Lola Purple might not be a name you are familiar with right now, but if you don’t know her now, you sure will know her in the next year. She has already produced on Watergate Records with a remix of Kerri Chandler track ‘Think Of Something’, and was part of Kerri’s debut compilation release on his Kaoz Theory label, which also featured Seth Troxler, The Martinez Brothers and Davide Squillace amongst others. She has a unique sound in her productions and we were keen to find out some of her tricks. We caught up with her the other day and dug a little deeper…
Hey, great to meet you Lola Purple! I’m a big fan of your music 🙂 Can you tell the readers a little more about you for those that may not be as familiar with your work?
Hey yes, of course. Well, as you said, my name is Lola Purple, I’m 31 and I’m a DJ and Producer from Manchester, UK. And I’ve been playing for about 6 years and been producing for about 5.
Who or what inspired you to start producing?
I would say it was a ‘what’ inspired me rather than ‘who’… although there are many many DJs and producers that inspire me. Tommy Vicari Jnr, Ricardo Villalobos, Kerri Chandler, Cab Drivers… to name a few. But it’s always been music itself that has always inspired me the most. The love and obsession I had and still have for music almost made it impossible for me to not start producing. It’s the actual sound and the way it makes me feel that has been my biggest inspiration. Chasing the feeling, and it’s that chase that inspires me to create sounds that give me, and others, that feeling.
It’s a very interesting alias you have chosen. Why was that?
I decided on it many years ago, and to be honest it just stuck. I wish I could give a profound answer as to where it came from, but I literally just liked the name ‘Lola’. But Purple, has quite a significant meaning for me. I’m very much into physics, and Purple is the colour with the highest frequency and the shortest wavelength, plus I just love it.
Catching a break in the industry is few and far between. How did you get your first break?
I think it was an accumulation of things. After learning to play and putting out mixes I was gaining traction by securing gigs and playing more often. I would always try (and probably bug) DJs that I met by asking 100 questions. I always wanted to know more, and to learn. Networking was important to me, not to meet people but more to learn and get my sound out there. I just wanted people to really get my passion and sound. I met Kerri about 5 years ago and we became friends, through talks of sound and physics. He got my sound and passion and quickly became an advocate of mine. He then asked me and a friend, Maine, to do a remix for him on an EP he was doing for Watergate. And not long after he asked me to do an original track for his Launch Ep on Kaoz Therory, which was amazing.
What would you say is your most memorable moment to date and why?
Definitely playing B2B with Kerri this year at Mint Warehouse in Leeds at The Terrace Party. That day was phenomenal.
If we can move to the studio for a moment… Is there any special kit you for your performance that you cannot do without?
I actually love my Maschine. We used to have a love/hate relationship, but over time as I kept going back to it, I love it more and more as I find new things out about it every time I use it. I love FM8 as I can really fine tune sounds and go on a journey with my creation. I also love the arpeggiator, so much fun.
How do you see the future of the music business shaping post digital piracy and the proliferation of mobile music players/streaming services?
Times change, and always will do so. Technology is constantly evolving. And there are always people who want things for free in regards to piracy. Unfortunately this affects the industry and it is the artists that suffer and thus the industry suffers and then the listener suffers also. However, there are platforms which can help with this. Spotify is a major player, and I had no idea how big electronic music was on Spotify until recently. I have come across Record Labels and PR companies that focus solely on Spotify, and use the platform to promote music in innovate ways, this in turn helps with royalties. There are also other sites like Bandcamp, which offer the artist a really good percentage on sales and more artists are using this as a way to sell their music. I think now, more than ever there is opportunity for growth. It’s easy to see the negative when it comes to change, but I see an opportunity of improvement. There’s probably some Techno kid in his mum’s basement somewhere with the most ingenious idea for a new music platform. Electronic music will never die, people love it way too much, they’ll just be a new way of doing things.
Before our beloved music media went digital what were some of your favourite magazines you checked out for new music, event listings and all the affairs of dance music?
I’ve always subscribed to Future Music Magazine. Like I said I love to learn, and there’s always some really good features in there.
To get to know you a bit deeper, are there any favourite films, art, TV or books you are hooked on right now?
I’m totally hooked on the series Westworld. Wow! Whoever created this series was thinking outside of the box. Completely mind bending. It’s like a combination of ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Truman Show’. I’m reading ‘Be Yourself, Everyone else Is Taken’ by Mike Robbins, a book about being your authentic self, another topic I am passionate about.