If you like guys like Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, Andrew Bayer and Markus Schulz, you will like Mike Saint-Jules. Mike is a producer based in New York and got the chance to perform at Electric Zoo earlier this year. We connected, hit it off, and I was excited to learn more about his career. He’s worked with a wide range of record labels and has remixed some of the biggest names in the game. He also released an EP earlier this year. The guy is energetic and was really fun to talk to. Happy to share his story here with you today. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Mike Saint-Jules.
Tell me more about Beacon EP. What are you hoping to accomplish with this release?
That release came out in June on Future Sounds of Egypt (FSOE) Parallels label. I was happy to see that it’s been well received by both the fans and DJs. It’s a story talking about beacons, particularly space beacons that are navigation markers broadcasting a signal for other devices to see out in space. I like to talk about things space related in my works.
As for the flipside track “23 Years,” this track was inspired by the movie “Interstellar” (as a lot of my works are lately). For those that know about the title name, this was when Cooper and crew traveled to Miller’s planet while Romilly waited for them to return. There’s a lot of interesting theories about this movie, but I highly recommend it to anyone that’s a sci-fi buff.
You are originally from New York, NY. There are a lot of great venues in NY. What are some of your favorite places to see a show?
Not many people from outside of New York can tell, but we’re starting to run out of venues. A lot of clubs have closed over the years due to many situations. Some of which were the building of new condos/apartments, venues being in trouble financially, etc. Many people also grew out of the nightlife for various reasons as well, which doesn’t make the events any easier to become successful. And if those people do go out, it’s for the bigger named DJs. That’s another story for another time though.
To answer your question, if I had to choose some favorite venues, I would say Schimanski New York, OUTPUT, and ANALOG BKNY in Brooklyn. These are some of the go to spots for a nice evening out.
It seems like every DJ has a podcast. You produce Universal Soundz. Tell me more about that, where folks can listen and what sort of music can fans expect to hear.
I started the radio show back in 2005. I approached Mark Kane of Party107 and asked if I could host a radio show on his platform. The rest was pretty much history ever since. For episode 500, I did a live event celebration together with the Esscala in New York. It was a great turnout and Mark was able to come as well to do a live recording. We had Steve Allen and Kaeno as add-on support.
The show now is currently approaching episode 630 and is now on other various sites, specifically, DI.FM, Diesel.FM and 109FM. The hope is to do more live based events in the future in the form of a tour.
When it comes to the actual format of the show, I usually start more so with deep/progressive tracks and then eventually building it up to more of the uplifting material. Usually every week I also showcase a “flashback tune” for the week, which is a track from any genre from years back. I try to go back to the early/mid 2000s for this.
You played on the Anjunabeats stage at Electric Zoo this year. How was that? Hard to believe that festival celebrated 10 years this year.
Yeah, so I have been attending Electric Zoo since its original formation back in 2009. It’s an amazing experience, so I encourage anyone who hasn’t attended to go for sure. The production is top stuff.
It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to play on their stage, along with their top acts on the label. Being the first guy up, I wanted to show a different kind of sound, and more importantly, respect their brand. I played a number of exclusives, and some special “ID” tracks. You can listen to the first hour on my SoundCloud page as one of the latest episodes of the radio show.
By the way, some big names played on that stage including Spencer Brown, Jason Ross, Andrew Bayer and Audien.
Did you stick around to watch any of those sets or did you hit up the other stages?
I was pretty much in and out, looking at other stages. But I stuck around for a slice of each of the artist’s sets.
You live in NY, but Las Vegas has become the epicenter of dance music in the United States. Have you spent much time in Vegas?
Actually, I was in Sin City earlier this year for EDC Las Vegas. It’s always a good time out there! I might have to kindly disagree with you though. (Laughs.) While Las Vegas is indeed a hot spot for shows, especially when it comes to EDC week each year, the major spots are places like New York and California. In New York, we get all the acts, both big and small coming through here. I don’t think other states in the country could say the same thing.
