AVR #04 – (Hosted by Jake Stellarwell) feat Soul Of Hex + Anttares (Vicario Musique)

For Episode 4 Jake’s invited two young DJs/Producers from Tijuana, Mexico. Brothers, Gerardo and Emanuel Cedillo aka Soul Of Hex @soulofhex and Anttares @attares. Together they run a newly-formed label, produce, and DJ.

They’re fun-loving, hard-working, and talented. The future looks bright for these two and we’re pleased to introduce them to you.

Their mix came from an idea to create something they’d enjoy listening to on the Radio at 6pm in Tijuana.

Jake’s selections for the first 50 minutes.

Jake: I know you two are on the youthful side of the age range, but that’s clearly not gotten in your way one bit. Mind sharing with us your current age and how old you were when you began to DJ/Produce? I ask only to shine a light on how young people with talent, work ethic and will can certainly come up, in spite of some the old guard staunchly acting like holier-than-thou ‘gatekeepers’ of the scene.

Gerardo: I’m 26 years old and I started making music when I was 12, DJing since 14.
Emanuel: I’m 24 years old, I’ve been DJing since 2009 and I started producing in 2016.

Where was it that you first heard underground dance music and what or who inspired you to begin the path you’re on now?

Gerardo: Hmm… I suppose I heard the ‘voice of God’ in Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’, but that’s not really underground. In 2007 I was involved in an Electro-House, New Rave project called Kry-lon. We were playing the underground illegal party scene then and at the time I was only 15. From there I met another Mexican artist called Poligono, and through Myspace I became inspired by him to evolve my sound into a deeper, more Jazz-infused style.

Emanuel: Good question. I’ve been in love with dance since I was a 5/6 years, listening to Michael Jackson. I first started going to underground parties here in Tijuana when I was 13 years old, but my first ‘real’ experience with this side of dance music was when I saw DJ Harvey in the Yuma Tent at Coachella in 2013. Also, listening to ‘The Illuminator’ by Underground Resistance’s Mad Mike definitely changed my life.

You guys are from Tijuana, right? What was it like developing taste, style, technique in that city? Is there a healthy scene there?

Gerardo: Yep and this city has a history. There’s a band from here called Ford Proco who were the pioneers of electronic music in Mexico during the 80’s. There is also a unique genre of music born here in called Nortec. It’s also important to mention that because we share a border with California, our city is full of intellectuals, journalists, promoters and electronic musicians. There’s a reality in Mexico that we can’t ignore, especially in Tijuana… 90,000 people cross the border everyday. They spend up to 4 hours crossing to San Diego to work there and come back. That’s approximately 9,000 hours every year crossing that damn border to work in the US and come back. That must leave these people very tired. So as you see, in Mexico there are not a lot of opportunities. People here need to care about money first and then they create. As a result of this pressure, many aspiring artists either give up on music or leave the city altogether, mostly to Mexico City where life is easier. But still, here in Tijuana there’s a party every weekend, Tech-House, Deep House, and everything in between. And there are a ton of incredibly good DJs and skilled producers.

Gerardo, you broke out in 2014 with an EP for CVMR, an independent label in Mexico City, and on that EP you managed to get a remix from the master of Deep House – Larry Heard. How did that come about? That same year you landed your first Boiler Room set. You then followed it up with a Live Set for BR in 2017, both of which took place in Mexico City. What were those experiences like, and how do you think this international attention on Mexico has helped shape the music scene there?

Gerardo: Oh man, that was the craziest thing, it was such a blessing. Larry did two remixes and it was an amazing life lesson. To hear the maestro Larry Heard playing with your musical elements, I was blown away. The Boiler Room gigs were great too, a lot of hype involved in that. And now there’s lots of great Mexican artists doing things here in Mexico and abroad, like Camille Mandoki, Zombies in Miami, Sakro, Rubinskee, AAAA, Reptare, Harvard Bass, and Niño Arbol. Everyday there are more and more people here getting involved in dance music and that’s a great thing for our country. Also, there’s a truly awesome party called Sunday Sunday, it’s a big collaboration of many DJs and producers here in Mexico.

Gerardo, you were selected to take part in what was the final Red Bull Music Academy, which took place in Berlin, what was that like? Did you get a chance to collaborate on anything? If so, who with and will they get released?

Gerardo: Wow, what an experience. It was one of the best moments of my life, they made me see life in a whole new perspective. Fortunately, I was able to get involved in some collaborations with a few OG/pioneers of the game. I can’t say when they will come out, keeping things under wrap for now, hehe.

You guys recently launched a record label, Vicario Musique. What is your goal with the label? Any upcoming releases or plans you care to share?

Gerardo: Yeah, the label has been around since 2011. Originally, our thought was to release music from artist around the world. But we’ve now decided we want to focus most of our efforts on artists in Tijuana and other parts of Mexico. We are excited to have upcoming Eps from Gospel Vamp aka Hermanos Cedillo, 4004, Angel Peralta, CJ, Dearthair, Anttares, Lis Sarroca, Motion Parallax, Never Dull, AAAA, Century, Keita Sano, some collaborations with Kuniyuki, Magic Touch and Mad Mike from Underground Resistance.

I saw you both recently played together in NYC for a few gigs. You also played together for my final Stellar Well party in Phoenix. Is DJing together something you’re planning to do a lot more of?

Gerardo: Yes, we do love to play together and it feels like our own personal church experience sometimes. We absolutely love to play records together and we also make a lot of music together too. Our plan is to eventually put out some of the 30 or so tracks we have been working on.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions and record a mix for us, greatly appreciated. Can you give us some background on the mix?

Gerardo: We made a mix with the idea that it would be something interesting to listen to on the radio at 6pm in Tijuana.