Category: Interviews

INTERVIEW: The Flexican (2013)

Occasionally in the stream of new music coming out, a track catches your attention and becomes what I affectionately call a WTF track.? Something so creative and out of the ordinary that it just shakes things up.?? If you haven’t heard of The Flexican yet – you soon will.? Coming from a hip-hop background, his mash of styles- electro, house, moombahton, and tech come together for a truly unique take.? Check out his remixes of Pitbull and Melanie Amaro for an idea of his vibe, and watch for his upcoming track with Major Lazer which should help launch him into the stratosphere.

DJ Ron Slomowicz:? Great job on the Stevie Wonder “Superstition” mix, have you thought about getting it revocalled for an official release?
The Flexican: Yes, when I heard the beat I thought it was too good to release as it was and I figured that if I added the vocals it would match and give a different vibe to the song. People know the song and can sing a lot to it.

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INTERVIEW: DJs From Mars (2013)

Italian producer/DJs DJs from Mars, the duo of Max Aqualuce and Luca Ventafunk,? are quite hard to pin down.? Pure pranksters at heart, they are difficult to spot in a crowd because they don’t reveal their identity, choosing instead to wear boxes over their heads (inspired by their first single, “Who Gives A Fuck About Deejays”). It took some effort to find them, but with a bit of effort and a little luck, I interviewed them at the Amsterdam Dance Event and can honestly say that the infectious energy and humor of their tracks and videos are true reflections of their animated personalities.

RS:How did you two guys meet up?
Max Aqualuce: We met at a recording studio about ten years ago, and in 2004 we started the project “Djs From Mars? as producers. A couple years ago we started with the bootlegs and continued that for years; right now, we are trying to focus mostly on production.

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INTERVIEW: Firebeatz (2013)

2012 was a massive year for the Dutch duo Firebeatz, Jurgio Ratello and Tim Benjamin.? Their track with Chocolate Puma, “Just One More Time,” was a big Beatport hit and gained massive support from Pete Tong.? A slew of solid remixes, including Pink’s “Blow Me,” has expanded their reach from the underground to the mainstream.? With so much going, they were quite in demand during the Amsterdam Dance Event, and I caught up with them for a quick chat.

RS: How did the two of you meet up?
Jurgio Ratello: We met at School of Rock in Tilburg.

RS: Were you DJs first or producers?
Tim Benjamin: I was a DJ first and played music, and then I started to create the sounds that I played. In the beginning, it was mostly drum and bass/hip-hop stuff. Later on when we met at school, it was more house music and that genre.
Jurgio: I started DJing first and was more into the original house sound. That is where we get this unique combination of all different influences.

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