Inside the rhythm: An interview with Alain Pauwels
Alain Pauwels, an electronic music enthusiast from Belgium, is a dynamic figure in the industry. His passion for mixes is inspired by icons like Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren, and Marcelo Vasami. His progressive house mixes skillfully blend elements of deep and organic house with melodic techno.
Photo credit: Alain Pauwels – Facebook
Since 2018, Pauwels has been hosting ‘PROGRESSIVA’ on Proton Radio while also maintaining a monthly residency on XBeat Radio. He returned to live DJing after a 20-year break, appearing alongside revered artists at various events.
In 2019, Alain collaborated with French producer Arnold Toutain, and their releases received wide support from renowned artists. Their latest release, ‘Baily’s Beads,’ has already garnered significant attention, with DJ Gustin releasing it on INTU Music and Hernan Cattaneo playing it worldwide.
Recently, Pauwels joined Movement Bookings, aligning with artists like Alex O’Rion and Navar. This new partnership has already resulted in several events and promises more exciting opportunities in the future.
EG had the chance to sit with Alain Pauwels to learn more about his latest release as well as future projects, including his thoughts on the future of electronic dance music, the role of AI in music creation, and his upcoming gigs.
EG: Hi, Alain! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you at right now? How have you been?
Alain Pauwels: Hey guys! It’s an absolute pleasure to be on EG for the first time. Doing very well, thanks for asking. I have spent an awesome time in Argentina with my wife and friends to witness Hernan Cattaneo playing at Forja Cordoba. It was an unforgettable experience! Looking forward to the coming weeks and months for new music, doing some gigs, and visiting some great parties.
EG: First of all, congratulations on the release of your latest collaborative outing, ‘Baily’s Beads’! You must have been excited to be able to share this one with everyone. What has the initial reception been like so far? Do you remember the first time you played this one live? (If you have)
Alain Pauwels: Thank you! Yes, very happy with this release. Grateful to DJ Gustin for giving us the opportunity of releasing on INTU Music. I tested the track the first time at a party, with Alex O’Rion, in Amsterdam earlier this year. It was so nice to see the great responses from the crowd. What is amazing as well is that Hernan Cattaneo is picking up on the track and starts playing it worldwide, resulting in great reception from the crowd. Always gives a blessed feeling to get his continuous support.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on ‘Baily’s Beads’? Is there a concept or trigger driving this one? What was the creative process like for it?
Alain Pauwels: With ‘Bailey’s Beads’ (as most of our tracks), when we begin building, it displays to us at a certain moment a bigger picture; sometimes it’s about nature, sometimes it is much more “cosmic” or eternal in some ways. The progressive house genre has this mystique, it can bring an audience into some uplifting state of consciousness, like a state of trance.
EG: How can you tell when a track might bear two or three different takes, such as ‘Baily’s Beads’? Was there an element here that functioned as a sort of “dead giveaway”?
Alain Pauwels: We usually begin with a theme or an element X. Then we begin to build something groovy around this theme (drums, bass pads). FX are added at the end. As Arnold has much hardware for mixing & mastering, we then look for a nice & punchy drive to the sound, something enlarging & sometimes even a bit more vintage.
“The progressive house genre has this mystique, it can bring an audience into some uplifting state of consciousness”
EG: And ‘Baily’s Beads’ sees you linking up once again with Arnold T. What’s your relationship in the studio like? Do you guys tend to take on different parts of the process, or does the input vary from track to track? What would you say are the keys to a good collaboration?
Alain Pauwels: Very blessed to be working with Arnold Toutain for quite a few years now. It’s always a pleasure to jointly create new material in the studio. The creation is something we jointly work on, not really working in silos on different parts of the track. The key to a good collaboration is to be open towards each other and respectful of each other’s ideas. Feedback (even negative) needs to be constructive, so it can be used to improve. The fact that our music is supported by Hernan Cattaneo, and the progressive house community, from day one is giving us such a boost every time to start working on new material.
In parallel, as of this year, I have the pleasure to also start working with Valentin Gonzalez. Also looking forward to what this collaboration will bring.
EG: By the way, you’ve just joined the roster over at Movement Bookings. Congratulations, again. What are some of your expectations regarding this new partnership?
Alain Pauwels: Yes, very happy to have joined the amazing roster of Movement, containing many great artists in the progressive house scene. So far I had the pleasure of playing at some events and all was very well taken care of by the agency, which is the most important thing for me of course. The agency also provides great guidance in terms of my career and how to proceed in the future. It’s already been a very nice and pleasant start to our relationship and I am sure that it will give me a boost, further along the way.
EG: What do you think the future of electronic dance music looks like? Are all these innovations and big-screen festival performances bringing us closer or farther away from the music? Have we lost something along the way?
Alain Pauwels: It’s great to see that electronic music gets embraced by more and more people. My only fear is a bit that because there is so much released on a daily basis, that inspiration will run out at a certain moment, as on many occasions it starts sounding the same. Being innovative, taking the time, and thinking out of the box as a producer will make sure it remains interesting for the crowd and for the producer itself. A big screen festival can be nice, sometimes it’s more interesting to be in a smaller club setting, as long as the spirit of the music is not forgotten.
EG: How do you feel about the recent implementation of AI in the creative side of music? Have you explored any form of AI recently? What’s your relationship with that like?
Alain Pauwels: I have no experience with it, and I hope we can use features from it, however, we should avoid losing our own creativity, which makes an artist unique.
“The key to a good collaboration is to be open towards each other and respectful of each other’s ideas”
EG: Finally, can you provide some insights into what’s next for Alain Pauwels? What can we expect from you in the coming months? Where can your fans catch you next?
Alain Pauwels: In the coming months there will be some interesting gigs coming up in the Netherlands, so keep an eye on my socials to get the latest. Also, new music is on its way, stay tuned!
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Alain! See you on the dancefloor!
Alain Pauwels: Thank you EG team! Looking forward to it!
Alain Pauwels’ ‘Baily’s Beads’ is now available on Intu Music. Stream and download here.
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