DIEGOMYSTICK Interview

Paris je t'aime -DiegoMystick

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Entrevista en español has click AQUI

DiegoMystick is a DJ who definitely knows what he is talking about, after several days trying to locate him, I finally found him in the middle of his latest tour through South America, and from a hotel room in Mar del Plata Argentina and before his presentation in the club Chocolate we chat on what Djing is about.

PNR: Ok Diego How do you get into electronic music?

DiegoMystick: In 1993 by influence of a classmate I started practicing every day after classes

PNR: Why Mystick?

DiegoMystick: I always thought that spiritual world is more real than this world and that this world is just the puppet of the spiritual world. I base my life on spirituality and mysticism.

PNR: What are the characteristics of music in your sets?

DiegoMystick: Noncommercial House and Techno not too dark or heavy, always party in the dance floor, always current and cutting edge.

PNR: How were the beginnings?

DiegoMystick: When I started there was still not enough movement in Colombia to provide jobs to all the DJs. So I had some friends who had a Salsa music club and then, although I did not like Salsa music, I play it every night just to have contact with the public. I played music from 7 pm to 7 am and received per night what is now $ 6! Funny because I was carrying everything: lights, speakers, music, and moving from Miniteka to miniteka (small mobile Disco very popular in Colombia in the 90’s) playing music and this was like school for me, I learned how to move from place to place, how to lead the dance floor, how to play many hours without getting tired and also how to have variety.

PNR: What is leading a dance floor?

DiegoMystick: To feel passion for it, knowing how to keep people clustered in front of the booth at certain times of the night, as well as know the time to give a brake to let people hydrate, always paying attention to people respond, giving the public something of yours but with the to touch what people are asking depending on many factors like the size of the club when you play in the country. Start the night with no people to be wearing a good warm up to handle the party.

Giving the public something of yours but at the same time giving what people are asking for. Take into account many factors like the size of the club, the time in the night you play, the country where you’re playing. Start the night right being a good warm up. It’s just to know how to handle the whole party.

PNR:How do you prepare your life session?

DiegoMystick: I try to keep current music, music that is not well known, I include in my sessions 70% of South American producers, the rest are from European and American producers, and I wholly support the South American talent. I prepare my energy and my willingness, days before I document myself about the city, the club; I see internet videos of DJs that have already had presentations in that club. I come to the club one hour before, and sometimes I prepare 3 or 4 tracks that are new and want to launch and put them in the key moment.

PNR: Give us 4 Latin American producers that are currently rotating in your sessions?

DiegoMystick: Jose Luis Gabin of Pacha Buenos Aires, Delay of Caracas, Steven King of Cartagena, Rodrigo Lafer of Santiago de Chile.

PNR: What is it needed to be a good DJ?

DiegoMystick:Really to feel passionate about this, since it is a long journey, it is not always easy to navigate, you suffer many disappointments, even after many years. But eventually the time comes to pick the crops like everything in life. Not focusing on being hired or being worry about payment or getting a fee for the night. It’s better to think as an entrepreneur, most of the major DJs in the world are entrepreneurs, have labels, have parties, have residences, and have trademarks. To be a good DJ you need to have vision to grow this business and not to be one more in the bunch. Being authentic, being responsible, I think if a promoter spends money on advertising, on an airline ticket, on a fee, on a hotel, for your to play, the least you can give is the best of you and not going there to get drunk, or crazy. Having ethics, do the thing you like but do it right.

PNR: What is the sound of Mystick?

DiegoMystick: It's a contagious music, a deep sound that get your soul from within, I believe the DJ end up transmitting and shaping on the dance floor what is in his heart so if there are good things in me people are going to get that feelings.

PNR: Vinyls, CDs or digital and why?

DiegoMystick: I would say vinyls, for over 10 years I played vinyls, but technology continues its course and being a DJ is also about being competitive and being competitive is being updated. The problem of vinyls was the price, the weight and the worst was that when the record finally arrived, in the case of Colombia, the vinyl was already out in the world more than a month ago, so at the end you were not so updated after all. Today, for example, I'm in Argentina, I connect to the Internet and update mi crate in an hour, I can carry my music lightly, it is easier. For example once in Isla Margarita my suitcase did not arrive at the airport and had to wait all night to get it back. You never know what’s going to happen. This time, because I was in a rush in my way to the airport to catch my flight to Argentina, and I left all my music in my car, fortunately I take my laptop with me so I burned some music and I could continue with the tour. Same situation with vinyls I wouldn’t be able to continue this tour, because you have to buy new vinyl, because you don’t know if you can get them right.

Vinyl is visually richer than cds, the cd is maybe colder. And the thing with machines, like performing with software, computer and midi controllers, comes hand in hand with the advance of technology; visually it is very cold because it is like seeing a person in front of a computer clicking a mouse, or with a midi controller shooting sounds. It’s like seeing a person behind a computer looks like it's basically doing nothing, from my point of view I find it exasperating , I prefer the classic, find the song, putting the cd in the cd player, mixing, making the regular errors that may have a mix, so I prefer to be a DJ than a simple techno-computer geek.

PNR:What is the path to follow for a DJ right now?

DiegoMystick: More production, if you don’t have tracks out rotating in the market you'll be drifting away and the gap between you and the DJ/producers will start to expand. Evolution means to integrate all the new tools, incorporate the elements that each DJ fells comfortable with and not to close yourself in a single sound or a single technique.

PNR: It’s been said that the world surrounding the DJ is plastic and superficial, what do you think about this?

DiegoMystick: In some aspects this may be so, I've been with people that at night are all the best friends and the next day don’t even say hello. Day and night are two different worlds. And electronic music makes everything very impersonal and cold, as you know people do not dance in couples is like everyone dances on their own. It is not like Latin music that makes people have physical contact and dance together.

PNR: The presentation you are proud of

DiegoMystick: D EDGE in Sao Paulo, one of the best clubs in the world. They brought me and the promoters were not too sure about it, because particularly that night other mayor clubs had booked well known DJs from the underground scene that were more famous than me. But God always support me and the club was full house, people had an incredible time. And also on 31 of December last year I played at closing party in Bariloche in Argentina and I played from 2 to 4 a.m. and after that people started to ask for me again, something that rarely happens, so the other DJs let me spin again and people were super happy.

PNR: Diego thank you very much for your time; hope to see you soon in Toronto. Something else to add to close this interview?

DiegoMystick: Well thank you very much and keep an eye on the South American scene which is gradually getting bigger. I think that after Europe South American scene will be the largest in the world.

Tracklist:

1-THE NAIL THAT STICKS-STEL (king roc rmx).
2-RETURNS OF SHA-PHONIQUE-(vincenzo rmx)
3 -NEW WORDL-DAN CORCO-(robert babicz rmx).
4-BEACH KISSES-DOSEM (joris voorn green rmx).
5-TWO BUTTERFLIES-ERPHUN-(oliver moldan rmx)
6-WALLY LOPEZ & ZOO BRAZIL-PLANETARIA(orig)
7-LOESCO AKA DJ LEO-ONE NIGHT IN CALI.
8-DJ ONIX-DANGER ZONE(orig)
9-JAIRO LENIS-PARADISE(orig)
10-WHITE HOLE-THE CHEAPERS
11-HEY VICTOR-THE CHEAPERS