A Peek Inside the Mind of Pezzner

Long before the wild popularity of the sound now associated with the likes of Dirtybird, Gramophonedzie, Dubstep and Electro, there once was a couple of producers from Seattle named Dave & Bob that showed up unannounced and uninvited on House Music's doorstep at the turn of the century. They came with a sound not heard around the normal parts--choppy beats, animal noises, squirrel references, cut-up samples, funky basslines and general monkey business. To confuse the masses even more, they used a single name Jacob London, and labels as diverse as Classic, OM Records, Trapez and Dotbleep snatched up their beats and they ushered in a fresh face to house music that still carries its influence into the sound of today.

During this time, one half of the duo started shaping an entire new sound on his own, and just as they used their creative, forward thinking approach to reshape funky house music, Pezzner took that same approach and helped change the face of deep, moody house music. In under four years, Pezzner has managed to rack up remixes for Groove Armada, Ghostly International and Room With a View, find a new musical home on Freerange, release his first artist album, "The Tracks Are Alive", and was chosen to hand pick a selection of his favorite tracks from the Tonicsole catalog. And that's not including numerous other projects including his new live show and new addition to the Pezzner family.

As fans from the very beginning, we had to have a chat with Dave about his new road traveled and get a peek inside the mind of an artist who thinks about music--and life in general--in a much different way than most.

Stompy - All right, lets get the business stuff out of the way......How has the ride been since you released the album on Freerange last year?

Pezzner - Its been amazing. The feedback I’ve received from people has been fantastic. I’ve also been traveling a lot more lately for shows. I love touring and meeting people, and getting to share my music like this. Its really a dream come true.

Stompy - You and Bob created your own unique sound with Jacob London in the early 2000's, and now your solo work still stands out just as unique amongst many of the styles its classified with, yet is still very distinctive as your own individual sound. Is there intention in your creative process to make a particular style of track, or are you a "fire it up and wing it" style of producer?

Pezzner - Yes, I’m definitely using the same sort of creative ethic I had doing my own stuff as I do when I produce music with Bob. We always take an experimental approach to the music we made and aimed for our tracks to be bizarre and funky. It’s a musical habit that’s hard to break. I feel that my best work is done when I start way out in the left field. Of course I like there to be some common ground between the experimental sounds and the more organic and familiar sounds so there’s always a point when I’m producing, where I find myself trying to bring the track back to reality a bit.

Stompy - As your music is so unique, do you tend to draw inspirations from other artists or songs, technology, or your enviornment around you?

Pezzner - Yeah I definitely take queues from my surroundings and I hear music in all sorts of things. I like to listen to the background when I’m in places like restaurants and bars. Its seems like if you listen carefully you can find music in everything, and at the strangest times I’ll get an idea for a hook. Lately I’ve been listening to ambient music, and I think I’ve been pretty influenced by groups like Zoviet France, and Sun O))), and really soothing artists like Hauchka and Swod… Cliff Martinez.

Stompy - You've started developing a live show and taking it on the road. What has been the biggest challenge in making the switch from a DJ to a live performer?

Pezzner - The live show has been my ever-evolving project. It’s a lot of work, but I think its crucial to what I do. I’m not a terribly idealistic person when it comes to music but I do believe that the best way for any artist to represent their work on a stage is through doing a live performance. It seems like dance music might be the only genre where it’s acceptable for a producer to DJ as their only means of performance. And while I have immense respect for the art of DJing, and the talent that many artists bring to the DJ booths of the world, I really feel like there should be more... at least in my case. That’s not to say that I don’t DJ, or I prefer to play live. But I feel like its important that DJ sets are not the only way I perform.


I put together the first “Pezzner” show for the Decibel Festival in September of 2007 and, the set has grown immensely. I usually add several of my songs to the set before each tour, and now the project is gigantic. Last night in Montesarchio Italy, I was able to play a 3 ½ hour live set, which is something I never thought Id be able to do. The hard part is just preparation. Each song takes hours to set up. So if I want to add 4 or 5 songs to the set, preparation could take all week.


