VIRTUS //

Hello Aitor, thanks for taking the time to speak with us at Virtus, where in the world are you right now?

Hello, you are welcome! Currently i'm spending a lot of time in my studio which is located in a countryside village close to Barcelona. I’m not a city guy...

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You have been involved in electronic music as a DJ/ Producer for many years now, can you tell us how this became to be such a big part of your life in the beginning?

Sure, it was in Dublin. I used to play vinyl before, but in Ireland I discovered Techno and it made the difference, it changed my life. I also found out that you could do a living of it. Cause by this time, the 90ies, in Spain people did not take it seriously and obviously neither my parents .I always had this feeling that i want to be a professional DJ but i did not know this was possible until i got there. I also meet Djs that became producers too. They created their own music and this brought them to another level. They became international artists and travel around the world with their own show. I just knew from the very first moment that this is what I was going to do the rest of my life (1997)

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Did you feel that you needed to become a producer to further express yourself as a DJ?

No at the beginnings. During several years I felt more DJ than producer… I had first to play and play and play records, it was all new and so many music to be discovered and mixed. To be honest, I was pretty bad at the studio when i started. There was no digital, and it was so hard and expensive to setup a proper studio. I got frustrated some many times. I even remember that sometimes I felt obligated to go to the studio, crazy eh hahaha. Even after spending several years working hard, I’ve also needed to learn how to express what I had in my mind. I knew from the bottom of my heart that I had to learn how to do everything by myself, from the sound design to the mix. It was going to be a long journey and I took it easy. It could only be that way, because if i
come up with an idea in the middle of the night, I must be capable to go into the studio and write it down. Once I learned how to produce, everything changed. All this ideas I had for so many years in my head started to come out as a volcano.

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Over the years you have played huge gigs in different parts of the world, where would you say has been the most memorable?

It’s hard to say, I had so many memorable gigs. I feel that still has to come the one that I would choose over the rest. ;)

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Your latest EP on Pig&Dan's Elevate label is another showcase of your talents in the studio, how did your relationship with Pig&Dan start before you started to send your music?

Well my relationship started precisely when I sent them music first time. I never spoke to them before that. I had released my last record and I saw a very cool feedback from them on one of my tracks. I had a few tracks that I got inspirited on them, I love their music and I’ve been playing it for over a decade, so I finally decided to send them some music. They answer me on the same day and I signed up my first full EP on Elevate. The tracks were Tripolar, Fresa , Lince….I have to say that before this EP, I released my track Tornado, because they needed an extra track for a various artists EP, which in the end it was included in the last Space Ibiza compilation of the
history of that mighty club. I always will be thankful for that too.

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When in the studio creating the 4 tracks 'The Message', 'Quit Procuo', 'CO2' and 'Genesis'...what was your inspiration and your go-to hardware/software?

I used software for this EP.

 

The Message - I wanted to do something an aside, straight groove using a nasty 90ies acid sound. Simple but effective on the dance floor. My inspiration is not to listen what people say to you; “you are not capable…” so all you idiots all you mother fuckers you can fuck yourself!

Genesis- Thinking on the third desk, something that it’s with you all the way to somewhere we really want to go back. A primary call of hopeness. I use this hypnotic, sweet and deep phrase in order to try to surprise the floor with a radical turn on the drop.

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Quit procuo -This is the scoundrel side. you give you want something back easy as that. So I get harder with decision looking for what I chase and when I get there (the break) it’s epic, I want to transmit happiness and hopeless too... all is possible but in the middle of the break, I get back to the ninth and leave the epic behind cause I must humbly follow.

CO2 - Also thinking as a third desk tool.Ii wanted to do something groove and hypnotic. Using the break as a big breath in your set. This track is about loneliness. Something that you might feel sometimes when you are closed into yourself chasing a dream. Always in a line of hope, of course.

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What do you think about the current state of the techno scene? Is this an exciting time for you?

The scene is getting massive and popular. I never thought that this could get to this point, which isn’t always good... But as all the hypes in history, I believe that at some point soon everything will return to normality and only those who have dedicated us by pure vocation to this industry will be the ones who will remain. 2019 is my 20th anniversary as a professional in this industry and I am excited working on my music and a new project from which you will have news soon...

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Which producers are you really feeling right now in your live sets?

Pig&Dan, Kink, Thomas Schumacher, Johannes Heil , Patrice Baumel, Dense&Pika, Victor Ruiz, Slam, Agents of Time, Tadeo, Mark Broom, Kolsch, Ilario Alicante, Drunken Kong, Spektre, Lander B, Truncate, Uakoz, Kaiser Disco, Planetary Assault System …

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If you could give one piece of advice to anyone starting a career as a DJ/Producer, what would it be?

Do what you feel. Passion over fashion. Be real.

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Where can we see you play next?

I’m preparing something really special to present my new project. We will announce soon and more details will be revealed.