This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
We met during ADE 2014. Paulo Pereira a.k.a. DJ/producer A.Paul often played in The Netherlands, so we share some friends and we became friends. By now, I’ve stayed twice at his home in Lisbon and he stayed at my place. In 2014 I interviewed A.Paul a.k.a. mr. Naked Lunch Records about his first gig. “For a moment, I was horrified.”
“My first gig was in 1998 on a student party. That gig wasn’t as easy as I thought on beforehand. I was already playing in my bedroom for a few years and technically I was all right.
No monitors
“The planned location had a considerable size. It was filled till the roof and the speakers were place a long way from the DJ booth. On top of that, there were no monitors. Therefore, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to mix. Or not until I knew how I could compensate the delay of sound in the booth.”
Quite frustrating
“It was quite frustrating, because I myself believed that I was already a pretty good DJ, and this technical issue totally sabotaged my set. In the end, I succeeded to mix. I tried to do it via my headphones and that worked. All fell into place. For a moment though, I was horrified by the idea that my set would go wrong in front of this many people.”
My poor neighbors
“Soon after, I met the promotor who was also a DJ and later became a friend. I bought my first Technics decks from him and the speakers from that first gig party. This way, I was able to play more and better. My poor neighbors weren’t always happy with me, but it was important that I practiced with a system that had a little more power.” (laughs)
“I didn’t take long, until I could start playing at a small bar and a few months later my big chance came in the Portugese province Alentejo. I played in a huge club there, named Arrepios, which means ‘goose bumps’ in Portugese. This residency changed my life!”
This interview with A.Paul is originally published in August 2014 on DJMag.nl.
Who is A.Paul?
A.Paul was born in Lisbon, Portugal in November 1971, and his career started in 1986, although his first contact with music was made at a very early stage. This was mainly through the hands of his older sister that would regularly listen to disco, funk, and electro sounds in the 70′s. From a music passionate mind, to a national celebrity, A.Paul is today one of the key players of the electronic music scene on a worldwide scale, both as a DJ and as a producer. His taste, technique and originality made him earn the respect from his peers and most of all the love and devotion from his fans.
A.Paul was voted best Portuguese techno DJ in 2000, 2001, and 2002 by the readers of Dance Club, the main electronic music media vehicle in Portugal.In 2001 he opened Genesis record shop. Later in 2007 A.Paul was co-owner of MPC Vinyl Distribution, with his long-time friends Cisco Ferreira (The Advent) and Michaelangelo, where he also released on his other sub -labels The Light, Parallel 125, Dirty Ego, LK and Xtractz.
In 2012 A.Paul’s most renowned & most successful project to date is Naked Lunch Records, which was created back in 2005. Fast forward to 2013, this marked a new monumental moment in A.Paul’s career as a promoter.
A.Paul has released over 100 vinyl records, several mixed CD compilations released in amazing labels like; Kombination Research, Synewave, Planet Rhyhtm, Italo Business, Pure Sonik, Theory, Mastertraxx, Beat Disaster, Yin Yang, Impact Mechanics, and has remixed artists such as The Advent, Ben Sims, Eric Sneo, Angel Alanis, Damon Wild, DJ T-1000, Virgil Enzinger, Robert Armani, Dave The Drummer, DJ Preach, Mike Humphries, Spiros Kaloumenos, Torsten Kanzler, Bas Mooy, Housemaster Boyz and many more.
Besides his sound of hard, funky, deep bass lines he is renowned for, he has done productions in tech-house, minimal and experimental sounds, under several aliases like Loudon Kleer, Luther Miek, Beat Therapy and LK. Last but not least, he is also known for his co-productions with artists like The Advent, Industrialyzer, Michaelangelo and DJ Slot among others.
His unique sound, taste, and technique, granted him a position on some of the best mega events: Awakenings, Chateau Techno, TGV (The Netherlands), Evolve (Canada), Nature One, Syndicate, Ruhr in Love (Germany), Rock in Rio (Portugal), Technolandia (Portugal), Aquasella, (Spain), Liberty White (Belgium), Decibel (Holland), Global Vision Festival (France) & Apokalypsa (Czech Republic).
A.Paul has rocked some of the hottest clubs like; Tresor, U60311, Lehmann (Germany), Sullivan Room (USA), Fabrik , Makumba, Row 14, Moog, Industrial Copera (Spain), Perron, Panama, Poema (The Netherlands), Locomia, Rocks, Kremlin, Pacha (Portugal), Qube (Italy), Inox Club (France) & many more.
Don’t forget to check my feature interview with A.Paul!
