Coffee Break with Djolee
Djolee has been making waves lately. Presenting a mix of organic, percussive, and eclectic sounds, he has the virtue of adapting with versatility to a large spectrum of musical lines, which enabled him to share the billing with artists such as Oliver Koletzki, Trikk, or Jeremy Olander.
We sat with him to learn more about his production routine, his latest releases, but also his label Rummel and a collective he is part of: Amancay.
Originating from the vibrant city of Buenos Aires, now based in Barcelona, what influence would you say both cities had on your relationship to music?
Well, as my native city, Buenos Aires has shaped the foundations of my musical taste since I was a teenager, and it was the place where I started developing my career as a DJ and Producer. At first, it was just a hobby I pursued while working as an Industrial Engineer/PMO, but then it evolved into the profession I am fully invested in right now. Moving to Barcelona was the big step I needed to take to convince myself that I was really going 'all in' with my music career, and it luckily turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Of course, it’s not easy to settle in a new country; it took us over a year to settle down, but with determination and patience, you overcome it. I feel that Barcelona gave me the opportunity to grow with fewer boundaries than back in Argentina, as the economy is more stable, and it is better connected to the rest of the world in terms of logistics & networking.
How would you describe the music scene, more particularly the dance music scene in both cities?
Both cities are definitely growing their dance music scenes constantly. It’s easily noticeable that the number of events for all types of genres keeps going up. Besides the classic techno and house scenes in both cities, I think that the genre that has grown the most over the last few years is Melodic Techno, followed slowly by Afro House. There’s also a big Progressive House scene in both cities, as Argentina is one of the main spots for the genre, and Barcelona has a lot of Argentinians living as residents.
When was your first introduction to dance music and when did you decide to make your first steps in this industry?
My first solid experience was at Creamfields 2007. Following that, I raved for several years until I bought my first DJ controller in 2014 and started practicing as a hobby. Two years later, I ventured into music production without any knowledge of Ableton or a background in music, so you can imagine it was tough, haha. After endless tutorials and production lessons, I ended up meeting some of the crew from Amancay and started making music together, realizing that by helping each other out, the improvements were noticeable. Fortunately, this was one of the main reasons that led to the creation of our Argentinean collective.
Now let's talk about production: what kind of instruments/gear/plugins do you use the most in the studio at the moment?
In terms of gear, I’m actually using the Korg Volca Keys, Nord Lead A1, Moog Minitaur , Moog Subsequent 37 , Elektron Digitone , Ableton Push 2 , Electro Harmonix Grand Canyon + Teal Tremolo pedals.
In terms of VSTs:
For synths , u-he Hive / Repro 5 / Zebra HZ , Arturia Pigments / Analog Lab V , Codex from Waves
For modulation / Fx: Output Portal & Movement, Ozone Vocal Synth 2 & Nectar 3
For Mixing / Mastering : Black Box M/S Saturator , Shadow Hills Compressor , Soothe2, Decimort 2, Dr MS
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
I don't really have a routine when it comes to a typical day in the studio. Usually, I need to clear my mind of pending tasks before I start producing music. Sometimes I sit down at 9 AM, and other days at 6 PM. When I have an idea in my mind, I prioritize studio sessions because you never know when inspiration will strike again, haha.
Lately, we are meeting with Gespona in his studio once every 7-10 days. We start with a proper breakfast at Granja Elena’s Cafe around 8am and then we head to his cave for some hours until midday . If something good comes up, we try to finalize the idea quickly for testing. If not, we leave it pending for another session, either together or individually.
How would you describe your music in 3 words?
Percussive, Melodic, Eclectic
You are a DJ, producer, but also co-founder of the record label Rummel, created together with Gespona. When did you start this project and what are you trying to achieve with it? Any future releases?
The idea behind Rummel started in 2023 after we realized that our crew was accumulating too many good tracks due to the difficulty of signing music with major labels. We felt that we had a solid circle of artists and friends, so it was the perfect way to consolidate our efforts and expose our sound. Rummel gives us the freedom to release the music we want, whenever we want.
Our goal is to create a space in the electronic music scene where we can express our artistic vision freely, focusing on delivering avant-garde music and quality experiences to the people who follow us.
Regarding releases, we have our first VA called “PANORAMA 1 “ coming up on July 12th & 26th (Part 1 & 2) - Featuring 10 tracks from new artists like Motip White, Amadori, Kon Faber, Fabricio Mosoni, Martin Cozar, Scippo, Liebig & Hylia , as well as label members such as Abuk, Marvio, Gespona & myself.
You are also part of the Buenos Aires collective Amancay, together with artists like Agustin Giri or Last Men On Earth. Could you tell us a bit about it?
Yeah :) As you may know, Amancay was created almost three years ago, but our friendship started before that. Managing a collective of 14 artists is no easy task, as we are all equals and everyone’s opinion counts the same. In line with our growth, we decided to reorganize our internal structure dividing ourselves into some areas to improve the way we approach all the ideas we have in mind.
You recently released the EP "Ma Kumba" on Rummel (and we love the title track btw). What is the story behind this EP?
Thanks for the kind words :) I'm really happy that 'Ma Kumba' and 'Horcrux' finally saw the light because I've been waiting for the right time to release them since 2021. Luckily, the tracks didn’t age, and they fit perfectly within Rummel’s spectrum.
I remember wanting to test the outcome of blending a percussive groove with synthetic music, all within a sorcery-like soundscape.
Apart from these two, I made "Incorporeo" to complement the EP with a peak-time track.
What gear or digital tools did you use to create the 3 tracks?
This EP was created using 100% digital tools.
For Ma Kumba, I used Sub Boom 2 for the Bass, Arturia Synclavier V for the Tension Pads, Chromaphone 2 for the back FXs, Arturia DX7 + CODEX for the main melody, U-he Diva for the electric stabs, Granulator II for the atmo, and Vocal Synth 2 for to change the timber of the main percussions.
For Horcrux, almost all the drums were created using U-he Diva, ranging from the 'alarm' snare, to the electric hats and the distorted percussion. Bassline came out from Serum + Layers from Dune 3, and the music from Arturia DX7 & Diva.
For Incorporeo, I used CODEX for the Bass / Pads / Higher layer of the Stabs, Repro 5 for the main layer of the Stabs, and Portal + Vocal Synth for the Vox
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
A new series of VAs called “Laberintos” is coming up in August, consisting of collaborations between crew members. Our idea here is to present different combinations of Amancay artists on each VA.
Our classic Ficciones III VA is coming up in January 2025
Several Amancay Showcases TBA
And our latest “VERSUS” series , where we present 2 Amancay acts playing b2b. Gigs TBA
Where can we expect to see you in 2024?
In July, you can find me at Nom Barcelona on Saturday 6th, or at Soho Garden Dubai on Sunday 14th.
In August, we have an Amancay Showcase at Forum Station BCN on Saturday 3rd ( with Last Men On Earth - Golden Hour - Marvio - Djolee) in collaboration with the Valhalla crew , and other gigs in Spain TBA
I'm also planning a Mexico/Central America tour for October, and an Argentina/LATAM tour for the end of November/December.
Are you working on other projects that we should know about?
Yes, recently we launched a new Mixing & Mastering service called “BULK” together with Gespona and Last Men On Earth. We believe that sound quality is one of the most important factors in electronic music, so we decided to start helping other producers with this task. We also offer one-on-one music production lessons to provide a solution for artists who want to learn what’s behind our work.
You can find all the information in our website : https://bulk-audio.com/
Last but not least: coffee or tea?
C-O-F-F-E-E