The first time I encountered Festo DJ’s music was when I heard his stunning remix of Chris Issak’s, “Wicked Game.” I liked it so much I ended up adding it to the third episode of the Zouk Nation Podcast. I have since become familiar with a lot of his music and many of his songs are now among the most requested in the New York Brazilian Zouk dance scene. I recently sat down with Festo DJ to talk about his career, how he finds his music, and the challenges one faces in being a DJ.
Interview
| NB: | When did you first become interested in music? |
| Festo: | It’s funny you should ask that because I tell everyone that I was born with music. My mom told me she put a radio next to me in the crib every time I went to sleep. So I think music is part of me. When I was just a kid I was already starting to make my mixed tapes with the music from the radio stations. Before Cds became popular, I already had a good collection of vinyls and always liked to listen to different kinds of music. |
| NB: | Can you remember the first album you purchased? |
| Festo: | Honestly, I can’t remember the first album I bought, but it might have been one of Michael Jackson’s. |
| NB: | What originally attracted you to becoming a DJ? |
| Festo: | From early on I was fascinated by how DJs could mix different songs, to where it seemed like magic. Putting together songs with different BPMs (beats per minute), and different beats, and all different scratch techniques they would use. Until finally I decided, I want to do that! |
| NB: | How did you first start working as a DJ? |
| Festo: | I basically started out working at friends parties. birthday parties, weddings, etc.. In 2000 I took a DJ course and it was there I learned the basics of being a dj, how to mix different beats, different rhythms and how conduct an event in order to keep the crowd moving out on the dance floor. The DJ who taught the course was Sylvio Dib, who is still active today and a great person and very charismatic. |
| NB: | How many years have you been working professionally as a DJ? |
| Festo: | If you were to count since I finished the DJ course, it would be 10 years. |
| NB: | Do you make your living entirely working as a DJ? |
| Festo: | No, after I finished taking a DJ course, I spent a lot of time unable to find work. During that time, I went to college and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design. After that, I worked for several years in a consulting office and attended a dance studio where for two years I learned how to dance. Today, in addition to working as a freelance designer, I work as a dance instructor. I teach beginning courses in Forró, Bolero and Gafieira. |
| NB: | Who are some DJ’s work that you admire? |
| Festo: | I admire the work of many DJs. I really like Tiesto. I think he’s a super producer. His songs create certain emotions and are great for dancing to. I also admire Fatboy Slim. That guy is a real showman. David Guetta is fantastic. Every song he releases turns into a hit on the dance floor. In the Zouk Community I admire the work of Mafie Zouker, Nyx and Max Blacksoul. They have a great selection of songs and several very powerful remixes. |
| NB: | Is there a particular set up that you prefer to work with? |
| Festo: | I almost always prefer professional DJ equipment, CD players, mixers. I prefer to use a Pioneer CDJ 400 CD player and a DJM 400 mixer. I also use laptop as an accessory so I can search for different songs. As for headphones, I like HDJ-1000, but I also use Behringer. I think what makes one brand or model superior over another is durability, reliability and good response to commands. A DJ depends on his equipment and if the equipment fails him, it can be a very big problem. So as a DJ you must use equipment that will not let you down. |
| NB: | When you are deejaying an event what is your main objective? |
| Festo: | My goal is to make people have fun and dance. The environment must be pleasant and a lot of that is the DJ’s responsibility. I know I’ve done a good job when people like my choice of music, when the dance floor is always full and at the end of the event when someone comes to praise me or thank me for playing the music. It feels good at then end of an event when I can say to myself, “Wow, I loved it!” |
| NB: | What separates a great DJ from one who is just average? |
| Festo: | I think what separates a great DJ from a DJ that just average is when the DJ has an excellent set, he knows how to play the right music at the right time. A great DJ is charismatic, he has the ability to read the audience. He has a good knowledge of music and different sound mixing techniques. An average DJ has a pre mixed set and leaves it playing without looking at the dance floor. A great DJ has to keep his eye on the dance floor all the time. It is also important to have one’s own style. DJs that have their own style are easy to distinguish from others. |
| NB: | How would you describe your style? |
| Festo: | I think the way to describe my style is I’m very eclectic and I want to make people dance. I’m always trying something different and I don´t follow anyone else’s style. It’s hard to describe oneself, but I think it’s something like that. |
| NB: | How do you know which song should follow another? Is this something you’ve figured out beforehand, to where you have a rough idea, or is it something you decide on the spot? |
