Ram Raider: Rene LaVice

Seemingly coming out of nowhere at the end of 2011 with the now anthem-like Headlock, Rene LaVice was probably the least known yet most asked about name when Ram announced he was joining the label exclusively alongside the major signing of Calyx & Teebee to the Hornchurch fold. Fast-forward over a year and the Toronto native was there with the first full-length fruits of his labours on his debut album, Insidious. It may be surprising that an artist who has only really had a few releases on Ram in the past 12 months was deemed already at the stage for putting out an LP but it was an obvious sign that Andy C and Ram have faith in his talent and ability and he’s certainly brought some strong music to the table. With a big year behind him we caught up with Rene for a discuss the year he’s had where he thinks the scene is at and how to caramelise onions… 

Tell us how you have been enjoying this year so far? It appears you have become one of the standout performers of the D&B’s 2013…

This year has been one of if not the best year of my life. I released my debut album on RAM Records which received higher praise than I ever could have imagined. I’ve had the opportunity to tour across the globe in lots of different countries and even explore the vastness of my own country, Canada, in the process. It’s been amazing to see so many different cultures, so many different types of music, so many different ways of appreciating the same music, too! I’ve been cranking away on new productions as well and really getting to heart of the ideas I want to express, and it feels amazing. You have to go through a lot of torment to get to that stage, but when you finally do, it’s like the clouds open up and give you some room to breathe out everything you’ve endured. I’ve also been doing more film directing on the side, working on another music video and some other projects. You can catch up on my shorter masterful works of cinema on my instagram feed, you might want to take a Gravol first though.How did the album go for you?  It went down really well here at DT HQ, we were surprised by the eclectic nature of the album… Yeah, it was insane! The response was really visceral and really constant. I was getting a bit worried because I wasn’t catching any haters… I was like “shit, if I don’t have any haters I must not be that big.” But like a month ago someone posted a forum thread online that was an entire trash-talking thread about how much they hate me, it was called like “Rene LaVice is a punk-*ss B*&^%$” or something (laughs). So when I saw that I could breathe a sigh of relief. But in all seriousness it’s good to know that my music is having an effect on people and that it meant to others as much as it means to me.Recently we’ve seen you embar on a series of new remixes,  can you tell us how they came about?  The amount of energy you seem to be injecting into releases seems to fast be becoming a signature sound which we found especially prevalent when we were combining ‘Chords’ and ‘JM’.

Yeah, lots of energy, that’s what I like. When opportunity came to have those guys do remixes I was excited about what they would bring to the table. I only want artists to remix my tracks who are going to bring their perspective to the music, their interpretation. They need to dig through their own personal baggage the same way I have and puck forth some hidden meaning that wasn’t visible before in the original. At the time, I knew both artists as people who liked lush soundscapes and intricate sound design. I was open to anything, they could have given me a soundscape with no drums or anything and I would have checked it out. That said I was surprised when I heard the end result, and at the end of the day I think it’s music that they are personally passionate about, and that’s what matters.Do you feel different as a producer than, say, this time last year? No. I mean my technical ability is always improving, my ideas evolve, but my outlook remains constant. I’m an explorer, I’m not afraid to go to places that other people won’t go because they’re told not to. I break the rules that others won’t in an effort to make music that comes from a very real place. It comes from things I’ve experienced. It’s my way of excising demons, celebrating euphoria, and dealing with the stormy waters of relationships in between. I’m still “me,” I’ve just gotten better at expressing “me.”.

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