The new space helmet wearing kid on the Miami music block – about to release some massive productions
Rafael, welcome to DMCWORLD towers. You’ve got the DMC office jumping around thanks to your Afrojack & Joe Brunning ‘Let Me See You Nasty’ mashup…a prelude to some forthcoming releases, what have we got coming from you studio wise?
“I’m glad I have everyone bouncing over there…don’t get too nasty now! As for the music that’s going to be leaving my studio shortly, I wouldn’t say this mashup is the best representative of that stuff. For a while I had an obsession with snare drums, the “Let Me See You Nasty” mashup was the apex of that phase. I’m now experimenting with a much harder sound; think Jaws Electro type stuff. Right now it feels like the second phase of my productions are around the corner. My earlier tracks had a much simpler sound. The new tracks that I have unreleased in my studio are of a different calibre. For example one of my new tracks is a take on the Jaw’s theme song, there is actually a teaser of it up on my Soundcloud. Another has a sample of a hilarious YouTube video of a man screaming about DVD backer cards. Some interesting stuff to say the least.”
Let’s go back to where it all began. You are a Miami native, half Venezuelan, half European…what was the music reverberating around your house when you were growing up?
“Salsa, Samba, Pavarotti, Cher, Mozart, Debussy, Beethoven, traditional Jewish music… my parents had very weird tastes.”
Your love of EDM is coupled with the classics, alongside funk and rock. So we come back to yours after the club, what is the Sharkoffs Back To Mine home listening set you spin us to rock on through the night…
“I have a secret love affair with French House. The more funk, the better. French House is pure sex when done right…that and maybe some minimal and tech house. One French House banger I just recently found is by Hana Yori Kichou Na and called “Club House ’98”. There’s also this duo from South Africa called the Munnibrotherz, they make some of the best tech-house I’ve ever heard.”
At the age of 14 you taught yourself how to DJ…what’s the story the?
“I could lie to you and tell you that I had an awe-inspiring moment where I knew I had to start DJing, but I’m an honest guy, so the real reason I started to DJ was because I wanted to improve my chances with the ladies. I was an awkward kid in my earlier years, the DJs were always around the hottest girls and were the coolest guys, how could you not want to be one? However, after a few months DJing I started to fall in love with electronic music, especially playing electronic music for other people. I would invite two or three friends over to my little apartment room and just jam out with my 3000 watt speaker system.”
Tell us about the moment you dropped Robin S ‘Show Me Love’ at one of your early DJ gigs, kinda special huh?
“Ah, I love that memory, always fun to relive it. I was headlining an all ages event for the first time at a now defunct nightclub. I had just gotten done with a random make out session with a girl who I knew for about thirty seconds. I was feeling like a million bucks, got on stage and started doing my thing, and the crowd was just loving every second of it. When I dropped “Show Me Love” they just went nuts, it was right when the Laidback Luke & Steve Angello mix came out so it was brand spanking new. Right at that moment I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and that the only thing that could make that moment any better was if it was one of my own tracks that made the club go crazy. That’s when I knew I had to start producing. “
Miami is one of the party cities of the world; Vegas, Rio, Ibiza, Berlin…who are the DJs/producers that have been an influence to your sound over the last 5 years? Wolfgang must be up there?
“I’m really fortunate to be able to see some of the best acts in the world consistently thanks to living in Miami. Wolfgang Gartner’s sound has probably inspired me the most from any other producer out there. He makes the kind of stuff that makes you question everything you’re doing in your studio. I also love the work of BT and Dennis Reijers (Tiësto’s former producer), they are the unsung heroes of the EDM world and they deserve just as much credit as everyone else.”
What is the record that changed your life?
“Listening to “Menage A Trois” by Wolfgang Gartner for the first time was probably one of the most paradigm shift inducing moments I’ve ever experienced. My brain couldn’t wrap around some of the sounds that I heard in that track.”
Maybe it’s time to tell the world that your DJ name is all down to your early obsession with the game World of Warcraft…were any of your friends aware of your love of dance music, do any of them come to your gigs?
“Besides blasting a bunch of hardstyle on my microphone while we used to play I didn’t think they knew I actually produced. However I did make a promise to my entire guild (a group of people that play together in-game) that I would always let them in free to all my shows if I ever blew up. So if anyone is out there from Ravenholdt (my server) hit me up!”
What was your first break into the music world?
