A Session with PERC + top 5 tunes

Ali Wells or Perc as some like to call him is a humble UK based Techno monster. If you're familiar with his composition's you probably know what a shotgun to the face feels like, but Perc is also more then just a blatant dancefloor bad-boy. Showing off his experimental and industrial evil twin last year with his Wicker & Steel LP, aswell as signing more daring and forward thinking artists to his Perc Trax imprint. If you're not familiar with Perc, we suggest you get down to Brown Alley in Melbourne this Friday to see what he's all about. Oh and while you're here, you may aswell check out our interview with him and 5 of his favorite tunes at the moment!

Perc's top 5 tunes.
 

1) Truss - Ganymede (Perc Trax)

Broken beat, hoover stab techno, complete with remixes from Skirt and myself.

2) EDMX - Cerberus (Power Vacumm)

A 4/4 kick of death and a few glitches, nothing else is needed.

3. Blawan - Long Distance Open Water Worker (Black Sun)

Four killer tracks from one of the UK's best new producers.    
4. James Hammer - Bang It (Relief)
I've recently started playing this out again, the looped title vocal makes it a great tool.
5. Factory Floor - Two Different Ways (Perc Remix) - DFA Records
A honour to remix my favourite new band for DFA. Peak time, feedback-drenched techno.

So Ali, what have you been up to most recently as Perc?

Well, my first EP since my album came out about a month ago. It's called 'A New Brutality', it was important to do something that made a statement after Wicker & Steel and I'm really happy with how that EP has been received. Apart from that I've mainly been remixing, including Truss on Perc Trax, Factory Floor on DFA and I'm working on a remix for Electric Deluxe right now.

I find the DFA remix quite interesting, as DFA is a brand usually synonymous with disco and house, how did the guys contact you? And did you approach it in a different way than usual?

It all came through Factory Floor, we are all based in London and we have some mutual friends. I asked them to remix Forward Strategy Group for Perc Trax and they came straight back and asked me to remix them on DFA. Of course I was quite surprised but I am sure they had to run it past the DFA A&R team before they could approach me. It is something different from me and will reach people that might not have heard my music before, which is something I am really pushing for right now.

Would you say the direction you are heading in now has changed since Wicker & Steel? If so, how?

 I don't think there has been any sudden change of direction, maybe just the continuation of a constant evolution of what I am trying to express and achieve. The one thing I have after Wicker & Steel is an increased confidence to experiment and make music for myself, which I hope others will enjoy. I have always pushed to do something that feels fresh and unique and that is more important to me than ever. Before I completed A New Brutality I finished a bunch of club tracks that all did the business when I played them out but in the end they just seemed functional rather than anything new. There are enough people out there making dancefloor tools, which of course play an essential role in any set, but I now see my role as someone who has to push for something else.

And where have you been playing recently? Has their been more live or DJ sets?

I've been all over the place this year, across Europe and the UK but also further away with a US tour and a weekend in Japan completed. I played in Russia twice at the start of the year which was all new for me and as you know I'll soon be in Australia and Singapore soon, both of which are new countries for me to play in. About 75% of my gigs are DJ sets and the rest are live gigs, but I like playing both equally.

What shall we Aussies expect from your sets down this way?

Hopefully just a great example of what I do and what Perc Trax represents. Obviously techno based but mixing up a whole bunch of other influences. There is a lot of new Perc Trax material plus some new projects I am working on with other producers to play and a lot of this will be being played for the first time in Australia.

Can you tell us anymore about whats coming up Perc Trax and what direction it will be heading in?

Next up is the 2nd vinyl EP from the Forward Strategy Group album which will be out by the time you read this. There are four tracks from 'Labour Division' plus a final remix from Dom from Factory Floor and a remix from Sawf. After that is a new EP from Truss featuring remixes from Skirt and myself and then a collaboration EP between myself and Adam X. The label will keep evolving, I think there will be a move away from 4/4 techno but still the releases will be aimed at DJs and dancefloors, like always the label for me is a balance between experimentation and dancefloor appeal.