Steve Porter interview: Porterhouse - Cooked to Perfection

The next generation of electronic music producers that is gaining hold and leading the charge is DJ/production phenomenon STEVE PORTER. His prolific productions have garnered international attention and are propelling him into America's future DJ-cum-producer star. He is now poised for his official coming out party with his debut artist album 'Homegrown' on FDS Recordings.

'Homegrown' is an amalgam of Steve Porter's various unique styles and melodic nuances or as he likes to call it, an "anti-genre". The expertly mixed album brings together 14 original tracks. Some of which have already garnered wide attention with inclusion of the tracks on numerous high-profile dance music labels & compilations including; Vodka Cranberries on hot new label Nu Republic, Definite Form on Sander Kleinenberg's Little Mountain Records and included on his recent 'Everybody' compilation for Renaissance, and most recently, the track Swanky has been included on über-cool Felix da Housecat's upcoming 'Playboy: The Mansion' compilation.

Staking his claim at the decks on Friday 26th August at Private Function's Altitude is the man himself. Natalie Martyn was fortunate enough to chat to Porter on some topics that she was curious about.

I'm presuming Steve Porter is your real name- Why don't you have some kooky alternate ego like everyone else-
I think it's because of my dad's profession really. He was a scientist and the respected people in his industry didn't go by funky scientist aliases. Would be like calling Albert Einstein "Funky Al" or something... just doesn't seem natural to me.

Your music is known to your fans as Porterhouse. Genres tend to be problematic in music because everyone has their own understanding of the terms. What makes your style so unique that it warrants its own genre-
Porterhouse is the anti-genre, an all encompassing ideology that music shouldn't have boundaries. The crew of friends that I come from is extremely diverse and I simply try to preach that diversity because I feel music needs to de-genrefy itself. Diversity is a challenge, and I enjoy that.

Your new album is called 'Homegrown' the title has a very personal ring to it. Tell me about the inspiration behind it and what we can expect from its contents-
'Homegrown's' that first big step for me into a larger realm of artistry. It was the perfect opportunity to get a larger chunk of music off my chest and if anything it was a wonderful learning experience. I got such a kick out of testing the music out in my dj sets and I learned so much as a producer. I'm super excited to take the lessons learned and move forward with the next album.

When looking back over all the music you've produced, could you pick a favourite and why-
Maybe the 'Amber' remix I did for Bedrock, just because there's a real innocence in the sound. It's not something I'd necessarily want to re-create but something I'm glad to have done.

You've been described as a child prodigy from a famous scientist father. Did growing up in the limelight have anything to do with where you are today-
I think if you grow up learning from successful people you have a good chance at being confident in yourself. Sometimes talent can be confidence, the ability to believe in yourself. I've seen many turn away because of lack of confidence, when I knew deep down that they COULD do it.

When looking at your schedule for the next few months, I have this image of a famous DJ jet-setting around the world doing what he loves most. It has a tendency to sound very glamorous which I m sure it s not all the time. What's the most unglamorous thing about what you do-
The worst is leaving the club to go directly to the airport. Nothing spells ZOMBIE better! Being on the road all the time can leave you a bit disconnected as well. I'm always struggling to keep up with the new music when I'm away from home for extended periods of< Tags

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