Tocadisco Interview
Posted In Interviews
When I posted the Artist Spotlight of German born and raised Tocadisco yesterday, I explained how he seemed as though he “came out of nowhere” to myself and other Americans, unfamiliar with his incredible international success. “Came out of nowhere” I said? In 2007, Tocadisco played at the historical and infamous Love Parade to around 1,200,000 people. Sure did “Come out of nowhere”…. Tocadisco is known around the world for his big house sets and plays at some of the biggest festivals and events. After reading my post, Tocadisco, or, Roman, as I know him now, tweeted at us, explaining how it “gives me a different perspective of my 20yrs career…”. Needless to say I felt awful for misrepresenting him and not knowing his past as an artist before I chose to feature him on our website. On a whim and in an effort to mend my ways, I tweeted him back, asking if he would give me the time to send him a couple questions so I may write something that properly represents his past and current work. He direct messaged me and was generous to give us his time to answer a plethora of questions I gave him. I explained to him when we emailed back and forth that I was so grateful and humbled by his willingness to give us his time and I can’t reiterate how truly whole-hearted he was throughout our interactions – this all happened yesterday, mind you, not many artists would be this straight forward and generous and for that – I thank him, thank you Roman, you truly are in this business solely for your love of music – I wish more artists shared your mindset. Below are the questions I asked him via e-mail and his responses:
Tocadisco: “I was looking for a DJ name and everybody had english artist names back then… so I started to look in other languages and found “el tocadiscos” means “turntable” in spanish… I fell in love with the word… since then I’ve been using it…”
Tocadisco: “Being a DJ and electronic producer gives me the opportunity to produce and perform by myself. I never found anybody that was creatively on the same wavelength. I love to work alone.”
Tocadisco: “I started to make music when I was 10 ten years old. I concentrated on electronic music in the year 1995. Basicly everything has changed since then. How the music is produced, marketing, and sold. Nothing is like it was back then. But it’s still music and I love that it’s constantly changing. So it never gets boring.”
Tocadisco: “Its more about the money now. Most of the DJs are neither musicians nor producers. But everybody has to have productions to get bookings. Now its a huge market with producers, managers, agents etc. When you have so many different people that are mostly interested in money. The business becomes much harder. Everything is about contracts and lawyers. its much less fun. But when you go on stage you have to forget all that and just be the performer and make the people happy.”
Tocadisco: “I was always interested in all kinds of music. As a DJ I played at wedding parties, student parties etc in the beginning. So I really had a long school of knowing what which people like and why. Whe I started to play house everything was about disco house, then I started to play more electronic and techno stuff and the people didn’t get it. Now its normal to have a rapper from the US to rap over an electro track.So basically everything has changed and nothing is like it was before.”
Tocadisco: “Like I said I’m always open for everything. I’m also remixing a lot of different artist. Because its fun. Managers will tell you a strategy who you should mix to get a bigger name. But this is all only for money and fame. I enjoy music. I have that is much more important to me than business structures and future strategies.”
Tocadisco: “I actually just got an call from Moby to produce a track for him. Its a dream come true. I always loved Moby for his versatility. I’m so happy that he chose me to work with him. Means a lot to me.”
Tocadisco: “I had really good and really bad gigs on both continents so its not so easy to answer. I think Europe was always more interested in the underground side of electronic music and America is more into the pop and commercial side. But this is not a rule like I said before everything is constantly changing. I already played in great underground clubs in the US and spin on some commercial festivals in Europe. There is not real gone answer to this.”
Tocadisco: “I hope people get interested in all electronic music styles. Techno and house were also invented in the US in the 80′s but I guess it was an underground thing back then for fears and night people and based in the gay scene . So probably not so interesting for the average person. But now it has a crossover moment. Maybe that means that the people dig deeper and fall in love with different vibes of electronic music …who knows…”
Tocadisco: “traveling has been great so far. I have traveled all continents and been around the world five times. I saw amazing places and realized that despite all religion and other problems we have. humans are all the same. Just want to have a good time and make the best out of our lives….”
Tocadisco: “Its the music. I just love it. There is nothing more excited than bring a bunch of brand-new track to a club or festival and see the peoples reaction to it.”
Tocadisco: “hahaha… 80% of my life is filled with music. I love movies and this would be my alternative career if the music don’t work anymore in the future. I love to spend time with my wife. I also love to eat at restaurants, cook myself, see concerts, hang out in bars, go to the movies, I own a Harley and love to ride it…”
GMS: My website is focused on the philosophy that good music should be shared, it was created because of the wonderful feeling you describe in seeing someone react to a song, when someone share’s the excitement, energy and feeling you get when you listen to the song. That wonderful feeling of sharing with someone a song you love and them getting those same feelings and sharing them with you – the love of music – I’m just trying to share with people that love I have for music and the happiness it provides me with. So if you could share any one song with people, what would it be? A song that makes you happy, feel good, etc. any genre. It can be one most people don’t know, an emerging artist, or a household name – anything.
Tocadisco:
-Dan
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Interview: Keys N Krates
Posted In Interviews
Keys N Krates are a trio from Toronto, Canada who truly display the art of live remixing. The group is comprised of Adam Tune on drums, David Matisse on keys, and Jr. Flow (Greg Dawson) on the turntables. They’ve added their own flavor to tracks by the names of Bassnectar, Zeds Dead, and Madeon. They also have their own EP titled “Blackout”. The trio add an organic feel of remixes to a very digitalized era and are very unique and original; characteristics that we at GoodMusicShared are always looking to promote.
