The MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS are Bradley Roulier and Shawn Sabo, the Denver-based DJ/producers known as being “the funnest DJs on the planet.” With an eclectic style spanning many genres, the duo pride themselves on being accessible and engaging. Involved in the industry’s leading digital retailer, Beatport.com, from the ground-up (Roulier was a co-founder and is currently a founding member, while Sabo was an original employee and is currently a member), the MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS have long had their fingers on the pulse of EDM. It’s not unusual to hear 100 different tracks played during a single two-hour MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS set. With DJ residencies at superclubs including XS at the Wynn in Las Vegas and Beta Nightclub in Denver (Roulier is co-owner of the latter, incidentally), as well as mainstage spots at leading festivals including Electric Daisy Carnival, the Identity Festival tour, Global Dance at Red Rocks ampitheater and others, there’s one thing that’s for certain when the MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS take the decks: the party’s on!
We spoke with Shawn Sabo of the MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS for this interview.
Interview is written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Radio/Club Dj/Music Journalist
Dimitri: Please recall for us your childhood and teenage years and tell us what kind of music you were listening to when EDM entered your life?
Shawn Sabo of the MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Growing up, we were both into early hip-hop and as EDM popped early on with The Prodigy and happy hardcore and Cevin Fisher and [the] New York [nightclub] Limelight…those things, we were into that. We were into dance music as soon as it hit America, going back to the early ‘90’s. We were going to raves in the mid-‘90’s. We’ve been into EDM for as long as we can remember.
Dimitri: Were your parents and family supportive in your decision to get involved with EDM? Did they try to change your mind to persuade you to get normal jobs?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: My dad’s been very supportive of everything I’ve ever done. He’s been supportive from the beginning, and Brad’s mom has been the exact same way. I’ve been working since I was 16-years-old! I had, like, 20 different jobs. I worked, as a kid, to buy my first computer and Cubase and my first DJ Jazzy Jeff DJ starter kit! [laughs] I couldn’t afford Technics [turntables] back then. They were too expensive. Five hundred dollars for a kid was ridiculous.
Dimitri: Can you pick “top 5” artists i.e. (DJs, film directors, producers, painters, musicians, dancers, etc.) who have influenced your sound and/or your attitudes towards the music industry?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: There’s so many artists who’ve inspired a lot of what we’ve done. Pharrell and Timbaland, producers like that who’ve pushed their own sound have been an inspiration. It might sound silly to say, but Steve Jobs was a big inspiration. Also, Burton Snowboards was big inspiration. It’s a snowboard company that was one that we really aspired to with Beatport. We were trying to do the same thing with Manufactured Superstars. When people think they can’t touch you, it’s really hard. Burton has the biggest snowboard company in the world and they have the biggest riders in the world, yet they’ve been done a really good job at being accessible and being an inspiration at the same time. We want all the kids to be inspired by us in the same way and believe they can reach whatever their goals are.
Dimitri: Do you have formal musical education or are you self-taught?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: I went to school for musical engineering at CU Denver [University Of Colorado at Denver] and studied piano the whole time because you had to take an instrument. I learned on my own even more than I did in college, though. But I do play keyboards now. I play keyboards on my own songs, of course. Brad’s background as promoter and club owner have really, he really knows what works with a crowd and what kids and the youth are looking for. So, when we’re coming up with ideas for songs, whether it’s hook or a lyric, he just has a really good knack, much better than I do, as to what will appeal to people.
I did go to school for audio engineering. I think the two best tips for aspiring DJs, would be: first, finish everything you start. A great drum-and-bass legend, Andy C., told me that. You don’t wanna be an artist and have half-finished work. And second, if you have questions on how to make a synth like Swedish House Mafia or a bass like Deadmau5, just YouTube it! Rather than spending 80 hours with tutorials, you can watch a 10 minute video on YouTube. We also work with two amazing engineers in Denver, Jeziel and Jay Quintela. They’ve been featured on a ton of remixes and work with us a lot, as well. The biggest thing is multiple heads are better than one, whether you’re an architect or a songwriter. It’s great to have other talented people around you. To say you’re one person in the studio, it’s more productive when we’re four of us in there! It’s an additive thing. The more the better, even in art.
