South West Seven Welcomes Roberto Rodriguez

Bienvenue! Welcome! 歡迎! Willkommen! Benvenuto! 반갑습니다! Seja bem-vindo(a)! Bienvenido!

Hello and welcome to the South West Seven blog! We're not quite sure the world needs another blog, but it's gonna get one now anyway..

Through the coming days, months and years we'll be aiming to bring you the best content possible! Not just a monthly mix, but sought after and exclusive mixes and interviews from the cream of the DJ & Producer crop. We'll also be adding our own reviews on our favourite CD & vinyl releases, general musical musings, plus anything we think you need to know about. Such as recipes, get rich quick schemes and how to improve your libido.
    

So sit back, relax and enjoy the South West Seven blog! 

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You're one of the most well respected artists in the Deep House scene, with productions on some of the finest labels such as Freerange and Compost. Many will know you from your hit record 'Ride With Me feat. Max C' on Compost, but where did it all begin for Roberto Rodriguez?

It all started 24 years ago back in 1987 at the lovely balearic island of Mallorca. I was having a summer holiday there with my grandma. I was a music fan already back then so i went to this small kiosk for tourists that also sold cassettes. In one stand i saw a black cassette that had a yellow smiley face on the cover. I put it in my walkman and as soon as the music started  i was blown away. As soon as i got back home to Finland i started up my Commodore Amiga home computer and started making my first acid tracks with a tracker software.

I was really hooked on producing and getting better and better. I knew what i wanted to do in my life.

During the next years i slowly mastered the software and started djingand even doing live gigs in warehouse parties. The obvious next move was to break out of the limitations that the crappy 80´s computer had and move on to the real world of music. The first ever synth i bought was a TB-303. From there i started building up proper gear. Surely it wasn´t as easy for us those days as it is nowadays when you can just buy a relatively cheap laptop and load it with tons of software and plugins.

I became good friends with Jukka Kaartinen - who btw originally sold me the 303. We joined forces and built a small studio for ourselves. Made tons of tracks of different genres during the years. Until in 1998 Tommi Grönlund of Sähkö Recordings got a hold of our demo cd. He was planning a new sub label for Sähkö [Keys Of Life] together with Harri Hännikäinen and they thought that these deep house tunes would be perfect for the first release. So in 1999 my first ep called Heartbeat saw the light of day.

Some of your earlier productions have bordered on Techno, but over the last year or 2, you seemed to have slowed things down a lot and focused on a deeper and groovier sound with a lot of 'Disco' influence. What sparked this change of direction?

I don´t see it as a change in direction. To me all dance music is the same. Maybe that comes from the fact that i was there witnessing the birth of all these electronic dance music sub genres. Jungle, Drum & Bass, Trance, Electro Techno etc. And back in the days it wasn´t unheard of if you had all these genres under the same roof in a party. Maybe even in the mainroom. 

My first ep was pure Deep House. After that was released i released another one but after that i released only downtempo stuff for many years (from 2000 - 2005) The reason for this was that in 2000 - 2001 i wasn´t really happy about the direction house music was going. I was quite bored with it actually. But after we finished the Track n Field double album 'Marathon' in 2005 there was lot of interesting stuff happening in techno and house. The scene and the music had turned back in to something i felt really interesting. As a music maker i always do the music first for myself but when you live and breath the scene and the music, you get influenced by it and sort of evolve with it. So it seams that sub 120 bpm stuff is the current state of that evolution for me. But that doesn´t stop me from making more faster stuff as well.

You're about to launch your new label 'Serenades'. Please tell us more about it.. How the idea or concept came about and the direction you want to take the label?

I´ve had the dream of my own label for a long time. So as it started to look like it could became a reality, i knew instantly how i would like to do it. Or how i wouldn´t want to do it. There are tons of new labels coming every month even in house music. And most of them make a new release every month. Sometimes even every two weeks. What that says to me is that these labels have no quality control. They are putting quantity over quality. Its not possible for a new label like that to have that many special music laying around to release it every other week. 

So what i want to do is not to release these disposable pointless tracks that no one will remember in two months. I try to keep a very strict quality control. If that means that i only release one or two releases per year, so be it. Quality over quantity. Thats the way it has to be. 

I don´t have any particular style for Serenades. So if its indie rock/ pop or disco/ techno/ house it really doesn´t matter. Everything in the realm of my musical taste and under the roof of good nighlife styles is possible. As long as its quality and is able to 'touch' the audience and give them a good feeling. Surely it will mostly be dancefloor oriented, but that doesn´t always have to be the case. Perhaps one day Serenades will release a Pop album which is far away from the dancefloor. All is possible nowadays.

Which artists have influenced you the most over the years?

There are so damn many. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Robert Hood, Kerri Chandler, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson & Quency Jones, Kevin Saunderson, Kerri Chandler, Joe Smooth, Lil Louis, I:Cube, Coldcut, LTJ Bukem, Adam F, Nightmares On Wax,  KLF, Orbital, LFO, Richard James, Depeche Mode, Radiohead etc...the list goes on.

Your productions have great depth and musicality. What equipment do you use in the studio to create such a 'sound'?

My current setup is built around an early 2008 Mac Pro 8-core with Apogee Duet audio interface.

I work on Logic 9, but sometimes i do stuff with Ableton Live or Protools.

As for outboard synths i currently only have Oberheim Matrix-1000, Roland JV1080, Yamaha DX-100, Novation Drumstation and TR-626.

I mix everything in the box but as the warm analog sound of the early days is locked in my head so tightly, i think i know how to replicate that in an all digital environment.