Another issue is that my live show isn’t always right for the venue or the audience. Looking back to a show I played on Halloween in San Francisco in 2008 it was a bit awkward. I was the only one doing a live show and all of the DJs were playing electro house and mashups. My live set is pretty deep and heady in comparison so there was no real way for me to match my style to theirs. If I were booked to DJ, I could have probably found something in my bag to match what they were doing… maybe haha!

Stompy - What has been the most rewarding part of the switch?

Pezzner - I would definitely say the most rewarding part of playing live is the fact that I am sharing my music directly with the dancefloor in a much more pure sense then if I were djing. Ive just integrated Native Instruments Maschine to my set, and hopefully by my next tour, I’ll be writing music on the fly and programming beats live on the stage. Its exciting!

Stompy - Congrats on the upcoming tile of 'Dad'. Do you have a plan of action to get your child to follow in the Pezzner footsteps?

Pezzner - Yes! We’ve been playing music to her belly and hopefully our baby will have some musical instincts. I’m not going to pressure our child though, all we can do is enjoy music with our baby at first and we’ll go from there

Stompy - What's with all the squirrel references with Jacob London?

Pezzner - Oh that… yeah. We were all about themes. I remember for a while were putting a sheep sound in every song. It was our “thing”. Then I love the idea that for a while with our tracks we were Droppin ‘Squirrels’. The Jacob London project is way too much fun.

Stompy - Will we ever see a Jacob London reunion or farewell tour?

Pezzner - We’re making new music now. I don’t know when it will get released, or who we’ll release with, but we’re making stuff. It doesn’t sound as ‘Jacob Londony’ as it used to but we’re still having fun with it.

Stompy - So you've accomplished an album, multiple record deals, a live show, touring, creating music for video games and now parenthood. What's next to cross off the Pezzner To-Do list?

Pezzner - Good question! To be honest I hadn’t thought things out past this point. It seemed like my whole life goal was to get to a point in my music where I can support my family and see the world. I’m doing that now, and I think the most important thing is that I keep it going for as long as I can. I’m working on my 2nd LP for Freerange now, and we’ll see this release February of 2012, so I know I’ll be going for at least another year.

Stompy - Are you a video game, TV, Movie or Book guy?

Pezzner - I’m not much of a video game guy. Its funny because I tried to pursue a career doing music for video games back in 2006. I did all sorts of research on the field and even submitted demos, resumes to several companies. Then I was having a conversation with another audio guy about the games we like, then it hit me.. I don’t even really like video games! I rarely play games any more.


But TV, I watch Daily Show and Colbert every night, and I like to read when I’m on tour. Right now I’m reading “Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of The Earth” by Haruki Murakami – who’s books I adore.

Stompy - Beach or Lake?

Pezzner - Beach, definitely.

Stompy - Cows or Horses?

Pezzner - I tried some cured horse meat here in Italy today! I’m in Rome right now. I think that I don’t need to eat horse anymore. I couldn’t get the idea of the horse out of my head when I was eating it. Besides it was way too gamey. …and that’s my eating-horse story.

Stompy - Zoo or Aquarium?

Pezzner - Aquarium. Every time I get excited to go and visit a zoo, I get really depressed seeing all these animals trapped. Aquairums also have otters and otters fucking rule.

Stompy - Favorite coffee shop in Seattle?

Pezzner - B+O Espresso, hands down.

Stompy - Favorite pair of shoes?

Pezzner - I got a pair of shoes from Onitska Tiger last year at the WMC. They are metallic gold and white and black and have Toki Doki designs all over them. When I put them on they are obscenely loud and kinda look like they are made of magic.

Stompy - You're stuck on a deserted island and only have one meal to eat forever besides coconuts. What would it be?

Pezzner - It would be Sushi. I cant eat enough of the stuff.

Stompy - What's in your ipod?

Pezzner - Mux Mool, Maps and Atlases, Luke Abbot, James Blake, Larytta, Tangerine Dream, When Saints Go Machine, Super Flu, Hanssen, Foals, Das Glow, Baths, The Cure, Caribou, Floating Points, Louis CK.

Stompy - Tapatio, Cholula or Tabasco? Don't say Tabasco.

Pezzner - Tapatio! It’s the only condiment that I ever run out of, which is kinda gross now that I think about it. I should probably clean out the fridge.