Almost precisely a year ago, Matías Aguayo visited Nolla, totally tore the house down and left us hungry for more Cómeme magic. It took a while, but we are happy to announce that this Saturday we'll have another member of the crew playing at Nolla. Coming from Xalapa, Mexico, Rebolledo is known to be an excellent DJ as well as an extraordinary producer. At the moment, the man behind cult hits such as Guerrero and Pitaya Frenesí is touring in Europe and finishing his debut album. We reached him to talk about his forthcoming projects and the ideal circumstances for a gig, among other things.

 

I remember Matías Aguayo praising your great "dancefloor knowledge". Could you tell briefly about your background as a DJ – how did you first end up playing records in public? What have been the key moments for you over the years?

 

– I started DJing as a hobby while I was still in school, I got more and more into it and when I graduated, I also had an offer to go and play as a resident at La Santanera for the summer. It's one of the greatest clubs I know and it's located in Playa del Carmen. Then this summer job turned into my profession and I developed my own style of playing and understanding music there. For me, DJing is more than playing cool music, it's about "creating moments" and at some point I couldn't find the right music to create the moments I had in my head... so that's when I decided to start making my own music. During all this process I met Matías, who liked the way I DJ'd. When I told him about my interest of making my own music, he asked me to show him my ideas because he thought something interesting could come out of that. 

 

How do you see the electronic music scene in Xalapa and generally in Mexico right now? Does the good stuff usually happen in regular clubs or at one-off parties? 

 

– In my hometown there's not much happening right now... it's a small, a kind of quiet city. In the main cities where things are happening, there's a cool mix between the club scene, festivals and big events. There's a lot of great original music going on also, a lot of young producers and bands are doing very interesting stuff. In general, I think the whole scene in Mexico is getting more and more interesting.

 

What's coming up from you in the near future? 

 

– Right now I'm working on my first album for Cómeme, which is almost done. If there's not any change of plans, it should be released in October. I've been also working with Superpitcher on our first album as Pachanga Boys – that one must be ready to be released next year. Also, I'm about to go to Europe for my summer tour. We're gonna do some Cómeme parties with Matías and the rest of the crew and perform at festivals and clubs. 

     

You're one of the central Cómeme figures and somehow, the sound of the label is very coherent and recognizable, despite the fact that the releases are made by a bunch of different artists. What do you think is the secret behind that? Is there a plan to take the label towards a certain sound and direction or does it just happen naturally? 

 

– We don't believe in music genres, we just love what we do and make music the way we understand it. As you say, all the music on Cómeme is very coherent and recognizable as a whole, but it's not easy to label it as a style – and if you listen carefully, you can distinguish my sound from the one of Matías, Diegors, Ana Helder or any other member. I think it all makes sense, because we have a similar spirit when we make music, even though we do it in different ways. That spirit is the thing that creates the "Cómeme sound". The only plan is to continue making music that we like and we would love to dance to. There's no specific direction, the dancefloor will decide.

 

You've mentioned you enjoy playing in smaller clubs. What would the circumstances of your "dream gig" be like?

 

– It's a perception thing more than a specific numeric thing. The tightness of a party, when you have the right crowd and the right music, can be a super winner element. I have had great parties with no more than 30 people dancing but in a tiny, tiny place, so you couldn't fit in one more. And I have had great parties with thousands, also in places where you could not fit in many more.

 

An ideal gig could be with a crowd of around 400 people at the most, just to have the chance to have eye contact with the person dancing furthest. Dimmed lights, wooden walls, DJ booth the closest possible to the crowd. If all the factors are right I could play forever. If I have to share the decks, it would have to be with people I could play with back to back with, so there wouldn't be an "opening act" or a "headliner", but just great music going on and on... this could be either with the Cómeme crew or with Superpitcher.

 

How about in the studio – is there an artist or producer you hope to collaborate with some day?

 

– Uy, a couple of years ago my answer would have been Matías Aguayo and Superpitcher... hehe.

 

Are there any tracks you've loved since a very young age and still sometimes play in your sets?

 

– Yes, every now and then I love to include music that I've been listening to forever. In some cases, I do some edits of these classic tracks, so I have their essence in my sets, but in a less poppy or obvious way – like tracks from Michael Jackson or Donna Summer, which I've loved forever. Tus Ojos Mexicanos Lindos by the Mexican pop artist called Juan Gabriel is a great track that I've loved since I was a child. That one I play every now and then in its original form.

 

What is your soundtrack of choice for the day after partying?

 

–  A selection of tracks from Lee Hazlewood, Ted Lucas, The Jackson 5 in their Motown years, Loose Joints and some others played randomly, and not with a very loud volume.

 

Check out Beats in Space Radio Show #566 with Rebolledo!