Dan: Where did the name Keys N Krates come from?Matisse“Keys n Krates came from Flo and myself one day trying to come up with some kind of name for what we were doing. We had a bunch of names we were shooting around and when this one popped in the air we liked the way it sounded.”
Dan: Who had the initial idea for the group, how did you all come to collaborate together, did you all know eachother prior to working with one another?Flo“Matisse and myself kinda were on the same idea but approaching it different ways before we met each other. I was trying to meet with musicians and jam some stuff out. Matisse was in the live soul circuit and really wanted to branch out and work with djs. We had a mutual friend who introduced us to each other and from there we realized we kinda had the same vision. Tune and Matisse had known and been in bands together for years before that so when we started this Matisse told Tune about the it and that’s how Tune got involved.”Dan: Toronto… Best music scene in Canada? I mean so many artists that have or are currently making a huge impact in their own genre’s come from Toronto, how do you feel about your home town, how does it compare to the energy you have at shows in the U.S.?Matisse“Yah our city is kind of shining internationally. The talent has always been here but our local music industry was always shitty.Once the internet opened the playing field up, it kinda allowed the talent here to finally be seen. We have a lot of do it yourself talent here. So I think this new musical climate of YouTube twitter blogging etc really helped a lot of us out. We created our initial fanbase via YouTube.”
Dan: How has the mindset of the group changed since you all started, did you ever think you would find the following you now have today and the opportunities KNK has provided you all with?Tune
“Well when we first started this we didn’t even know how people in our home town would react to what we were trying to do. And to see that a few years later it’s taken us across the world and on big stages with artists we’re huge fans of is really cool.Another thing is, we always had wanted to play festivals and now we’re doing them like ultra music fest and Detroit Music fest. And also to now be opening shows for artists like Skrillex, Bassnectar and Diplo, Its cool to look back and see the progression.”Dan: Being such a diverse group of musicians, KNK really seems to be pushing boundaries and forming a new genre, what are some of your goals and aspirations?Matisse“Total world domination. And to play a show on the moon one day.”
Dan: How long does it take to normally produce one of your remixes, and to practice them so that they are ready to be performed live?Flo“It really varies. if we’re lucky some can happen in a few days. Others are a wonderfully painful long process.”Dan: Where do you all receive inspiration from? And ideas for new remixes?Tune“Everywhere and anywhere. We listen to a lot of music wherever we can. new and old. We just keep looking for any sounds or rhythms that seem fresh to us and use those as inspiration.”
Dan: Is there any genre you would like to do a remix for next that you haven’t explored yet?Matisse“Nah not really. We’re pretty much doing exactly what we want now.”
Dan: What are your personal lives like? Hobbies? Sports? Interests?“Matisse: Our personal lives are a mess Haha.”Dan: Good music should be shared… What song would you choose to share with us?“We really like that song Jumanji by Azealia Banks produced by Hudson Mohawke. That shit bangs”
Be sure to follow Keys n Krates on Twitter and Facebook. You can also download all of their tracks for free on their Soundcloud page.
Andy C at Ruby Skye
Posted In Drum and Bass,Interviews
This Thursday I caught the BART into San Francisco, unaware that I would experience a drum and bass show for the first time of my life. When I got into the city I met up with some friends and we quickly decided that we would be going to Ruby Skye, I looked up who was playing that night and I found it to be none other than Andy C from the UK. Andy C is a world renowned Drum and Bass producer and DJ, he has won countless awards, labeling him as one of the worlds best DnB DJ’s, if not the best. His record label “Ram Records” has also won numerous awards. This year, Andy won the Best DJ title in the Drum and Bass awards arena and his record label won best label. So needless to say, 2012 seems as though it will only catapult his career only further into success. He is playing at EDC in Las Vegas and will continuing his tour afterwards, stopping in destinations around the world. Walking into the venue, I had no idea what to expect. Ruby Skye is a big place, a big bottom floor and a top floor with a surrounding balcony. At electronic shows in the past on the east coast, it has been a mixed crowd, some people buzzing, some people vibing, a good amount with their hands in the air and enjoying the music, and an even fewer amount of people dancing. This show was unlike any other I had experienced in the past, every single person in the crowd was going absolutely off! Not a single person was standing still, everyone was moving, grooving, jumping and dancing their faces off. Even the girls were going nuts. The great mixing and barrage of tracks Andy C unleashed, along with the lights, fog cannons (So big I could barely see my hands in front of my face) and blasting a/c at the front of the venue made it impossible to stop from dancing. At the end of the night, I asked Andy C if we could talk after the show and I ended up enjoying breakfast at a nearby diner with him, his Emcee Armanni Reign, and local Drum and bass artist Kozee.
Andy explained to me that he DJ’s with vinyl still as he always has and uses Traktor. That night he spun with three decks, he is internationally known for his quick and impeccable mixing skills and this night displayed just that. After asking him why he thought the drum and bass scene wasn’t as large in the U.S. he explained his view that much of the U.S. is too spread out, and people are always on to the next thing. How people in the UK are much more established in their tastes, have loyalty and are much more densely populated, this provides for a loyal community and scene. In all, Andy and Armanii were incredibly nice, they sat down with me, told me how they felt on the various topics I asked them about and were never short of words. A pleasant experience on both fronts, from the music, to the interaction with them personally. Drum and bass… my new favorite genre live – No other genre has provided the same energy in the crowd or has made every single person in the audience dance like they did that night – or maybe that was Andy’s doing, needless to say, I’ll be keeping my calendar clear for the next time he’s in town.
Below is the trailer for a documentary coming out about Andy C and our video of him dropping his “Get Free” remix at Ruby Skye. Check out our YouTube channel for more videos from the night!
