Courtesy of MBF from the Swedish House Mafia Forums



Fredrika Johnson has met the world famous houseproducer and DJ Eric Prydz, who plays in Gothenburg, Uppsala and Stockholm this weekend.

The success commenced with a lad who “borrowed” a synthesizer from school in Täby and is today about an multi-million industry with productions and gigs with the biggest stars. We haven’t seen the end yet, but expect more wonders, miracles and platinum records.

How are you as a person?

-I’m really sloppy in my private life, but when it comes to music I’m militantly professional and never leave anything for chance. I’m positive and always try to find something good in every aspect. In addition I’ve always known what I’ve wanted and gone my own way, that’s probably the reason that I’ve become so big as a DJ and my music has gone successful. I have my own sound and I’ve never tried to sound as anybody else. Now it’s rather so that others try to sound like me.

-As long as you are aware of your faults you can compensate them. I know that I forget to pay my bills and sending bills and stuff for example, so I have people that take care of all that for me so that I only can concentrate on the music.

You live in London, do you have any plans of moving back to Stockholm?

-No, I’ve just bought residency in London so I’ll probably be there for a while.

A whole house?

-It’s an old weapon factory in western London that’s been rebuilt.

For how long are you in Sweden?

-A few weeks.

You have three gigs in Sweden this week – the first one in Gothenburg, tell me more about it?

-Friday the 8th June I’m playing on Trädgården in Gothenburg. I’ve never played there before so it’s gonna be lots of fun going down there and see what kind of scene they have.

And Uppsala?

-On Saturday I’m playing on Platinum in Uppsala. Haven’t really got a grip on Uppsala, but I’ve heard that it’s there’s a real rave up there. It’s the opening night for Platinums outside floor and they take in 1500 people, so it’ll probably end good.

And Stockholm?

-On Sunday I’m playing on F12 Terrace. I’ve been playing exclusively for Mattias Hedlund (club owner of Grodan) on Grodan for many years and he’s now got into the bookings on F12, so it feels fun to be able to play an PRYDA-party outside on Fredsgatan (F12 short). I usually play everything from deep house to hard techno and everything in between. It depends entirely on the club and crowd. On Fredsgatan I’m gonna play more summerish and melodic terrace-set. If the weather holds on it’s gonna be a really great night.

Have you done any more soft tracks yourself?

-Especially this year I’ve done quite a few tracks that’s more melodic and summerish on my Pryda-label. Don’t know how I’m supposed to describe it, you’ll have to come and listen.

How will you celebrate midsummer?

-My manager is getting married so I’ll be on his wedding in England.
What ingredients should a proper midsummer celebration have?

-My tradition has been to travel to one of my friends house in the country on Yxlan (my friend also has his summerhouse there FYI . The TV-show Tjockholmen was shot in that house. Herring lunch, snaps, wobble around the midsummer tree and then a grill dinner and some more snaps, go waterskiing and that sort of thing. Then you wake up the next day and wish you were dead, but that part of it. I haven’t celebrated midsummer in three years though because I’ve always had shows that weekend.

Did you ever think that you would become this big?

-No, really not.

Prydz doesn’t sound so Swedish, where does the name come from?

-I think it’s norweigan, it’s from my father’s side. People usually ask what my real name is, they think it’s a artist name, but it isn’t. I’m baptized Eric Prydz but I’m called Pryllan.

What’s most fun – being in the studio or playing out?

-It’s two completely different things but also they are a little bit of the same. To sit in the studio really inspires you to play out. And then the same but the other way round, when I’m doing a show I come up with new stuff that makes me want to go directly into the studio and create new material. So it goes hand in hand.

Where do you think house music is headed?

-I usually don’t keep updated with trends, what’s hot and what’s not, I’ve always done my own thing. I do music that sounds fresh to myself. I’ve always done the music that I feel I don’t have in my record box.

How do you think yourself that your music has evolved the last two years?

-I always try to push my sound and finding new ways. I get bored easily so it doesn’t do it for me to do the same things all the time as many other producers do.

-I’ve always had a red line through my music and that line is that I make music with a dancefloor in mind. Not to be listened in a car or at home, but to make people on the dancefloor to go mental. And I’ve always tried to make a route with my music. It’s hard to say how my music has evolved over the last two years, but the last two months when the summer is near I’ve done a lot of uplifting, happy and summerish tracks. I’ve been damn productive in the studio the last six months, so I have insanely large amounts of new material right now.

When are you releasing that?

-It’s stuff that I’ve done to my labels Mouseville and Pryda, and an upcoming Eric Prydz album. The new Pryda (Ironman and Madderferrys) is due in July. And a new Cirez D is getting released on Mouseville in June with two tracks – Horizons and Tigerstyle.

Do you release tracks on other peoples labels too?

-Everything that I produce under Eric Prydz gets released on Ministry of Sound. The things I do under names such as Pryda or Cirez D gets released on my own labels Pryda Recordings and Mouseville Records.

What’s the most profitable in an economical point of view?

-I don’t care really, I didn’t start my own labels to make money, I just wanted to release my own music on my own terms. But of course you make a lot more money if you release on your own label. My labels only release vinyl though.

-So if I had a huge hit in the works I’d probably release it on Ministry. I don’t have that PR-machinery that’s required to drive through an commercial hit. I don’t do any PR at all on my own labels, the music speaks for itself.

-I don’t even have circulations to magazines or promos for DJs. I only give a few copies to Swedish and British DJ-friends such as Axwell, Ingrosso, Sasha and Digweed etc and that’s enough for me. I’ve had that philosophy from the beginning, to go another direction than everybody else. And apparently it works, because both Mouseville and Pryda Recordings are in the top bracket of the best selling labels in the world.

What do you miss the most in Sweden when you are in London or travel the world all the time?

-Swedish food, simple things such as herring, Swedish meatballs, falun sausage and gingerbread biscuits. Family and friends too of course. And the Swedish summer is hard to beat.

But you’re a superstar – shouldn’t you be able to demand a table full of herring for example to an show?

-Yes I surely could, but it feels more fun to bring the custom to where it’s from and try out the domestic culture. If I can I take an extra day to check out the city, try their food and such. But that’s an good idea by the way, on my next gig I’ll demand an herring dish and snaps that will be ready in my suite when I arrive!

What can’t you live without?

-Music, the answer’s pretty obvious.

What plans do you have for the summer?

-Then I’ll do my first US and Canada-tour. I’ll play almost every day throughout October and November. I’ll travel around in a big tour bus, I saw pictures of it yesterday, it’s insane with Jacuzzi and a videogame room, music studio and stuff. It’ll be a blast. Before I’ve always avoided travelling to USA because I hate flying, but now the demand is so big that I can’t say no anymore. I’m gonna fly in friends all the time, especially to Las Vegas and LA, so It’ll probably be lots of fun.

I know that you’ve said that you really don’t like flying. How will you get there?

-To fly over the Atlantic is a lot different from flying in Europe, the airplanes are much bigger and in business class you get your own department, so it’ll probably go fine. Otherwise I’ll have to take the boat but that isn’t so attractive since I’d be at sea for six days.

What do you do in five years?

-Hard to say but I guess I’ll do the same things as today but I’ll also write and produce music to other artists. I’ve got an request to produce Britney Spears, but she seems to have totally lost it now so I don’t know what’s happening with that now.

-It would be a challenge to work with artists outside the house scene. I think I’ll stay in London but also get an resident in Stockholm so that I can commute more.












USA USA USA USA USA HES COMING TO THE USA!

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Last edited by iammesol on Jun-08-2007 at 03:29