| Festo: | That depends a lot of the crowd, the event and the type of music you will play. You must have some idea about the kind of crowd and a basic idea of the songs you will play. But for the sequence you pretty much have to rely on intuition, how receptive the audience was to the previous song and what you are trying to achieve at that moment. For instance, there are times when the dance floor is crowded and you want to decrease the rhythm to play a slow song, and after that you want increase it again. So what I try to do is have a basic idea of the songs I will play. But if I see that it’s not going the way I imagined, I need to change quickly. When you are doing an event where you will play only one style of music, for example zouk, it is generally much easier because you only have to worry about playing one kind of music. Whereas, when you’re at an event and you have to play different kinds of music, then it becomes a bit more complicated. You have to think a lot more about the about the songs you will play in order to please the different groups of people. And then there are times people will ask you to play a song that does not fit in with what you had in mind. |
| NB: | What are some other challenges a DJ faces that most people are completely unaware of? |
| Festo: | Many people think being a DJ is just playing one song after another, dancing and having fun. But sometimes you have to play songs you do not like. Then there are times when you only have one copy of an album and CD player can’t read it. Or when your laptop does not turn on or freezes when it’s playing. There are times, the owner of the event doesn’t like the song you are playing and will ask you to change it, other times he will prohibit you from playing certain songs. Sometimes you only have a few seconds until the song is finished and you haven’t yet managed to find the next song. Sometimes you have to climb stairs with all the equipment on your back because the place has no elevator. Maybe someone is drunk and they’ll drop their beer on your equipment it’s playing. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. |
| NB: | When checking out a new venue, what do you look for? |
| Festo: | I think you have to look at the whole thing, if the location is good, if it has good acoustics, the right kind of audience. |
| NB: | A number of your zouk remixes are fairly obscure, such as “’Til the End of Time” by Delirium, a techno band from Canada. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you find music to remix. |
| Festo: | All of my albums represent some aspect of me. My tastes have always been very eclectic and it is my personal style in my remixes. When I first imagined creating the album “Soul’s Experiences” I wanted it to be something along the lines of NeoZouk. It’s a style of zouk that is very popular in Brazil and was first conceived and created by DJ . Mafie Zouker. The songs are based on ambient, chill out lounge style of music. So, I started researching songs in that style. Today with the internet, searching for music has become much easier, you do not need to spend hours in record stores listening to CDs to find a song you like. Using different search engines I can discover a large number of artists and songs in different languages. With “Soul’s Experiences,” I was already familiar with Delerium because of DJ Tiesto who remixed the song “Silence” which is one of my favorite trance songs. So it was easy to find other music by them. This process of listening to a large number of songs from different countries has allowed me to meet many new artists from different countries. It is in fact the basis of my new album, “Zouk Boundaries” (to be released in 2010), which will explore the incredible diversity of music in the world. |
| NB: | When you are considering remixing a song, how do you choose? |
| Festo: | The first thing I think is, do I like the song? If yes, that’s a good start. Usually, I consider certain aspects to determine whether it will make a good remix or not. Does it have a cool sound? Is it possible to change the rhythm or tempo of it? Does it have certain characteristics that would be interesting to use in a particular style of music, like Zouk, for example. The important thing is, I never believe that my remix will replace the original song. In my mind, I am just creating another version. I don’t disregard the original version of the song, because the fact I liked it is what made me do the remix in the first place. Mine is simply a different vision of what it could be. Sometimes I have also done remixes of songs that fans have asked me to do. |
| NB: | Do DJs ever get territorial about a song? Say that you remix a song like, “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaac. Then another DJ comes along and does his own remix of it. How would you feel about that? Is there some kind of rule that all DJs follow? |
| Festo: | It varies from DJ to DJ. There are those who get angry when someone does a remix of a song they have already done and there are others who do not care. There are some DJs who believe because they made the first remix version, others are not allowed to do the same. This in my opinion is nonsense. I have always liked House Music and one of the things I like about House Music is the fact that there can be several versions of the same song. Each DJ has a vision of that song and each can coexist with the other. Of course different people will like one version more than another, but there is nothing to prevent them from appreciating more than one version. A classic example of that is the song “Unfaithful” by Rihanna. There are several different Zouk versions of it, including mine, and while you might like one version more one than another, you can hear all of them. When I remix a song, I really try to make it unique, to do something that no one has done before. Nevertheless, if I’m doing a remix and another DJ releases his version of it first and the two are similar, then I would give up my version. I have several friends who are DJs and if any of them were to show me a song they were doing, out of respect for them, I would not remix it. |
