Romania Connection: Roby Interview

Romania Connection: Roby Interview

24 May, 2008 | 1.21AM

• Written by: Ryan Keeling
• Filed under: Music News: roby, romania

In the final part of Beatportal’s Romania exposé we asked Roby, of Livio & Roby fame, for an inside view on one of the most exciting and fastest emerging dance scenes on the planet.

The duo are signed to Steve Lawler’s Viva Music label and can frequently be found spinning at parties right across Romania and the rest of Europe. 

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about you as a DJ and where you play?

We met back in 2004 and started to produce together under the Livio & Roby alias.

Before this I was into production more then DJing, and was involved in different electronic music projects, and even a more alternative one.

Livio was a resident DJ for all the clubs at that time, La Mania in Mamaia on the Black Sea Coast, Space and then Kristal Glam Club in Bucharest and played alongside all the big names that came to Romania for the first time in that period (starting in 2001).

Since 2004, when we started to DJ and produce together under the Livio & Roby project, we’ve been residents for the best club in Bucharest called Studio Martin and still La Mania on the Black Sea Coast during summer and The Mission, which is the biggest Romanian events agency.

They do big events in unconventional locations, for more than 5,000 people.

We also play outside Bucharest in the other major cities of the country - we always have and always will, because there is an amazing vibe out there as well.

As for international gigs, we recently played at WMC at Steve Lawler’s Lights Out party in ParkWest, last year in Las Vegas, New York, Seattle, and London a few times, Amsterdam at Dance Valley and ADE, Zurich, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria etc.

So we do go outside Romania as well, and we love getting to know new types of crowds and come back with an experience each time.

How would you sum up your musical style?

It’s somewhere between house and techno, sometimes tech, sometimes Chicago, sometimes deep, depending on a lot of factors.

There seems to be an extremely fresh and happening scene in Romania. Would you prefer it to stay relatively unknown internationally and underground, or for it to grow into something where people come to party from all over the world?

Oh, I don’t think there is anyone who would prefer staying unknown.

I think that nowadays the term ’underground’ is not what it use to be. It’s a relative term.

What is underground for someone can be commercial for you, and what is underground for you might be even more commercial to someone else.

Depends on everybody’s knowledge about music and what’s going on.

It’s not that important how you call it anyhow.

You can be known and still be underground, like being known but for the people that matter, who go for you anywhere.

So yes, of course, the purpose of this all is to do music and play music for as many people as possible, to share this passion with the others, because after all, this is what DJing means: sharing your feelings translated into sounds with others. 

The Romanian people seem to party harder than most nationalities, why do you think this is?

The Romanian electronic music scene developed a bit late compared to other countries and it was all because of Communism.

Considering the fact that we were under it until 1989, we didn’t even have the same access to music as other clubbers from worldwide countries.

When the big raves exploded in London and Berlin, we were still asking ourselves what’s gonna happen to us after the revolution in 1989, and how can we explore and develop as a normal free country.

So there are a lot of factors in this story.

The short version is that in Bucharest, as an example, the electronic music scene was booming by the end of 2001 when The Mission did its first events.

By the summer of 2002 La Mania opened the doors in Mamaia, and there you have it!

In the last seven years it has started to actually explode and grow, and grow, and it’s still growing.

As you saw, for the May 1st parties there were six clubs and two beaches that were packed with clubbers that couldn’t get enough of partying.

It’s a great vibe and we love it!

But I’m sure there is more to do, more to come and more to happen.

Are most Romanian kids growing up listening to dance music then?

Nowadays there is this probability.

Albums and compilations are available in all big music stores, there are two national electronic music-based radio stations, a lot of TV shows dedicated to clubbing, TV videos etc.

So yes, they might easily grow on electronic music, but same as hip hop or any other genres.

The access to electronic music is way clearer now.

Are there any other young Romanian DJs that people should try and check out if they get the chance?

There are some Romanian DJs that people should try and check out, who are producing at the moment and are working hard to make themselves a name:Maresh, Jay Bliss, Mihai Popoviciu, OK Corral who are releasing tracks already on international labels and are very good DJs.

I considered the fact that you may have already heard about the other Romanian artists that have a big name outside of this country [eg: Raresh, Pedro, Rhadoo, El Cezare].

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