ezlv talking vinyl + more

Love or loathe them, the medium of vinyl is rightly considered to be one of the catalysts for DJ culture as we know it. And so it is that we round up sometime trance fans, Ezlv, a duo who is on the rise right now thanks to their work on labels such as Seamless and NYC imprint, Plant Music. And as we soon discover, the Canadians are just as eclectic as the music they put their hand to. We caught up with the boys recently to get their thoughts on the seminal (and not so seminal records) in their collection…

What was the first record you bought?

For Louis, the first vinyl he ever bought for DJ purposes was a sampler with the track ‘The Innocent (Derrick Carter) – Jack 1’ on. That track is from 1997 but it still sounds relevant today. Maxime used to mix trance music when he was a teenager – he even bought the big classic ‘Carte Blanche’ by Veracocha!

What was the last record you bought? Why?

We found a remix package of ‘Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You’ on Roulé Records. Even though we don’t really mix vinyl anymore, we still had to buy it!

What’s your favourite record shop in Canada?

Every record shop we used to buy vinyl in is closed. There was this store called Inbeat in Montreal. They had a really good selection of every genre within house music, both new and used. We used to got to MEM, Off the hook, etc. We’re not really aware of stores outside of Montreal these days to be honest.

If we had 48 hours to go clubbing in Canada, where would you recommend?

We would recommend a beautiful sunny afternoon at Picnik Electronik followed by an awesome night at Salon Daome. This combination would put a big smile on your face for the rest of the week! And if you have more energy and are willing for an afterhour then you should be on your way to Stereo.

Was it better in the old days in Canada? Or is the scene there pretty strong right now?

It’s tough to compare. The old days for us were more about the rave scene and now it’s more club oriented. We think each of them have their special qualities. But we think the scene is quite good at the moment in Montreal. Every weekend there is a super talented artist in town, and he could play in many different venues.

Now… what’s the record you put on when you’re in a good mood?

Anything from the label, French Express! Especially ‘Perseus – Seychelle’

What’s the cheesiest record in your collection?

As we said, Maxime was a trance DJ around 1999-2002, so there’s plenty of cheesiness in his record collection. Is ‘Children’ from Robert Miles considered cheesy? Louis got ‘Say Hello’ from Deep Dish, quite cheesy as well!

What’s the most ridiculous record you own?

A: I guess Hamsterdance from Hampton the Hamster would win this! (It’s true, sadly, Louis owns this record). Maxime used to have a Sesame Street vinyl that he used in is old time raves also.

Which one really showcases your eclecticism?

Combined, our record collection contains a lot of genres. From Rap to house, to hard techno, trance, happy hardcore, gabber, minimal techno, etc. Of course we don’t play all those styles anymore, but we used to.

Who would you most like to go clubbing with…Prince, Michael Jackson or The Beatles?

A: Maxime’s father is a huge fan of Michael Jackson. So I guess that would be our pick and we’ll go clubbing with them. Probably more a gift for the padre in this case.

What’s the one record you play more than any other

There’s two tracks that are ‘sure shot’ that comes to our mind first. They make the crowd moving everytime! It’s ‘Doppelwhipper’ by Gabriel Ananda and also ‘Model 8’ by Lemon 8.

And what track has been a constant in your sets over the past while?

There’s a couple, ‘Bringing you Down’ by Jonas Rathsman, ‘Remember’ from Jaymo & Andy George, or ‘Brother’ from Leon Vynehall, etc.

What’s your guilty pleasure music wise?

Good question! Maxime likes pop music and many indie dance stuff. He listen to a lot of ‘The 1975’ at the moment. We also decided to do a remix with VENN of their track Settle Down. Max was very excited about the project.

What are you working on right now that you’d like to shout about?

We have this release with Freya on Plant Music, also another EP on Kruse & Nuernberg’s Save Room with a remix from Kellerkind, two tracks due on the Ibiza label Seamless and other projects we are currently working on that we can’t really talk about.