Soon to set foot on the glorious shores of Australia, we caught up with Bill Hamel for a few moments to find out a little bit more about him and his work. For those not aware of Bill Hamel, he simply describes himself as “A kind of shy humble guy from Florida, who love house music, and people that are clued up on house music”.

Hamel is definitely someone who loves the progressive sound dearly. Influenced by some of his favourite compilations such as “Renaissance 2, mixed by Digweed”, he comments on some DJ’s and Producers that have also been influencing him at the moment. “People like Quivver, 16B, Blackwatch, Medway, Sasha, Bedrock, etc… producers that write intelligent progressive house music. They all are masters at creating a great atmosphere, while still retaining unbelievable rhythms and grooves”. When questioned on the current state of the progressive scene, he seemed optimistic that it will continue to evolve and said “It always seems to be reinventing itself”.

He is set to release a Balance CD following efforts from Sean Quinn and Kasey Taylor. Also in the studio, Bill has recently been praised for his excellent remix of Lamb’s classic “Gorecki”. “It’s just such an awesome tune” when asked what inspired him to remix such a tune. “The vocals are stunning. I could always hear their beats w/ a house 4/4 underneath it. So one day Just decided to get it in time w/ some beats that I made and it just kind of happened. The rest is history I guess”. He is also working on another remix for Lamb. “My remix of (Lamb’s) “Gabriel” is coming along nicely”. When asked if he had a favourite production he has done he commented, “It’s hard to say really. I like each one better than the last it seems”.

But like all good producers, Bill is ready to move on to big and better things. “I’m in the studio w/ B.T. on March 26th. He approached me about writing a track w/ him for his upcoming album. Also Jan Johnston & Paul Oakenfold have just both been in contact w/ me about collaborating w/ Jan on her next single. Both of these are unbelievable achievements for me”.

As a Label manager himself for Sunkissed records, I asked Bill himself what he thought about the music coming from Australia at the moment, from labels such as Zero Tolerance and EQ Grey especially. “It’s great to see such strong labels pop up out of nowhere. It shows that they have the talent and resources to be major players from the get go. That takes years to do, which they have both done from square one”. Putting the focus back on Bill, I asked him what his label has in store for the future; “Well we just have plans to keep doing our thing, which is releasing quality progressive tracks on both Sunkissed & Teknology”. But that’s not all he assured me. With his forthcoming Balance mix soon to be released he seems keen to continue on the same vein. “I might try and dive in to the CD market later this year (when discussing his Sunkissed & Teknology label). You have to stay tuned for that”.

Bill Hamel plays at Peace on Friday April 19 at Seven, 52 Albert Rd South Melbourne.