This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
We met in 2016, and since then we became good friends. In the same year 2016 I had a chat witch Dutch DJ/producer Ricardo Carota about his first gig. "I was rewarded by the sight of all these happy, dancing people."
“What started out as writing hiphop lyrics soon evolved into making beats for local rappers. Later the hiphop beats were exchanged for minimalistic 4×4 beats. After six years of producing hiphop, this was a bit of a transition, but soon new songs began to appear and my surroundings started to pick up on them. Ricardos Raphie was born.”
Tricks of the trade
“‘You should play this live’, a friend said, who regularly came over to listen to my new productions. I had enough tracks of my own to fill an hour, so it was time to practice behind the turntables. Fortunately, being a producer, I was not afraid of the buttons on the mixer and with the help of people around me, I learned the tricks of the trade.”
Housefreakerz
“My first gig soon followed and was immediately a leap of faith: Housefreakerz on the beach at Castricum aan Zee. I had to open the event. I remember being pretty nervous. I had performed before, but on those occasions I held a microphone in my hand. Luckily, the organizer of the beach party was a good friend and he pulled me through.”
Own tracks
“In front of me were about a hundred people. I pressed play and my very first set had begun. All the hours I had spent in the studio were rewarded by the sight of all these happy, dancing people. Afterwards, a group of people came over to say that they liked the set a lot and appreciated that I solely played my own tracks.”
To vary
“Playing this first time definitely motivated me to do it more often and to produce even more music. I quickly went back into the studio to make new tracks so I could vary more in my sets. More bookings soon followed in local bars and clubs.”
Indian Summer
“At some point I was approached by a record label in the UK (Housewax Records). They wanted to release the song Combassio. For a producer this is of course the biggest dream. My first release was a fact. More followed on other labels and the bookings became more and more interesting. After less than three years of playing, I was asked to play at the Indian Summer Festival. This was a different level than I was used to and I enjoyed every moment of it.”
“This was followed by radio shows at home and abroad. I was also suddenly featured in the Free Your Mind Magazine. By then, I changed my artist name to Ricardo Carota. More bookings followed and not only in the Netherlands. I am currently releasing my music on various labels around the world. I recently signed with a booking agency and am still producing a lot, because ever since my first booking I’ve only played my own music. And for the time being, I will stick to that winning recipe .”
This interview wot Ricardo Carota was originally published in June 2016 on DJMag.nl.