Leeds, UK based Edwin Van Cleef is a disco house producer and tastemaker who’s in a league of his own. I don’t think my ears have ever listened to anything Edwin Van Cleef and have not liked it. I first got hooked on his remix work of DatA, Solange Knowles and GRUM but officially fell in love after listening to the EP, ‘Never Be Alone at Night,’ released earlier this year. The title track alone has gotten remix treatment from names like Mighty Mouse and RAC’s Blue Satellite. There’s something to be said about electronic dance tracks with sentimental themes that makes us remember why we listen to music in the first place – to really feel something. And to chair dance/groove out to at work.

Needless to say, I’m muy excited to see Edwin at the fifth installment of All Things Gold (with Monarchy, Xylos and Xaphoon Jones) this Thursday. Sometimes I joke (but really I’m totally serious) about Edwin Van Cleef being my future husband so I jumped (kicked and screamed too) at the opportunity to get to interview him. Results after the jump:

MP3:  Edwin Van Cleef – Lisztomania (feat. Jane Hanley)

Fancy Nancy: When/how did your interest in making music first start?

I’d love some sort of cool back story that everyone else makes up where they’re all like “Oh yeah I heard <insert cool 80s band here> when I was 5 and was hooked and amazed by the beautiful synths etc etc”. Bro no you didn’t, you probably got the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme and The Simpsons Do The Bartman on vinyl and didn’t get properly into music until you were in high school and you realised girls liked it. Real talk.

FN: How did you settle into the nu-disco genre?

I don’t think I’ve really settled in the genre, I’m always being influenced by different things and I do really love a lot of other styles of house music and garage and r&b play a big part in my music listening repertoire. I’m not really a music snob when it comes to genres. What first got me into this kind of music though was probably Justice when they first came about and music blogs / hype machine really helped getting me to into other similar artists (back when hype machines popular list didn’t include the likes of Michael Buble and 1000 fucking dubstep remixes of Lana Del Ray (totally not a music snob)).

FN: Who would you say are some of your biggest influences musically?

I always do my best tracks in the summer; hot weather, sun shining, cold beer… What’s better in that weather than sitting in the studio all day making tracks? Yeah I know it sounds awful but I really am much more inspired when it’s like that. My songs seem to get darker in the winter.

FN: What’s the process like for doing remixes? Do the artists usually approach you or vice versa?

It’s always been the artists or labels approaching me, I didn’t even realise people did it the other way! I’ll generally look for my own hook in the stems I get sent (unless the original is too amazing not to use) and so the more parts of a song I get the better. Saying that however there’s been a quite few times where I’ve thrown everything away but the vocals and just pretty much made an entirely new song underneath. I always try and do something different with each one though and don’t have like a preset thing.

FN: I follow you on Twitter and quite enjoy your tweets. Can you tell me what is the meaning/origin of :V?

Hah I actually thought everyone knew what it was. There’s been a lot of different ideas as to what it means but I’ve always seen it as like… a pacman face? I’m not entirely sure what it means outside that, I generally use it when I’m being a sarcastic bastard… so that’s pretty much constantly!… :V

FN: I’m also quite smitten with your rework of Phoenix’s ‘Lisztomania.’ Are there plans of doing this with another track in the future?

I’d love to do one but it’s deciding on the song to cover really. I’m quite enamoured with the idea of doing ‘The Streets – Don’t Mug Yourself’ or something else quite unexpected and different but probably every day I have a new song I want to do. The hardest part is to make sure you’re doing a cover for the right reason and trying to take a song you love and put your own spin on it really.

FN: How has the reception been so far to the Never Be Alone At Night EP and how was it working with Gemini Club?

It’s been great, a lot better than I could have ever imagined! The fact that no one track has stood out as the favourite and all different kinds of people can find a track they love on it is just great. Working with Gemini Club was great, they sent me some vocals, I really liked them. That’s basically it! You can’t ask for better efficiency than that really.

FN: If you had to listen to only one record for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Is that on loop or can I listen to it whenever I want? I don’t think I could listen to the same song on loop FOREVER unless it was some epic classical piece that lasts like 2 hours. Can you imagine the same 3 minutes on loop forever? Fucking hell! If it’s any time I want though it’d be ‘Joe Esposito – You’re The Best’ because seriously, it’s fucking amazing.

FN: Can you tell us what’s next for you in 2K12?

I’ll be releasing another EP hopefully in the first few months of 2012 which will be amazing. I’ll hopefully be working with some more vocalists for it and some of the songs are already finished but in a state of instrumentalism. I’d love to be playing more gigs next year, hopefully come back to North America when it’s warm!

FN: Did you know that you are a character in World of Warcraft and…how do you feel about that? Do you play any video games?

I am?! I thought I was a real boy :( I’m really nerdy as fuck and generally play games instead of making music like I should be. Literally the procrastination king.