Getting ‘Closer’ to Zulu Records… a monster of a tune
Interview : Simon Tillotson
With support from all corners including Riva Starr, Prok & Fitch and Kryder, Dashka teamed up with production partner Matteo DiMarr to release what is arguable one of this year’s most original and exciting productions on the house scene – Closer. Complete with a huge remix from My Digital Enemy, Closer is a bona fide dancefloor weapon and will be in the ears of a lot of people this summer. We caught up with Dashka to find out more…
Hi Dashka – busy year so far?! What has been the stand out moments for you in 2014?
“Yeah, this year so far has been absolutely hectic! I’ve really been focusing on some great new projects in the studio the last few months, and I’m really looking forward to putting those tracks out! So far this year, the stand out moments for me have been dropping ‘Closer’ and some of my other unreleased tracks in my DJ sets and seeing such an enormous response…it’s always such an incredible feeling.”
‘Closer’ is an absolute weapon – how did the track come about?
“‘Closer’ originated with a vocal hook I created in the studio by slicing up and tweaking some old acapellas to make a new one. I worked up the basis of a track around this with some nice chords and string passages, and then sent all the parts over to Matteo so he could work his magic and add the ‘DiMarr’ stamp on it! We bounced ideas back and forth for around 2 months and the final product was ‘Closer’.”
You’ve worked with Matteo DiMarr on other tracks; do you find working together makes the production process a lot more fruitful?
“Yeah, I’m definitely a proponent for collaborating. I find the real recipe for a great collab is that both producers are able to stand their own, each having individual fortes and bringing something unique to the table. When that works out you end up with two very unique styles combined in a track that neither would probably have made on their own! I’ve been playing musical instruments from a young age, mainly piano and saxophone, so I tend to approach everything from a very musical standpoint. On the other hand, I have yet to meet anyone that can match Matteo’s drum programming, mixing and sound engineering! Add to that the fact that he has been making house music for more than 20 years so he knows exactly what a track needs to make it really work on the dancefloor.”
Who would be your top 3 producers to work with in an ideal world?!
“Matteo DiMarr, Eric Prydz, Deadmau5.”
The support for ‘Closer’ has been huge so far – did you expect to see such big names attached?
“I guess I had a feeling when we finished ‘Closer’ that it would work well on the dancefloor, and I was hopeful that some DJs might be into it but the support so far has been absolutely incredible! I always love hearing that a track that originated in my small studio in Ireland has found its way to being played by some huge DJs at Miami for WMC!”
Have you got anywhere in mind that you’re particularly looking forward to dropping the track this summer?
“Anywhere hot would be nice!”
Zulu Records have got a track record for releasing some of the biggest house tracks – how has it been working with the guys there?
“Working with the guys at Zulu has been fantastic! They have such a great reputation for only releasing top notch house music, and they have shown so much enthusiasm for ‘Closer’ since they first heard it. It’s a great feeling to be working with a team that puts so much effort into really pushing the release!”
And how about the My Digital Enemy remix? Everything they’ve touched recently has turned to gold – was it an obvious choice for you to have the guys on board for the release?
“For me personally, I play tracks and remixes from My Digital Enemy in every single one of my sets, so it really was an obvious choice and I was delighted to hear they were doing a remix! They’ve done such an immense job with their remix and a real honour for me to have them remix it!”
And finally, what else have you got in the pipeline? Will you be hitting Ibiza?
“At the moment I’m still bunkered down in the studio trying to get as much work done as possible before the summer season kicks in! I have a number of original tracks almost ready to go, and I’ve just finished a few new remixes too. I try and get to Ibiza most years, so fingers crossed I’ll try and get out there at some stage over the summer!”
To buy:
http://www.beatport.com/release/closer/1263154
Original Mix:
https://soundcloud.com/zulurecords/matteo-dimarr-dashka-closer
My Digital Enemy Remix:
https://soundcloud.com/zulurecords/matteo-dimarr-closer-my
For more:
https://www.facebook.com/matteodimarr
https://twitter.com/matteodimarr
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dashka/46949348127
https://twitter.com/DjDashka
https://www.facebook.com/mydigitalenemyofficial
https://twitter.com/Mydigitalenemy
https://soundcloud.com/mydigitalenemy
