Premiere UK imprint Selador has been a staple in the electronic dance music circuit for over a decade now, flexing a fabulous catalog that includes some of the most forward-thinking music out there. Having hosted the works of names such as Quivver, Hannes Bieger, Jamie Stevens, Just Her, Hernan Cattaneo, and more, Dave Seaman & Steve Parry’s Selador is no stranger to the upper echelons, and the brand’s monumental ‘The Selador Showcase 19’ belongs right up there.
In this exclusive interview, EG catches up with label co-founder Steve Parry & the inimitable Anthony Pappa, who were in charge of curating the gargantuan compilation and delivering the exquisite promotional DJ mix.
EG: Hi Steve! Hello Anthony! Welcome to EG. As always, It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Steve Parry: I’m at home in Liverpool – the kids have been off for half term from school – last week I was in London in the studio, and then at the Brighton Music Conference, which was a lot of fun.
Anthony Pappa: Hi and thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I am currently at my home in Melbourne, Australia as we speak.
EG: Well, first of all, congratulations on the release of Selador’s ‘Selador Showcase 19’! You must have been very excited to share such a large body of work. What was the initial reception like?
Steve Parry: It’s been a great project to work on. And great to be working with Anthony too. Yes, very excited about this one!
Anthony Pappa: We were super excited for the release and more importantly for all of the artists involved. The compilation has been really well received.
EG: More than a mere compilation, the ‘Selador Showcase 19’ started out as a DJ mix and then it evolved into something bigger, right? So, how and when did the idea for a joint mix between you guys come about?
Steve Parry: We have released 18 of these releases already, but they’ve usually been 5 or 6 tracks, but this one grew and grew. And because there were so many tracks, the idea of making them into a mix came about.
Anthony Pappa: Dave Seaman messaged me in December last year, asking if l would be up for working on this project with Steve Parry. Both Dave and Steve are long-time good friends of mine and of course, l said yes. We wanted to put this mix together to help create a buzz for the tracks prior to them being released. Just like in the older days when a Mix CD by a DJ was released, and everyone who heard it wanted to track down the music from the mixed album. So the mix compilation was the hype to get people excited about getting these tracks now that they are released on Selador.
EG: And when did you guys realize that you had so much more than just a DJ mix? Did you guys have to “commission” certain pieces? Or was it all there and it was one of those “eureka” moments?
Steve Parry: We thought about doing things a little differently, and as the number of tracks grew and grew, the mix seemed like an obvious choice. We were sent so many tracks, and because of our musical output as a label, not being defined by one specific sound, we are sent all kinds of music, from across the genres, which is very Selador.
Anthony Pappa: There is always plenty of music to choose from when it comes to looking for tunes. Between Dave, Steve, myself, and Selador, we all get sent so much music. What we needed to do was wade through all the demos and tracks that were sent and find the right ones to sign. Looking for music to use in our mix that would also be a good fit for the label to release as singles.
“I like to create a story with the music and the way to do this is to have a start, middle, and an end – a journey if you will. So it makes sense to start a mix or a DJ set in a club for that matter with the slower tracks to introduce, warm up, set the mood and then build to the end” – Anthony Pappa
EG: By the way, how does one go about curating something like this? Is it a case of one track informing the other, and so on? Or did you have a “centerpiece” and build around that? What recommendations would you share from your experience?
Steve Parry: As a DJ, I play a lot of different styles of music, from deeper tracks, through melodic sounds, and then tougher tracks and a few musical surprises, and I’m always a fan of vocals. So when listening to demos, I am always looking for different sounds to play and for the label.
Anthony Pappa: I like to create a story with the music and the way to do this is to have a start, middle, and an end – a journey if you will. So it makes sense to start a mix or a DJ set in a club for that matter with the slower tracks to introduce, warm up, set the mood and then build to the end. When doing this for a DJ set/gig you have any track to choose from that you want to play. In this case, for the Selador release, we had to find/sign the right tracks that we had in mind to fit the various sections of the mix (start, middle, and end). So we knew we wanted to use some house, vocals, deeper, progressive, and some driving harder tracks to close. All of this was part of our thought process in selecting the music to use. Once we had our list of 19 tracks that all of us, Dave, Steve, and l had agreed on, then it was a case of doing what we DJs do and working out the best order to mix them together to create the story.
