We got the chance to talk to Space legend and Funky Green Dog Oscar G about what it took to create the tune that everyone's playing - 'Dark Beat'...

CJ: What's the first step in coming up with a new track?

OG: I don't think there is a definitive first step...at least not for us....with "Dark Beat" we just decided a week before the conference that we wanted to have something new and different for people to hear that week...

CJ: Did you start with a direction in mind or just experiment and see what happened?

OG: The only direction we had was that we wanted it to sound different and stand out from all the other stuff out there....We also knew we wanted to keep it raw. People tend to overproduce stuff (including ourselves) and we just wanted to stick to the essentials on this tune.

CJ: With Dark Beat what came first, the beats or the vocal?

OG: At first we just had a kick drum and a bassline...from there we wrote the lyrics and melody....then finally we added all the drums and synth sounds.

CJ: Did you find the vocal or create it?

OG: We created it...we had the vocalist (Oba Frank Lords) sing the song once....then we used that as a guide and layered all kinds of different sounding voices doing the same part over the original vocal to create that chanting group effect.

CJ: Roughly how long did it take to go from basic outline to finished mix?

OG: I think it took 4 days.....the first day we came up with a basic groove, melody and lyrics....the second day the vocalist (Oba Frank Lords) came in and recorded the vocals....The third day we arranged all the vocals and added all the percussion and synths....the fourth day we arranged and mixed the song.

CJ: At what point did you decide the mix was 'finished' and needed no further tweaking?

OG: The day we mixed it, we burned it on to a cd and took it to Space...once we heard it on that system we knew it was finished...(we are kind of spoiled in that sense...lol)

CJ: Did you circulate the track to labels before it was finished?

OG: We gave the finished CD to Rob DiStefano (Twisted) and Danny Tenaglia the week of the Winter Music Conference....Rob signed it soon after.

CJ: Do you remember the first time you dropped the track in a club?

OG: YES! It was the Saturday after the conference at Space....I played it around 4 in the morning....the place went nuts!
People were singing along to the song by the time the second verse came in....It was very exciting for me, because although we have been fortunate enough to have had several succesful records, I had never experienced such a positive reaction to one of our songs in my own hometown (and especially a song that hadnt even been signed yet)....
James (co-owner of Global Underground) ran up to the booth to ask me what song it was and when I told him he said "I knew it was you guys, this is the best track I've heard in ages!!!"

CJ: Now that the track is signed, what happens next?

OG: So far the reaction to the track has been extremely positive...it is already #2 on the Billboard break-out chart and is receiving major support from most of the top DJs ....
The song will be released in October on Twisted Records.......
We are really excited because this is the first song that we have ever done that has taken off in Miami first....in the past our songs have taken off everywhere but here, then Miami after the fact....
We have always represented Miami (as far as dance music) across the globe, but nobody here ever seemed to notice, but at least now (ten years later!) it feels great to have the hometown behind us.