With 2015 and yet another festival season coming to an end, bangers are still being released amongst tons of other quality tunes that have been put out the past month. And now is yet another from Henrix and Digital Lab to end the year with a bang. Clubs are heating up and the pair of producers have reworked David Tort's classic, "Lost in Acid". Henrix returns to his epic remixing with this classic house track. They keep the unmistakable tempo and vocals of the original plus added some signature powerful bass lines and electric drops. The rework draws influences from Henrix's track “Acid Rave Sex". “ARS” turned out to be a rave culture anthem and was a defiant proclamation of rave culture’s resiliency against authority’s attempts to shut it down over the years. The two tracks have more in common than what appears on the surface and we interviewed Henrix and David Tort regarding the remix, future plans and thoughts on the music industry as we approach 2016.

David Tort:

DB: How was this rework project different from those done in the past?

David: "I have a special love for this track. I remember making it in the studio and almost passing on the track many times because it sounded too weird, but there was something special and when I played for the first time, it was like - boom! Luciano Ingrosso from Joia Records did an awesome job releasing it in 2008. At that time when nothing sounded like this. It’s one of the tracks that made me start touring the world so I never stopped playing the original the last 7 years. If there’s a DT kinda sound, I would say that’s how LIA sounds, and I always thought that if one day I would get my record label again I would love to re release it with fresh remixes, so here we go."

DB: What compelled you to undergo this rework project?

David: "In January 2014 I was playing Summerland in Colombia which is a huge festival, and I realized that I needed an updated mix for big venues and bigger crowds, and a new tech mix for clubs. I tried myself but it was impossible, I guess I did my best already, so I decided to let my Dj family do it. I knew they would do it better, and they did. I make music for dj’s to play out and rock the crowd, I don’t make it to get into the charts, obviously if that happens it’s amazing, but the main mission of my music and the label is tracks to be played out by dj's, and I wanted the remixes to be the same. To have a grown up sounding remix package to cover all the moments in a set. I was myself a resident dj for over 15 years before going international, and I know what it's like to play 7 hours in a row every week. You need a lot of good music, and there’s a warm up, then peak time, closing, so you can pick what mix you wanna play every Saturday night."

DB: What made you decide that Henrix was a good fit?

David: "The first moment I decided to do the remixes I thought about him and Digital LAB, because I love them as persons and musicians. I have a long list of friends producers that could have nailed a mix for LIA for sure, but I had to pick a few for this release. Henrix has sent me music forever, I’ve seen him growing up musically. He used to make mashups with my old tracks that I was playing at Space Miami in my early days there and they always rocked. I knew he would understand how I wanted him to do this without me telling him anything. He knows me musically very well I think, so this was a wrap from the beginning."

DB: Where do you see the state of electronic dance music going in 2016?

David: "I actually like where we're going, besides the super comercial tracks topping the charts, I’ve seen the beatport top 100 changing a lot this year. There’s a demand again for Club music and less cheesy melodic stuff just made for festivals to be played by dj super stars. What happens with the average dj working hard to bring food home and pay the rent? This makes space for other dj's like me and many others that are between the main two scenes - underground/mainstream to call it something. Why do we have to be black or white? I thought we were making music, so that’s where I think we’re going even if the two main waves will keep their way. The crowd and labels have their ears and heart open again. I think they’re tired of just jumping and putting their hands up in the air. It’s time to dance, it’s time for going to the club and forgetting about your problems and your fucking cell phone and just dancing. Close your eyes, hug the guy beside you that you don’t know at all. That’s what I’m talking about - go out with friends or just alone because you know the night is gonna end up well, and unleash yourself to dance and let the dj express himself. Let him experiment with our feelings, let him take us on a trip, but for that we need the dj to feel free, to feel he does not need to play a 45” drop and then 3 minutes breakdown, if we can make it there in 2016 then our culture is gonna be in a very good place, because it’s amazing music out there finally, really amazing."

DB: Any big plans to kick off 2016?

David: "A lot of new music, especially on HoTL, also on Zerothree again which I can call home already. Other labels too but it’s too early to talk about that 🙂 A few months ago I went into the studio in the search of my own root sound and updated it for today, so I ended up with a lot of single tracks tailored for the dance floor and I need to unleash them asap. Mostly House Music and Tech House, and there’s some progressive too but my own prog if you know what I mean."

"I’m probably moving to Miami with the family in Spring 2016 and I’m so excited. Still just a project, but I can’t stop making plans for the studio and the house. I really love living in Barcelona and LA, and I’m not gonna change that yet, but I have most of my best friends in Miami, and the atmosphere is super creative to me. I really need to surround myself with those things. I guess I was traveling the whole world alone for a few years, and now I need to feel comfortable and warm for a while, so what could be better than living in Miami with my girls?"

Henrix:

DB: Why the decision to remix an already classic track and why this track specifically?

Henrix: "Well David asked me to work on this remix and I couldn't say no. It's one of my favorite House tracks ever. It's not easy remixing a classic as you don't want to ruin it but I had to try my hands on it haha."

DB: Can you explain the similarities/contrast between Lost in Acid and Acid Rave Sex?

Henrix: "Yea its the same style as Acid, Rave, Sex. Earlier this year when I released it people really digged it as it was different than what's out now and I've been wanting to do something similar but hadn't gotten around to doing it. It only felt right to do it with this remix as the style is Acid House and the name of the track is called "Lost in Acid"! Plus David Tort is the king of Acid House and I've been doing a few Acid tracks this year so I knew he would dig haha."

DB: What was your first reaction receiving the news that you were on board for the project?

Henrix: "I was stoked! Like I said I loved the original when it was released and played it at every gig, so having the opportunity to remix it was pretty awesome."

DB: What has been the biggest thing you've learned from this year?

Henrix: "To make whatever type of music I like and not have to do something that everyone else is doing."

DB: What are your goals for 2016?

Henrix: "I started this new project I'm working on with a friend that I can't really speak much of and I'm putting a lot of my time into that. It's something I've been wanting to do since I started my career and I'm finally doing it, so 2016 you'll hear a lot of it. So really hoping on giving that a major push through 2016."