The Mix
Where and how was the mix recorded?
"It was mixed in my apartment in a rainy South West London in one take using Ableton Live, an RMX1000, My ears and a Boss DD7 Digital delay pedal for some analog weirdness."
Talk us through the track selection of the mix.
"I wanted represent what two hours in a dark smokey club would sound like. I like to flow between the tech-ier tracks and the melody driven tracks with some twist and turns along the way whilst maintaining that all important groove."
What are the musical influences that have allowed you to arrive at this podcast?
"Sasha had a massive impact on me since i started following him around ten years ago, for an artist to stay at the top of his game whilst continuing to maintain his own style away from the trends is really inspiring. More recently I'm really into what the likes of Kevin Over, Mario Aureo and Mihai Popoviciu are doing at the moment."
In what setting is the mix best enjoyed?
"Wherever you feel like having a foot tap or a head nod."
The Plug
You've had a relationship with Ibiza for a number of years. Tell us about your time here, what you learnt and what you love about the experience.
"Yeah, I am coming up to my ninth summer on the island. I have been very lucky in the roles I've had to play over the years and played some great gigs on the Amnesia terrace and also been involved in some amazing shows on a technical management capacity. Its not for the faint hearted, there are highs and lows as with every profession but the climate, the beaches, the food, the parties and most of all the people make it a very special place."
What are the plans going forward in terms of your productions?
"I have just released a remix on New Violence Records for Slow Hearts and i have another remix for Wouter De Moor on Flashmob's LTD label in the next month."
Where can people find you on the club circuit?
"I have shows at Brixton Academy, London this month and then Russia and Germany before the summer comes."
Finally, you have some time off on Ibiza. What do you do? Where do you go?
"Wake up and head to Rita's cantina for an atletica breakfast and a cafe con leche. Then head out on a boat to Fomentera stopping for lunch at Tiburon. Then spending the evening with friends at Sa Capella then who knows?...."
Biography
Athea may be a new beginning for James Dutton, but his dance music roots run deep. Half man, half motherboard since he learned to weave a wire as a bairn, Athea speaks the language of technology and bends it to his musical whim.
His course was set when he first experienced Cream in its Liverpool home at the tender age of 17. It was in the north of the UK where he laid his first foundations in the industry, from teen years spent loitering in Global Grooves record shop of his home town Chester, to raving with Lawler, Morillo and Tong at Cream and Circus in Liverpool, or Back to Basics in Leeds.
Dutton's passions took him beyond clubbing to study music technology in Leeds, but it was back to the dance floor they returned when he crossed the pond for the mecca of dance music culture and landed himself residencies at two of the most iconic venues in Ibiza, and the world, Cafe Del Mar and Amnesia.
Exploring all corners of the industry, Dutton became technical manager for some of the most high profile clubbing venues in the UK and Ibiza, whilst maintaining his Cream residency, moving dance floors from the booth right across Europe, and making his mark in production from within the studio.
Expertly crafting emotion and rhythm from a synthetic world, Dutton's productions have support from the heavyweights. Deep and dark house with a groove that runs through you like a current, his tunes have been snapped up by Gregor Tresher's Break New Soil, Alive recordings and Great Stuff. Tunes like ‘Dancing With Strangers' and ‘Tesla' found their way to crowds through Marco Carola, Sasha, Steve Lawler, John Digweed, with Richie Hawtin regularly opening sets with ‘Kepler' for a summer.
A decade percolating deep within the music industry and a lifetime of musical appreciation stands behind the new alias, Athea. The debut EP out soon on Hot since 82's Knee Deep In Sound Imprint soundmarks the beginning of a new phase, which will see Athea spark the life into dancefloors worldwide. It's just how he's wired.