“When I have my first Beatport top 10 hit I can answer the question adequately, until then; no comment!”
There are an alarming amount of DJs taking to the stage now wearing costumes…Daft Punk kicked it off, Deadmau5 likes it all cheesy with his mouse head, DJs From Mars have gone the cheaper route with cardboard boxes. What was your idea / inspiration behind your space helmet guise?
“The real motivator for the helmet was anonymity. I don’t want to be recognized, the goal was to shift the crowd’s attention towards the music and not towards me. I also wanted to have something about my music and image that represented my past, that’s why I have the three triangles on the front of my helmet, and why it has a fin on top. These are all powerful symbols from my past.”
Some people see a disguise on stage as shyness…do you get shy before taking to the decks?
“No, not at all. When I get on that stage I turn into Sharkoffs, and Sharkoffs doesn’t know how to do anything except make a crowd go batshit crazy.”
You are in the studio around 16 hours a day. Away from sleeping, what do you enjoy aside from the music?
“Reddit and League of Legends (a PC game). I also like to read about new music production techniques but I don’t think that counts. I’m also a big fan of MMA and Brazilian Jui Jitsu, if it wasn’t for those two things, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t leave my house.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning…
1. “Falling” by Digitalism and Tommy Trash
2. “We Go Deep” (Torro Torro Remix) by Neoteric & Wax Motif
3. “Everyday” (Netsky Remix) by Rusko
4. “Breakn’ A Sweat (Zedd Remix)
5. “American Dream Part II” By Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
5. “Hatred” by Gesafflestein
6. “Shrunken Heads” – Wolfgang Gartner
7. “Let Me See You Nasty” (Sharkoffs Mashup) Afrojack & Joe Brunning
8. “Mad Dash” by Bingo Players
9. “Synergy” by Michael Brun & Special Features
10. “New Lands” (A-Track Remix) by Justice & A-Track
What is the best album in your collection?
“‘Alive 2007’ by Daft Punk. It’s probably the only album I’ve ever listened to that I enjoyed every single song included.”
It’s your birthday. What singer dead or alive do you ask to sing you Happy Birthday?
“Pavarotti, hands down. I grew up listening to him, I love his voice, so much feeling, you can tell how much he loves music and that it’s his true passion. It would be an honour to hear that man sing for me.”
What are the dream clubs around the world you are looking forward to spinning at?
“Ministry of Sound, and believe it or not Club LIV which is right in my backyard. Ministry of Sound is supposedly the ultimate test as a DJ and if you can get booked there and rock it you can succeed anywhere. As for LIV, it’s the crown jewel of Miami, the city I grew up in, it would be a serious milestone for me to get a booking there.”
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Albums, radio, residencies…?
“Touring the world, playing my music and seeing people go absolutely crazy for it. An album or two would be nice too. If I turned on Electric Area on Sirius XM one day and heard my own track I’m pretty sure one of my life goals would be complete. I’ve got a lot to look forward too!”
How would you describe your style today?
“In terms of production: Electro House on a little bit of the harder side, but with a silly edge and a touch of a retro videogame feel.”
What did your family think of your career choice?
“At first they thought I was crazy, now they think I’m going to make it. My father still thinks I’m weird for wearing the shark helmet. The man doesn’t understand art.”
It may not be good for my image, but I really love…
“The cheesiest 80’s music and Michael Jackson.”
As an 18 year old, this sudden EDM explosion in America is all new for you. In the UK when dance music broke in the late 80s it was all new for us, it was crazy for us to hear a dance tune on the radio, to see a fellow clubber in the street wearing ‘club clothes’…how has the dance revolution in your home country affected/changed your life…?
“It’s a strange feeling to see something that you love that no one else really knows about go to something that everyone and their mothers is talking about. EDM is my life, there’s no doubt about that, and obviously when something becomes popular and goes mainstream changes occur. I see our genre getting watered down by a lot of artists who seem to want to pander to the mainstream markets. Not only that but the way that people DJ and build they’re sets is becoming watered down as well. No longer are DJ’s trying to build an atmosphere, they just play straight nonstop bangers and do what I like to call “instant gratification” DJ sets. The mainstream audience that are being exposed to EDM for the first time see this and it becomes the norm. This is why I try and remind myself every time I produce or perform not to forget where this genre came from and not to try and pander to any type of audience. I make the music I enjoy, and hopefully others will end up enjoying it as well, that is the perfect dream of any musician.”
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