In Depth With…Dario Dea
Dario Dea is a DJ/Producer residing in Dubai. After getting back from gigging in Europe he found the time to have a chat with us about his music. We touch on his music career, how his musical taste has changed and what it’s like being a musician in Dubai…
How are you, what’s keeping you busy? How is summer treating you?
Hi! Everything is great! I just got back to Dubai after 2 fantastic weeks of gigs in Europe in order to recharge the batteries and finish writing my next EP.
You have been doing this for ten years now right? How have your tastes and styles evolved in that time?
I have been a musician for almost 15 years now and yes, I am actually surprised of how much my taste has changed over the years. When I first started I was 100% into classic rock and blues, which then evolved into various genres such as metal, jazz, funk and others and then finally in the last 5 or 6 years I got into electronic music. My initial explorations were more into the Deep House and classic house fields and then I slowly discovered Tech House, Progressive House and Techno.
You are into jazz and blues, right? What artists and how long have you been into them?
Blues and Jazz are extremely important for me as they were kind of my first love in music. The most important influence in Blues will always be Eric Clapton, as he showed me the things you can do with a few simple elements, a lot of passion and a good groove. On the Jazz side I’ve been very influenced by Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and Michel Petruccian and how much emotion and depth these artists managed to pour into their music, and that’s a great inspiration to me.
Do you have any formal playing skills yourself, can you play any instruments?
Yes, as a matter of fact I have been a guitar player for almost 15 years. In particular I love to play electric guitars as that allows me to go crazy and express myself with improvisation in a way that comes very natural to me. I also play some bass guitar and I like to fiddle with my synths but I can’t honestly say that I know how to play keyboards.
What is the scene like in Dubai? What parties are great?
Since I arrived in Dubai 3 years ago the scene has just boomed. Thanks to a community of international music lovers and super passioned DJs, almost every night you can find a Deep House/Techno party. There are definitely some challenges created by the economy and how law works here, but the effort of crews like Disconekt, Blue Marlin, el Chiringuito, Night Vibes, Coma, Plus Minus and more allow Dubai party goers to have at least 4 or 5 international artists to enjoy every week.
And is it hard to find record shops and gear shops there, do you have to rely on the internet?
Finding records or gear in Dubai can be definitely challenging. If you look closely there are some quality spots that allow us to survive, like the brand new record shop called Flipside, or some of the hidden music equipment stores in the old part of Dubai, but generically speaking it’s really not an easy task for musicians and music lovers to find supplies. Whenever possible I try to shop in our local places, but sometimes places like discogs or Thomann are the only solution.
What sounds are big in Dubai – is it all commercial stuff still or is there an underground?
Dubai it’s quite a patchwork of sound. I would say that the “main attraction” is still commercial/hiphop/rnb music, but the underground scene has grown exponentially in the past few years. There is also quite some space for arabic music, especially live, while I would love to see some more Jazz and Blues clubs around.
How did you first get into dance music? What inspired and influenced you?
It’s actually a funny story. Many years ago I was in high school with someone that was very passionate about this Paul Kalkbrenner guy. At the time I didn’t care that much about electronic music so it didn’t really have any effect on me. A few years later I stumbled upon Berlin Calling, the movie based on the story of the homonymous record by Paul Kalkbrenner and I took a chance on it. Since that moment I haven’t stopped listening, mixing and then producing electronic music. Obviously Paul had a lot of influence on my initial taste, while in the years I have been inspired by many people such as Dennis Ferrer, Patrice Baumel, Solomun, Danny Tenaglia, Coyu, Undercatt, Lehar and many more.
Tell us about your new EP for Capital Heaven – where and when did you write it?
Talking about were and when I wrote a record is actually quite complicated because rather than spending long hours in a single place and coming out with a finished product, I often produce in small “sprints” of maybe 30 or 40 minutes. For example I remember having the idea for Entropia while I was in Doha for my residency, while the rest of the track was developed in my home studio. Turbamento was created initially in my studio, thanks to the magic of the Moog Sub 37, and then refined in various places (Rome, airplanes, hotels etc…).
What else have you got coming up/are you exited about?
Funnily enough, today I finished the production of a new EP, which I think it’s the best work I’ve done so far. In the next few days I’ll get in touch with some labels that I think will really appreciate this new work. In the meantime I have a remix coming out soon on Capital Heaven, a Tech House track coming out in October on Klaphouse Records and in 2 weeks I am going to play with Ruede Hagelstein here in Dubai.
Dario Dea – Entropia/Turbamento EP is out now on Capital Heaven, grab it here:
http://classic.beatport.com/release/entropia-turbamento/2028292
Follow Dario here:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DarioDeaDJ/
SC: https://soundcloud.com/dario-dea
