18 November 2010
Dennis White is on a mission. Under his not-so-secret superhero alias, Static Revenger, he’s out to prove a point to an unnamed DJ, who pissed him off ten years ago. With his single I Like That having charted at #3 receiving Double Platinum status on the ARIA Charts and three #1 tracks on Billboard, it's fair to say that revenge has been served.
Before White started writing, producing, directing and performing dance music all over his homeland America and the world, he was playing guitar in a major label rock band called Charm Farm. Shortly after deciding to try his luck in the electro world, White was confronted by a racist album liner note written by one of his then-favourite Detroit techno artists.
“So I’m reading the liner notes and the artist who was not a white guy said “and all you white boys trying to do techno, give it up you’re making our shit sound tired, stick with your rock n’ roll.” I was gutted and then I was pissed so I had this idea of taking revenge as some sort of super-hero character stepping out against the static of nonsense like that. Just for that I’m gonna have a bigger hit than you motherfucker,” says a still agitated White.
White most certainly got his hit, and with the success of I Like That he was offered a record deal with a major label. He rejected the offer and says it was one of the smartest things he’s ever done for his career.
“The moment I didn’t [sign] and I released independently through Ministry Of Sound, I made more money in one year off of one song than I have in eight years off of three albums,” recounts White.
His departure from rock has served him well, not least because he has a finger in every musical pie known to man. After directing the video for I Like That, he picked up a handful of other remix and directing gigs and when his remix of Madonna’s track What It Feels Like For A Girlcharted at #1 on Billboard, the requests came flooding in from other artists. Currently he is hard at work remixing tracks by Swedish House Mafia and getting ready to release a new single titled Vegas, which he wrote with Australian electro-house band, Vandalism.
Although the dance music industry is now home for White, he admits to having a “strange relationship with the culture” he works in. Outspoken against drug use, White sometimes questions his fans reasons for attending his shows.
“Sometimes I think ‘am I just here giving people an excuse to get out of the house and bug their brains out?’…To be perfectly honest it’s a little disquieting when I’m playing, when I to tune in to the fact that there’s a couple of kids moving their jaws around in a funny way it feels depressing and I’m actually really not into it.
“People that do drugs and listen to music say music sounds better on drugs, and I think that’s absolute crap. What they’re experiencing is the fact that they feel better, they just got a blast of serotonin in their brain and so because they feel better they think everything around them is better,” explains White. “They’re going to think a flower smells way better when they’re on drugs but it’s not the case, you’re missing out on an actual balanced interaction with something.”
A war on drugs aside, White plans to bring his unique brand of musical revenge down under. He will be promoting his latest single release Long Time here this month, and like all good superheros should, he’s done his homework for this mission.
“Australians are the best dance music audiences in the world. They are so up on music, it’s almost intimidating. You can’t just show up with your set in Australia, you gotta figure out what’s happening there because you guys are so far ahead on everything,” White promises a “custom” made set with “new music that’s not even going to be released.”
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