SCI+TEC has been successfully growing its family of artists over the last decade, with now over 200 releases, label owner Dubfire continues to nurture new talented producers, as well as those more established. Together the label has created a steady stream of top-notch underground releases year upon year.
Next up is this wonky four-tracker from Guti and David Gtronic. Regulars when playing together, this is the debut release from the South Americans as a collaboration team.
Opening with stompy ‘You Will Be Mine’ the duo are quickly into their stride with a solid bass groove supported by weird sweeps, 8-bit FX and vocal snips. In dub form, the groove is further stripped back for complete dance floor domination.
Over on the flipside, ‘Acid Ramen’ opens with a bongo groove ably assisted by acid touches and percussive energy. Covering bass, mid and high frequencies, the interplay of acid layers will make Josh Wink blush! Truly exceptional modern-day acid house.
Rounding out the pack, ‘Pin Pun’ is a straight house vibe with full body kit added. Starting out innocently enough, once the acid hits begin the wonk is out for all to see.
Read interview with David Gtronic below….
Artist: Guti, David Gtronic
Title: You Can Still Be Mine EP
Label: SCI+TEC
Release Date: 2019-11-15
Interview with David Gtronic
Welcome to the US David! You have a stacked tour with 7 dates. You’ll be over here on the West Coast playing in LA on the 15th November, can you tell us a bit more about this show?
It’s always fun to come to this side of the world. In actuality this show has been postponed to a further date, unfortunately I won’t be in LA on this trip. On the bright side, I managed to replace the booking with a date in Miami on the 14th of November with Un_Mute events at ATV Records, which is the new venue that was opened by the same guys from The Electric Pickel.
Do you enjoy playing here? Are there some venues which have stood out for you which you have played before?
In reality i’ve never played in LA till this day but I still love coming out here any chance I get. It’s a radiant city with so much energy and places to see and explore. Most of the events I’ve attended in LA have been in peculiar locations such as warehouse’s for example, which has been dope! Cyclone and Dialogue are the two brands I’ve liked the most pushing a higher underground sound and bringing the experience to new locations.
You came straight from ADE to the US for this tour, how was your ADE this year playing for Vatos Locos as well as Guti’s party Gutipalooza – do you think ADE is still one of the most important dance events for DJ’s?
ADE is by far one of the most influential electronic music conferences of the year. So many artists, agents, managers, label owners, photographers, PR companies and ravers come into Amsterdam to attend and get involved. I grew up in Miami so i’ve been attending the Miami Music Week for quite some time which is similar to ADE however, Amsterdam is always so well organized. The productions are always spot on and every year I come I leave creatively inspired. My ADE was hectic and fantastic at the same time, quite intense week. Thursday night the Vatos Locos event was great in an intimate location and Saturday morning Guti’s 40th bday party kicked off at 7am. By 7:30 the place was packed with so many close friends, it was a phenomenal atmosphere. Seth Troxler and The Martinez Brothers were among some of the special guests that added some spice to the party. I played my set from 13:30 until 15:30 b2b with Javier Carballo. We both connected very well, I really enjoyed our set. At 17:30 I was out the door and headed to the airport to catch a flight to London where I had another DJ set scheduled for 2:00 am. Overall it was a wonderful day.
Any standout performances you saw at ADE you can share with us?
Friday night I attended the Ricardo Villalobos x FRRC at the Warehouse Elementenstraat. This was definitely one of the highlights from my week. Sonja Moonear opened up quite well before Ricardo Villalobos b2b Raresh. One of the parts I enjoyed the most was the fact that awakenings partner up on the event and brought in an incredible light show to go along with the performance, it was a great addition to go along with the flawless set from Ricardo and Rarehs. The Slapfunk Monday gathering at Brett was another highlight of the week for me. This was my second year attending, I have to say these guys always bring the heat! Samuel Deep, Julian Alexander, Dungeon Meat, Enzo Siragusa and The Martinez Brothers were some of the acts that performed.
Originally you are from South America, but where are you based now in the world and why?
I am currently based in Berlin and have been for the past 6 years. To be honest I stumble into Berlin by accident towards the end of the 2013 summer where I was transitioning from a full raging summer spent in Ibiza to seeking a permanent home in Europe. During that summer I met Sece who has been my room mate in Berlin throughout these years, he had already organized moving his studio gear and finding a home in Berlin, so I tagged along and figure out a way to get my visa. By January 2014, I was formally a legal resident in Germany and from then on, I knew it would be my home for the next couple of years not to mention that Berlin has been one of the cities where Techno, House and Minimal music thrives the most.
Your next collab EP is with fellow Argentinian Guti, on SCI+TEC. Love the EP. Can you tell us a little about working together and how you both set out to make this release? Did you have a specific sound in mind?
We started working together about a year ago without any plan in mind. We just wanted to have a jam session and see what can come out of it. One year and about 22 tracks later we figure out a great way to combine our sounds leading to the idea of opening our own label “Personality Disorder” to release our productions. The ep we put together on SCI+TEC are actually some of my favorite tracks from the bunch. I gave them to Dubfire a couple of months ago and he really liked them, so I couldn’t think of a better place for the tracks to find a home.
Do you like collaborating with others? If so, how do you think it can help younger artists develop?
I love collaborating! I feel like it’s a great way to fuse ideas and create an entirely new sound between two artists. In the past 2 years I’ve been experimenting with many different artists and most of the time the results are pretty solid. In my view for an upcoming artist still discovering their sound collaborating it’s a great way to learn new techniques that can be implemented on the workflow. For example, every time I work with someone new, even if they are not as experienced I can still learn something them. The trick is to maintain a student perspective.
Can you give us your top 5 pieces of gear you cannot produce without right now?
Well number one definitely it would have to be the DAW software I use, which is Ableton Live 10. In my studio lately I have been working a lot with the Korg EMX-1 Electribe drum machine, The Native Instruments Machine has also been a fundamental part of my workflow. For mixing I have been using the Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo interface which allows me to access the UAD plug-ins that are incredible for mixing and processing. The Roland cloud plug-ins are amazing as for synths as well as drums. I love using analog hardware, I must mention the Roland cloud plugins work exceptionally well.
What do you enjoy doing to help you unwind when you are not on the road?
After a long period on the road it can be quite exhausting mentally and physically. Once I get back home to Berlin I like to develop a normal routine where I can restart my circadian rhythm and get back into a healthy diet. I like to exercise a few times a week, helping me reduce stress. I enjoy reading books during my free time and also meditate as much as I can. Once I get into a good mind set I like to spend at least 7-8 hours a day in the studio. While I’m on tour it’s not always easy to eat healthy and get an appropriate amount of sleep so when I get back home it’s a very important procedure for me to get back on track. In order to get back into a creative flow.
– jams
Jimbo James
Editor-in-Chief
jams@musicis4lovers.com