British DJ Adesse Versions Breaks Down His Ever-Evolving Sound Ahead of Apr 28 Dada Set

Plenty of burgeoning electronic acts dream of carving out a niche in the techno scene. But one man’s niche is another's rut, and after attaining some success in the techno arena Kevin Gorman knew he wanted more. The eclectic English DJ, better known by his fans today as Adesse Versions (listen here via Soundcloud), told TBJ in a recent interview that adopting that alias and dabbling with vocals helped him break free of the constraints that aided his success in the techno scene. However, it wasn't long before he grew weary of those elements as well. Ahead of his Apr 28 set at Dada, the restless DJ and producer tells us more about his ever-evolving sound.

How did you first become interested in producing and DJing?
I've been messing with music since my early childhood, buying 7-inch records and keyboards with daft sounds. I've always been drawn to music, it's an obsession that took no effort to encourage. In my youth there was very little mainstream information on being a DJ/producer, it's not like nowadays where it's everywhere. I just followed the music and the artist thing just happened naturally once I realized my obsession was for life. I studied design at university,  but as soon as I could produce music I lost interest in the design side of things.  

You've tried your hand at various styles and modes of playing music, with one early instance being when you "first appeared as a vinyl edits project [which] ... led to a Boiler Room set, memorable for being entirely his own music cut to dubplates,” according to Resident Advisor. What are some of your fondest memories of these early days of Adesse Versions?
The freedom of doing something fresh and different. I'd spent five years making and playing techno and being restricted to a certain sound. As Adesse I could work with vocals, or any other kind of sound, which was bliss, although I became pigeonholed for the vocals thing, so even that lost its appeal for me eventually.

Which of your tracks/EPs do you think helped you make your first big breakthrough?
I've been messing with tracks since 1998; my first release was in 2002. I'd say I got comfortable and had success around 2006, under my given name Kevin Gorman. At that point I started touring outside of the UK, getting to Japan, South Africa, and the US. In 2010 I took a break for two years, then came back as Adesse Versions in 2012. “Baayi”, “Pressured”, and “Pride” got me a level of attention that I really wasn't expecting. So yes, it did surprise me a lot. I've remixed people like Leftfield and other artists on major labels like Sony and Virgin, which I really wasn't expecting.  I'm proud of 99 percent of the music from 2012 onwards.

I really enjoy your “Don’t Stop the Acid” single from last year. What inspired it?
I'm generally drawn to simple raw grooves, so early hip-hop and Chicago house music is a big thing for me. The big thing for me was actually New York house, labels like Strictly Rhythm, Nugroove, and Nervous. I was a bit too young to live the Chicago heydays. The New York stuff was the shit anyway, because it used the 909 instead of the 707 and hit hard! “Don't Stop The Acid” is a cheeky remake of “Don’t Stop The Music” by Yarbrough and Peoples, a slow soul classic from the '80s. So I'm using that as a basis to make an acid house vibe.

Adesse Versions will perform at Dada on Apr 28. Doors open at 10pm and ticket prices at TBA. For more information, click here.

For a rundown of the best nightlife events this weekend, click here.

Photo: fieldartists.net