Name John O’Callaghan

Age 22

From Co. Meath, Ireland

Tell us a little about you production style.
My style tends to vary a lot. Mainly I try to make trance with emotion and power, my tracks tend to have a dominant bassline with synths fading in and out leading up to a breakdown that either has massive lush pads…or some powerful growing synths(or both!). On the other hand the techy tracks I have made encapsulate the tribal aspect focusing on the beats as apposed to the melodic factor. My music is constantly evolving from track to track, but the fundamental aim is to make music that appeals to the senses.

Who has been your greatest inspiration on the production front?
I would have to say that it’s a combination of Paul Van Dyk and Mauro Picotto. Picotto virtually got me into dance music. Even though I prefer the likes of Armin & PVD now, the music that Picotto was making 2 or 3 years ago really intrigued me and eventually led to my first production. But now my main love is trance, and for me the godfather of trance is Paul Van Dyk, he delivers every time and I respect him for his consistency.

Tell us a little about your set up.
I make my tracks on a high power custom built PC I bought a few months back. I use a combination of Logic Audio Platinum and Reason 2.5. Logic allows you to use a range of powerful VST’s, the main one I use is Spectrasonics Atmosphere which has every sound you could ever wish to have in a trance tune. I do all my sequencing and percussion in Reason. Reason is great because it allows you do make any genre of dance music. Looking at any of the big releases over the last few months you will see that a portion of them were made in Reason. Then finally I do my mastering and EQing with some external software using a pair of Sony V700’s as I find they give the best sound quality and have an accurate reflection of how the track might sound in a club.

What has been the production you are most proud of to date and why?
I would have to say my last production which I wrote with Neal Scarborough, Exertion – Partizan. The track for me marks a long journey towards a sound and production quality I have strived to achieve ever since I decided to get into producing. Seeing the track appear number 1 in established DJ’s charts and having lots of enquiries about your music makes it all worth while. Partizan has now been signed to major European label Afterglow Records. It feels good to have a track signed to such a big label without the help of anyone but yourself. With a remix coming from Endre [Anjunabeats] it should be a really exciting release.

What is your favourite tune of all time and why?
That is a tough one. I like many different tunes for there different aspects but a track that stands out for me is Binary Finary – 1999{Gouryella Mix). I heard this when I was just getting into trance really and it caught my attention straight away. I bought a compilation CD which it was on and I used to listen to the track over and over. I think it brought me to the realisation of what ‘uplifting trance’ really is. But for modern day standards my favourite track is Agnelli & Nelson – Holding onto Nothing…when the vocals kick in..it just makes life worth living!

What do you have in the pipeline- what can we expect from John O’Callaghan over the next couple of months?
Well I have a couple of things slated for release. But due to the volatile nature of the dance music industry lately I’m taking it all with a pinch of salt. My own track ‘Foreign Delusions’ has just been pressed and promos should be appearing soon. Then I will be featuring on the Naked Angel release on ID&T aswell as some other remixes I completed for various other labels. A bit further down the line is the release of ‘Partizan’ and my own project under the alias ‘Resolutions’. Current projects I am working on include some collaborations with other names you may recognise, and some solo tracks which are developing slowly. I just hope the tracks are received well and allows me to continue making the music I love…

Where do you see yourself in five years time?
In 5 years time I’m guessing that I will still be making music in some form or another. Most likely I’ll also be working putting my software degree to use. My true dream is that I will be making music full time and releasing it on my own successful label, aswell as a healthy DJ career. As long as I am involved in the dance music industry in one way or another I will be happy. Also I hope that I can make some innovative tracks either by myself or through collaborations with some of the talented artists I have become friends with.


Imagine it is 20 years from now- how do you want your productions to be remembered?
First of all I just hope its remembered at all! It would be great if people listened to some of music in the future and said “hey this guy had some good ideas”. Personally when I listen to the early stuff of Armin and Tiesto I can appreciate the thought and heart that went into the tracks. Its important to me that people get the concept of the music I’m trying to make. I would really like if people said some of my music was not the same as everything else in the same genre. I try to give my tunes some elements that you would not normally find in tracks, on first listening they may seem strange-but over time its like planting a small seed in the brain that slowly grows and you begin to love it even more than when you first imagined it!! That is the beauty of trance music….experimentation.

www.johnocallaghan.tk

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