We were so stocked to have PIKAN-T for a Big Blue Session. PIKAN-T brought his latin, “picante” vibes to the studio. It was a crazy techno set!
listen to his set on SoundCloud here.
view on YouTube here.
Interview:
Thank you so much for coming to share with us at Studio Big Blue. It was so much to have you for your Big Blue Session.
Pikan-T: Thank you very much for having me and for everything. It was a pleasure for me to be with you guys and to play and share my passion for music.
What are the origins of your passion for music?
My passion for music comes from my Mexican roots. I bring the salsa and the “picante” vibes from my family and from where I was born in the mountains of Leon, Guanajuato. I am trying to share with others the emotions and the feelings that people can have in other parts of the world through music.
2019 just ended - Can you tell us about some of your highlights?
Well first off, I got the chance to play in several nice festivals during the summer here in Montreal and around the city such as Eclipse Festival, Timeless Festival, Good Vibes Festival, Illusion Festival, and a few others. Playing at festivals allows me to meet a lot of artists from Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. One of my big accomplishments was to open for Alex Stein at Newspeak, which is a nice techno club in Montreal that is bringing a lot of artists every week. For me, it was very nice to open for a big artist like that. Alex Stein is one of my favorite artists, and it was all thanks to Alpaka Music. They just started a new label called / Alpaka Crew Label, and they are releasing a lot of artists that I support, such as Dinas and Alex Stein too. I also got the chance to play with Drum Sound Baseline at Newspeak at the beginning of the year, but that was more for Drum and Bass, but yeah. Slowly but surely getting more connections.
Wow! 2019 sounds fantastic. You played a lot- congratulations! I know you were excited to play for Alex Stein. How was it? Did you go out afterward?
Yes! We were invited to a few parties, and so we continued the party, continued the good techno music, and then more people were playing. It was great. Their sound system was great, and talking about sound systems 2019 was also a good year for that. What do you mean? 2019 was a super nice year for me, more than just for being a DJ and producer, but also, I'm an owner of a sound system called HiFive and slowly, but surely I m making that business grow. I want to continue sharing my passion and knowledge of music through my sound system.
What are you looking forward to 2020?
Meeting new people, playing in new places, and growing my sound system business. Not just growing as a bigger sound system, but also increasing connections and meeting more who have a lot of passion. I am going to continue the positive attitude and keep going. Now I am also producing music slowly but surely.
How is it to be a DJ in Montreal? What do you think about the crown in Montreal?
The crowd in Montreal is pretty sick; it's super diversified. There is a crowd for all types of music. I never stop learning about new places. I always think that I already know everything and everyone, but nope, I am always wrong. Every time I meet new people, get new friends inviting me to new clubs or bars or new rooms. Always different styles of parties and music, and then the crowd is always coming together. I am really open to music, and I realize I am not the only one. I can't speak for everyone, but a lot of people in Montreal are open-minded about the music, and that's super colourful for the music because it's making it grow in all different directions and not just in one. For my side, this is super important and super interesting- to know that here in Montreal, we've got the chance to discover different points of view from the music. The crowd is super organic, its always alive, its always moving, even if music is changing too. Its super creative crowd and vibe.
I completely agree with that. That's why I love Montreal, we are always down to listen to new things, go to new places, and I always love discovering. I've never been closed to only one thing, and I am always looking for new music. Do you have any favorite labels at the moment?
Yes, for sure. The top labels that I am listening to right now of Drum and Bass are Focus Recordings and Celsius Recordings, which are two brothers. For techno, there is IBOGATech, and its a new label that's running from Jessy Telch, and he's a Mexican and a good homie that I met at Ecplise when I was building the main stage. We began to speak Spanish, and then we realized we had many friends in common. Jessy is running well the IBOGATech Records - its slowly but surely bringing the most prominent artists all around the world. For sure, Alpaka Music! Its a new label that just started here in Montreal by one of my good friends, Jeff Cozy. He is starting the label with a lot of strength, with big names. He is just growing in the best way and with the best attitude and keeping the best motivation to help that family crew growing up so we can all travel and share our love through the music.
What did you feel like you shared today with us at Big Blue Studio?
I went through a lot of different styles of techno. From the prog to the tech house to the more techno-industrial. I tried to bring a progression through all the various styles of techno. I played some improvised techno, between a few different styles that I got. I just let myself go with the magic that the Big Blue Studio got to me. When I was there, it was a totally nice vibe. I was almost feeling like in a party - in the fact that I just let myself go and not focusing on what I was going to play, I was just vibing. I played a few tracks from Alpaka, a few tracks from IBOGATech, and the rest was just random from one file to the other. I don't know how to explain it. I played the magic through the turntables!
How did you feel playing with a live musician?
We got some nice improvisation and jamming while I was playing. Sam just let himself go, we were feeling in a mood party, everything was free-flowing. Sam just got into the vibe with me, and when he started to play some melodies with his synths, it was the magic potion. It was an improvisation of the love we got through the music, he didn't know what I was about to play, and I did not was he was going to do, but we just got in connection at the same time. It's because of the love and the music We were just riding and feeling the same way.
What are you trying to communicate with your music?
I think my goal is to make everyone understand that everything is possible. I just grab a computer or a laptop or a triangle or a steel triangle, and I make a vibe with it. You can make a vibe if you have the soul, and you give the love to it. You don't have to start with a lot of tools, even if you just got a laptop and headphones. Turn on your laptop! Turn on your headphones! Focus on it! Do what you love and do it with a good way of it. Do it with the love and soul of wanting to make it grow. Depending on your vibe that day, you will create something that will shine one way or another, so for sure. For me, when the DJ or mixing is not flowing like I would like to, then I jump into production. I open my computer and open Ableton and try to produce a track and advance in that. What I want to say is that anyone can do anything, and it's just a matter of trying.
You got to try. If yesterday it was not working, they try today and try tomorrow. Keep trying. Keep going. It is just the fact of doing it and trying again and being present.
Wow, that's so inspiring. Thank you so much again, Carlitos. Is there something else you would like to say?
Thank you again to Big Blue Studios and Sam+Ceci for having me. That is something to re-do for sure! I want to invite good artists to create some more magic at this studio and share the good vibes and make it grow!
Listen more of Pikan-T : https://soundcloud.com/carloss-sanchezz
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