EG: And, in terms of direction, did you guys have the same horizon in mind? Or was it a case of “making a point” through conversations and debates?
Steve Parry: I’ve been a fan of Anthony’s DJ sets for decades, so I know his sound, and there’s a huge musical overlap with the flavors of Selador and the music that I play in my sets too.
Anthony Pappa: We were very much all on the same page from the get-go. We all have very similar tastes in music and understand each other well through our years of friendship so it was an easy flow of conversations between Steve and l to get it done and get it right.
EG: Now, Steve, you also have a new single coming up on Selador as well, right? What can you tell us about this one? Is there anything you can anticipate?
Steve Parry: Yes, my new track ‘Won’t You Believe?’ is released on the 16th of August on Selador. It’s my first solo single since lockdown (I’ve been making collaborations recently – but it’s great to make a track from start to finish that’s pure me! It took a while to make this track, and I was almost happy with it, but when I finally added the vocal parts, the track came alive – so this was a great feeling.
I also got Dachshund to deliver the remix, as I’ve been a fan of his music for many years, and I play lots of his music… what a wonderful remix he delivered! Chunky!
EG: And Anthony, you’re gearing up for what will be your next European tour. What places will you be visiting? Are there any special dates that you’re looking forward to? What is the most important thing you draw on a personal level from these 2-3 month tours?
Anthony Pappa: I’m really excited for my next upcoming Europen Tour as well as South America from August to November. I will be bringing my family with me on this tour, which will be a first for me. So that being said, l am factoring in some family time in between gigs. Taking my daughter to Disneyland in France and spending some time with my extended family in Italy. For those of you that don’t know my last name is Pappalardo. My father is from Floridia in Sicily and my mother is from Pescara in Abruzzo. So l have dual nationality passports for Italy and Australia. The gig that l am looking forward to the most is Lush Classical in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I will be playing the opening set before the Ulster Orchestra performs. It’s a 10,000-person stadium event at the SSE Arena, which is very exciting. It’s not every day that you get to play in an arena of this scale. I will be visiting and playing in the following countries – England, Scotland, Portugal, France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Greece, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands (ADE), Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica.
“We were sent so many tracks, and because of our musical output as a label, not being defined by one specific sound, we are sent all kinds of music, from across the genres, which is very Selador” – Steve Parry
EG: Just before we let you go, it being such a hot topic these days…What’s your stance on AI so far? Have you guys implemented any form of AI in recent creations? Should music producers be fretting?
Steve Parry: I think people concentrate on the bad sides of AI, and maybe I did this for a while too. I did use AI to extract some vocals in the studio from a track last week, where previously this wasn’t an option, so this makes things very exciting in the studio.
Anthony Pappa: I can confirm that there was no AI used to create this mix. Just lots of hours listening to music by two humans and making decisions based on years of our combined experience. It is scary what can be done with AI these days but programming a mix or playing a live DJ set will always be better done by a person than a computer in my opinion.
EG: What’s next for Steve Parry and Anthony Pappa? Where can your fans catch you next? What’s still in store for the rest of the year?
Steve Parry: I’m always working on Selador projects (signing music, scheduling the (never-ending) socials, sorting our Selador Sessions, working on our Seladoria parties, etc).
I’ve finally been back in the studio working solo, and I have finished 2 new tracks that I’m very happy with.
Gigswise I have just played in my hometown of Liverpool with Seladoria, and it was amazing, and that was fresh off the back of 3 Ibiza gigs (Akasha, Pikes Poolside, and Freddies at Pikes).
Coming soon I have Ibiza again, Glasgow, Amsterdam, and working on many more!
Anthony Pappa: I am currently working on a few new projects in the studio, and as I mentioned, I have loads of great gigs coming up in Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and South America!
EG: Thank you for your time, guys! We’re excited to see what’s in store for you. Take care!
Steve Parry: It is always a pleasure, thank you for your continued support for Selador.
All three installments of ‘The Selador Showcase 19’ and its DJ Mix are already available via Selador. Purchase your copy here.
Follow Steve Parry: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook
Follow Anthony Pappa: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook
