C75525 was able to catch up with us after their DJ set at SONIDDDO, which was a curated listening experience hosted at Club Contact, where 6 DJ’s were hand-selected to keep the dance floor bumping. I wanted to pick C75525’s brain about Curating DJ events, their experience with music and what Arizona’s DJ scene could become.

Ellier: So I’ve known you as an artist and I’ve watched you work with a few different mediums over time, I’ve noticed music has become a lot more prominent for you and I want your opinion on music as a performance piece and how you feel contributing sound to an audience experience instead of a visual piece.

C75525: It’s funny, I feel so much more inclined to visual media. That’s something I’ve done my whole life, but I’ve never learned an instrument - I don’t know anything about music theory but I think DJinig has given me a foot-in-the-door, so to speak, because I really love music. It’s one of the art forms I appreciate the most. I just have no idea, anything about actually making music, but it's cool that it provides a medium for me to perform and play music that I love and to transform in a way.

I feel like DJing is kind of over-saturated as a medium and hobby in a way, and a lot of people hate on it but I have legitimately wanted to do this for so long in my life. Straight up, I was the biggest EDM head in 8TH Grade and I was like “F#ck I wanna be Skrillex, I wanna be DeadMau5”. So it’s kind of crazy how it full-circled there. You can do so much with it, it’s a collage in a way, the whole mix transforms into a different product than the individual song so I really like exploring mixing multiple songs and what the body of that becomes.


E: That’s so cool to see. As an artist myself, I’m so visual-focused, as I get more into music and sound design, I’m realizing it’s a language I’m not as familiar with. It’s something worth learning so it’s awesome to see you step into that. My follow-up question is, what's the difference between curating a DJ Event like this and just taking a gig, and how’d that lead you to curating?

C75525: I really love Phoenix, Arizona and I feel like it’s not seen as a cultural hotspot and I feel like it should be and it’s really disappointing to me.  A lot of stuff happening here is reverberations of larger, more dense, culturally well-known cities like LA, New York, Chicago. It feels like we are a few steps behind doing cooler stuff, so I found myself complaining and being like “ooohh I wish we had this or that” and it really boils down to be the change you want to see. I know people doing cool stuff and they just need to be connected.. I just happen to know people and play stuff and be fortunate to do that. It wasn’t the initial thing I wanted to do, as I’m not an event organizer. It’s the first time I’ve done it but it’s important to me to put on for art and for our city and showcase what I do and care about.


E: I love the sentiment of people wanting to put Phoenix on the map. In Another interview with someone in the DIY scene, she mentioned that Phoenix’s latin influence over music is the general connecting point for a lot of music events and at the same time I think people are interested in seeing what the untapped genres of Phoenix has to offer, especially with how passionate people are about the music and dance scene. So I think these curated events offer a bit of vicarious exploration outside of the norms of clubbing.

C75525: Exactly, the Latin and the Indigenous pockets of culture we have here, THAT is Arizona,  and if you talk to anyone outside of state, it’s like the face of Arizona is Scottsdale or typical depictions of a desolate wasteland. It’s so much more than that to me because I’ve lived here all my life. I don’t know,  I’ve met a lot of transplants or people that f#cking hate living here and want to move out.. I think it’s such a useless perspective to be miserable about where you’re living. Wherever you are you can make the best of it and see something good about it. That’s more on an individual level to being happy,  but on a larger level, putting on for the city. We have the potential here, we have the people here, we’re like the 5th most populated city in the country, why don’t we have a larger presence on the map, like what are people doing about that?


E: We just need a lot more people with the mindset of wanting to help people, wanting to actually put people on, not just a carry or an empty promise. It’s got to be an actual substantial opportunity. What do you think community looks like and what does community sound like?

