Dave Aude

Master producer, remixer, DJ – Dave Audé has brought music to another level with an unprecented 86 #1 Billboard tracks and counting.  The talent that he has worked with reads like a Who’s Who of the music world – Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Madonna, Luciana, Ke$ha, Britney Spears,  Pussycat Dolls, Ciara, Beyonce, Selena Gomez, and the list goes on.  We sat down with this musical genius this month for this exclusive interview.

 GED:  Thank you for speaking with us.  I know you wear many hats, so to speak – Producer, DJ, Remixer… which one gives you the most satisfaction?

 DA:  If I had to choose, Producer/Remixer.  Making music is really my passion.  I’m very fortunate that for the last 20+ years I have been able to cruise around the world playing music that I make in the studio.

 GED:  Take us through your creative process in putting your spin on a particular song… What part of the process do you find the most challenging?

 DA:  Keeping some kind of originality to the original song.  The way I look at my job is not to rip someone’s song apart, but to enhance it and bring it to the next level.  Make it great for the dance club without losing the integrity of the artist.  It is not about chopping the vocals up so you don’t recognize whose song it is, you want to know it Katy Perry’s song, it Rihanna’s song, it’s Madonna’s song.

 GED:  Which tracks are you most looking forward to remixing?

 DA:  I have done so much in my career and I am always excited to work with bigger name artists, like Madonna, Katy Perry or Coldplay; but it’s also exciting for me to work with someone who could become huge.  When I first did Gaga, Stephanie, the first song I remixed for her was “Love Game”.  I saw her perform before she was even out.  She did a showcase for about 100 people in the business, and I remember thinking this is going to be great.  It wasn’t about her so much as the music.  It’s all about the music for me.  I heard three songs…  “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “Love Game” and my favorite was “Love Game”.  My point is that she wasn’t “Gaga” then, but she had a great song.  It was exciting because I loved the song.  That’s how I treat every project.  It could be a big artist or a small artist, but if I love the song, that’s what does it for me.

 GED:  You have some amazing talent at Audacious Records (audaciousrecords.com) – who should we be looking out for?

 DA:  Audacious Records, my label, is not really a super serious thing.  Music really shouldn’t be that serious… it should be about having fun.  Me DJing for people dancing – how serious can you be about that… it’s all about having a good time.  So, the label is about making records with people I like to work with, friends of mine, people I love.  A couple of things we do have coming out though, I have a new single with Luciana and Akon which actually went out to DJs yesterday, called “Electricity & Drums”, and so I’m very excited about that.  I have an artist Rokelle, her first single went to #2 about a month ago, and she has a new single coming out called “Far Away”; we are shooting the video for that tomorrow.  I have a new single with Vassy, who had a #1 song with “We Are Young”, called “Mad”.  We have a new single which just came out a week ago, with Crazibiza, which is sort of a remake/take on Crystal Waters Gypsy Woman.  It is #50 today on the Beatport House Chart. That came out about a week ago.  I just did a song with a kid I am mentoring, Justin Carouso, called “Satellite”, very sort of progressive housey.   So, I have a lot of fun stuff coming up.

 GED:  You have DJ’d at several LGBT events – do you feel the energy is higher or different in any way?

 DA:  It’s a lot different; it’s a lot better.  I love playing prides especially, because they love the music.  There are more people at these parties than at other clubs, and they actually know what I am playing and they get into it.  I spend a little more than half my time now playing gay events, because they appreciate what I do.  To be honest, I’m just playing and having a good time… it’s not about gay or straight, I just want people to dance and have a good time.

 GED:  Do you remember the first record you ever bought?

 DA:  No one has ever asked me that before.  I will give you two.  The first vinyl record I ever bought, I was in fourth grade, was Rick Dees’ Disco Duck.  [laughs].  He is actually a good friend of mine.  But the first dance record that I bought was from a band called Q-Feel.  The song was called “Dancing in Heaven”.  Great song that I fell in love with.  That was in the early 80s.  I had no idea I was going to be a DJ or produce dance music.  I thought I was going to be a keyboard player in Journey.  It’s crazy how life works out.  I used to sit back with a mic and record DJ tapes… play a song and talk, cue up the next song and record it on the tape deck.  I had no idea what I was doing.

 GED:  ”So, you mentioned the lovely Luciana.  How was it teaming up with Luciana for the #1 hit “I’m Still Hot”?

DA:  I heard her hit “I Like That” with Richard Visson and Static Avenger and fell in love with it.  I got in contact with her – she was living in England at the time but coming to winter music conference in Miami.  She agreed to come to LA for a few days and work.  We wrote a bunch of songs together and just had such a great time.  She actually moved about a mile away from me and is the #1 person I write songs with if I have a choice.  We did “I’m Still Hot”, which we had a lot of fun with, including a version with Betty White.  She also did a song for me called “Figure it Out”, which went to #1, under the guise Isha Coco because she wasn’t sure about putting her name on the record.  Then that went to #1 and she said I’ll put name on it next time.  Then “Something for the Weekend” came out last year, which was huge.  So, we are just having fun.

 GED:  Everyone has a hidden talent – what’s yours?

 DA:  That’s a great question.  I’m not sure, all I do is make music all day long.  Maybe it’s matchmaking.  I like setting people up…

 GED:  What will you be listening to in the car on your ride home tonight?

 DA:  Well, it’s not my car. [laughs]  But if I was in charge of the music selection, probably some Hall and Oats.  Why not?  Peter Cetera maybe?  Everyone is going to be looking up that one on Wikipedia.

 GED:  Where can our readers find you?

 DA:  I play 4-5 times a month.  I’m playing the Beat Box in San Francisco next week. Also have Vegas coming up.  I’m all over.  daveaude.com will get you all the info.