At barely 21 years old, Colombian-born DJ/Producer Moska is already a rising star on the international EDM scene.? His remix of Jordan Ferrer’s “I Need You” caught the the attention and support of Laidback Luke.? Later on, a bootleg of a Calvin Harris track led to Tiesto supporting him as well.? A steady stream of remixes and bootlegs has increased Moska’s reputation and led to releases on the ultra credible label Mad Decent records.? Keep your eye out for Moska, that’s lots of great music coming from South America.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Where did the name Moska come from?
Moska: The name Moska came from my last name and high school friends. They called me Moska because I was a very active person and always ready for anything.
RS: I have been listening to the tracks and the bootlegs as they come up and the new song, “Trapeando,” threw me for a loop because it is trap, what inspired you to go completely different with your sound.
Moska: I always try to make new music and this time I tried to make a trap track. I am really happy with the result and I?m trying to finish it; I will release it very soon.
RS: When you play your sets do you play trap or is it more electro house?
Moska: I always play a lot of Dutch house and electro, but I love progressive house as well. I have two sides, a hard side and a soft side; I always try to play a little bit of everything. I am trying to play trap – but commercial tracks that are in trap versions.
RS: Luke was really the first guy to bang you on the big side, what did it feel like when he first played your track?
Moska: It was one of the best feelings of my life. At the time I was only 15 years old and it was really cool. I started to send him music and he supported me and gave me a lot of opportunities, like remixing his track “Speak Up,” and from there our relationship continued. He is working with me on a track right now as well as some other stuff.
RS: I really like the collaboration that you did for ?This Is Our Time,? how did that come about?
Moska: ?This Is Our Time? started at Summerland Cartagena, which is the biggest electronic music festival in Colombia. At the festival DJs like Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Tiesto, Markus Schultz, and Steve Angelo played- and I played there also. The owner of the festival asked me if I could make the anthem for the festival with some other DJs like Antoine Becks, James Doman, and Mark M. Of course I said yes and started to work on it and exchange ideas with the other guys, and from there we created the song.
RS: I know that you are from Colombia, how is the electronic music scene in Colombia?
Moska: The scene is Colombia is pretty weak, people need to support electronic music and start to support the local DJs more and not just the commercial stuff that is on the radio. In Colombia there are a lot of talented DJs there and I think that in a couple years the scene will get bigger.
RS: Is reggaeton still really big down there?
Moska: Yes. Reggaeton, salsa, and merengue are still really big and always have been.
RS: Have you ever thought about collaborating with someone like Daddy Yankee?
Moska: No, never, but who knows, maybe if he had a good idea…
RS: You have also gotten a lot of support from Tiesto with ?Macondo? and ?This Is Our Time,? how did that feel when Tiesto came on board?
Moska: He plays a lot of my tracks on his podcasts. The first track that he played on his podcast was the bootleg of Axwell ?Watch The Sunrise,? it was awesome and I was really happy. He is playing a lot of my stuff now, two weeks ago he played ?Insane? with Antoine Becks, which will be released on Mad Decent in April. I am very excited.
RS: Speaking about your bootlegs, have you heard back from any of the original artists about your bootlegs?
Moska: No, I don?t think that the original artists usually hear the bootlegs. For example I don?t think that Above & Beyond ever heard my bootleg of ?Love Is Not Enough,? which would be awesome if they did. Tiesto and DJs that are really big hear and know of my bootlegs and I am happy for that.
RS: Did you work with Tiesto on a remix?
Moska: Yes, last year I made a remix for him, and this time I collaborated with him to remix one of his old tracks with Calvin Harris called ?Century.? Yesterday he closed his set with the remix of ?Century,? and Calvin and I were there; it was really special and awesome for me. I made a video of that moment and I am thrilled to release it soon on Musical Freedom.
RS: Is that video on YouTube?
Moska: Yes it is on my channel TvMoska, I uploaded it here today.??
RS: When you do a production, what kind of software do you use?
Moska: I use Fruity Loops 9 which is great to produce with. In the end, I don?t think that it really matters what software you use, the important thing is that you produce good music with whatever software you choose to use.
RS: What artists out there are you really enjoying the tracks of, who are your inspirations?
Moska: At this moment Tommy Trash is making a lot of big tracks, my friends from Miami, GTA, are killin it and making big tracks like ?Hit It? which is a collaboration with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. They are making a lot of great stuff like remixes for Deadmau5 and Chris Lake. Tiesto and Laidback Luke are killing it in their shows and they are my biggest inspirations.
RS: How are you enjoying your first Winter Music Conference?
Moska: I went to Ultra and it has been awesome to see all of the people enjoying electronic music. It is awesome to see all of the big DJs in one place. I am happy to be here and have some shows to do, this is my first time and it is really important to be here.
RS: What advice do you have to all of the up-and-coming producers? ???
Moska: My main piece of advice for all of the producers and fans out there is to practice and practice and when you make music, don?t think about being famous- just make music with passion and all of the fame and money will come later.
RS: What would you like to say to all of your fans?
Moska: Thank you for all of the support; I have a lot of fans in El Paso and Brownsville, Texas and New York. Thank you so much, I have a lot of music and gigs coming up and hope to be near my fans soon.
Interview conducted during Winter Music Conference 2013.