DJ Dan ‘Baila Baila’ interview with Jon Pegnato

DJ Dan ‘Baila Baila’ interview with Jon Pegnato

25 August, 2008 | 3.19PM

• Written by: djbarrios141
• Filed under: Music News: dj dan, instereo

Up and coming house artist Jon Pegnato sits down with DJ Dan for a chat about Dan’s latest track, ‘Baila Baila’. 

See what they unearth after the break.

Jon Pegnato: This track definitely shows a different side of Dan which I never expected. The Latin influence is unmistakable. The kick ass rhythm sections, the live instruments, combined with some driving processions, really help set this song away from what most would expect from Mr. Dan. Let me start by saying congrats to completing such a project.  For years you have consistently proved yourself as an inspiring performer as well as an amazing musical artist; this release is a testament to that.
It’s obvious this track isn’t something that was hashed out over night, or thought up over some vodka sprites and pesto sauce. Can you elaborate on how this song came to be? Were those live instruments?

DJ Dan:  This track came to me because of my recent trips to South and Central America. 

A lot of the musical rhythms that I’ve heard from horns to drums have really inspired me. 

There’s been a huge Latin movement in the house music scene and in many of these tracks they’ll use samples of classical Latin songs and then will go back into a typical electro or house track. 

That’s why I decided to do the entire thing from the bottom up with Spanish vocals and all. 

The instruments that you hear in the track were live.  The bassline, the horns, and the latin piano are all played by classically trained musicians.

After my last gig in Mexico City, I met Suzie Del Vecchio during a TV interview.  We hit it off very quickly and realized we had a lot of chemistry. 

When she moved out to LA, we started to brainstorm ideas on how we could begin to work together.  That’s how it all started.

Suzie’s vocals, smooth and relentless, flow through the song like a never-ending shaker section of a 12-piece Mariachi band. I must say, very sexy. I had to wait five minutes before getting up out of my chair to avoid any embarrassment.  As much of a promising talent as she comes off as, she must be doing more than just dance music? Who is she, what is her musical background, does she have any other projects, and… can I get her number?  No, really. I want it. I’m going to call her.  Tonight.

This girl really does have the whole package. 

She’s extremely talented, a great writer, and she’s a great live performer. 

Suzie’s passion is definitely dance music but she’s a very diverse artist. 

She’s widely known in Mexico for being the former lead singer of the pop girl group “Chic Pack” from Latin America, singing the theme song for Mexico in World Cup 2006.

She recently moved back to L.A. to pursue her music career in the U.S where you can expect to hear a lot more of her. 

She’s also the former host of the highly popular Televisa/Telehit electronic music video show “Mas Nescafe” in Mexico. 

We’re planning to do some live shows together in the near future to help promote the release in Latin America.

Holding its own, the original sets it off, but is complemented by two very well-produced remixes.  Ryan Riback’s rendition reminds me of what I like most in a remix. Homage to the original, with it’s own unique blend and twist on an already amazing track. What was your reason for choosing him as a remixer?  Who is he? Can you find out what bass patch he used?

You’ll have to ask Ryan himself about the bass patch.  I don’t want to give away any of his secrets. 

Ryan first caught my ear with his ‘Jungle Boogie’ remix and his remix of ‘Biscuits’. 

I wanted him to remix this track because I knew he would put a darker, driving electro house sound on it, which we needed in order to have a well-rounded package. 

We’ve been getting a lot of great feedback on his mix.

Though Ryan’s was my favorite remix of the two, the second one still holds it own. Very well produced! Who is Mattias? I could have sworn that was a tire & brakes store down on Crenshaw.

Probably one of my favorite house tracks of the year was Mattias’ remix of ‘Down Down Down’ on Molto recordings. 

We sent this track to a few different producers but Mattias was very excited about it and he definitely delivered. 

His remix exceeded our expectations and the reaction I’ve been receiving on the dancefloor with this remix has been incredible. 

All and all a great release, and again, something I didn’t expect from you. Is this what to expect from Dan in the future? Do you see your music evolving and going a different direction? What’s next?

This has honestly been one of the busiest years of my life between DJ gigs and studio production. 

I’ve been consistently releasing singles on my label as well as simultaneously working on my artist album. 

My artist album is nearly finished and I think many people will be pleasantly surprised with how diverse this project is going to be. 

I don’t want to give out too much information at this point but I’m working with some producers and musicians that I’ve always dreamed of working with. 

As the head of Instereo, what are your plans as far as the sound for the label?

We’ll continue to bring you the funky peak time bangers that InStereo is most well known for but it’s also important for people to know that the InStereo sound doesn’t necessarily have any boundaries.

There’s so much good music out there, why limit ourselves to a specific genre? 

Like Duke Ellington once said “If it sounds good, it is good.”

To me it doesn’t matter if it’s house, breaks, techno, progressive, minimal, etc. 

It’s about the quality of the music and production. 

So don’t be surprised when you see releases from us that are all over the dance music spectrum.

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