Schijnbaar uit het niets werd in 2006 opeens Mr. White op het toneel geïntroduceerd door house-don Larry Heard. Hun eerste samenwerking The Sun Can’t Compare op het Alleviated-label groeide langzaam uit tot een clubhit bij zowel techno- en minimal-dj’s als housejocks. In januari dit jaar verscheen hun tweede EP Aeroplane.

Mr. White wordt door zijn moeder gewoon Chad genoemd en woont in Memphis, Tennessee. Daar organiseert hij ook zijn maandelijkse feestje Convection samen met Sean O’Daniels. Speciaal voor Eclectro nam Chad een mix op met onder meer een aantal persoonlijke edits van tracks die hij momenteel tof vindt. Onder de audio vindt je de vragen die we Mr. White stelden en zijn respons. Dit is alvast wat hij over de mix te melden had:

I hope you enjoy the music I selected for this mix, I dj mix live without program support, so sorry if it is a bit loose at times, this is a home recording, not from a nightclub !!!

Mr. White – mix voor Eclectro

Download.

E. Before your first Alleviated appearance, what were you doing in music?

I have been involved in music since I was born. My father is the leader of music at the church I grew up in. I was also involved in musical theater as a child and have been in jazz combos and rock bands since I was a teenager. I got interested in dance music culture around 1996, and by 1999 I was working as a dj. I have always been a songwriter, but the more I got involved in the culture as a dj, the more I got interested in production.

I switched my major at the University of Memphis from jazz performance to music business to recording technology, so I could learn more about production. While I was still a student, I took a job at a Memphis recording studio, where I was assistant or head engineer on many styles of music recordings, including hip hop, gospel, soul, rock, folk, and house. I enjoy all aspects of the music making process, from songwriting to production to engineering to dj mixing to singing live and selling records. It’s all very fun.

E: Do you still work as an engineer or are there other jobs you do right now besides producing music or dj-ing?

I have a monthly dj residency in Memphis with my good friend Sean O’Daniels. I generally dj only a few times a month, so I don’t get burned out. I have had weekly residencies when i was younger, but this is not for me at this stage of my life.

I do freelance audio engineering. I still work out of the studio that I started working at in 2002. The past few years, I have been doing location audio recording for short films and music documentaries. I really like the film making process. It is a nice change-up from nightlife culture. I recently did studio recording sessions for music that was featured in the full length film OMG/HAHAHA, which has been featured in film festivals in New York and London. It was a nice change for me, as I recorded and engineered sessions of Memphis based singer-songwriters Brad Postelwaithe and Cory Brannan.

E: How did your collaboration with Larry Heard came about?

Larry and I met at a record store in Memphis. I was singing when I walked into the shop and I did not know Larry Heard was inside sorting through records. We were introduced by my friend who worked at the record store.
A few weeks later, Larry invited me to come to his studio and hang out and listen to some music. After many times of doing this, we finally recorded “Sun can’t Compare”.

He is a very important teacher to me, not only in my career in music, but in my life in general.

E: In what other ways beside music is Larry Heard an important teacher to you?

Mostly, I just watch Larry and learn, but if I have questions about things, he usually gives me great advice, or sometimes just tells me “you’ll have to go figure it out”, which ends up being good advice too !!

E: Can you tell us a bit about the realization of a Mr. White track, production wise?

This really just depends on the selection, genre and motivation. I have no set method. I think music should not be so methodical. It should be natural or fun. The tracks I work on that become too methodical, seem to never get released.

‘Inside your Mind (This House is Home)’ was actually an improv session with Larry. He was at the sonic controls and I was at the microphone and we were just having fun in the studio. Larry took the track out on some tours to test it and got good response, so he decided to release it.

E: What are the future plans of Mr. White / Chad White in music?

Well, music is in my blood, it is all I do, therefore, there is really no other option for me. My only hope is to be able to make music that touches people in a nice way.

I want to start my own label soon, to release some of the music I have collected from the current Memphis music scene.

E: What is the Memphis scene like at the moment?

Memphis is a world of its own. Memphis has an amazing nucleus of devoted music lovers. Many dj’s in Memphis are world class (see for example Saturna, Sean O’Daniels, Jackson Lee and Memphix ), but Memphis is so far away from the other major cities, that most of Memphis’ best dj’s and musicians are never heard.

Music media outlets have focused on New York and Los Angeles since the late 1970’s. I believe this is one reason why American popular music has become quite soulless lately. In the 50’s and 60’s and even early 70’s, when dj’s in America and the northern UK were tapping into Memphis dj’s playlists to find new music, the music culture of America was very alive and more balanced. We have links on our site to local dj’s who we think are top notch at www.convectionmemphis.com

E: What music do you listen to at the moment?

I listen to all styles of music. In Memphis, I am exposed to a very interesting ‘mix’ of music. The past few weeks I have been enjoying Michael Franti & Spearhead, Mr.Lif, The Talking Heads, Salsoul Orchestra, and The City Champs (memphis). I have also been revisiting Moby’s “Play” album, Larry Heard’s “Dance 2000” and a collection of songs by Django Reinhardt.

As far as electronic music goes….I generally pick up new tunes when I am in Koln (May 15 @ King Georg) and in San Francisco (June 7 @ Triple Crown Club). I always seem to start my tours out at either of these two cities, which is nice, because I can always pick up on a couple of new tunes to play for the rest of the tour.

Hope to see you soon !!!

Chad is op 16 en 17 mei 2009 nog beschikbaar voor boekingen in Nederland en was in 2008 erg te spreken over het Nederlandse publiek.

‘The Sun Can’t Compare’ (live in Leipzig)