San Franciscan soulful house legend MIGUEL MIGS headlines the impressive line-up at the Tivoli’s Sounds Boutique event this week. CHAD PARKHILL catches up with the producer and DJ in an exchange that covers the essence of his music, the perceived domination of electro in dance music circles and his plans for the future.

Chad Parkhill: Your music is often described as ‘soulful’. What does this word mean to you in the context of your music? Would you describe your own music as ‘soulful’?

Miguel Migs: Absolutely. It’s definitely a form of soul music with elements of funk, jazz, rock, dub, latin and everything else combined.... I listen to and am inspired by all kinds of music so you can probably hear all the diverse influences in the music I create.

CP: Your own label is called Salted Music. Is there a story behind this name? If so, can you share it?

MM: There wasn’t a whole lot of thought process behind the name to be honest... I wanted to choose a name that was sort of fun and not so serious, and Salted is actually just a slang term from when I was growing up. But it has multiple meanings I guess, but most people would probably think of ‘flavour’....

CP: While electro is definitely the predominant form of dance music around today, do you think that house/deep house music is experiencing a resurgence? Could house once again become the predominant form of dance music?

Maybe in Australia electro is the predominant music right now in electronic dance, but not in the world. I can appreciate good music of any kind, techno, rock, hip hop, soul or whatever, but a lot of people just treat music like fashion and they follow and listen to what ever is ‘hot’ at the moment, like the colour of the month or whatever. It’s kind of sad that a lot of people just follow the sheep instead of sticking to what they feel and believe in. A lot of people change their whole style and sound just to fit into what’s cool, but that’s a very closed-minded way to live and people need to realize that there are all kinds of great music out there to enjoy, just like food! You cannot eat the same thing everyday, so why only listen to one kind of music... good music no matter what the genre is timeless, so I’m sure quality house music or any other kind for that matter will be around for many years to come...

CP: The Swedish DJ Axwell has an interesting theory: that illegal file sharing has made producing house records (with session musicians, singers, and expert recording and mastering) prohibitively expensive, forcing dance musicians to make more simplistic, computer-generated tracks ( i.e., electro). Do you think this is the case? If so, why, and if not, why not?

MM: Of course it’s expensive to record in quality studios... the reality of the music industry these days is very tough and difficult, but I think everyone just needs to do what they feel and are into and utilize whatever you have. If all you have is a laptop then make the best music you can with what you got! If you wanna write a whole album with an acoustic guitar then do it.... There are no rules, and even as the music industry crumbles, you gotta keep doing your thing.

CP: If you had to play a gig with just five 12-inches in your bag, which would they be?

MM: That’s a tough one.... Let me get back to you on that!

CP: Last year you released your second album, Those Things, after a five-year wait. Are you keen to get back into recording another full-length album, or will you be content making 12-inches and doing remixes for the next few years?

MM: Yeah, I’m ready to write another album for sure... But right now, I’m just finishing up my new project, Those Things Remixed – it’s a collection of various remixes by all sorts of talented artists and will be released this spring I also have my new eight-piece live band called Petalpusher that I’m putting a lot of energy into at the moment.

CP: Is there anything you’d like to say to your Australian audience?

MM: Keep an open mind and support indie artists, music and labels of all kinds!

MIGUEL MIGS plays Sounds Boutique on Saturday Jan 26 at the Tivoli, with Lisa Shaw (Toronto), Marques Wyatt (Montreal) Julius Papp (LA), Karizma (Baltimore), Audio Fidelity (Perth), Sharif Galal (Perth), The Outfit and a host of local supports. Check www.zerohourcollective.com.au for the full line-up and tickets.

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