Les Elston is multi award winning writer and producer of Electronic, Hard Trance, Multi Media and founding member of Lab4
With a career spanning over two decades and ten studio albums for labels inc Avex, Resist, Tidy Trax and Hard Trance Europe.
Les has also worked on many high profile advertising campaigns for the likes of Bacardi, Reebok (USA Superbowl), Pepsi, BBC, Coca Cola, Auto Modellista by Capcom, Time Lapse The Movie starring Danielle Panabaker (Mad Men, The Flash) as well as appearing on BBC2 John Peel’s ‘Sound Of The Suburbs music documentary and being asked to perform on the legendary John Peel session at Maida Vale studios London.
Lab4 have and continue to tour extensively gaining huge followings in Japan, Australia, Scandinavia the Netherlands, Canada and of course the UK.
Les is currently releasing tracks on various labels including HTE, HQ and his own label AtomikA, as well as hitting the Loopmasters dual number one chart position for Best Sellers and Trance.
2022 saw Lab4 return to the sound to picture composition work and the completion of the upcoming Canadian Sci Fi / Thriller Movie ‘Neurovenge’ produced by Electronic Earth, Paper Padlock.
2023 will see the release of a brand new studio album titled ‘Mechanism Of Resistance’ featuring a plethora of new material and a selection of live sets and remixes of some classic Lab4 tracks along with a brand new Loopmasters HTE vol 2 set for June release. All this along with the exciting prospect of international gigs inc Australia, Ibiza, Canada, Netherlands
We are super glad that Lab4 will share with us some of his thoughts about his latest tracks and forthcoming projects.
1-Dimitris: It would be nice to start by telling us your 3 most important achievements or goals fulfilled in your career so far that you very are proud of.
Lab4: Probably the ones that really stand out are
1) Writing music for the 1999-2000 Reebok Superbowl Advert
2) Being interviewed by the legendary John Peel and doing the BBC John Peel Sessions
3) Getting a major label record deal in Japan
2-Dimitris: Why and under which circumstances did you took the decision to start DJing or producing electronic dance music?
Lab4: I've always been hugely influenced by film and film soundtracks and have always been around music, my mother was a pianist and music theory tutor. I play guitar and that is my first instrument, but the entire spectrum of music and instrumentation has always been fascinated me. I think the pivotal point was listening to the ZTT label and producers like Trent Reznor. It opened up a wider field, not just guitar but production in general.
3-Can you note down the top 3 producers that have influenced your decision to get involved in the electronic dance music scene and you admire and respect them very much?
Lab4: Trent Reznor, Trevor Horn, Hans Zimmer
4-Dimitris: It would be fantastic to talk about your track Afterlife with AlexMo. Please tell us how this track came about and what was the idea behind it.
Lab4: My latest release is through Hard Trance Europe and it's a collaboration titled Afterlife, I wrote it with AlexMo who has recently had some amazing releases out and getting really excellent chart postitions on Beatport and various other download stores. Alex has just finished a fantastic remix of the Lab4 classic "Concept Of Love" which will be coming out around July I believe.
5-Dimitris: How long it took you to produce Afterlife and can u describe the production process in simple steps?
Lab4: Afterlife was pretty easy and straight forward to be honest. Alex sent some riffs and melodies over via dropbox, we agreed on a tempo, vibe, key etc,, I think the initial session when we got together was a whole day, then we sent the stems back and forth a few times, we both work on Logic X and use the same synths pretty much. Nexus N4, Serum etc,
6-Dimitris: Did you had any particular difficulties accomplishing that particular track or any specific technical challenges or obstacles that you had to overcome during its production.
Lab4: No this one was easy as we're both on pretty much the same set up. iMac 27", Logic X, Nexus etc,
7- Dimitris: Which music composition software or hardware you prefer and why? What is your opinion of the latest movement to produce music with more analogue equipment and with less or without any digital software?
