Hello Greg Downey, thanks for giving us this interview. Its a real pleasure to have you here on TRANCEMAG//BR.

01. How and when did you get into DJ’ing and producing. What was your first musical influences? 

I got my first set of decks at the age of 14 after listening to The Prodigy initially and then hearing Carl Cox mix tapes.  I used to listen to these constantly all day until I could learn to to do it myself.  I have been hooked ever since.

02. Except Trance which genre do you like in electronic music? 

I have always loved techno and some progressive too.  As a DJ I am very open minded when it comes to my music but over all I like records that have power and edge no matter what genre it is in.

03. What do you think about the artists that use ghost producers?  

I think if the artist has zero talent and no input into the track then what is the point.  I don’t see a problem with artists working with other producers though if it means creating something good together.  And you can always tell if the artist behind the track is talented or not as this will always come through in the music.

04. Can you tell us your studio routine. Whats the process for you to create amazing tracks as you did along the years? 

I usually have a very clear idea of the record that I am going to make, I very rarely produce for fun as it’s usually always towards a certain goal.  I sometimes spend weeks or months preparing folders of ideas before I would start a track and I find that works best for me.  I can usually see it or feel it inside before it has been created so I just follow the vision I would have for the record.

05. What sort of equipment or software do you use to produce your music? 

All of my music is done on my laptop now, in recent years I downsized my studio.  I have always tried to get the best out of a few things rather than having 100s of different instruments to go between.  I use Massive, Spire, Zebra and some of Logics own built in stuff.  I did use to have an Access Virus TI which I loved but I sold it, I do plan to get another one though along with some hardware synths because I love being able to be hands on with it.

06. You just released the fantastic compilation “The Art of Skullduggery” together with Stoneface and Terminal. Can you tell us the process to select the songs and also the whole idea behind this project? 

Yes I wanted to create a CD album series that would reflect our sound as a label and the DJs as artists.  The whole album is filled full of exclusive tracks from some of our favourite producers along with fresh new material from myself and Stoneface & Terminal who have mixed CD 2.  Each CD is exactly the type of vibe to expect if we were playing at a club or festival, edgy and forward thinking.  Many weeks and months were spent handpicking and fine tuning every last track that would appear on the album and I am very proud of all the hard work by everyone to make this happen.

The reaction to it has been amazing and plans are already in place for volume 2!  

07. What is more exciting for you, producing or DJ’ing? 

DJing as I was always a DJ first before production.  I absolutely love it more than ever.  Production works hand in hand now for me as my sets are made up of around 70% of my own material between new singles, remixes, exclusive reworks that you will only hear in my sets.  This drives me on to create something special with my DJ sets.

08. You did amazing collaborations last years such as “Among Us” with Alex di Stefano, Simon Patterson & Greg Downey ft. Bo Bruce “ Come To me”, “These Hands I hold” with Bo Bruce also and more recently Sunscreem & Greg Downey on “Perfect motion”. With which artist that you never worked together, you would like to collaborate in the future, and why?  

I would probably have to say John Askew.  We have worked together throughout my whole career and his vision for music and passion is second to none.  I love his music and his attitude and I am sure we could do something great.

09. What are you working on in the studio at the moment? 

My new single Perfect Motion with Sunscreem comes out on our new label Deep In Thought in 2 weeks so I am very excited about that.  

I have literally just finished a huge remix of a Simon Patterson vocal record.  I won’t give too much away but in my opinion it is the best vocal track he has ever done and it has turned out really well.  More news to follow.  I am also well into making a new single for Skullduggery following on in a similar vein to Loco.  Last year I unveiled that track at Luminosity and I hope to have the new one ready to go by June!

10. How did Skullduggery your amazing label started? What are the future label plans?

When I started my new brand Skullduggery it was key that we had a kick ass new label to go with it and I always wanted to have my own platform that I had full control of without any third party opinions.  It has been the most rewarding chapter in my career to date and I am really enjoying building it.  Future plans?  There will be some amazing new records coming out this year and ongoing, really strong music from some of my favourite artists – all of the guys are rocking it right now.  The merchandise side has been growing nicely and we plan to introduce some cool new items soon along with expanding the radio show.  It will now be two shows per month instead of one, one show hosted by me as normal and the other hosted by one of our artists giving them a chance to present their own.  We have some cool Skullduggery events planned after the success of our Los Angeles and London shows.  The next one will be in Kuala Lumpur, a city that is really vibrant at the moment.

11. Have you played in Argentina or Brasil before? 

I have played in Argentina many times and you have probably heard every DJ on the planet saying it is their favourite place to play, which is true.  The passion from the clubbers there is unparalleled and I really love South America in general.

Brasil I haven’t been to yet and it is at the top of my list to both play at and visit so maybe we should start making a plan for this? 🙂

12. To finish this interview. A very “cliche” question. Whats your favorite track of all times?

Sasha – Xpander.  Just incredible.

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview for TRANCEMAG//BR. 

We hope to see you soon here!

Thank you for taking the time to interview me and I very much look forward to seeing you soon.

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/gregdowneymusic

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