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Mike Rish [Interview]

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Through an unwavering dedication to progression, Mike Rish has been sharpening his patented club-effective sound with each subsequent evolution. Based in Melbourne, the Australian’s enthusiastic attitude towards experimentation, coupled with extraordinary creative vision has made him one of the more unique progressive house artists to emerge in the last decade. Choosy in his projects, Mike’s resume has remained meticulous and well thought out since making his debut in 2019. Anjunadeep, Juicebox Music, Lost & Found, Meanwhile, Sudbeat and Vapour have all been landing spots across what has been a five-year creative swell, while genre tastemakers Guy J, Hernan Cattaneo, Jamie Stevens, Kasper Koman, Nick Warren and more have been steadfast with support along the way. With 2024 wrapping up with a Beatport #1 remix of 'Rivers' by Jamie Stevens, Mike opens the new year on the newly launched District Rec with an edit of Speedy J's Remix of 'Beyond The Stars' by Syncom Data.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with Mike to learn more about the release of 'Beyond The Stars', 2024 highlights, the current state of progressive house, DJing, and much more. Enjoy.

Hi Mike, thanks for talking to us today. Now that we’ve started the new year, how was 2024 for you?

Thanks for having me. My 2024 was good fun. I toured a fair bit this year, so it was a great experience getting a little taste of what that life is like. I loved it.

Let’s look back on the year, what gig of yours has stood out the most and why?

I love all the gigs I get to play. Getting paid to fly to other countries to play your music is such a privilege, I never take it for granted. But the gig that I won’t soon forget was We Are Lost Sri Lanka. I’d never played in front of 7000 people before so it was a new experience. I was lucky enough to do a b2b2b with Guy J and Chicola for the last 1.5 hours of Guys set.. that was pretty cool.

Now let’s look at tracks, what is a track or tracks which have come out this year that has impressed you the most and why?

There’s too many to name to be honest. Mike Griego and Paul Deeps stuff have been in my sets a lot this year. Same with Patch Park. I tend to like the more groove based, less melodic stuff. And I think those guys do that well.

What is a song/track you’ve never stopped listening to since childhood? And why has it stuck with you this long?

That’s a hard one. I bought the Mezzanine album by Massive Attack when it came out in 98, I was 11. I still listen to a lot of the songs from that album every week. Little later on when I was about 17, Tryshasla by Secede… That's probably my favourite album… Lost count how many times I’ve listened to that album. It’s probably out of nostalgia a little…reminds me of certain times in my life. More simply, I just like how it sounds… the production is so detailed, I always hear something new in it whenever I listen to it.

You’ve been producing under your given name for around six years I believe, when you look back on your releases up to now what would be some pivotal moments to the success you’ve achieved today? If you had to single out a release or two which really helped your propel career what would they be?

I actually released my first record under my own name in 2008, but I think the label went defunct and something happened because I can’t find it anywhere these days. But yes, to an extent, predominantly releasing under my own name doing prog since 2016/2017. I was always doing my own version of prog, but I really wanted to develop my own sound, so I took my time with it, unlike the other aliases I released music under.

They kind of all feel like pivotal moments in a way. You grow as a producer and get the attention of the DJs & bigger labels by releasing on smaller labels and being consistent in your sound. Lost & Found was a fairly pivotal moment though. It was something I was working towards for a long time.

How do you feel about the current state of progressive house? In terms of the quality and creativity, or originality of music and the labels committed to pushing the genre, do you think the music is in a good place at the moment?

I think it always moves in waves. Sometimes there's lots of amazing stuff on Beatport, other times its a bit quiet. I think the creativity has perhaps maybe taken a bit of a hit in recent years. That may be a result of having access to a gazillion samples packs through Loopcloud or Splice and the hundreds if not thousands of YouTube tutorials that are available online. The preset packs for the 700 synths available. It makes music more accessible, which is great. The more people making music the better in my opinion. However, it can make things sound a little same same if everyone's watching the same YouTube tutorials, same sample packs and same VSTs.

You’ve got a new edit of Speedy J’s remix of ‘Beyond the Stars’ by Syncom Data out now via District Rec. Tell us a bit about the project and what was it about the remix that made you want to edit it for your own sets?

It’s a track I’ve always loved, ever since the remix came out in 2007 really. I love the groove of it and the weird messed up sounds synths in it. I dunno, I just like it. I made it back in 2020 as I wanted to make a version of it I could more easily fit into my DJ sets. But to be honest, I forgot about it until I sent it to Peter at District Records just as like a pack of music with 6 or 7 other unreleased tracks. And he jumped at it and went on a mission to get a Licensing deal for it.

How did the idea to officially release it get put into motion? And how difficult was it to get it properly licensed for an official release?

As I mentioned before, Peter from District Records was the one who made it happen. He actually knew the Syncom Data guys as they’re Dutch guys. So he hit them up and they said yes. So it was actually not that difficult. But the Peter was the link there, I can’t take any credit for the release. It would still be sitting on my hard drive had Peter not heard it.

How much play has the edit gotten in your sets and to what reaction? And who else has been playing it?

The first version I made, I did back in 2020. Wasn’t a lot of gigging happening that year for the obvious reason. So I forgot about it until I stumbled upon it on my USB whilst looking for the next track to play during a gig in 2023. I played it and the reaction was great. I don’t play it every gig… it’s made for a certain time and moment in a set, so when I see the time is right I’ll play it. It’s had great support from all the heavy hitters, which I was surprised about, but it’s nice to see.