| NB: | There are a number of DJs who seem to have a policy of not crediting the original artist, which makes it difficult if one is interested in finding more music by that artist. I’m curious to hear your thoughts as to why that is. |
| Festo: | I do not agree with that policy. I always make it clear who is the original artist of the song. I don’t hide or change the name of the original song. When I create my remixes I can’t say it is 100% mine because I didn’t create most of the arrangements, I didn’t sing, or compose the lyrics. For all these reasons the song can’t 100% mine. Of course it’s my work, but together with all others who had their hands in creating the music. The word Remix already assumes that it isn’t a new work but a reworking of something previously done. I like to think that the remixes I do, are my personal vision of that song. As if I had sat with the original artist in a studio and had created the remix. |
| NB: | A lot of these remixes are being passed from one dance community to another with the deejay never receiving any credit for them. How do you feel about this? |
| Festo: | I think the whole dance community, and I am talking especially the Zouk community, should be thankful for the work of DJs. |
| NB: | Yes, in some ways I think the DJs are the unsung heroes of the Zouk community. They have really stretched the definition of what Zouk music can be. |
| Festo: | The Zouk style danced in Brazil nowadays, has grown because DJs started to make remixes and creating all kinds of new music in the Zouk style, sometimes songs that nobody could have imagined have been turned into successful zouk remixes. |
| NB: | I understand a lot of deejays can not sell their music openly because they don’t have the original artist’s legal permission to remix the music. Which is a shame, because it means there is a lot of great music being made that the majority of people will never hear. Why is it done this way? What is it that prevents the deejay from getting permission from the artist? |
| Festo: | It’s true and I agree that much good music never reaches the ears of most people exactly for that reason. Perhaps what prevents them from getting permission is they simply don’t know how and imagine it will involve a lot of paperwork. Moreover, I think the majority of DJs think it will cost them a lot of money to get permission to remix a song and so the easiest way is to do it is without having to pay anything. |
| NB: | Do you see a solution to this problem? |
| Festo: | The solution would perhaps be a website or someone, where one could find the correct information on how to legally go about getting permission, one that would simplify the process and involve less bureaucracy. |
| NB: | Define Zouk for me. |
| Festo: | I think Zouk involves music, dance and the body. It is a contagious rhythm and a wonderful dance that makes you move your body and feel the music in a way more profound than other rhythms. In a word, sensational.– |
| NB: | When did you first discover Zouk? Can you remember the time and place? What was your first impression of it? |
| Festo: | I saw and heard Zouk for the first time when I was studying ballroom dancing. Among the dances that we would know was Zouk, something wich I never heard of. When the teacher started to dance with his partner, the first impression I had was, “Wow!” I thought it was very beautiful the dance and the music too. I fell instantly in love with it, and soon after that, I went to a zouk place that is very famous here in Rio and saw many other people dancing it. I was impressed and from that point on I started listening to Zouk. |
| NB: | As a D.J. what is it about this music that is so appealing? |
| Festo: | What I find attractive about zouk is how it is more intimate than other forms of music. In Zouk there are an infinite number of styles of music to choose from. There are those who like the Arabic sounding songs, while there are other who prefer Zouk love, Zouk r&b, or Neozouk, etc.. What makes it special is it’s diversity, and it’s the diversity that allows Zouk to continue to grow and spread all over the world. |
| NB: | Which Zouk recording artists do you like? |
| Festo: | I like Kaysha, Marcia, Princess Lover, Nelson Freitas, Abege, Gage and Anselmo Ralph. |
| NB: | Do you dance Brazilian Zouk? If so, how long have you been dancing and who have you studied with? |
| Festo: | Yes, I do, but just for fun. I have never really taken a course and seriously studied it. Not that I’m not interested, I just don’t have the time. Once I have more time I intend to change that. |
| NB: | What are your goals for the future? |
| Festo: | I intend to specialize more in rhythm and learn to dance Brazilian Zouk. Although I will always remain connected to my roots in house and R&B music. As I said, I’m very eclectic and like to play everything. I want to travel the world and spread my production and my work. |
| NB: | Maybe some day you can come to New York and do some deejaying here. |
| Festo: | I hope so. |
Very nice interview. I found Festo DJ’s comments to be refreshingly open and honest. Great to learn a little more about the world of being a DJ. Thank you!!
I’ve really liked your blog…got some really good stuff.. i’ll try to promote it in brazilian social media network