Steven Ford (a.k.a Bruno Pronsato) has shared a new live recording, available for download exclusively via the WeTransfer button below.

A wise man once said that there are many paths to the top of the mountain; in the case of Steven Ford, one of the most revered voices in minimal house music, speed metal drumming was a fairly unique entry point. Having played for a band in Texas for years, Ford moved to Seattle back in the early noughties, where he found his real passion in electronic music.

It was when he made a further move to Berlin, the city he calls home today, that Ford really settled into making the kind of sounds we know him for today. Working under the name Bruno Pronsato, he was picked up by Hello? Repeat, Telegraph, Lick My Deck, Perlon, and many other bastions of the genre. Through a lengthy, ever-expanding back-catalogue of adventurous dancefloor material, he’s established himself as a musician with one ear for delicate subtleties, and another for stirring groove and rhythms.

When he’s not alone in the studio, he’s working collaboratively with other like-minded producers—with Sammy Dee as Half Hawaii, Daze Maxim as Others, or Ninca Leece as Public Lover. He’s has teamed up with Benjamin Myers (one half of Benoit & Sergio) as NDF, for the Cruel Is The Color EP. 

Today, he’s shared a rare recording of his recent live performance, recorded late last year in Tokyo, Japan where he performed alongside Fumiya Tanaka. It’s a cerebral yet energetic one-hour minimal set, brilliantly compiled and perfectly delivered. Grab it now via the button below.

When and where was the mix recorded?

The set was recorded at Contact Tokyo, Japan on December 16, 2017, on the second date of my Japan tour for Fumiya Tanaka’s ‘Chaos’ parties.

Why have you decided to choose this live session in particular? Is this just a night where all went to plan?

I’ve been testing this new set for a minute and felt I had it dialled in on that night. Being in Japan, the audience is a bit more of a listening crowd, so I spent a little more time trying to find a balance between listening and being clubby. I love the Japanese crowd for their attention to the performance; it’s not a “hands in the air’ crowd”…and of course, playing with Fumiya [Tanaka] at his Chaos parties over the years is always an absolute honor—he’s such an amazing person and a phenomenal DJ / producer.

Talk me through your live setup. What gear are you using nowadays?

Mainly using one piece of gear at the moment unless I’m with Half Hawaii—then it’s quite extensive…so for my solo shows I’m using the Jomox MBase, but I’m doing separate routing through my Metric Halo using Madrona Labs plug-ins on a 12 channel mixer.

How much of the set was preplanned and how much of it is spontaneous?

I always make a plan before I play and start with a basic scratch setup, one that I can flow through depending on where the party goes. I try to stay in the same key throughout to be able to improvise a lot and jump in and out of different material on the analogue mixer.

Can we expect any of this material to be released soon?

For sure, I’m releasing a co-produced album this spring on Foom with my friend and long-time collaborator, Yonatan Levi. It’s not so much a dancefloor album, so we’re looking to do some more concert style live shows with a band setup for the release. Apart from that, I have a new remix coming for Ryan Crosson and Cesar Merveille’s album on Visionquest alongside Luciano and Seth Troxler, as well as a new Bruno album in the works for late 2018. I can’t reveal the details on that one just yet but I’m really looking forward to the finished product.

What else is in the pipeline for 2018?

I just joined my friends at their new agency A L T E R and am going on tour in the States next week for the first time in years…can’t wait to say what’s up back home. I’m hoping to get another record out with Sammy Dee as Half Hawaii; it’s been a couple of years since we released together and have a lot of unfinished material to work with. Also, Daze Maxim and I are looking to get back in the studio soon to make another Others record; I love working with Daze and am so happy that he’s making music again. Otherwise, just trying to relax, keep it easy, and enjoy this year as best I can.