When you produce a remix, do you need permission from the original artist? When you release the remix, do you send the release to the artist or just hope they hear over time?
I’ve seen multiple scenarios of this. Most of the time I ask the original artist(s) or label if I may remix a track. Sometimes it’s yes, sometimes it’s no, sometimes it’s “on spec.” If it’s a yes, I would ask to obtain the parts to the remix and then go and just produce the track. There are times however where parts to the original track aren’t available. So, a lot of the time I have to go by ear and produce the original components first and then produce with my flair around the track. At that point, I’ll add or take away elements that don’t fit or don’t make sense in the remix.
If the track is accepted by the label, then they go ahead and send it to the original artist for approval also. Sometimes that’s not always the case though and it just gets approved by the label solely. I usually prefer to get the nod from the original artist because nothing is more important than their approval of the mix, that they like your remix, and that they are behind it 100%.
Where do you get inspiration for a new release? Do you sit down and produce the track or do you wait for the sound to just come to you?
Ever since I saw the movie “Interstellar,” which was about four years ago now, it really opened my eyes about just how much imagination we could dream about the world above ours; space. I’ve always incorporated the ideas of sci-fi in my works, but now more than ever I always try to add that idea of “Interstellar” in my works. Hans Zimmer really inspired me based on the soundtrack for the movie.
The fans out there really enjoy the “Interstellar” mixes I do. It’s all about the form of imagery. Trance music gives us the out of body experience as well as giving stories about love, and courage. I’d like to think the idea of being out in space and experiencing the unknown is that experience too in some ways.
In the last two years, I’ve been working with my friend Prasenjit Das as he is a second pair of ears to my works. He’s a classically trained musician, so it’s great to get his thoughts and ideas combined with my own. We’re excited about these upcoming projects!
You are currently working with Black Hole Recordings. Tell me more about your time with them. Have you worked with other labels over the years?
There are a few labels that I have worked with over the years, but Black Hole Recordings is one of the best labels I’ve worked with in terms of professionalism and being fair. I’ve been working with them for the last nine years. Aside from that, I’ve worked with Flashover Recordings, AVA Recordings, and more recently FSOE to name a few.
You aren’t currently listed on the DJ Mag Top 100. What does that list mean to you? Would being on that list help you grow or is it just a modern day popularity contest?
At this point in time with my career, this doesn’t mean anything to me fortunately. There’s been a lot of politics and controversy surrounding the DJ Mag in recent years. To put it simply, as long as I’m able to put out music and people are aware of it, the fanbase will grow, as it has been. From there people will continue to support, see me at shows, etc. That should be enough in my eyes.
You got the chance to play alongside Markus Schulz earlier this year. I’m a big fan. Actually just saw him and Ferry Corsten at Ministry of Sound in London. What was that like? Did you get the chance to spend any time with Markus?
It’s always a great time seeing Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz and having the opportunity to play alongside them. Usually when I see them they are just mainly in and out of the city we meet in, so unfortunately there’s not much time to hang out.
What’s next for Mike Saint-Jules?
There’s a number of things in the pipeline. What I can say for now is that my remix for Christian Burns called, “You’re Not Alone” will be released via Black Hole Recordings this Friday. Really love his vocals. It’s a bit of a different sounding track than my other productions, but that’s the beauty of producing whatever you want.
I have two more singles coming up under the FSOE Parallels label, one of which is called “Phoebus,” which will be out at the end of October. Anything else upcoming I encourage people to check on my social media platforms to stay in the loop. Links are below for your reference.
Thank you for doing this. In all of the interviews I do I always give the artist the last word. Go.
Thank you for reading and supporting my music and shows over the years. There’s a lot more coming, so stay tuned to my socials!
Connect with Mike Saint-Jules:
Website: http://www.mikesaintjules.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikesaintjulesofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSaintJules
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/saintjulesmusic
