Why do you think Spain is such a hotbed for talented producers right now?
Spain was always a great source of talent because is a cultural crossroad, we have art in our veins, the flamenco gurus called ‘duende’.
We love Fiesta and this positive energy is definitely reflecting on the spanish producers that are coming with a lot of good stuff in the last decades. Today Electronic Music is getting back to being more organic, influenced once again for classic house sounds and musical elements so at this point the spanish producers, due to our roots, we have a lot to say, we love rhythm, groove, melodies and you can see in all kind of electronic music charts.
In Spain, how is electronic music perceived?
From the early days, electronic music was always very popular in our country and certainly belongs to the background music of our ancestors and also belong to the new generation. For sure, Ibiza has been one of the keys for this to happen since is the epicenter of the electronic music every summer. The only ‘but’ we can mention is that the Government is not supporting the electronic music as we’d like to, the scene has a very bad reputation on eyes of the politicians and they are giving a hard time to the clubs and festivals with the licenses the sponsorships and the running hours. With a bit of support from the high spheres, Spain will be unbeatable :)
What do you think it is Spanish producers have in common at the moment… A certain style / sound? And why do you think that is?
All the Spanish people have a big influence of the latino music, the flamenco, the folk culture, Spain has a large source of many different ethnic styles. Thats why we have an advantageous sense of rhythm, we have the soul, as we said, we love Fiesta. After the big boom of the Electro and Minimal a few years ago, the music is finally turning back to its roots, being more organic and musical, a genre that is very close to our musical background. Thats one of the reasons why Spanish producers are shining and inspiring to others.
Which is your favourite city to play in Spain and why?
We love to play in so many different cities from south to north cause Spain is Fiesta all the time but Ibiza is definitely the hottest spot in the summer season, is the electronic music worldwide mecca, a place were you find several of the best clubs in the world with literally every single top talent on the planet playing every day. A dream come true for every single clubber or music lover, in addition, Ibiza is a beautiful Island with super nice people.
How do you think the nightlife in Spain compares to anywhere else in the world and why?
We are very happy people, we live every day as the last one in Earth, the Nightlife is with no doubt one of the best in the world, cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella, Mallorca or Ibiza are considered one of the best destinations for tourist and electronic music lovers. Lately and mainly due to the last financial crisis, things are not the best and the clubs don’t have the best conditions to lead like in the past. The good thing is that we are recovering from the crisis and the scene will get better very soon.
What makes it so unique?
Spain is a very touristic and friendly country and you can perceive that vibe when you get into any local club, there is a common feeling of celebration, the ‘OLE’ culture and we like to welcome and please everyone, we have the best weather in the summer and the nicest beaches, that combination of factors makes our country one of the best party host world-wide.
Do you think Spains financial crisis has had any impact on clubs over the years?
Definitely :( we have many friends that were playing locally and have lost their jobs because many clubs had to close down, promoters that have no budget because people has no money to pay an extra cover for an special event. These bad economic news had a really bad impact on the music scene, good news is that finally the economy is recovering, people has hope again and thats why there is a new wave of spanish producers really motivated that are trying to go back on track and get the scene back to what it was.
Stereo was born over a decade ago, what were your first intentions for setting up this outlet and why?
We started producing together and releasing music on many labels worldwide so it was the natural evolution, to found our own label, we had for that time many friend producers that identifies themselves with our sound, specially in Spain and Portugal, thats why we called Iberican Sound, thats was the beginning of Stereo Productions as a label, a very inspiring time of our lives.
How would you describe the 'Iberican Sound' sound?
We found the word ‘Iberican’ to tell the people when we started who we are and where we come from, since there was a very interesting and unique musical movement happening in the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) when we start making music) Our sound has continued to evolve over the years, but is a fact that we maintain our essence and the Iberican touch that identifies us, where percussion and rhythm are inseparable elements of our style (Ying Yang). It is important to have an identity and to be true to your principles. With that solid rhythmic base that identify us, we consider ourselves music lovers and we like different styles, it’s something you can see on our sets where we move from deep house to techno easily.
Full interview of Chus & Ceballos for Toolroom News
You can check the article here:
http://www.toolroomrecords.com/news/the-spanish-movement/