DigiSpotlight: All Eyes on Tom Fall

May 16th, 2012 ⋅ Features ⋅ by Megan ⋅ 392 Views

This month we turn the digispotlight on one of Finland’s finest, Tom Fall. As a self-taught producer/remixer, Fall has exhibited an extraordinary amount of discipline, innovation, and precision in the studio ever since his first and only demo, “Cubic,” was released on Anjunadeep in 2010. Fall is an EDM visionary in every sense, turning original tracks like tyDi & Sarah Howell’s “Acting Crazy,” into monstrous reworks that wow even the most passive listener.

In March Fall received a coveted and well-deserved spot during Armin Van Buuren’s “A State of Trance 550” event at the legendary Ministry of Sound in London, throwing down a perfectly structured set during his world debut. His most recent release with Ben Nicky, “Hammer,” masterfully explores the hybrid approach that has come to represent the globalisation of a diverse and international EDM culture.

As Fall continues to remix records for a slew of heavy hitting producers, including Estiva, W&W, Aruna, Cosmic Gate, and tyDi, he is also setting aside time to begin working on his debut album, slated for release on Armada Music. We managed to sit down with Tom recently and were given an exclusive peek of his new track “iRok” that will be coming out June 4th on Armada’s new sublabel, Trice Recordings.

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A warm digi10ve welcome to you Tom! Why don’t we start by having you give a brief introduction to all the digi10vers out there (Name, country of origin, what you had for breakfast this morning etc.)

My name is Tomi Fallenius, aka Tom Fall. I was born and raised in Lohja, Finland, and I had a nice hot cup of coffee for breakfast. I’d like to say thanks for having me featured here, this is a great site.

What was it like growing up in Finland?

It was very nice; Finland is a great country to grow up in.

Can you tell us about your first ever gig?

My first ever gig was a disco in the local youth center. It was fun, but at the time, I didn’t know anything about mixing or what the knobs do in the mixer, etc. I had a friend there to show me how the stuff works, so I got along okay!

You’ve been producing music since you were a teenager…. how has the scene changed since then?

Well, the obvious change has been the subtle change from trance ruling the scene, to the big room house with big ass drops taking over. Also, now there really are no defined genres like back in the day. We have a total freedom to blend different styles to make something totally new and exciting. The fact that it’s now loads cheaper to purchase the equipment to produce music, also a big change. This really shows when one sees how many young producers are constantly rising on the scene.

Do have any strategies or techniques for remixing that you can share with our readers?

I really don’t have any specific mold or default strategy when it comes to remixing. I figure out the overall structure and arrangement as I go along. I always start with the bassline, which is obviously the core of my sound, and take it from there.

What kind of essentials do you take on the road with you?

iPhone, MacbookPro, Headphones, USB sticks and I’m all set hardware-wise .

You’ve reworked a couple of Tydi’s tracks- how did you come to work with an artist that lives across the world from you?

Well, the first one came to me from the label (Armada), the other two came from tyDi himself, as he really liked what I did with his previous tracks. TyDi’s tracks are really fun to remix, as he really has that unique sound which is easy to convert into a more clubby thing.

Obviously dance music is experiencing a massive renaissance in the US- do you think there is such a thing as over-saturation? How do you remain competitive when it seems like everyone wants to make music nowadays?

Well, to be honest, I don’t see it as a problem that new producers suddenly become popular all the time. The main thing is that the quality remains high, and every new producer should add something new into the mix. As for over-saturation, the only problem to me would be that people start to replicate what everybody else is doing.

For example, at one point there was about 10 producers (that I know of) doing exactly what Avicii was doing; that’s not good! I just try to keep my focus in the right things. I don’t ever think about what sells, but more what feels right to me and sounds great overall. For me, it’s not remaining competitive; it’s remaining true to myself.

You have a new original track, “iRok,” set to release June 4th on Armada’s newest sublabel, Trice Recordings. What can you tell us about this new sublabel? For “iRok,” what is the idea behind the track and it’s sound?

First of all, I’m really glad that Armada has added an outlet (Trice Recordings) for the housier kinds of sounds. Like I’ve said before, I’ve never confined my sound to only one genre. I try to make it unique by adding lots of influences; I don’t solely adhere to trance. My sound has always been somewhere between progressive house, trance, and electro house. With “iRok,” I focus only on my housier side. My goal was to purely and simply put together a “blaunt force trauma” club bomb, and I think this came out really well. Trice Recordings will focus on the more big room, dirty, clubby sound, so “iRok” is a good fit for the new imprint.

What is your biggest goal for the year and what can we expect from you over the next couple of months? Any visits to the US?

My goal is to make as many of new originals as I can, pure and simple, and really try to step down from remixing and focus on my album. Gig-wise I’m working really hard to make it happen so I can come over to US to perform. I already have some amazing gigs coming up during this year, yet I’m hoping to be able to come over there to the USA as soon as possible.

Finally, and we ask all our digi10vers this question, if you had one super power, what would it be?

Hmmm… to make the time slowdown. I really feel like 24 hours is not enough per day.