Lumpy Custard Productions Presents ACTIVA Interview.



ABOUT ACTIVA
In a relatively short time since his first release on Somatic Sense, Rob Stevenson, better known as Activa, has been one of the most hard working producers in the Trance genre. He has created many new alias’ such as Solar Movement, Mekk, Substate, Force One, Aira Force, CMR and Eluna to showcase the range of his production skills, while continuously developing the sound of his main Activa alias.

Rob has appeared on the likes of Spinnin (Liquid), Discover, High Contrast, Black Hole, Enhanced, Somatic Sense and finally Paul van Dyk’s mighty Vandit Records which has enabled him to push his way into the record boxes of the biggest names in the industry and receive their continuous support.

As an engineer Rob has worked closely with Jon O’Bir to create Jon’s first artist album, From Within and has engineered and produced, singles and remixes for Jon, Aled Mann (Discover), Owen Clark (Club Elite), Freesoup (Five AM), Chris & Matt Kidd (Joyride) and David Newsum (Discover), clearly showing the range and diversity of Rob’s production skills.

Although he is primarily known as a producer, Rob has been DJing since his first experience with a pair of turntables while at school. He has gone on to play at the biggest nights in the UK including Gatecrasher and Passion and regularly travels the UK and often abroad to perform. He is a bi-monthly resident at easily the best and fastest growing night in the UK, Digital Society, where his late sets have become a popular part of the night showcasing the harder side of his style.

If that wasn’t enough, Rob also owns and runs Conspiracy Recordings along with Jon O’Bir and Kev Ribbens. The label, which has grown rapidly in the first few years, has had massive support from the biggest names in the industry including regular appearances on Armin’s ASOT, Above & Beyond’s TATW, VONYC Sessions, Sound garden as well as Radio 1 and various other FM radio support. The label has developed a reputation of showcasing brand new music from new artists, has helped kick start the careers of Tom Colontonio, Anguilla Project and Peter Martijn Wijnea, as well as releasing tracks from more well known artists like Ian Betts, Dan Stone and Peter Dafnous.

"Rob's productions as Activa and Mekk are just incredible. Certainly in a league of their own, they stand out a mile from a sea of tunes that all sound the same. Is it a surprise labels like Discover, Spinnin and Vandit are gagging to sign as much of his stuff as possible? No, it’s no surprise at all.” – John Askew

What are your views on trance music? Which artists do you respect most in this genre, and where do you see this genre going in the future?

A: I think Trance will always be around, maybe not as much as it was in 99 & 2000 when it was getting into the charts, but I think there will always be people who really love this genre. It will always change and adapt and be influenced from other more popular styles but I think the basic principal will stay the same. Good melodic club music.
Within trance there are a lot of producers and DJ’s I respect; John Askew who was a very early influence has been a great supporter of my music for some time now and has helped me develop my production skills somewhat. Jon O’Bir is a good friend and a DJ that I regard very highly, he is another person that has really supported everything I have done since the first year or so. Also producers like Tom Colontonio, John O’Callaghan and Sean Tyas have all pushed me production wise to try and match the quality they are making.

What’s the best thing about being a DJ, and what are the most important characteristics and talents of an awesome DJ?

A: I think one of the best things is getting to travel round to different places meeting loads of like-minded people and having a good time in the process. The best part for me is getting to play my own music in clubs to people and seeing their reactions, there’s nothing really better than seeing a club go mental to a track you’ve made.

What productions have you been working on recently, what can we expect from you in the near future?

A: I have been working on quite a lot recently. I have finished a new EP which has been licensed to Vandit called Rise Above. The b-side is an acid trance track called Get On With It, which is quite different for me. I have also finished a track called This World which is on my new home, Discover. It has already been supported by Armin on his ASOT show. I have also finished a track called Affirmation. The original mix will be an album track but there will be a Tom Colontonio remix which should be released as the b-side to This World. I have also been reworking and remixing a lot of tracks for an upcoming Live As compilation mix from Digital Society in Leeds in November which should be very cool.

What Places have you visited and what was your favorite gig and why?

A: I have visited a lot of great places, I think the one that sticks out most is New Jersey & New York. I have been there to visit and work with Tom (Colontonio) and it’s always been a good laugh. The gigs I have witnessed in New York have been immense.
I think my favorite gig is back in the UK at Digital Society. It has a great crowd in a nice underground club and is always a great place to play. The crowd are probably the most responsive I have played to!

I hear you run your own label, tell us about it?

A: Yeah, I run Conspiracy Recordings along with Jon O’Bir. It’s really good running your own label but it is a lot of work. We have been going for about 3 years now I think, I’m not sure where that time has gone. In that time we have had some really good success with great support from just about all the biggest Dj’s in the genre and some outside too.

5 interesting facts about you?

Everything I know in production is self-taught by using the equipment or reading up in magazines.

Nearly all my tracks, until recently, have been made on a box-standard Dell desktop PC.

I am one of the few dance music producers I know within trance to use software called Cakewalk Sonar, I have recently switched to Logic on a Mac though.

I was into djing long before I started to produce seriously and used to own a pair of awful Sound Lab turntables.

I used to play basketball and have once scored a basket from the half way point! Its not very interesting but it was amusing at the time.

Thanks Rob (Activa) for The Interview and We look forward to having you play down at STANDARDS with Discover records, Brighton’s only night dedicated to Trance & Electronica. You can catch Activa and other top discover Records artists At The Loft
10 Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AD on Sat 11 October 08.
23:00 – 3:00.