Lab4: Logic X on Mac all the way, I started out on Atari ST Notator then went straight to Logic in 2000, for me it sounds the best, what you get for the money is incredible, to be honest I'm not a fan of PC's, i've had them before, Acer, custom built Carilion etc and they always seem a poor second to Apple equipment. I used to have a room full of analogue gear, I love it, Waldorf Microwave, Alesis A6, Access Virus, I still have a Roland D50 & Juno 2, I love the Roland sound and the filters are incredible.
Lab4: Both, I love a really catchy uplifting vocal in a tune, I've worked with many vocalists over the years. Then again if a track doesn't need a vocal then I'm good with that as well.
9-Dimitris: If you really like to produce vocal tracks which vocalist/singer or lyricist on electronic dance music you aspire to work with?
Lab4: There are so many great vocalists out there. I think bringing someone in who isn't known for dance music is an interesting concept and can produce really great results. I love Trent Reznor's voice, very distinctive. Gary Numan as well. Love his voice.
10-Dimitris: Do you believe that artwork on your latest track is good and do you believe that artwork can attract listeners or record buyers? Can you mention the best artwork of a track ever released?
Lab4: Yes I'm a massive fan of album/single artwork, with my own label AtomikA I always give each release it's own artwork, I'm not into label brand identity. A tiny label logo on the cover is all you need, I'm much into the artist not the label.
Best artwork, probably the artwork Avex Japan made for our releases, I also contributed to the last Avex release we did with them called None Of Us Are Saints,, I drew an Anime style graphic and they accepted it to be included in the final cover illustration.
11-Dimitris: Can you pick your top 3 record labels including the one released the track that we discuss in this interview and give us a short comment about them?
Lab4: HTE (Nick Coles) is amazing, he works so hard and has stuck to his guns with his label concept and ideas, going from strength to strength,,, label, online store, and now international events.
Avex was amazing to work with, being signed to a huge major was a great learning experience. When we toured in Japan you would see our CD's and posters in record shop windows and see Lab4 displays in the doorways and people listing to it on the listening post station things.
Also Fragile which was Lab4's first label, that was also an amazing learning experience, all Vinyl and CD releases, physical products. I still get asked every week for CD's and Vinyl.
Nick and I just released some vinyl, Picture Disks and White Vinyl, it was a really nice buzz getting some fresh vinyl released and out.
12-Dimitris: Do you have your own record label? if yes tell us when did you set it up, the reasons behind this decision and your top 3 releases on the label so far plus 2 or 3 releases that we should look after from your label.
Lab4: AtomikA, I use it to release all kind of material, slower techie releases, vocal trance, harder style trance etc, I set it up years ago before I started releasing tracks through HTE, I release about four tracks a year through it.
13-Dimitris: Are you planning to complete an album or mix compilation soon? if yes please give us all the details about regarding tracks and how will look and sound like?
Lab4: Yes a brand new Lab4 album is currently in the works, not sure when it will be finished, it'll be a USB release.
It will split into 3 or 4 sub folders,
1) Main Hard Dance/Trance/Dancefloor
2) Live Sets
3) Alternative Material
The "Alternative Material" will be comprised of soundtrack and song related content, ie not dancefloor, actual songs I've co-written with vocalists etc, and soundtrack music I composed for film & TV
14-Dimitris:How much time do you spend promoting yourself in your social media and you see this as essential tool for self promotion and getting bookings too? Which social media is the one that seems to work better for you?
Lab4: This is my #1 weakness, I painfully fail at this. I should spend a lot more time on Social Media, for various reasons i don't give it the time I should give it.
Number one I hate seeing myself on camera, like really hate it, I can't stand the sound of my voice and sometimes I think are people really that interested in what I have to say.?,
Unfortunately it's an essential part of the process, problem is I don't seem to have the fortitude to be a great big ego filled flapping mouth. I'm not that kind of personality.