C75525: Feels very much like an ecosystem to me. It’s really crazy living here my whole life, communities really change for me. I’ve had the fortune of meeting so many people and it’s weird, Phoenix feels so small and yet so large. I know a guy who knows another guy and it’s all interconnected. I’m at this point where this node that branches out and reaches so many people, it’s really beautiful. A lot of people hate that like “oh I hate that everyone knows each other” but it’s so cool and it’s fertile soil for so much more to come like grassroot or diy events. Allowing everyone to create and support is essential to the community for me, just giving people space to do that. Stuff like this, I don’t know the next time I’ll do this, I might not want to play. Just focus on the curating, put people on. I know sometimes you have to step back and admire other people's art. You can’t always be the one creating. Inspiration is just as important as creating. I guess that's what community boils down to.

E: Now that you’ve been around the block and DJ’d a few places, how do you pick the music for your crowd? Do you have a pre-made track list or are you doing everything live? Are you responding to the crowd at all?

C75525: I planned everything out, there were a lot of variables up in the air haha. I did not know how to use the equipment we were using, I did not time out how long my set was actually going to be and I ended up running out of songs for the last 20 minutes and had to pull from other playlists. It’s a lot like juggling in a way, I guess you have to know how to juggle. I planned everything out and there are a lot of people that have different approaches, but like, having everything planned out, it always ends up not being that way when you’re in the moment. I think it’s fun to respond to crowds but for this specifically I really wanted to play out a start to finish thing. I communicated this to everyone, I didn’t want everyones sets bleeding together. I wanted the DJ’s to have distinct starts and finishes to their sets so everyone stands out and people can tell who’s playing, like a concert. I want people to see the DJ and see what they have to offer.

[At this point a small crowd had come up to C75525 to say hi and compliment their set]

E: Hey how’s it feel to have fans? [chuckles] Everyone loved your set!

C75525: It’s cool haha. It’s so weird because I’m always so nervous for this where I’m like, what if people think it’s too weird or want to leave. I mean, I’ve played sets like that where people clear the room or they’re not f#cking with you and talking through your set, like it sucks, so it’s really crazy when people do show up and support and have a good time. Really at the end of the day, I don’t want people to feel obligated to show up, I want people to come and want to listen.

E: Do you see yourself making your own samples or weird sounds for DJ sets and do you think about morphing music the same way you do with other mediums?

C75525: Yeah, no, forsure, that's been the most valuable insight for me. When you talk to most DJ’s, there's a standard way of DJing, you're playing club songs at 140 bpm, 4 bar loops, it's very formulaic and there's stuff you should do, like better equipment. Some of my equipment might be looked down on by someone whos been in the game longer because of it doesn't have much capabilities or looks really introductory, I think it really is the product that makes it important so coming from visual mediums and collages it feels like that. I love doing crazy transitions and sometimes I won’t even DJ live, like I love using Audacity which is a free sound editing program and you can make songs in there. It's really intentional and you can make a bunch of mixes. Djing live is fun, it has a completely different feel but DJinig and making music mixes at home can be a completely different thing and it doesn't make it any less valuable.

E: Do you want to continue curating, like something you want to take seriously or is it something you want to play with and explore?

C: Now that I’ve done it, I like it and it was fun. I saw my friends play and it went successfully. I want to continue curating but I also want to pursue visual galleries. Once you're a part of other people's stuff it really makes you want to take the reins and do it yourself. So yeah I really want to keep curating whether that's music or art.

E: I really hope as you continue with music and art, whatever you do it goes successfully. You’ve already made a great impact tonight. Any last things you want to say for ENVY readers?

C: Keep coming to shows, come for the openers, go to the Palabra Shows, I love them. Keep making art keep collaborating, fuck clique shit, we’re in phoenix arizona.

ADD TRANSITION TO OTHER DJ INTERVIEWS

What genre do you have on repeat?
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of twee, French house and music that shaped the indie sleaze era. If it’s not that then probably guaracha or baile funk.

Which album makes you feel the most creative?
TDR by Tomasa del Real. Her and DJ Blass really created one of the most sonically innovative reggaeton albums of all time. That album will still be relevant and fresh 20-30 years from now.

