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Part 2

In a song or classical composition, the building blocks are notes, but in a DJ set the building blocks are entire songs and their combinatory potential. Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening and perhaps also, if applicable, your work as a producer?

I have listened to music since my childhood. Before I started producing music, I was working as a DJ and I believe this journey of becoming a DJ before a music producer contributed to preserve my sensitivity to recognizing good music. I’ve already received tracks from young artists that the vocals were out of key, even though, I played the song and the crowd responded cheerfully. Because the music was good. Even though music is mathematics, at the end of the day, what counts more is the feeling. I can’t dance as I used to dance when I was only a raver, because now being a DJ is my main job and this side that evokes more sensitivity and lightness remains preserved in my soul – it helps not to be attached all the time to technical side of the music.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please. Do you have a fixed schedule? How do music and other aspects of your life feed back into each other - do you separate them or instead try to make them blend seamlessly?

I’m still on my way to maximize my routine. My team counts on a few people, so we try to be as organized as possible. But we don’t have super defined positions because there is so much work to do and sometimes one person is doing the job that ideally two people should be doing. I try to wake early in the morning, go to the gym and then around 10am I start the workday. I respond to e-mails, do some social media content, reply to my fans and also I take care of the bureaucratic side of my career, such as issuing invoices and etc. In the afternoon, I search for new music and also dedicate part of my time to music production (sometimes I study new stuff and sometimes I finalize tracks that I started at some point).

Can you talk about a breakthrough DJ set or performance in your career? Why does it feel special to you? When, why and how did you start working on it, what were some of the motivations and ideas behind it?

In the beginning, I studied the basic principles of DJing, reading specialized blogs and watching vídeos on YT. With the help of virtual DJ, I got familiar with the structure of the electronic music, as I didn’t have money to attend a paid course, so this was how I began. After saving some money, I purchased a X1 controller, but it still missed the audio interface – which was very expensive at that time – so I mapped the controller so it worked as mixer and CDJ at the same time. Guess what? I was invited to play in a small gig and took the X1 with me and it didn’t work LOL. At the party, their technical rider was one CDJ 100 and one CDJ 400 LOL. I looked to that and thought: it’s now or never. In the end, I didn’t make any mistake with my mixings, so I knew that night, I was born to be a DJ. I can’t remember any other moment in time that I felt as happy as I did that night.  

Music and sounds can heal, but they can also hurt. Do you personally have experiences with either or both of these? Where do you personally see the biggest need and potential for music as a tool for healing?

I receive many messages from my fans on my socials telling me my music helped them to get through a difficult time in their lives. The dichotomy in this situation is that there are so many tracks that I put out at some point of my life which was a struggle for me during the production process. So, when I read that this or that song helped someone to heal, it is also a process of healing for me. So, at the end of the day this is the potential that music has. It is an exchange between the creator and him/hers fanbase: there will be situations where you put out a piece of art can hurt, because the artist was going through a dark moment but on the other hand a person who is listening to it is interpretating in a very positive way. There are other moments where the same record will be the soundtrack for a romance. When it breaks-up it can’t be the most hated song in the world because it will be a memory of a relationship that was broken.

There is a fine line between cultural exchange and appropriation. What are your thoughts on the limits of copying, using cultural signs and symbols and the cultural/social/gender specificity of art?

Even when used in the name of freedom of speech, I believe that the use of signs and symbols of a different culture – when there is no other interest or support shown in that specific culture – can be disrespectful. Let me give you an example. In Brazil, you can find so many white people going to the e-music parties wearing native Brazilian headdress. If a headdress didn’t relate to a group of people which is fighting for survival in their native lands around the country, it would be fine to wear because it is colourful and beautiful. But when you take such a strong symbol that represents an exploited group of people – a fact that you can’t just ignore – it is appropriation. So, we have to take care when we try to express ourselves to not to cross any line.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?

My approach to art began when I was born. Being a black person, raised in a black and poor community in the second whitest city in Brazil (Porto Alegre/Rio Grande do Sul) was a challenge. My family always used art, especially music, to cherish our ancestors. That was the way we found to remain still in that hostile environment. This brought me to the conclusion that being in an industry where most of the artists are cis-hetero-male-white people is a statement of: I exist, I can do art and there are so many people hungry for my music.  

What can music express about life and death which words alone may not?

Music can translate feelings and emotions without the need for words. Instrumental tracks can make us reminisce, make us remember special moments in our lives, for example. We all have songs that remind us of special moments, our first love, the birth of a loved one, the passing of a loved one. Every time we listen to said songs, we can feel the feelings we had at the time. Music is also about energy. When you are on the dancefloor and the DJ plays a track that makes you feel like you are free, levitating, or even ecstatic. Music has a lot of power that goes beyond words.


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