5 Minutes With… Mirco Caruso
Mirco Caruso is a name that has truly found a niche with his sound, constantly supplying fans with high quality, club orientated house music. The most recent release welcomes back the Swiss producer to Hive Audio, with an EP titled Sale El Sol, one that is sure to be another hit for the talented producer. EQTV caught up with Mirco to talk further about what he’s been getting up to plus a greater look at this killer EP.
How has summer been so far, what’s kept you busy?
First of all, we don’t really have summer in Switzerland ;-). This year it was rather cool & wet, so let’s say we had the perfect conditions to spend a lot of time in the studio to produce new songs.
The first six month of this year have been really busy for me and I travelled a lot, under which at Sonar in Barcelona as well as a few days in Ibiza. Right now I’m at the beach in the southern Italy. I also had a full Release-Schedule and spent lots of time in my studio.
Do you keep a regular routine in the week between gigs to stay healthy and sane? Can you let us in on it?
Given the fact that I enjoying working on other projects too, there is not so much time for additional hobbies. However, I still try to at least perform some work-out during the week. I’m also making sure to rest enough in order to get the necessary power for my gigs during weekends. Work-life-balance is very important to me and necessary to get my inspiration.
How much time do you still spend looking for new music and where do you get it?
Most of my time is invested in research for new music before I prepare my gigs, i.e. when I put together my sets. Often and by chance, I find new tracks while listening Podcasts, Radio, Live Mixes and sets of other DJs which I follow.
Are you critical of your own sets? do you asses your performance after each gig? what makes you feel good, what makes you feel bad?
I’m extremely critical with the track selection for my sets. Usually I record my Showcases, followed by an analysis in order to find area of improvements and often I also upload the Mixes on my Soundcloud-Page to share my music with my followers. Simply said, positive feedbacks from my followers make me feel good, and considering that most of the songs I play in my sets are my own productions, the feedbacks are really directed to me and not to other artists. Of course, as an ambitious person, I feel bad if I was not in the position to consider all my productions and creative ideas during my gigs.
When did you link with Hive Audio and how? Whats it like working with them?
After having had the opportunity to be in the Rooster of the MITA agency, my tracks have been sent to Hive Audio. A few days later I already signed my “Next Guest” EP, which was of course a fantastic moment. I’m enjoying working with them as they are really hands-on and professional, within a creative, agile and casual atmosphere.
Tell us about your new EP for them. What inspired or influenced it?
By chance I have found the Vocal at the beginning of this year and given the fact it was in Spanish, I immediately felt that this would be one of my summer tracks. It therefore did not take me too much time to produce, indeed, only after two days the song was ready. I was very satisfied with the result and both remixes from Reto Ardour and Vincenzo D‘Amico make this a great EP for every taste.
What gear did you use to write it? Software or Hardware guy? Favourite tools?
I’m clearly a software type, I have a very simple studio with a Mac computer, Cubase, a Keyboard and samples which are edited in the way I want the music to sound, giving them a unique touch.
In the case I want to add some Synth sounds, I use Sylenth1 or Kontakt5.
How hard was it to find your own sound? How long did it take? what do you think that sound is?
It would have been too easy to sit in front of my computer one day, saying to myself “So, now I’m starting to create my own style“ ;-). This just happened over time, it did evolve out of gained experiences, by investing endless energy on my new ideas, and obviously by spending days and days in the studio. I’m also pleased if I repeatedly hear from folks who approach me with the question on unreleased tracks, asking “Hey, this song is surely from you, right?”
I enjoy when my tracks are groovy and going forward. I’m also in the opinion that my tracks are meant to be used for the DanceFloor rather than for chilling. I often use various Perc und HiHat Loops, and a Vocal during the Break gives the song the necessary fine tune and “the certain something” which I’m always looking for.
You’re only been making house and tech house two years – what are the key lessons you’ve learnt in that time?
Keep it simple – it’s all about the groove and having fun!
What else have you got coming up next?
I’m already eagerly looking forward on my debut EP on Audiojacks Imprint “Gruuv”. It is going to be released on September 2. I have also produced a few remixes, which I’m going to release on different Labels and of course, I have some EP’s planed on my newly founded Label “2Drop Records”. So stay tuned, much more new great stuff to come shortly!
Sale El Sol is out now and available here.
