Standing as one of the most exciting and versatile producers on the circuit currently, Angelo del Carmen has received worldwide acclaim for his tenacious production output under his Trance-influenced Parnassvs moniker. Fostering a naturally darker and more underground sound palette, Angelo presents his Luis del Carmen alias, joining the Techno realm with a brand new 2-tracker for Spartaque’s esteemed IAMT Red imprint. Representing his debut EP contribution to the authoritative Techno house, the “We Collide” EP is out now across all streaming platforms. DMCWORLD dives in for a world exclusive…
Hey Luis! Thanks for joining us today. Where in the world are you at the moment?
Hello! I’m currently living here in Manila, Philippines. Been here for about 4 years now. I’m originally from San Francisco so it’s a total scene change when I decided to move. Really awesome though.
We love your latest release “We Collide”, what was your inspiration behind the 2-track EP?
I’ve always wanted to create a heavily melodic techno track that not only fuses my background with trance music but also incorporated what I love about the dark, driving baselines and drums of techno. More importantly, the vocals needed to work and tell a story as well. I’ve been a fan of Space92, Joyhauser, and Spartaque’s melodic techno productions which also inspired me to create one myself.
How long was the production process from start to finish?
Overall this one took about a week to finish. Conceptually, around three days. Normally for techno, I start ironing out structurally how the kick would sit on the groove of the overall track— in this case I started out working on the melody first which was a very “trance” thing to do. Once all the elements were somewhat roughly mixed, I’d sit on it for a couple of days and really critique the elements. At this point it’s mostly subtractive rather than anxiously adding more.
The EP stands as your debut for IAMT Red – how does it feel to release with such an established label?
It feels really awesome to be a part of IAMT. I’ve been a fan of their releases and being a part of it is definitely surreal. It’s also awesome to have the support of people working in the label since their attention to detail with their releases is top notch. Big shout out to Spartaque for supporting this one off the bat!
You also make trance music under your Parnassvs alias, which profile came first and how do the two coexist for you?
At one point I wanted to just release under the Parnassvs alias. However, as my music career expanded, colleagues as well as close friends told me it’s better, professionally speaking, to split the two. It gives proper respect to the culture that I’m trying to make music for. Although trance and techno have their roots in underground dance, their fan base and culture are different. Creating a proper alias for techno was a decision to pay respect to the culture that was established before me. Originally, my Parnassvs profile came first— I’ll always have my roots in trance but as Luis del Carmen, it’s a whole different world.
Is it important for you to have these different outlets to express your various perspectives?
It’s important because it goes back to the idea of creating music for the music culture you are a part of. In dance music, DJs and producers can get away pretty much releasing whatever they want under one name. Some will dabble in house music and then suddenly have a hip hop track out of nowhere. But for me, it’s a hodgepodge, lazy approach that tries to capture all under one net in the name of commercial viability. It’s true, you can release whatever you want under one name but in this case, pay respect to the house music culture, to hip hop culture—pay respect to the culture through its fans.
How did you get started in music and at what point did you realise it was something you wanted to pursue as a career?
I started out actually on vinyl back in 2000. At that time I was collecting trance vinyl and also spinning hip hop. It was more of a side hobby at that time. Eventually as I grew older, I managed to get into production but still was doing music part time since law initially was the path I’ve set myself to follow. Juggling both a legal career and music was tough which ultimately forced me to choose. Not saying goodbye to law just yet though but at this time, it’s music/
What does the future look like for Luis del Carmen, any future release or shows in the works?
I’ve got a few releases under Luis del Carmen before this year ends! One major one with Numen and a few more which I can’t say at the moment. In terms of shows, it’s a bit hard here in southeast Asia to move around so shows are still off the table at the moment.
Lastly, where can our readers keep up to date with you and your upcoming music?
You can find all my posts and release announcements on Facebook at facebook.com/parnassvsmusic and also my instagram @parnassvsmusic