Dimitri: You just released the massive Freak On You (Magik Muzik) E.P. What inspired this release?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: The E.P. was a compilation of singles we’ve been working on for six months. We loved all of the songs, and they’d been proven on the dancefloor at our shows from the end of summer ‘til fall. We really wanted to get them all out at once. Releasing an E.P. was the best way to do that.
Dimitri: There are some really diverse sounds on Freak On You, from “Take Me Over” to “Happy Panda” to “Serious” featuring Selina Albright. How do you describe your sound as producers, and is it important for you to be very wide-ranging in styles?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Yeah, our production theory goes exactly with our DJ style. We wanna be fun and unpredictable and just make music! We don’t just make trance or tech-house or electro or house. Or any one sound. Our sets are very far across the board. We might do a hip-hop song, you don’t know. We don’t wanna be pigeonholed. It’s art. We really like to make music we’d play from house to trance to techno to hip-hop and some swing beats, so we also try to get really good remixes to cover all genres. We’ve have trance legends like Ferry Corsten, house superstars like Calvin Harris and chillout mixes of our songs, so we really wanna embrace all forms of EDM and spread our sounds to the most people possible.
Dimitri: Your track w/ Scarlett Quinn, “Take Me Over,” has become a huge radio hit and a worldwide club phenomenon. Did you feel pressure to do the [J Flash & Tyler Blue] Dubstep Mix because that’s the hot sound of the moment?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Not really. We like dubstep. We like everything. My background is drum-and-bass. Beta Nightclub has a dubstep weekly party devoted on Fridays. It’s the sound of the youth right now. The vocal just translated so well. We played with the idea here and there and we thought it would work well. They just ran with it and it sounded amazing. It was a win-win for everybody.
Dimitri: Best DJing experience of 2011? Worst?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: The best? [pause] It’s really hard to pick just one. If I had to pick one moment that was amazing, it was EDC [Electric Daisy Carnival] on the mainstage playing in front of 50,000 people. It was an unreal feeling to be in front of that many people playing music. The worst? [pause] We’ve never had a bad moment DJing, to be honest. Every time we DJ, it’s fun.
Dimitri: How important are music videos to you?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Music videos are important for multiple reasons. It’s another way to portray the meaning of a song. Video and audio go really well together. It’s a great promotional tool. So many people these days do their music discovery through YouTube now, it’s almost a necessity to have a video. Even if it’s just stills with audio, it’s really important. We just shot a video for our next single, “Silver Splits The Blue” with the talented Christian Burns at our home club, XS, in Vegas. Hopefully, you’ll see it in early-2012, so keep your eyes peeled.
Dimitri: One of my favorite questions to all the DJs is one about self-reflection and self-criticism. On a scale of 1-to-5 with “5” being “extremely agree,” how would you rate your:
a) DJ mixing skills?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: I’d say, five. I think we’re really good DJs.
b) Your ability to choose the right track for the right occasion?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Five.
c) Your attitude towards fans who come to shake your hand before & after you perform?
Sabo / MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS: Six! We always try to meet fans. One of the main things we try to do is make everlasting memories for people. We’re blessed with this lifestyle. Some people only have this [clubbing experience] once-a-year or once-a-decade! Let me tell you about this couple the other night. They were in the front row forever. I mean, the entire show, they were in the front row dancing like crazy. So towards the end, we grabbed ‘em back up onto the stage and to the DJ booth. We found out they’re from Ohio and they got in line and waited since 9am because they didn’t want to risk the chance of not seeing us. They came all that way just to see us, and they were dancing for five hours straight! They came just to see us. They’re the ones we’re doing it for! It’s not about impressing the other DJs, the bartenders, the promoters….we don’t have anything unless we have people on the dancefloor.
Huge thanks to Emily Twan for helping out to organise this great interview
Many thanks to Jeroen Polak at Black Hole recordings offices for his support to have ready this interview
Many thanks to Mark at Black Hole recordings offices for his support in my radio show
www.facebook.com/manufacturedsuperstars
www.blackholerecordings.com
www.facebook.com/blackholerecordings
www.blackholerecordings.com
www.facebook.com/blackholerecordings
The CD of the “Freak On You EP” is available on:
Fine Night
Fine Night
The download of the full “Freak On You EP” is available on:
iTunes
iTunes
