With partner in crime Dashka, the other half of the ‘Closer team talks to DMCWORLD
Interview : Simon Tillotson
Produced with his partener in crime, Dashka, Closer looks set to be in the ears of plenty of people on plenty of dancefloors this summer. With huge support from the likes of Futuristic Polar Bears, Federico Scavo and Plastik Funk, and a big remix from My Digital Enemy included on the release, we caught up with Matteo to find out just how the track came to be…
Last time we spoke regarding a track you had out on Zulu Records called “An Angel’s Prayer” that went on to storm the charts and be a great single for you – what’s happened since then?
“I’ve been keeping busy with production work. I spent about 10 months working on my second sample pack for Loopmasters which was recently released. I also put out a single called “Champion Sound” which got some crucial spins on Pete Tong’s and Diplo’s radio shows on BBC. At this point in my career I’m trying to produce the best original track possible, so if that means putting out one to two tracks a year than that’s what I’ll do… I’m going for quality not quantity.”
You’ve teamed up with Dashka for your latest addition to the Zulu back catalogue “Closer”– tell us a little bit about the story behind this track?
“Darren (Dashka) sent me the initial idea and from the first listen I knew that there was something there. The way we work on tracks is Dashka sends me the initial idea with all the parts, I then strip the track down and build the track up with my parts and what we get is a combination of two styles… Dashka plays multi-instruments and is super talented so I kind of have to dumb down some of the stuff because it’s actually too good for Dance Music at the moment.(they are not ready!) – I’ll bring the rugged sound to the equation with chunky beats and basslines and tweak the arrangement so that the final composition works on the dancefloor. In total we worked on the track for about two months.”
You’re well known for not boxing yourself into a corner when it comes to genres, we’re guessing your own music collection is a bit of an eclectic offering – what are your top 5 listen to tracks at the moment?
Diplo – Revolution
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
Pink Floyd –Us and Them
Rush- La Villa Strangiato
Lamb- Gorecki.
The tragic news recently broke of Frankie Knuckles passing, a huge influence to so many dance music producers – what would be your favourite Frankie Knuckles track?
“Yes, very sad news… It has to be ‘Tears’.”
You’ve also been featured on Size Records lately, again with Dashka – tell us about that track…
“That EP for Size is one of my favorites… Two of my most concise tracks I think..I like them because they get right to the point. Blower Feat. Dashka is a dancefloor killer, it really takes you on a journey and his sax solo on there is insane! The other cut on the EP is F This Club – probably the best mixed track I’ve ever done. It sounds insane on a good sound system…”
You own your own label, MAR186, how do you approach signing tracks for that – what do you look for?
“Just like my own productions I look for something unique. I want to hear that effort was made in all aspects – anybody can make tracks, few can make memorable ones.”
Did you head over to WMC this year? If so, any top tips or hot gossip to share?
“Nothing to report this year I’m afraid. Decided to take it easy this year and spend time with the kids!”
Ibiza is very soon on the horizon – will we be seeing you out there this year?
“I would love to. Waiting…”
And finally, what do you want to get Closer to?
“You.”
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
