Interview by Dan Prince
Delmar, Alvaro a huge welcome back to DMCWORLD. Where on planet earth are you today?
Hi Dan, thank you so much! We just landed in Buenos Aires to start our Argentina Sol Tour, we will be around two weeks traveling at one of our favorite countries in the world playing in cities such as Mar del Plata, Cordoba, Rosario, Paraná and Buenos Aires. It’s the 4th year that we have toured here and we really love it, the passion and the energy from the people here is amazing!
What is the best piece of new music you have heard today?
We received a demo from Roi Okev & ArikA that we really love and we just signed for our label Playa.
Big news from you as you slip into tune duties for the Be For Podcast 41, talk us through the mix…
OK, as it’s only 1 hour length you know it is difficult to tell a story with that duration. So we tried to “compress” many of the vibes that we are playing at the moment and paste them to make a unique “atmosphere” as always.
We start at 117 BPMs with a track from Bedouin that represents that wave of artists that we really love actually (LUM, Nu, Nicola Cruz, Bedouin)…then we dive into a more deep and groovy tech house vibe with tracks from Serge Devant, Gorge, Dennis Cruz, Samu.l or Chicola to finish with a track from a DJ that we really respect; Lee Burridge. The track is called Lingala and was released on his own cool label All Day I Dream.
You command Suruba Records, Suruba X and the Playa labels, what is on the release agenda over the next few months?
Actually we are super happy with the forthcoming releases on the labels. On Suruba we are going to release tracks and remixes from Joeski, Dennis Cruz, Sid Le Rock, BAAL, Third Son, Alex Lario and ourselves. On Suruba X, we are specially happy with the moment we are with the last top 3 overall Beatport position we had 2 weeks ago with a track of Dennis Cruz, the new vinyl we released last week with tracks from him, Samu.l, Franko Lopez & Jamahr and the forthcoming amazing tracks from Sascha Dive, Hugo, Samu.l, Dennis Cruz, Inxec, Felipe Bravo, Bizen Lopez and us as well. To finish, on Playa we will release the EP that we mentioned before from the great artist Roi Okev.
How do you two compliment each other in the studio, who excels where?
Sometimes one of us is looking for new sounds, sometimes the other is arranging the track, you know? Sometimes Delmar comes up with a new bass line or a loop and then we start the track or I find a new sound or a sample with the idea of the new track. Delmar has a lot great ideas to start tracks and then we started together and work on it until the end.
Okay let’s rewind for a moment. What is the earliest musical memory from your childhood?
DELMAR: Roberto Carlos a Brazilian artist that my father loves and used to play in the car.
ALVARO: Prince.
At what age did dance music first appear on your radar?
Delmar: I was 17 years old when I bought my first Technics (during that time I was playing Hip Hop, Reggae and Ska) and I went to a festival called FestiMad in Madrid to hear Rock, Hardcore and Hip Hop bands like Lagwagon, Henry Rollings or Cypress Hill. But I was so amazed with the first Prodigy concert I went to!
Alvaro: I was 17 when a friend invited me to go to a Techno party in Madrid to hear to Oscar Mulero, it was an amazing experience for me!
Delmar – you had been DJing since the age of 17 and actually taught Alvaro how to play with vinyl. How good a student was he, was he a natural or did it take some time for him to ‘get it’…?
Yes, he was a nice disciple hahaha!!!
Having a background in design must help you with your own designs and social medias, how hands on are you both with the Los Suruba direction?
Of course, Delmar made all the designs and artworks of the labels and as you can see, all of them are nice works. We loves street art and fashion as well. For us, social medias are really important, they are the most powerful tool that we have for free, you can show what you want to the world and people can see what are you doing what you did or what are you planning to do. We manage and take care of all of them.
