Richard Durand
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Richard Durand

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“And now I’m bringing it all back to Australia!” he laughs. “Robotic is one of those tracks that’s a real standout in my collection because you just can’t go wrong with it, it seems. It’s that one track that you definitely know will get everyone dancing on the floor. I remember I’d just played at this private roof-top party in Brisbane not long before I wrote that song, and I think I was remembering the vibe and the sounds and the people and the entire event when I came up with this song. It’s one of those songs that kills it no matter what time of the night or day it is, no matter what kind of club you’re at, it always brings the party. Open Range was another one that was inspired by my visit to Australia. By the time I finished it I was already back home in Amsterdam but I was inspired to write it while I was still in Australia. It’s got an amazing melody, it’s very moving.” 

However, it wasn’t just Australia that influenced the sounds and vibes of Durand’s sophomore album – with a schedule that literally sees him moving around the globe non-stop, it meant that ‘Wide Awake’ picked up many different musical flavours from around the world, also resulting in a much ‘clubbier’ release in comparison to debut Always The Sun.

“I don’t know, it kind of feels rougher to me,” Durand offers. “It feels very organic to me and like there is a lot less polish to it. One-half of me wanted it to be like this from the start, but I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was never really in the same place putting it together. I’d been traveling a lot all over the place, making different stops, being in different countries, having to use different equipment sometimes. It shouldn’t be a big surprise that it sounds quite rough considering the approach I took. I also think this album has a lot more tracks that were made for the dance-floor in particular, whereas Always The Sun had mostly songs that were more suitable for your car or when you’re at home hanging out. I wouldn’t call it ‘easy-listening’ but Wide Awake is a lot more harder in that way.”

According to Durand, it wasn’t hard to start from a clean slate after the release of the successful debut that was Always The Sun – as with any first attempt at anything, major lessons were learned and many mistakes avoided, as the producer explains.

“I wouldn’t say there were too many ‘mistakes’, not big ones, but there are some things that I wasn’t going to waste any time on the second album. I think the trick is to always start with a blank canvas if you can, no matter how great or terrible your last album was! I can happily say that my first album did well so I didn’t have that problem, but just because a lot of people liked it didn’t mean I wanted to repeat the same formula. So one of the things that I learned from working on the first album was maybe not to be such a perfectionist and waste too much time, sometimes the best results come the quicker you create something. Something else I learned was to always be open to different influences, even if you’re not too sure about something at first. Things like festivals and vibes at clubs were big influences on this record. Sometimes just checking out the local side of the country you’re playing in can do wonders for musical inspiration too.”

Not only does it show on Durand’s artist album Wide Awake, but also on his second effort on the In Search Of Sunrise compilation series. Having taken over from the mighty Tiesto in 2010 for the eighth instalment of the series, titled South Africa, Durand released the follow-up this year with a focus on ‘India’ – and it’s even more exotic than its predecessor, according to the producer.

“It was so much fun; I think I enjoy the process this time a lot more!” Durand enthuses. “When I was first approached to do the compilation, there were a lot of expectations and pressure on me, and mostly put on me by me more than anybody else. It was a huge honour to take things over from Tiesto and I knew that everybody would be watching me very closely, especially Tiesto’s fan base who are just the most dedicated people ever. When I was approached to do the first CD, I didn’t say yes for a few days because I had to weight it up first because I knew Tiesto’s fans would be devastated and I had to ask myself if I could do it justice. There were some nerves and some concerns the first time, but the second time I let go a lot more because after I finished ‘South Africa’ I realised I had been worrying about nothing. There are always going to be some negative responses, but thankfully, they were really in the minority and not really even based on any musical fact.”

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