#ProducersCorner – Chris Sen

The local house industry continues to grow but one individual stands out in particular for his unique and equally infectious sounds. His name is Chris Sen. The young producer is the go-to guy for many artists when they need a dance-floor-filling remix; and he always delivers!

Chris took some time out of his tremendously busy schedule to chat to about his music, ghost producing and something called a ‘little phatty’.

Who is Chris Sen?

I’m 36 and was raised in Polokwane – now based in Pretoria. I started DJing at age 15 which led to the production side about 14 years ago. My “9-5 job” (or sometimes 3am) is music.

What was the moment when you first realized you had a passion for music and could make it a career?

The passion was always there, it’s a choice you have to make, a very tough and serious decision. I gave up my studies about 14 years ago (which I don’t recommend) and later realized there was no turning back. Committing to this career and lifestyle is harder than most people think.

Luckily it paid off! We know locally a lot of the big name DJs source the services of a ghost producer. How do you feel about this occurrence in the industry?

A lot of big names in the industry don’t have the time or knowledge to produce or engineer their own music, but they have the ideas. With their big brands and platforms the song can generate twice as much as it would have without those two key elements. As long as the contract is fair and you are fine with the fact that you are not getting credit for your work, it’s up to you.

Have you ever ghost produced for anyone?

Yes… but giving away their names will take away my mysteriousness of being a ghost. [Laughs]

Your remixes are always dancefloor favourites; please take us through your production process from the moment you first get the parts to the remix project’s completion.

I listen to the parts over and over before I start to work on it, to make sure I can make it work. Next I focus on a hook line- it may be a melody, vocal stutter or bend, even a drum fill or a percussion arrangement that gets stuck in your head, then combining this with the key parts of the original. This can take a couple of hours or even up to a week sometimes.

Then I focus on the tone or feel of the track, should it be more progressive or mellow when creating my synths and basslines. Once these 3 steps are done I send over a minute loop to the label or artist for their feedback- I am always open for any kind of input or constructive criticism if the person knows what they are talking about. If they are happy, I move forward and start with the layout.

I use Ableton Live as a DAW, together with Massive, Nexus, Sylenth and a Moog ‘little phatty’.

We historically saw the closure of AFROdesiamp3. As a local producer, how do you feel about this and what effect do you think this will have on our local scene?

I salute Afrodesia for their effort as an independent online record store, but competing with Traxsource, Beatport and now ITunes SA is tough. DJs always want to be the first one playing the next local hit and it’s very difficult getting hold of local music when it is still fresh, and that was exactly what Afrodesiamp3 had to offer. But with people sharing music and illegal download sites it’s not just tough for the artists these days but also for record companies, or in this case an online record store.

Lastly, what is the one thing your fans would be surprised to know about you?

I’m a self taught producer.