Who influenced your taste in music most?
Listening to Sailorfag and Tomasa del Real in 2017 really changed my life and exposed me to the weird underground internet subculture of reggaeton called neoperreo. It truly was the catalyst that shaped the DJ I am today. Latin music can be so many things and so many genres are still in their infancies. It’s crazy to realize sometimes that I’ve also had a hand in helping push the culture of a lot of these genres like neoperreo, guaracha and tribal here in Arizona and the American southwest.


Which album makes you feel the most creative?
Everybody’s got a gun and they’re aiming it at me- DGNR8, my best friends band, has been the most inspiring electronic/emo duo that I beleive is making the most innovative cutting edge sound within the bloghouse and “indie” revival, that’s a well kept secret at the moment but can imagine they’ll blow up soon. All of their influences and inspirations are clearly heard within their music and taken to a new genre defining sound that creates a lust for life and fun.

Who influenced your taste in music most?
My parents, and the pop rock emo movement in the early 2000s! My parents grew up listening to only 80s new wave, and goth, so bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Echo and the bunnymen, and strawberry switchblade were the soundtrack of my childhood. But video game soundtracks in particular- grew my own taste, especially rock band 2s, and NBA live 09/08 put me onto so much music. But the real vibe shift was social media and the internet- growing up in a time where my adolescence and teenage years were searched through social media- artists like Yung lean, Skrillex, asap Rocky, tyler the creator, shaped my tastes for music for the future years.

What genre do you have on repeat?
Bloghouse, ballroom house, and overall house and any of its sub-genres in general I will never get sick of. 

Name three things you always have on you at the function?
1) cologne/deodorant 2)cigarettes and a lighter 3)my usb



How long have you been spinning?
About 3 years, but I’m mostly a producer.

What genre do you have on repeat?
I used to have an extreme aversion to techno, I think it was because my only exposure to it was those Terrible and Boring HOR sets. Then, a year or so ago, I got really into Acid House, and by association, it forced techno to click. Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of minimal, mainly Robert Hood and anything off Basic Channel’s Chain Reaction label.

Which album makes you feel the most creative?
Dance Music by Spiritoros

Name three things you always have on you at the function?
Phone, Wallet, Keys is such a beautiful trifecta. Whenever I add a fourth or, God forbid, a fifth item my brain is on panic mode for the entire night. Don’t say get a bag.

What’s your djing pet peeve?
This doesn’t happen to me as much anymore, but I used to do hard cuts without noticing that my filter on the new track was all the way up or down. Self-Induced Firing Squad

What to you enjoy about the AZ dj Scene?
I like that it exists at all. Downtown public transportation that doesn’t kill itself at Midnight would make it a whole lot better.




What genre do you have on repeat?
I always have some kind of electronic music in my rotation, but it's hard to say what specific genre. I'll say, I have been getting heavy into 60's pysche music from Istanbul & Turkey.

Which album makes you feel the most creative?
It depends on what I'm making. If I'm writing, Music for Films by Brian Eno. If I'm drawing, Texstar by Farben.

Top 3 music tracks rn?
1.) Pencerenin Perdesini by Gökçen Kaynatan
2.) Guaracha UFO (No estamos solos...) by Meridian Brothers
3.) Jimmy - dub by Vtgnike

What’s your dream b2b?
My best friend who goes by the dj name DJ shitty DJ.

What to you enjoy about the AZ dj Scene?
It's still in its infancy, which means it's malleable. There's nothing set in stone in terms of expectations.



What genre do you have on repeat?
Usually metal, disco, or variations of synth-pop.

Which album makes you feel the most creative?
An Extra Pulse of Beauty by the Art of Noise, Slow Focus by Fuck Buttons is also a good one. 

Who influenced your taste in music most?
Probably my mom, she’s the most into new wave. My good friend Trevor also exposed me to a lot of interesting music.  He’s showed me a lot of cool stuff and taught me that it’s still okay to like dumb stuff. 

Name three things you always have on you at the function? I don’t usually carry a lot because a purse is annoying when you’re trying to dance, I usually bring poppers, cigarettes and lip liner but I usually forget to reapply. 

Where do you dance?
Moving down from Flag, my partner and I started going to a lot of Tech Snobs shows, they throw a good party.