sLick’s flagship event, ‘A Day of sLick!‘ saw a number of fine names in the world of dance music play at Kitty Su, Mumbai on the 5th of December. Amongst those names were Nora En Pure, who was returning for her second A Day of sLick performance, and Croatia Squad, who made his Indian debut. We caught up with both of them to discuss their favourite venues to play in, their experience in India, and much more. Read ahead!
TBB: Daniela, this is your second time in India, and Alex, it’s your first. So what do you guys think?
Daniela: I love India a lot. It’s very different travelling to other countries, since they’re used to artists coming. People here really appreciate you, and they really celebrate you, so it’s a lot of fun.
Alex: Yeah, it’s my very first time in India, so I’m surprised that they know all my songs, and it was such a good party, got so much love. I’m really happy.
TBB: You guys have played all around the world. What venue do you think is the best you’ve ever played at?
Daniela: Umm venue I cannot tell, but for the countries, I love the US, they like to party, Australia is pretty amazing for me. It always depends where your following is really, really good, cause normally there is such a great vibe. In Europe, Netherlands is also cool, and as I said, India has a great crowd, so I’m looking forward to coming back the next time.
Alex: I’m not sure about the venues. I’ve played Ministry of Sound, which is a very good club, I’ve played Green Valley, which is the No. 1 club in Brazil, but I can’t tell like one club. It’s about the vibe, it’s about the situation. I’ve had a lot of good gigs in Brazil, the States, but I’m very surprised about my first gig in India. I didn’t know India at all, but I’m really happy and really looking forward to come back again soon.
TBB: This question is for you Daniela. As a female DJ in a male dominated world, what difficulties do you face to get to where you are, to perform and to be respected for your art?
Daniela: I don’t really see any difficulties. There are, you know, advantages or disadvantages. I mean an advantage is there are not many female DJs, so it’s easier to stick out, you know. Otherwise, you maybe have to show what you’re really capable of, but if you deliver, it’s not a problem at all. I feel I’m very well respected in the scene and no one ever questions me or anything, so I feel quite at home where I am, and a part of the new generation deep house scene, so I don’t have any difficulties as a female.
TBB: So getting to where you are, you haven’t faced any difficulties, let’s say a male DJ would have faced, or would not have faced?
Daniela: No, I wouldn’t say so. I wouldn’t say there are more disadvantages to advantages, you know, because as a male DJ, there maybe more difficulty to stick out.
Alex: Actually, Nora did one of the best remixes ever, of the classic ‘The Conductor’, so it’s kind of a family now.
TBB: Alex, you sound is mostly nu-disco, G-House. What other genres do you prefer listening to, if you had to play any other genres, apart from your sound?
Alex: Okay, that’s a good question. I think music is all about the vibe. I like the underground, complicated sounds. When I listen to a new sound, I must listen to it like 3 times to understand it. For me, that’s interesting. So the more underground, the difficult sounds, that’s what I like.
TBB: What does 2016 hold for you guys? What can we expect?
Daniela: Hopefully, I’ll have more time for creating new stuff, because with a lot of touring, studio time gets a bit short. But I enjoy the touring, I’m all over the world, and hopefully next year there will be more festivals. Otherwise I’m really happy how it’s going at the moment. I get a lot of impressions from around the world and I could not wish for more.
Alex: I’ve been touring for like two years, and it’s a challenge, so bringing new productions, up till like when you have some productions that the people love it. I’m trying to bring out something new. It’s very difficult to always bring something new, but I love the touring so much and working on new stuff.
TBB: Is there any advice you could give to upcoming producers, what would it be?
Alex: Keep on working, keep believing in your own music. It’s all about the music, and not where you’re from. It’s all about the music, so you should keep on working, bringing your stuff out and if the energy is right, it comes back to you and you get appreciation of the fans and they come to you, and you’ll make it.
Daniela: Probably to find your own sound, because at the moment there are so many producers trying their thing, and unfortunately many people try to copy their popular sound, and it’s unfortunate because, I mean that sound is already there, so I mean it’s tricky to find your style, but it’s really important otherwise to stand out from the masses, you know. So that’s like the main advice I could give.
Interview by: Shule Puri
Edited by: Pranav Gupta
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