next week. I am planning to collaborate with at least 3 new singers throughout the year, some instrumental tracks, two of which are already written, mixed and mastered and lastly my second artist album which I plan to work on throughout the year – Nat and I have already discussed mixing the 2nd album at one of the pro studios on a monster SSL desk.I’m also going to try and start playing out this year. Djing is what I originally started with all those years ago so it would be great to have a few gigs this year amongst all the studio production!

• Beatsmedia:
  Where can everyone catch all your latest goings on?

• Chris Grabiec:
  Facebook fanpage | YouTube page | Twitter

• Beatsmedia:
  A special message/shout to those who have supported you so far in your career?

• Chris Grabiec:
  The biggest and most special thanks and shout out must go to the one and only Nat Clarkson. I have worked closely with Nat for 2 years now and I have enjoyed our time immensely. He is a total pro and a really good guy and I would not be where I am with my music career without him. Will Duehring who is responsible for my art and design who is also another talented guy!All the artists I have worked with so far including Christina Nicola, Raechel Waldon, James Stock, Roza Smart and Phillip Browne. Stuart Hawkes and Dan Rutley at Metropolis, Lennart Bader and all the guys at Dance Foundation, my beautiful mum, my older brother Tommie, my best mate Craig and all my close family and friends who have always supported and been enthusiastic about my music. All my fans around the world and last but not least you Rachel for your fantastic support so far!!!

• Beatsmedia:
  Thank you very much, and finally, describe your sound in 3 words.

• Chris Grabiec:
  Uplifting, melodic & professional.

Links of Interest

http://www.chrisgrabiec.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Grabiec/80830144659
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisGrabiec
http://twitter.com/ChrisGrabiec
http://www.myspace.com/chrisgrabiec
http://soundcloud.com/search?q[fulltext]=chris+grabiec
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/chris-grabiec/id332406277