15-Dimitris: Do you have your own radio show/podcast/twitch stream or Vlog(video blog)? If yes please give us a comment about it and how long it take you to prepare for it and if you are always excited to produce it?
Lab4: No, just a Youtube channel which I keep meaning to upload content Lab4Official, I will get around to uploading all the back catalogue etc, I know it's insane I have all this interesting history and amazing portfolio of work, it should be up there and available to enjoy.
16-Dimitris: Do you have any gigs/festival performances confirmed so far for 2023 in which ones are you most excited to perform and why?
Lab4: We just played for Esoteric in Australia, that was amazing, ASOT after party in the Netherlands, I've got Ibiza in May, and Bring The Noise in Birmingham. Frantic London, and the amazing HTE Weekender in Liskeard Cornwall in June.
17-Dimitris: Please share your most funny and most serious incident that happen to you during your DJ performance?
Lab4: There's so many .. I can remember one when i accidentally cut my hand open on stage, 'mid performance' and signalled to the security guard by the side of the stage what I had done,, when he came over to see he literally went a really weird colour and ran off.. lol
And another time I fell through the stage, only about 18" but it still really painful, the stage was so old and rotten.
18-Dimitris: Are you enjoying to visit music conferences and do you have any plans to attend any of them in 2023:
Lab4: No no plans as yet.
19-Are you happy with the way that royalties system works particularly regarding streaming revenue? Do you believe that artists get what they deserve from streaming providers/DJs playing your tracks in gigs/radio and selling music in physical formats like CDs/Vinyl or digitally.
Lab4: To be honest it's so low compared to what it used to be, Physical is much better. people seem to be getting bored with downloads, it's soulless.
20-Dimitris: Please note for all the new talents that read this interview to get some inspiration from you any technical tips in relation to your DJing or music productions. Also any piece of personal or music business' advice that has helped you to progress even further and is worth telling to the new upcoming talents.
Lab4: Just keep at it, throw as much stuff around as you possibly can, also surround yourself with people you trust, try to be as original as you can. Yes it's great to have big influences and people to look up to. I never in a million years would've thought I'd have people asking my advice on music and production, it still seems strange to me. lol
21-Dimitris: Many DJs who are producers too they offer online masterclasses or teach to music production courses. If you are offering any of these services please tell us about it.
Lab4: Well there will be something coming in the future but we're keeping it under cover for now.
22-Dimitris: Is there a club classic that you would like to remix or rework in 2023? Do you attempt often to do your own bootlegs of classics?
Lab4: I've done a few bootlegs.. not of dance tracks, of rock or pop tunes that I've chopped around and made them into dance tunes.
There's a few I have ear-marked for future work outs.. I don't want to say because then I'd be giving it away.
23-Dimitris: Many artist right now attempt to come closer to their fan base and use the various services in order to offer exclusive content to their most dedicated followers. Do you have any plans to do the same by connecting even more with your most dedicated fans?
Lab4: I to chat to alot of people directly through Facebook/Insta etc, but the thing I mentioned earlier about teaching production etc will kind of merge into that.
24-Dimitris: Can you describe your music as certain music genre such as trance, house, techno or your music exempts these categorizations? What is your opinion about hybrid styles and the artists who are attempting to mix influences from various genres in their tracks?
Lab4: To be honest I just see all of it as dance music.
The closest would be Hard Dance, Hard Trance with modern produstion values I suppose, maybe tech trance as well.
25-Dimitris: Is your music business your full time occupation and are you able to make a leaving out of your music business (DJ/producer/label owner/teaching or mastering tracks)? If not what other jobs are you doing in order to support your income?
Lab4: You have to diversify so much, so I get involved with all kinds of Music, Film related businesses
Lab4: Have an amazing life, never listening to the critics, be positive as much as you can, live to create greatness.
Thanks to Lab4 for this amazing interview, full of depth and great insights.
Thanks to Nick Coles for arranging this interview.
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