JOE VORTECH: Hey! This is Joe Vortech at Movement 2008 for Gearwire.Com, and we’re talking to Mr. De from Submerge Recordings. How are you doing, sir?

MR. DE: I’m all right. How are you, sir?

JOE VORTECH: I’m doing fantastic!

MR. DE: Good. I’m doing fantastic too!

JOE VORTECH: That’s awesome!

MR. DE: We’re both fantastic.

JOE VORTECH: We got so much in common, good sir.

MR. DE: Yeah. Yeah.

JOE VORTECH: Absolutely. So, tell me a bit about your printing on this Movement compared to last year’s Movement. We interviewed you last year as well and that was fantastic. So, why don’t you tell me -- Why don’t you compare [INDISCERNIBLE] say improvements?

MR. DE: I love this year. This year, I love the lineup. I love the energy, you know. Before, I seem like the festival was getting a lot younger. They’re still young but I still see a lot of families. I love the mix. It’s a mixture of not just electronic music fans, international people, but Detroiters in general and people from all over the region. I ran into a couple from Kentucky just a minute ago and a guy from New York and it’s just fantastic and I’m really pleased. It is a beautiful production this year.

JOE VORTECH: How do you think are the improvements in production this year? You know, I bump into people like, you know, you at Submerge Records, you’re one of the vendors that stand out of course as a real Detroit staple and part of Detroit culture and music culture. How does the like the improved production, you know, help you guys? Has it brought more people in? Has it gotten your artists more exposure? How have your artists been exposed this year?

MR. DE: Well, I think a lot of that has yet to realized. You know, we don’t know the impact as of yet but definitely the improved production helps the general perception of the festival in the way it’s seen worldwide as a world-class event, and it’s definitely world class. This is comparable to anything I’ve been all around the world

JOE VORTECH: That’s awesome actually. That’s great to hear. Now, I mean a year doesn’t seem like -- you know, a year goes by in a flash of an eye.

MR. DE: Definitely.

JOE VORTECH: It seems like just yesterday we were talking here last year, but everything changes in a year, you know. The industry does back flips, the economy changes. How has, in your opinion, how has the industry changed and how have you guys adapted? How are things different this year than they were last year?

MR. DE: Well, there have been digital downloading and people not buying CDs and buying one song here, one song there, or streaming one song here or one song there has led us to make our company smaller to be competitive, you know. At one point, we had 40 people working for us and now it’s just four people on a full-time basis, so I think record labels have to get smaller and do more but hell, we got fat in the ‘90s. I don't know if I can say that word.

JOE VORTECH: Yeah. You can say that.

MR. DE: Yeah, so we got fat in the ‘90s and it’s just a matter of doing what you got to do to achieve the end result.

JOE VORTECH: I didn’t notice you the digital download cards now.

MR. DE: Yeah. Yeah. So, we’re embracing that format because we noticed that in most cases the CD is four-way. People take it, they rip it, they throw it away, and so we can pass that difference on to the consumer, and so we chose to embrace the digital download card. We release five titles on a digital download card and we plan on releasing our full catalog of 120 titles within the next two years on digital download card as well as specialized titles on digital download card.

JOE VORTECH: And tell me about the technology you guys use I mean via of course your own web site.

MR. DE: Yeah.

JOE VORTECH: The transition I mean. You guys, let’s face it. The ‘90s were for electronic music record labels. You pressed vinyl.

MR. DE: Right.

JOE VORTECH: That was the main focus.

MR. DE: Yes.

JOE VORTECH: Then you had, you know, the CDs and the mix tapes also...

MR. DE: Right

JOE VORTECH: ...which was for the consumer or maybe the digital DJ that wasn’t that big then.

MR. DE: Right.

JOE VORTECH: Then the 2000s came, vinyl started to dwindle as CDs moved in.

MR. DE: Right. Right.

JOE VORTECH: Now the CDs are throwaway. I mean I don’t even see much vinyl you guys had back there.

MR. DE: Yeah. We left the vinyl at our location on the Boulevard just for -- When we brought vinyl out here, people think they want vinyl but they end up throwing it away. I mean they end up not buying it because they’re like, “Oh, I don’t want to carry it around.” But when they don’t see it, they want it, but we’re open all weekend and we’re getting a lot of traffic from the international community coming through our store, so yeah.

JOE VORTECH: So, how is the transition technology-wise for your web site from going just kind of a web site where you I guess?

MR. DE: It was difficult. It was very difficult getting used to just, you know, saying a few sentences and giving a price to an item to actually having a metatag and putting all that user data that would normally be on our CD in-sleeve or on a vinyl record. It is a totally different process and it’s a totally different way of selling records. It’s way more cumbersome but I’m from a generation that is from a time -- from a whole other era so it may not be cumbersome for the next generation.

JOE VORTECH: Well, now on a totally side note, a different side of things, are you DJing this year or here at Movement?

MR. DE: I’m actually playing the keyboards and I got a DJ with me so I’m doing a track show with me on the vocals and keys and my man DJ Body Mechanic playing behind me playing my records, so we’re doing a Mr. De show. So, I’m doing songs from “Sex on the Beach” and throw songs people know to stuff off our new album “Holiday” like “Please Believe It” and “Ecstasy” and yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

JOE VORTECH: That’s awesome. What -- Just to finish off then for your live show, what kind of keyboard do you use for that?

MR. DE: I do everything on the computer. You know, if I were like to bring out every keyboard I use and virtual synth, I’d have 20 keyboards around me, but I got a Fender Rhodes variations and organ variations and lead synths I’m using, Propellerhead Reason. I’m using Sonar. I’m using all kinds of plugins.

JOE VORTECH: [INDISCERNIBLE] So do you have a MIDI controller for those?

MR. DE: Yes. Definitely by M-Audio, 61-key.

JOE VORTECH: Yup. I’ve used that same one. It’s good standard keyboard.

MR. DE: Yeah. I used to use a Fatar on the bottom and a smaller M-Audio on the top but now I just -- I do splits and use a 61-key and it works fine.

JOE VORTECH: Well cool. Well Mr. De, it was a pleasure talking to you about...

MR. DE: [OVERLAPPING]

JOE VORTECH: ...the industry and where it’s going and it’s always great to talk to you guys and see how you guys are adapting. I got to say you guys are always willing to jump onboard and adapt to the future.

MR. DE: Hey, if people who are buying the records and can connect with our fanbase and they say they’re going to buy it, we’re going to find a way to give it to them.

JOE VORTECH: That’s fantastic.

MR. DE: Thank you.

JOE VORTECH: Well thanks Mr. De.

MR. DE: Always.

JOE VORTECH: And this has been Joe Vortech for Gearwire.Com at Movement 2008, Detroit, Michigan.