My 5 Favorite Things: Conan Liquid
Beatles fanatic, WW2 reenactor and Beat Maker. Conan Liquid, one half of the successful DJ and production team “Liquid People” and now solo producer and DJ in his own right. After recently relocating to Dubai he says, "There's a wide range of DJs and genres being played. You have to be more versatile here if you want to be a resident but I think that's healthy. And with that in mind, I think there's a healthy, vibrant scene here." His recent releases and remixes are storming up the Dance charts to critical acclaim and now on a quest to find local, fresh talent for his upcoming record label we chatted to Conan about his 5 favorite things, and we just couldn’t shut him up.
1. Gibson SG 1961:
I’ve only been playing a few years, but in that time I have had quite a few guitars. It’s a personality thing, but basically I always want to try and have the best for me. Consequently this has meant sampling a myriad of guitars (axes to those guitar geeks out there). I’ve tried cheap, expensive, unusual, common, and whilst I love the Les Paul it’s too damn heavy, love the Stratocaster but never get on with the necks, love a Telecaster but it’s heavier than the Les Paul and absolutely love the 335 but can never find a decent one in cherry red with block inlay neck. When I got to Dubai I wasn’t really expecting a decent range of guitars but on the advice of a friend I checked out the legendary Fish Roundabout region. Think of it as a Denmark St in London, the cockney Tin Pan Alley. The SG I bought was the 7th guitar I tried, and 7 being a very significant number for me, it had to happen that the seventh guitar was perfect. And it is.
2. Rolex Deep Sea, Sea Dweller:
Being a bit of a watch geek, owning a Rolex is kind of mandatory. I have some gizmo watches, nothing over the top, but wrist worn computers basically, but there is something about the simplicity of the DSSD. It’s not a fetish as such, but I have a deep (pun intended) seated admiration for all things crafted accurately. This watch is the epitome of man’s ability to craft steel into something wonderful. It’s functional, fashionable, feels solid on the wrist and looks just as good peeping out from a smart shirt sleeve to sitting on the wrist with a polo shirt or tee.
3. Vintage G1 US Navy Fight Jacket
Bowing down to all things that are geek, I’m a collector. One of my slightly weirder collections is vintage flight jackets. The designs live on in many of today’s jackets and the yanks really just got it right with their basic flight jacket designs. Made from goat skin with a plush mouton collar, the G1 is an absolute classic. It’s well fitted, tailored beautifully, looks better and better as it gets older and the only thing I regret about moving to Dubai is I can’t wear it all the time like I did in the UK. There’s also something about the idea of wearing a jacket that has seen some action. If you appreciate things like this, you will know what I mean. I often wonder who wore it, where it was worn, and if the pilot in question cherished it as much as I do.
4. My Ipod Touch
Ok, bit of an obvious one considering my profession, but having access to such a vast cross section of my music collection on the move is very important to me. I have playlists for every occasion and it’s great to be able to check on sketches from the studio and work through ideas in different environments. I have to be honest, I only really use it as a music player but as this alone it is indispensable. If only it could completely incorporate my next favorite thing completely. That would be the ultimate.
Believe me when I say I have tried pretty much every music programme there is. I started out making tracks in the early 80s when MIDI was in it’s infancy and from there progressed through sequencing with drum machines onto Cubase on Atari ST, Logic, pro tools, Ableton, Reason, Fruity Loops, back to Logic, back to Cubase,etc etc. However, once I started using Sonar, on the advice of another producer, I have never looked back. It has everything that’s good about Cubase mixed with everything that’s good about Logic. I have often raised a few eyebrows using this software but at the end of the day it’s a tool I use to get things done and I want the best tool that suits my workflow. More often than not the person who sits there and tells me I should be using Logic does not have to use a programme day in day out to make money with, and the ones who do use Logic day in and day out don’t raise an eyebrow because they appreciate that whatever tool you use, you have your own personal, functional and creative reasons for using that particular software. I love my Sonar, it’s that simple.
