Demuir’s eclectic house sound exudes funky, sexy and soulful beats that are consistently recognized and sought by fellow artists and dance music fans around the world. Demuir first fell in love with house music after hearing Derrick May’s “Strings of Life”, and by seeing May, DJ Sneak, and Mark Farina at Industry, the legendary Toronto nightclub. Cutting his teeth as a DJ in some of Canada’s most notable clubs, Demuir soon established himself as one of the most talented and prolific producers in the scene. His musical output has truly led him to stand out amongst his peers and be championed by dance music’s elite artists. With all this in mind, we’re thrilled to be speaking with the man himself today. Let’s get into it!
Hello Demuir! Thanks for speaking with us today, it’s great to have you with us! How’s it going? Where are you based at the moment?
Thanks for having me! I’m happy to be doing this with you and things are good and quite hectic at the moment between building content, streams, music, meetings, and promoting this record! I like the craziness, it’s good for me. I’m based in Toronto, Canada at the moment.
How have things been there for you given the covid circumstances? What have you been doing with the time that usually would have been spent on the road?
We are experiencing COVID similar to how the world is with all the uncertainty and anxieties that come with it. You can feel it in the air and it’s a bit sad, but something we will and must get through together. During this time, I’ve been able to grow my social media channels and revamp my business model by concentrating on how to deliver content and music to those who are fans of my music while still connected to the broader scene. I’ve more than tripled the growth of my YouTube channel by sharing Underground Electronic Music production tips and commentary and established my Patreon site along with a Discord server to help support aspiring DJs/Producers and the integrity of our scene. Outside of this, I’ve created an Underground Electronic Music Production course available on my Patreon along with a sample pack for Loopmasters, which will be available on December 3rd, and done a few DJ’ing streams for Beatport,DJ Mag, and DJ Sneak.
Aside from the current restrictions, the year has been great for you in terms of musical output, with releases so far on Robsoul Recordings, Kaoz Theory, Pets Recordings and Moxy Musik, amongst many others – a testament to the strength and diversity of your sound. What do you think helps you continually keep your creative output so high?
Thank you! I say this because I strive to show a range in my art and refuse to be boxed into a particular genre of our music, so thank you for recognizing that. My music output is in direct step with my belief of not conforming to what people think a certain sound should be and just going after whatever inspires me. I hear a lot of “cookie-cutter” music and people basically sounding the same with sounds derived from the same sample packs coupled with people not being brave enough to find their own sound because they place their value in other people’s opinions and chase “looks”, which is completely stupid. The artist should be the driving force and extending the boundaries of this music, not what some person in a boardroom thinks that has never done it before and has a sole focus on monetizing content.
You’re now also gearing up for a release, titled Legend EP, on Solardo’s new Sola Nauts label. Can you tell us a bit about this EP and how it found its home on Sola Nauts?
Certainly. Legend EP was tailored to be my formal artistic statement on my ability to do whatever the fuck on want and how I want. It speaks to the ethos of what I want to create for my own legacy in the diversity in music, skillset, and not really caring about anybody else’s opinion other than where I am today versus the endless pursuit of mastery. That’s why the EP goes from proper Jackin’ House (which has somehow been confused with Disco House lately) to Tech House, and Techno vibes.
I knew Solardo had been playing and charting some of my previous releases and my manager, Till and I thought they would be interested in these sounds as well. So we got tunes to them.
Nowadays you’re known to be a lover of hardwar What bits of kit are doing it for you in the studio at the moment? Any new additions of late?
So true and such a funny evolution back to where I was when I started. I’m having loads of fun with Arturia’s Micro Freak and haven’t added any more pieces of kit for production, but I am getting some ideas for using the Pioneer V10 Mixer which is a new addition to the studio.
It seems there is a lot of great music being put out at the moment, from existing and new artists alike. Are there any artists that have caught your attention over the last few months?
Yes, I truly feel the pandemic has presented a good opportunity to those truly committed to the craft.
I’ve been enjoying tracks from Micfreak, KC Wray, Rufus Gibson, Paul Najera & Jr. Quijada, Andre Salmon, Will Taylor, Paco Wegmann, and Kricked to name a few. You listen to these guys and all you can hear is freshness and new ideas coming forward.
With the nightlife industry under threat right now given the covid restrictions globally, we’ve been attempting to draw some attention to why the scene is so important to protect in our recent interviews. As someone who has been DJing and producing music for so many years now, what does nightlife culture and the music scene mean to you?
Having worked a 9 to 5 job for so many years prior to doing music full time, I have a full perspective of why the arts and nightlife industry is so important to us all as human beings.
When I was working a “normal job”, getting to the club and taking in the whole experience of a festival, etc. was a form of escapism from the stress of daily emails, responsibilities, stupid people, and workplace politics. In some cases, it brought me closer to myself to show there was much more to life than sitting in a car for 2 hours of your day to go to a job I was doing to live. I got nothing against those who work a good job like most but having the arts & nightlife brought balance to that chaos and I think a lot of people can relate to this.
As an artist doing this for life and for a living, my appreciation for this scene is well above what I saw it as a person working a “normal job”. I can see the communicative value of sharing my art and how it impacts people on the dancefloor and the value it adds to our lives. It gives full meaning and appreciation to me.
Thanks again for chatting with us today Demuir, it was great speaking with you. In a time of uncertainty, it is brilliant to see artists such as yourself continuing to keep pushing the music forward. Keep doing what you’re doing! To round off, is there anything else coming up from you that you’d like to share with us?
Thank you for having me and providing us a platform to communicate this intimately. In terms of future projects coming, I have music coming to Elrow, Rawthentic, Sola, Edible, Kultur, and a remix I did for the legendary Cassius! Also, finally getting the chance to launch the vinyl side of my Purveyor Underground label.
Content-wise, there is always something happening on my YouTube and Patreon channels that I encourage people to tap into. For Patreon, we are announcing an “Elite” tier that gives aspiring producers full access to my course and Patreon site along with 2 to 3 hours of mentoring from me directly. More details on that November 13th. Please see the links below:
Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCIvPi0VbQvxibbLk8Iq5FIw/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DemuirOfficial
Discord: https://discord.gg/wr59dVR
Demuir ‘Legend EP’ is released 6th November on Sola Nauts buy link.
