VIRTUS //
RAUL
FACIO
BREAKING OUT INTO THE TECHNO SCENE AT ANY AGE IS TOUGH TO DO, LET ALONE AS A TEENAGER. WE CAUGHT UP WITH RAUL FACIO AHEAD OF HIS UPCOMING RELEASES ON OCTOPUS, HOW HE BECAME INTERESTED IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC AND BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH DUBFIRE...
Hi Raul thank you for taking the time to be with us at Virtus. Where in the world are you right now?
It's a pleasure to be involved with this! Currently I'm in Ibiza getting ready for my gig at Eden.
Can you tell us how you first got into Electronic Music?
I first got into electronic music because of a cousin of mine. He started showing me old electro and that's when I knew i liked the style of music. After that I started digging deeper into electronic music and came across minimal techno which I completely fell in love with.
What influences you when creating a track?
There's a lot of things that influence me when creating a track, it can be anything from a sound I hear while out and about or just simply hearing other tunes or DJ sets.
You're starting to become a key contributor to Dubfire's SCI+TEC. How did your relationship with Ali come about and how does it feel to have some solid releases on a powerful label such as SCI+TEC?
The relationship with Ali began when I sent him some demos to his email, he replied almost instantly saying was very surprised by my age (I was 16 years old at the time) and the quality of the demos. When this happened, I knew the opportunity to build on that was there and so I did just that. I continued to send him demos and sooner than later I had my first EP on SCI+TEC. This was definitely a massive milestone in my career.
What would you say your most memorable gig to date has been?
To this date my most memorable gig has to be the SCI+TEC showcase at Input in Barcelona. This was my first European gig ever and it was an amazing one. The sound in Input is top notch and it was an honor to be able to share the booth with some of the artists that I look up to the most.
Can you run through your studio setup and what some of your favourite bits of kit are? (VST/Hardware)
My 'studio' is quite simple actually. I use Fruity Loops for all of my productions. As for VSTs I use a lot of Diva from U-HE as well as Rob Papens Subboombass. As for hardware, I have a Korg MS-20 Mini that has become very useful in most of my new tracks as well as a Roland TR-8 that i've borrowed from a friend. While it's not much, I try to make the best use of it.
What artists right now do you think the world should be keeping an eye on?
I think the artist that the world should be keeping an eye on would be Dustin Holtsberry. Dustin is a great friend of mine and the quality of his productions improves every time he shows me a new one. Richie Hawtin has been showing him lots of support lately playing a lot of his unsigned and unreleased music.
Can we expect any new releases from you this year?
You can expect a couple of new releases from me this year, I have a new track coming out on Sian's Octopus Recordings as well as an EP on the Octopus Recordings Black Label. Besides this, I have a few projects that I can't quite speak about right now but I am very excited to get them out there.
If you could give one piece of advice to any aspiring DJ/Producer, what would it be?
A piece of advice from me, as cliche as it may sound, would be to not give up and keep on pushing the sound you truly believe in. I also believe it's important to follow your own style as opposed to trends.
Can we catch you playing anywhere later this year?
I am constantly working on getting new gigs but as of now I have not much set. I have a monthly residency in my hometown, El Paso called Facio and Friends where I invite guests both local and international to come play. It's not a massive party but it's a lot of fun usually.
Raul Facio's latest release is his new EP 'Serpent’ released on the 23rd July on Octopus Black Label.
https://www.beatport.com/release/serpent/2345896
https://www.instagram.com/raulfaciodj/