I´ve always said that it doesn´t matter what gear you have. The only thing that matters is how you use it and make the most of what you´ve got. You can do an amazingly creative track only with just one synth.

What set up do you use for DJing?

Nowadays i play with EKS Otus controller with Traktor 3 which is run on MacBook Pro 17". I´ve been thinking about upgrading to a four track controller and a newer Traktor.

If you had the opportunity to run a 1 of club night and budget wasn't an issue. What club or venue would you choose and what DJs or live acts would you have play?

If i´d plan a one night party for this coming weekend it would probably go something like this:

07pm-08pm Murcof LIVE

08pm-10pm Radiohead LIVE

10am-02am Dj Harvey

02am-04am Lil Louis

04am-05am Robert Hood LIVE

05am-10am Derrick May

And all this would happen in my living room.

Who is the best DJ you have ever seen play in a club?

That would probably be Derrick May, Lil Louis or DJ Harvey. 

What tracks or artists are currently exciting you?

There are a few artists that have really impressed me lately. Marcus Marr, James Blake and Jamie Woon to name a few.

Truly exciting fresh music.

House music wise 2010 was one of the best years ever. I don´t see why 2011 wouldn´t be as good or even better.

Here are some of my current favorites:

Hercules & Love Affair - My House

The Gathering feat. Chez Damier - In My System (The Revenge Remix)

Jakob Corn - Dance Away

Bassfort - The Street Is My World (Piano Mix)

Snna - Pastoreando (Nacho Marco Remix)

Tom Trago - Lost In The Streets Of Nyc

What are your thoughts on the Digital music format.. What pros & cons do you feel it has?

Even though i love and prefer vinyl sound in a sound system, I have nothing against digital music. But i´m most passionately against mp3´s or any compressed formats. I don´t understand why people would buy music in a format that is not the best quality they can get.

Surely back in the days when we had slow internet connections and small hard drives, the smaller size of the mp3´s was a valid selling point. But really, in 2011. C´moon.. If it was up to me all digital music sold would be 24bit 96khz minimum. People who buy mp3´s often use the same argument that the audience doesn´t hear the difference. That maybe true when you play in a venue that has a crappy sound system with poor acoustics. But what happens when you get to play in a club that has excellent sound? Even better than the best sound system we have today. Wouldn´t you rather have your track collection in the best quality possible in that situation? Even if you don´t hear the difference, you would know that you´ve done all you can to bring the best quality to people.

You have a very Spanish sounding name, so people may be surprised to hear you're from Finland. What's Finland like, particularly Helsinki where you live?

Finland is a clean, very organized, sometimes a bit stiff. Its also a very beautiful country with a lot of nature around. During the summer time its lovely here. Not too hot and not too cold. Everything´s green and there is daylight for almost the whole day. But during the winter time its the total opposite. Dark, snowy and damn cold.

Music wise i´m very proud of Helsinki. It´s a relatively small city with only 600 000 people and yet we have many club venues (Two of them with Funktion One) and lots of other venues and parties going on all the time. The quality of the programming and the dj skills of dj´s here is amazing for a city this size.

What's your favourite city in the world?

Tough one....hmm. Berlin, Barcelona, New York...if i´d had to pick one it would be Berlin. Just love the liberal urban laidback vibe there. It feeds creativity.

As an international artist you've travelled extensively over the years, so im sure you've sampled many different cuisines. What's your favourite food?

Food is my other passion in life besides music so i always try to have a taste of the local cuisine.

One of the most suprising cuisines i´ve had the chance to taste was in Georgia. I had no expectations when i was going there but i was totally blown away by it.

Its really unique but it still resembles something from the mediterranean sea. 

Still as having tasted some excellent Italian, Greek or French food, i´d say my favorite cuisine is Spanish. There is nothing that can beat that food for me.

Like us SouthWestSeven boys, we know you like a beer. What's your favourite beer?

I certainly love a good beer, but i´m really no expert. Finland has some nice beer, but in general its quite bland. I prefer a beer with a little more taste. I really enjoy Weisbier in general. 

The people from south germany sure know how to make beer.

Now for some 'quick fire' questions to finish off?

Tea or Coffee?

Coffee

Sushi or Sandwich?

Sandwich

Sun or Snow?

Sun

Walk or Cycle?

Cycle

Cats or Dogs?

Dogs

Jeans or Trousers?

Jeans

Berlin or London?

Berlin

NYC or Tokyo?

New York

House or Techno?

Both

Rock or Classical?

Rock

CD or Vinyl?

Vinyl

South
West Seven Blog Mix 1 - Roberto Rodriguez by SW7 Blog Mixes

01. Terje Bakke - Tango Orange (Roberto Rodriguez Reprise) [Soulfooled]

02. Butch - Amnesia Haze [Bouq]

03. Roman Fluegel - How To Spread Lies [Dial Records]

04. Tom Trago - Lost In The Streets Of Nyc [Rush Hour]

05. Penner & Muder - Speak Your Mind (Axel Boman Instrumental) [Mood Music]

06. TJ Kong & Russ Gabriel - Celebration feat. Robert Owens (Heavenly Dub) [Large]

07. Death On The Balcony & Ste Roberts - Emmanuelle´s Party Bucket (Henry Gilles Remix) [Fullbar]

08. The Gathering feat. Chez Damier - In My System (The Revenge Remix) [Silver Network]

09. Steve Bug - My Sweet Vital Angel [Ovum]

10. Paris Underground - Hardcore Deep House [My Love Is Underground]

11. Loleatta Holloway - Dreamin (Pol On Edit)

12. Bassfort - The Street Is My World (Piano Mix) [Freerange]