You’re quite selective with who you release with and the amount of music you put out as well, why was District a good choice for this project?

For me its the people behind the label as much as it is the label. Matty and Gav from Meanwhile are good friends of mine, and are big supporters of mine as am I with them and their careers. Same with Kasey at Vapour, James at Late Night Music, Eran at Edge or Guy at Lost & Found. All these people running the labels are friends of mine and they’re passionate about what they do and very delicate with how they do it. They’re respectful and to an extent grateful for the music and the process from signing to release is painless and well thought out. There's nothing corporate there. District is the same. Peter is super passionate and supportive of my music, he’s become a friend I can call and the conversation isn’t always about music. All these people want to see the music succeed for you too. You’re not just a number to try and place in a Spotify playlist.

Staying on the topic of release volume, we’re in an age where people consume music and information incredibly quickly, so there is some sort of underlying pressure to create content and stay at the forefront of everyone’s attention, yet at the same time leave them wanting more, I think this is particularly important in terms of the number of releases you do, what are your thoughts on this and how do you manage to find a balance you’re happy with?

Thats a tricky balance. You want to be heard and seen everywhere without being the person that people get sick of. I think quality over quantity as never been truer, but you can’t expect to grow as an artist if you release one track year… so you have to have a somewhat consistent release schedule to (as painful as it is for me to say this) stay relevant. Momentum is key too. If you take half a year off, you will struggle to get back up to speed. At the same time, this may sound counterintuitive to what I just said, I don’t write music to release it. I just write the music I like to fill in the missing pieces within my dj sets. So, I don’t force it. I just make sure I’m enjoying making music, test it out for a few months and then decide what to do with it.

Shifting to DJing for a moment, you are a regular across Australia’s nightlife and come armed with some years of experience behind the decks at this point, so please tell us your approach to DJing and how you approach programming your sets.

I recently did a studio mix for Balance Selections and I went digging hard for that mix. But then I recorded it live because I still want to give it that feeling of it being mixed live.

But when I'm playing a gig in a club/festival I don’t program my sets where I know what I'm going to play. I have my rekord box folders organised pretty well these days, so I'm confident in knowing I have options for which way I want to take my set. When you’re playing is also relevant too. If I’m playing early, I won’t rinse the shit out of it. If I’m playing late, I will put the hydraulics under it and launch. In saying that, the sets have to make sense musically. There's no point playing elevator music and linking bomb after bomb is a cheap laugh.

What were some of the main challenges and goals when starting out as a DJ and how have they changed over time?

Getting gigs when you’re young can be really hard. I played plenty of gigs to empty rooms. I always wanted to play my own music in clubs to people who cared to listen to it. But, I knew that would take time. My goals when I was a kid was just to get a gig. My goals now are to constantly bring my absolute best effort to my sets. I enjoy playing a lot but I do take is very seriously as I still have that mentality I did when I was younger… which was, “leave your ego at the door and make people dance/ help them escape mentally” that's your job, you’re essentially a sub contractor for the club / promoter.

What is it about DJing, compared to producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?

They go hand in hand for me. I started learning how to produce around the same time I started learning how to dj. I don’t consider myself more or less than the other. DJing is the medium I use to perform the music I make. The studio is often solitary whereas the club is the polar opposite. So you can be sitting in the studio in your sweatpants and an old t shirt making a song on Friday night and then play it the next night to 800 people in a club. It’s weird when I think about it like that.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks and perhaps also, your work as a producer?

I wouldn’t say its influenced my view or ways of listening to music. I think producing had a big influence on this things.

But DJing has definitely helped me develop as a producer (and vice versa). Knowing that the sub sound you used at a certain octave will sound great in headphones or on your monitors, but will be way too much in a club is perfect example of that. I think timing is key too. Djing teaches you timing. When to mix a track in or out, when to cut the bass, add some reverb, to keep it interesting and build tension within your set. You can apply those principles to production too.

How important is it for you to have gigs to be able to test your own unreleased music?

This is a big one. I have really amazing studio monitors at home and great headphones. I've learned that I can get it pretty close to spot on with those tools, but a big sound system really shows you things that you might need to work on. You can also see if the recent track you finished is a bomb or a flop.

How much prep do you put into the sets you play, or are they spontaneous for the most part?

Spontaneous for sure. Over playing a lot of gigs you might find groups of tracks that work really well together, so you might play similar combos of tracks of the course of a month or two of gigs, but no two sets are the same

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

Sleeping.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists? (Do not include yourself)

I’d do a day event because I like to get a good nights sleep these days haha

Biosphere - 12-2
Rhythm & Sound 2-4
Luigi Tozzi - 4-6
Pig & Dan - 6-8
Guy J -8-12

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life? (Something not music related)

Haha, well I work full time as a Carpenter. So you can ask me this question again if I ever get the opportunity to do music full time.

What’s something people do not know about you?

A little mystery isn’t a bad thing.

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

I try not to watch too much TV, I spend any spare time I have after work in the studio.

What can we look forward to from you in 2025? Any releases or gigs you are looking forward to?

Lot’s of music coming this year on Meanwhile, District, Vapour and a few others.

Next gig I’m really looking forward to is We Are Lost - Sydney. There's a special something in the atmosphere at those parties.

Mike's edit of 'Beyond The Stars' is available now via District Rec: https://tinyurl.com/zapryvu7

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