I love how you perceive your band name. The word Suruba is taken from the Brazilian/Portuguese translation that means orgy, but you didn’t take the word for it’s sexual connection. You liked it for the fact that it defines all the things you like in one word. Please explain this more…
Suruba means orgy, is true that at the beginning we used it to define and combine all the things that we like in one word…a mix of music, design, fashion, street art, culture but now is the first time we have this thought, Suruba defines our lives. It means the mix of all the things we love, the different people that we meet on our way, the million of ideas, thinks or experiences that we had or have…its our own personal way to define all this things…Surubear…Surubing…
You are true lovers of ALL music. How important for Los Suruba is it to mix up different musical styles…?
OK we are melomaniacs and on one hand it’s a cool thing but on the other it can be quite difficult. I will explain.
If you only like one style of music and you are not open minded to listen and play others styles it is easier for you to build a mix because there is not too many options…you don’t break your balls thinking in “what to play today here in this moment”, you play the same as always and for us that is not too interesting. Most DJs defines themselves as techno DJs or house DJs but we think that “define yourself ” is the same as limit yourself”.
We are DJs that produce, not producers trying to be DJs, so we try to do the best in each set. We came from club culture, we like that a mix has sense, we like that if a DJ has to make a closing set he does it properly, as if he had to make a warm up that fits in that moment. We are always looking for fresh sounds and we don’t mind the style.
We have other personal projects where we mix all kind of music like my freestyle – All Mix project dj Kidult https://www.mixcloud.com/djKidult/kidult-who-likes-this-parti/
We have been residents in many, many clubs playing on vinyl for more than 10 years – then we changed to CD, Traktor…whatever. For us, the important thing is to hear a DJ that knows how to build a mix in a concrete moment.
What are the 5 big tunes in your box this weekend?
– Dennis Cruz – Feeling High (Samu l. remix)
We have been playing this track from the day we received from Samu.l, we are super happy to release it on Suruba X.
– Viken Arman – Drop of Raki feat. Jo Ke (Nutia remix)
This tune is simply amazing.
– LUM – Toé (NU extended mix).
Both LUM and NU are amazing producers. This time NU makes one of the best remixes of the last few months.
– DJ Tennis – Convex (Original mix)
Manfredi is a great producer and this particular track is very cool.
– Sid Le Rock – Dive Bar (BAAL remix). One of the forthcoming remixes on the new Suruba release. We love all the works from these guys.
It has been another brilliant summer on Ibiza. You enjoyed the ANTS madness again?
This year we played at ANTS stages at festivals like Creamfileds UK, Extrema Holland and Extrema Belgium and were so nice.
Another gig that you have rocked is of course elrow at Space. Why is this party so damned good?
The first reason is because it happened at Space, most of the people this summer were there with the feeling of that they are partying for his last time there, you know? That’s special. We played 3 times there this year and always was great. We have a very close relationship with the Arnau family that had been working so hard to reach the party where it is now, we feel at home there.
You were one of the lucky DJs to spin at the last ever Space. What a party! What are some of your favorite memories from the venue over the years?
We were extremely proud to play at the Closing Party of one of the most important clubs in the history of the electronic music and Ibiza. The first time we went to Space was in 1999 and it changed our lives…and then years later (2013) the day came when we finally played there for the first time. We have always had great times playing, partying and listening to great music there with a lot of friends. We had a lot lot friends that worked there for more then 15 years.
Delmar : I met my girlfriend there that also spends all her life working there. That last dance there was be very special and sad for us.
Ushuaia of course take over the keys next year, what are you hoping happens…
We hope that they can keep the spirit and the energy of Space.
Your favorite restaurant and beach in Ibiza?
Delmar: One my favorites restaurants in Ibiza is Es Boldadó and my favorites beach…well, it’s a secret!
Alvaro: Sa Caleta and its black rice.
Your favorite festival of 2016…?
Uff, we been in too many, its difficult to only choose one.
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
We are finishing a remix for Suruba. We are working in a new track with Dennis Cruz with the vocals of one famous singer of the 90’s. We have an ep with Edu Imbernon almost ready and we are finishing new material to send to some labels. Peace!
