Ewan Pearson is a world-famous DJ and producer, having worked with and remixed some of the biggest names in music throughout his career. He took time out of his busy schedule ahead of his Australian tour to talk about all things Pearson. A special thanks to Larry Heath for editing and contributing questions to this Q + A session with the man himself!

Hi Ewan, a belated happy new year to you (unless you're about to celebrate the Chinese variety ;)! Let's briefly look back at 2010 - what were some of your highlights of the year?

2010 came in two parts really. The first was a lot of promotion for the three records that I made in 2009 - Delphic, Tracey Thorn and my Kompakt mix CD - and seeing them out into the world, doing a lot of press and being pretty happy with the reviews and the responses. And then the second half was me throwing myself at my own studio and starting remixing again with a vengeance - something I hadn't really done for 18 months. It's only now that the fruits of that are beginning to emerge - people are going to be sick of me in the next couple of months - there's lots coming out. Apart from that, a lot of gigs and some happy mellow real life.

In the music world, what do you think was the biggest "trend" shift in 2010? Or was there not one?

I'm not sure there was one - I think you just saw more of what had been the developing themes of the last couple of years. Musically, things have been pretty diverse and positive - I'm really enjoying playing at the moment. The various de-stabilisations in relation to distribution, dropping in sales etc. continued, combined with more music out there than ever before - lots of it very good.

What are you most looking forward to this year?

I'm excited to have a load of remixes with my name on about to drop - stuff for Crosstown Rebels, Seth Troxler's label Visionquest, Erol Alkan's label Phantasy and others - and some original music too. There's a new project with a friend from the UK - we have our first track on the new Kompakt Pop Ambient 2011 compilation and more material written. And I'm about to go into the studio with a new band from the UK which is exciting.

You're well known for your work as a remix artist - what makes a great remix to you?

I like remixes that transform or transport a track without losing what made it great in the first place. Not a perfunctory putting a more insistent beat behind it and not just taking a fart or a burp from the original and putting into a completely new track that bears no relation to the original.

What have been some of your proudest works?

Erm, it's a hard one - the way I feel about work I've done changes and I can usually pick holes in everything. But there are several remixes that I can still enjoy listening to - Cortney Tidwell, Foals, Kelley Polar and I just did one for a great band from the UK called Chapel Club. As for production I'm pretty proud of most of it in that I know how hard everyone involved worked and how much they cared - from the outside you're not supposed to be able to sense the blood, sweat and tears though.

Last year, you worked on Delphic's album - one of my favourites - can you tell us about that experience?

It was great fun - hard work as the record is very epic and dense and detailed yet it is supposed to sound effortless and we had a few hairy deadlines for singles and such but the songs were great and the guys were / are great - I mostly remember laughing a lot.

Is there any act that you haven't yet worked with yet that you've got on your wishlist?

I can name a string of people that I like or admire as artists, but there's no hit-list and I probably wouldn't be the right person for lots of them, or rather they don't really need a producer particularly. When someone approaches me I think hard about what I can add and whether it would be the right thing for them - I've sacked myself from several projects that I've known I'm not right for.

Anything in the pipeline that you can tell us about? Any surprises in store as such for your Australian visit?

As I said, a truckload of remixes - for Chapel Club, Erol Alkan, Seth Troxler, Crosstown Rebels and more. And more goodies later in the year.

What is it about Australia which keeps you coming back?

Well, it's become a bit of a home from home - I was lucky to make some very dear friends in Sydney the first time I was ever there, and working with the Lost Valentinos meant I made a lot more friends then too. It's always a bit hectic when I'm there - so many people to catch up with.

Who else on the Playground Weekender lineup has piqued your interest?

There's loads of great stuff this year - lots of people that i know I like from Caribou to Four Tet, Damian Lazarus, Dixon and Heidi. I'm looking foward to some surprises too - I saw Gaslamp Killer there last year and he blew me away.

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Don't miss Ewan Pearson when he plays Playground Weekender.
http://www.playgroundweekender.com.au/