With singles sales trending downward, dance music has turned more to compilations to help sell songs and get music out there even more. Mixed compilations tend to be the more popular, so it stands to reason that when Dave Dresden, of the production team of Gabriel ‘ Dresden, wanted to get involved in actual CDs, he would make a compilation. With the release of “Provocative Progressive,” Dresden mixes in a few of his favorite tracks along with tracks that he think people will respond to.
His mixing career started out in Connecticut, where he originally lived. He DJed at Bar in New Haven for awhile, and also had a weekend mix show on a rock station in Hartford, WMRQ.
As Dresden’s career progressed, he was at the right place and the right time when it came to mixing a CD for start-up Provocative Music this year. “I used to write in DMA and others and I interviewed Thunderpuss,” he said. “We hit it off primarily because they already knew who I was and the questions that I asked were a little different than the average. When I moved out to L.A., I worked for grooveradio.com for a year and a half. Chris and I became friends. So when Chris and Jeff selected people to mix CDs, I was in the right place and at the right time. It was right around the time I started producing records too, and it was the perfect timing.”
When it came to deciding which tracks were going to appear on the CD, Dresden said there were a number of approaches and a few difficulties. “Some DJs do it based on exclusivity, which is always nice because you don’t want a CD with the same tracks every other mix CD has which gives you an advantage. It’s a tough game – you have to know a lot of producers who will give you a song 6 months in advance. I just wanted to make a CD that would sell well on a major label. Some artists have a major name in the dance music industry. I also wanted to highlight myself as a DJ and a producer. So I picked a few of my own.”
As part of the team of Gabriel ‘ Dresden, he’s had a successful career in remixing and producing albums. Recently he was involved in the remixing of a track by Jewel, “Serve the Ego.” This introduction of Jewel into the dance genre was recently rewarded by hitting number one on the dance charts. He’s also been involved in a Duncan Sheik remix recently.
Dresden said that tracks ending up on compilation albums like “Provocative Progressive” gives DJs another way to break a CD, as well as get their own name out there. “Putting [a song] on a mix CD might be a way of breaking that song to the masses because we put a little sticker on the record when it comes out, which will give a lot of DJs that recognition factor,” he said. A lot of bedroom DJs want to be like certain DJs, so it helps to mention some DJs behind the record. It’s just like anything – there’s a few leaders and a lot of followers.”
This leader-follower mentality leads to what Dresden thinks is one of the stumbling blocks in the dance genre today. He noted: “I think that the problem with dance music right now is that dance radio is going after the wrong music again and they’re playing way too many sound alike songs. They’re playing all these poppy, tinny trance records. They’re not looking for the best of all genres. They’re so many different tracks that don’t get signed here that would do well on the radio if it would get a shot.”
Despite that, one trend Dresden is a fan of right now is the 80s remakes that have been coming out recently, including the top 10 remake of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven,” recorded by DJ Sammy. “I think by virtue of the fact that it’s verse-chorus-verse, I think the 80s inspired music is good. But that genre will burn itself out too. It appears a lot of people are getting into the music because it has songs that people can relate to and it’s cool, cutting edge and it has a fashion involved in it. That’s I think what’s so intoxicating about hip hop music when it first broke in the early 90s because it had a history, it had a fashion. Dance music, what are they looking at? They’re looking at clubs, people dancing on massive amounts of drugs. It’s cool for some people, but for the general audience there’s a lot of people who are like ‘I don’t like that.’ ”
Looking to the future, Dresden sees a shift in how the record industry works to stop the slide of music sales. “A lot of talented people are not working. Hopefully they’ll start their own label and progress the genre and the business. Record labels have proven to the masses they don’t know how to get the music now. They want to hear a song, go home, and download it. The future of retail might be online.”
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