Francis Preve
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バイオグラフィ
- Technologist. DJ. Producer. Guru. With a career that spans over two decades and runs the gamut from collaborating on worldwide classics like "Yin" and "Yang" to designing sounds and audio content for Ableton, Korg, Roland, Propellerheads, and Xfer S..Starting out as a producer in the rave scene of the mid-90s, Preve began his career working on numerous releases for Pete Tong's legendary FFRR imprint. Tracks like Orbital's "Lush" and Utah Saints' "What Can You Do For Me?" got the remix treatment from the then-budding studio whiz, earning him a coveted BPI award along the way. A few years later, Preve was distracted by the world of computers and the Internet revolution, finding himself overseeing product development for Tascam/NemeSys's groundbreaking GigaStudio line of software samplers. "For a while there, designing synths was infinitely more fun than making beats. I just wasn't satisfied with hitting buttons and turning knobs, I wanted to advance the technology itself," Preve recollects. Then, in 2000, Francis crossed paths with Josh Gabriel, who was busy transforming the musical landscape with his own technology, MixMan. The two were introduced at a South-by-Southwest panel in Preve's hometown of Austin, Texas, and became fast friends. As Preve continued to work on technology projects, like developing a sizable portion of the audio data that ships with Ableton Live, Josh began his ascent into mythical DJ status with Gabriel & Dresden. Shortly thereafter, Preve resumed his dabbling in remixing as programmer/producer for several US pop DJs, including Joe Bermudez and Roland Belmares. This behind-the-scenes work only served to whet Preve's appetite for more substantial productions and a return to his roots with a more underground sound. "I learned a lot from my experiences with Joe and Ro - and for that, I'm grateful," Preve confesses. "But more than anything, it showed me that there was a lot more music inside me, dying to get out." From there, Preve began pursuing his own work, remixing hits like "Tracking Treasure Down" and "Dangerous Power" for Gabriel & Dresden. Finally, after years of dabbling, Francis stuck a big toe into the waters of DJing. Drawing on his deep experience with Ableton, Preve's unique approach to whipping up funky tech sets on the fly has earned him main stage shows in legendary clubs like Pacha NYC, Cielo, Avalon Hollywood, Melkweg Amsterdam, as well as a three-year residency at the white-hot Kingdom nightclub in Austin. Since then, Preve's work has included high-profile remixes for legendary DJs like Sander Kleinenberg and Dave Seaman/Josh Gabriel, as well as pop hipsters Scissor Sisters and Dragonette. His original productions, like "Marina", "Yin/Yang" (with Wolfgang Gartner), and "Weeble/Oooh" have received support from top-tier DJs ranging from Mark Knight to John Acquaviva to Kaskade and Hardwell, while his collaborations with Matt Lange, Aquaviva/Giacomotto, and Jan van Lier have lit up the underground scene on multiple continents. During that period, Preve also found time to oversee Josh Gabriel's label, Different Pieces and launch his own imprint, Academik, which showcased the work of his growing squadron of protégés and apprentices. In 2015, Academik merged with the Dallas-based Audiophile Label Group, which led Preve back into sound design territory, resulting in the critically acclaimed sample boutique, symplesound.com. While Preve still remains active as a producer - occasionally stepping behind the decks for select DJ sets - he's returned to his roots in technology, innovating both as a sound designer and software developer.