VIRTUS //

Hello Bastian, thanks for taking the time to speak with us at Virtus, where in the world are you right now?

 

Thanks to you for having me! Right now I'm in a hotel room in Mexico DF; I play tomorrow night at XDC Festival.

 

In quite a short space of time, you have successfully made your mark on the electronic music scene; can you tell us how you first became interested in being a DJ?

 

For me electronic music production came before the DJing thing. I was really, really young when my sister, who is 7 years older than me, started bringing cassette mixtapes from the house, techno and trance clubs she was partying in. I fell in love with it and I was so curious to understand how it was made, as it was not sounding as something coming from "normal" musical instruments. After some time learning how to make electronic music and collecting all the music that I could I discovered that there were guys playing it in front of the people. I was like fourteen years old back then, I didn't know anything about clubs. After some time I had a lot of music and I was collaborating for free with a radio station in my hometown just because they let me use their equipment and play my favourite records in a proper setup that was impossible to afford for me. From there everything started as a DJ...

 

As a producer, not many artists can boast of a debut EP being released on Suara, what sparked your relationship with Coyu and the label in the beginning to what it is now?

 

I met Coyu back in 2010 during an Electronic Music Awards ceremony in Madrid. I got the Breakthrough Producer of the year award and he was getting Best Underground Track of the year alongside Edu Imbernon right after me, and we all met at the backstage before going on stage. I was using a different alias back then, but Coyu and me were somehow in contact since that moment. After some years I got tired of what I was doing and quit from music. Coyu told me that he would love to hear about me if I ever decide to make music again. During late 2014 I made some new ideas in my studio without even thinking about releasing them, but I decided to send them to Coyu and... Well, the rest is history.

 

How would you say your sound has developed as an artist since your first release?

 

I think that melodies has been always there, but what I can say is that maybe in the beginning I was more comfortable with low BPMs and deeper grooves and now I prefer harder beats in a techno environment.

 

You have played some incredible gigs, can you remember one that stands out above the rest?

 

Hard to decide... There have been a lot of great moments during these last three years. I remember one in Prinzebar in Hamburg when I was just starting, it was so special. Also my first time going in Dubai, India or Australia. Maybe I have to decide I would say The Garten in Beirut. I was supposed to play 2 hours and I finished doing 6. I will never forget that sunrise and the energy of the crow!

 

Your latest 'Multiple Realities' EP on Suara is full of peak time floorfillers, what was the inspiration behind these tracks and which would you say is your favourite out of all of them?

 

I think that my main inspiration source for "Multiple Realities" have been my gigs and having to tour more. After some time doing music without thinking too much on if I would ever play these tracks during my gigs I started to miss more presence of my own music in my sets, so I decided to make music that I could play in my sets more often. Is hard to pick one, but I would say "Neopisivo". Melodies and emotions are still what I love the most and "Neopisivo" is the one with higher amount of both.

 

When in the studio, what is your go-to hardware/software that you like to use to get the best out of yourself when writing music?

 

I went from being a Cubase user to Ableton Live lover when Ableton release version 10 and I have to say that this has been the most inspiring decision in years. When it comes to hardware I'm using a lot the Roland TR-8S and the Moog Sub37.

 

Any producers that you are really digging in your sets at the moment?

 

I love almost everything that Keith Carnal does. He is undoubtedly my favourite producer at the moment. He has this perfect balance between melodies, groove, clean sound and dance floor effectiveness.

 

If you could give one piece of advice to anyone starting a career as a DJ/Producer, what would it be?

 

Don't let yourself stop enjoying from music, never. If this starts to happen, even for a second, shut down the computer, turn off the speakers, and go for a walk. Even though you are out for days, months or years. Music will never give you something good if you don't enjoy with her. She's the one deciding: Listen to her.

 

Where can we catch the next Bastian Bux DJ sets?

 

I play in Mexico DF tonight and during the next few weeks you can find me in Brussels, Miami, Parma, Barcelona, Dubai, and Florianopolis... I hope to see you somewhere around!

​

bastianbux.com/
facebook.com/bastianbuxmusic/
twitter.com/BastianBuxMusic
soundcloud.com/bastianbuxmusic
pro.beatport.com/artist/bastian-bux/483285