British dance music journeyman Dave Seaman has been on fire as of late, enjoying a aul
roductive new chapter in his career courtesy of Selador Recordings, an imprint he co-launched with Steve Parry in 2013. To date the label has issued a selection of great tunes from rising house and techno artists like Third Son,Affkt, Piemont (listen to their Big Shot Guest Mix here), and Rob Hes & Steve Slight, with more great music on the horizon. While Seaman’s touch is indeed felt (and heard) at the label, he’s also been issuing tracks on Noir, Suara and Hive Audio.
Earlier this month Seaman, whose Selador crew incidentally took over Watergate Berlin last week, headed stateside to play a trio of DJ dates: Harlot in San Francisco, Primary in Chicago and Monday Social in Los Angeles — what, no NYC gig, Dave?!
Since Seaman counts editor as part of his resumé (fun fact: he was the first editor of Mixmag), we asked him to document his brief U.S. excursion through images, a trek which included record shopping, recording and rolling in ridiculous rides.
I’ve been coming to the US for over 25 years now and have covered a lot of ground. I even lived in New York for a year at the end of the ’90s, but I haven’t been over much in the last few years. I think the combination of the juggernaut that was EDM taking hold, along with me parting ways with my booking agent of many years, put the country on the back burner for me for a while. But I went to Burning Man for the first time last year followed by a six-city tour, and it reminded me how much I did enjoy really playing here.
I can also see the EDM bandwagon starting to slow down. When you hear some of the main protagonists starting to distance themselves from it you know something’s awry. And they’re jumping ship in droves! Accordingly, there’s a swelling of interest for underground sounds again — which is much more my thing — so I’m definitely making a point of being back in the US much more this year. My visa is renewed and I’m ready to roll!
Earlier in the year I visited Atlanta, El Paso and Santa Fe. This time it was Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, which are three of my favorite cities. Coming up I’ve got another Floridan weekend in Miami and Orlando in June. Then I’ll be back on the West Coast again in August for a couple of weeks with my family in tow. Hopefully though, I’ll be able to sneak away for a day or two to attend Burning Man again. That really was an inspiring trip last year.
Early morning flight out of San Francisco heading for Chicago.
Arriving into the City of Angels. LA, baby!
Vinyl shopping in Chicago.
The other side of the tracks. The Windy City.
My ride whilst in Chicago. I like to keep a low profile!
In the studio with Funkagenda in LA.
Checking out the new iWatch at the Beverly Center, LA
At Amoeba Records, Hollywood, the world’s largest record store.
Arriving at The Monday Social at Sound Nightclub, LA
In mid flow at Harlot, San Francisco.
At The Monday Social, LA.
At The Monday Social, LA.
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With Manu and the Team No Sleep boys at Harlot, San Francisco.
