Spotlight: What's the concept behind the Kitties Wanna Dance compilation and what kind of sound did you want to achieve?
Coyu: There isn’t a proper concept to be honest. It's all about music that I like from artists that I play. Easy. Fortunately the Suara label is working very well so it isn't very difficult to get good stuff from nice artists. Suara doesn't have a particular sound. I love techno and I love house. That's all. I guess the label would work even better if I always released the same music, but then people would say, this shit sounds like a Suara track. Unfortunately I love too many different sounds and that's why the next Suara record includes stuff from artists that used to release dubstep, electronic or even classical music.
Tell us a bit about being based in Barcelona, how is the scene there at the moment?
Barcelona was huge in the early 2000's. I started to go clubbing in 2003 when I was 18 years old and the line-ups were amazing. House, techno, (real) electro, drum n bass, ambient, electronica...Today there’s very good clubs with nice line-ups, but I feel like we're missing something important in Barcelona. Probably the generation of the early 2000's was more open-minded than the current kids. My heroes were Aphex Twin, Jeff Mills, Laurent Garnier. Now the biggest influence for kids is David Guetta and all the guys on the radio... and even the TV. The current kids have too much information. They don't need to search artists, labels or influences. The radio and the TV already tell them what to listen to. I guess it's something similar in the rest of the World.
What production plans do you have right now?
I'm going to release a couple of records alongside Carlo Lio on Rejected and Noir Music, plus remixes for X-Press 2 on Skint and Mihalis Safras on
Material. I'm working on some stuff for Suara and finishing some new tracks. I feel like it's a good time to come back to the studio and release more stuff than the last 12 months.
What can we expect from the Saura label in the next 6 months?
Music from great musicians. Patrick Chardronnet, Martin Dawson, Joash, George Fitzgerald, Benny Rodrigues. I guess Suara could be one of the next tech house hit labels, but to be honest I won't be a wannabe label and just try to be the next #1 on Beatport. Of course I would love to get #1 on Beatport... and #10 would even more than welcome too, but my aim is release good stuff at the moment, I'm working with the heart more than the head. Let's see what happens at the end of the year. If I feel like it's not the moment for releasing that kind of stuff, I'm always able to come back to releasing just tech house for the floor. That would be the easiest way and what I'm trying to avoid, although I still love the groovy tech house stuff, but I think we should start to educate to the crowd like my heroes did in the past with me.
Do you make any money out of running the label? If not, why do you do it?
I spend a lot of money on artworks, mastering, promotion, distribution, remixes, so Suara is not a big business yet. But hey, a label is not just a business but also a passion. That's why I still haven’t closed Atypical Farm and My Cup Of Tea, my other two labels. I don't have enough time to run those labels but I feel like I cannot let them die.
Which producers and DJs are inspiring you at the moment?
Sei A, Petar Dundov, Kink, John Talabot, Burial, Four Tet, Aeroplane, Deetron, Catz N Dogz, Patrice Baumel, Caribou, Ramadanman, Julio Bashmore, Stimming, Culoe De Song, Mario Basanov, Motor City Drum Ensemble.
What are your plans for Ibiza this summer? Where can we catch you play?
I played Space on 1st, 13th and 22th June. You can find me there on July 18th, August 29th and September 22th, plus my monthly show on Ibiza Global Radio.
You're well known for your relationship with Edu and Uner. How often do you actually play gigs together? And how does that work, all three back to back?
I don't play very often with them, but it's always very fun. I did a North American tour with Edu last March. We played in Philadelphia, Montreal, Detroit, Miami, Seattle and Toronto. And also did a b2b show in Florence in early May. The b2b show in Space with Uner and Edu was off the hook. Truly nice experience. Hope to have the chance to do a set with them again soon.
