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In the late ’80s and early ’90s, British dance music icon Dave Clarke helped define the sound of techno. Having released a string of classic tracks on labels like XL and R&S at the beginning of his career, between ’94 and ’96 Clarke released a trilogy of influential Red EPs, which led up to the release of his debut album, Archive One, a defining statement of rugged, rave-ready techno.
Three decades on, Clarke has just reissued the previously rare EPs and album on vinyl, as part of a lavish anniversary boxset complete with remixes from the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Umek.
These days Clarke is based in Amsterdam and balances DJing and production with teaching and presenting regular radio shows. We sat down with him on a recent visit to London to talk about the history of those classic releases, the changing face of DJing, and the approach behind his prolific remixes.
Tell us about the studio which you used to make Archive One and the Red EPs…
“Ostensibly in those days it was really DIY because a lot of knowledge wasn’t freely available like it is now. You’d learn things like having breeze blocks to put your speakers on. But probably not the best thing was actually the fact that your studio table was above your futon bed, on said breeze block – so obviously best not to live in an earthquake zone.
“I had a pair of Tannoy MS20 Mercury’s, which I once saw
