#002 James Ruskin: Tresor, Blueprint, and the enduring appeal of vinyl

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Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

The DJ / Producer / Label boss paradigm is a classic career path in dance music, not least in the case of the presenter of this show. But few have nailed all three elements quite as well over the last three decades as this week's guest on the show.

Blueprint is James Ruskin's label - an absolute foundation of UK techno, and techno generally it should be said, with seminal releases from the likes of DVS1, Mark Broom, Oliver Ho, Sigha, as well as the boss himself. It will soon be celebrating 30 years of releases, which is a pretty incredible achievement.

As a producer he's released prolifically outside his own imprint, most notably via an association with Tresor that goes back to the 90s. And as a DJ he's been a key part of the UK scene and beyond for at least that long too.

We discuss familiar themes such as the state of the scene today, the comparative challenges of releasing music over a thirty year period, the evolution of his approach to work in the studio, amongst a lot of other stuff besides.

This is a great conversation with an absolute key man. Get involved!

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Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:

00:00 Intro and how you can support the show

03:50 The definition of Techno

11:05 Small clubs vs. festivals

16:30 Hard Techno and 30 year cycles

20:33 "Minimal was so fucking boring"

25:39 30 years of Blueprint

35:45 UK Techno brotherhood

37:30 Digital vs. Vinyl

46:25 "I still buy vinyl every week"

49:50 Hip-Hop, Beat Street and Breakdance

54:05 Learning how to mix in the club

58:11 Illegal raves and commercialisation

01:01:33 The legend of LOST

01:06:00 The importance of Tresor

01:10:13 Playing Detroit tunes in Detroit

01:11:15 Techno in Spain

01:16:40 James Ruskin the race car driver

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