Jan 20, 2023

On The Rise: DJ Dobrel

We're joined by DJ Dobrel, a Dublin-based DJ/producer who is not bound to any genre and has a big 2023 ahead with many releases to come this year. He's just released a new one titled "I Got Love On My Side," and he shares insights from the track's creation process and much more in our interview!

Hey DJ Dobrel, thanks for joining us today! How was your year in 2022 and what were some of your highlights?

2022 was a very interesting year for me. I released about ten tracks with house and tech house styles and I was really proud of the work I did on my collab with Ceekae for "The Fear."

But to be honest, during the last year, I spent a huge amount of time honing and perfecting my production skills through communities (NoFace academy) and also training (EDM Tips). I wanted to really nail how to produce and mix. As a result, I produced a huge amount of music that I haven't released yet. In fact I'm running a competition called 'Unfinished Business' on my SoundCloud to pick out the best three from this pool and I will then release it later this year!

But also the excitement of starting Confession Sessions with DJ Darren Best in Dublin is up there as one of my highlights from the year.

Take us all the way back – what made you want to pursue a career in dance music? What was it like getting your career off the ground?

From a young age, I was obsessed with dance music and when I was growing up I was really into club culture. Many of my friends were actively DJing so there was such a great appreciation for the music. I dabbled a bit in DJing over the years, but it was the music production that really sucked me in and I haven't looked back. I just love the thrill of producing my own music and I guess the real litmus test was when I started to release music, but I have had some great feedback on my productions and this is encouraging for the future. I still enjoy DJing, but being able to play your own music is such a rush!

Who were some of your musical inspirations when you were getting started with your career? Who are some artists who you're drawing inspiration from today?

I have to call out a few who have heavily influenced me in the early days. These are the likes of the KLF, The Prodigy, Kerri Chandler, Bob Sinclair, Carl Cox, Duke Dumont and Paul van Dyk. These days I love artists like Deborah De Luca, Green Velvet, Monika Kruse, Biscits, Low Steppa, Matroda, Chapter & Verse and Dom Dolla!

You've just released a brand new track, "I Got Love On My Side." Tell us about this one – where did the idea come from, and what was the production process like for you?

This is definitely a nod to dance music from the 90s and 00s. I wanted to create a retro vibe but produce it as fresh as possible. I have a fairly structured production process for every song which usually follows a pattern of a rough idea mix, a production and sound design stage, a mixing and cleaning phase, and a final mastering stage which should then be quite a simple affair if you mix it properly.

With all of my tracks I also get a lot of feedback and reference other tracks. I can spend months and months getting this feedback, tweaking, and finalizing elements during the producing phase. I always then share my mixes for feedback and quite often I will outsource the mastering, but sometimes I will do it myself, as I did in this case.

Can you pick out your favorite element in "I Got Love On My Side" and tell us about what stands out to you?

I love the arp melody that then has a different response melody I created and this just evokes those classic dance tune vibes and energy. Also, I think the kick and bass relationship is pretty banging on this one :)

What is your best gig you have been to, and what made it so special?

I really loved Kerri Chandler's live set in Dublin last year at Index. It was a 7 hour set and I would have stayed another 7 hours, masterful.

If you could play any festival in the world, which one would you choose, and why?

That is a tough one as there are so many good ones, but I would like to play one of the Defected festivals in the future. It's a label I would love to sign for and I am working on a few house tracks to that end.

Do you have any new tracks in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

I have so many releases planned already for 2023 and I will be a lot more prolific than I was last year. Expect at least one release per month and some EPs as well! It will be a diverse mix of more commercial house tracks and club/underground house and techno styles.

I've just released a new vocal deep house track called "Do You Love Me" on Blanco Y Nnegro, which is a collaboration with Grey Zez. I really believe he is a super singing talent – so excited about that one and we will work on more tracks. I also have a tech house track called "In your Eyes" coming out on Gameroom Records on February 13th and this is a real club banger. I have another deep house track coming out on NoFace Records called "The Happiness" together with a singer named Xavier Grey who's based in New York. There are a few other tech house and house tracks in the process of being signed and I am also finishing a techno EP that I will self-release. This is really aimed at my live club events which are more hard house / techno orientated. Also, I have a progressive and trance track or two in the pipeline :) Lots of more exciting collabs as well and some surprises in there for sure!

As you can see, I am not constrained to one genre. I know that may be unconventional, but I want to build up a portfolio and follow across all genres as I love it all. I don't want to be shoehorned into one genre as such.

And lastly, as we look ahead, what has you most excited about 2023?

I have some great live shows planned and I'm looking forward to the festival season! Also, I am just in the process of building out my new dedicated studio and it's really close to being completed. This will really allow me to take things to a new level, collaborate live and offer more online services such as production tutoring and classes. Already excited at the prospect!

You can stream DJ Dobrel - "I Got Love On My Side" on Spotify today! https://open.spotify.com/album/2BugXbdCyTXDp4wFfGDZdR?si=-CmU5WX7T3igRIrKtaUpBQ

Connect with DJ Dobrel: Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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