Hatiras Interview

We recently had the opportunity to interview Hatiras, leading up to his show in Guelph, to talk about topics such as fashion, vinyl and touring . The night itself exceeded my expectations with an impressive roster of openers, majestic lights and non stop ravers! Hatiras + Fiance were absolute charmers and down to earth. It was a privilege to meet both and if you ever get a chance to go see him, don't miss the opportunity. For more pics from the night check out Fresh Media's Site.

1) I noticed your bright frames have become your go to fashion accessory and trademark as of late. How did this relationship develop?

Haha that’s funny. Well I never really thought of them as a trademark but I have worn them on a few occasions at shows in Guelph, Japan and Burning Man. Maybe they should become a trademark...
The whole sunglasses thing, which I will not take complete credit for, came to me when my fiancee and I started a strong friendship with a crew of magical Newfoundlanders that ride unicorns, live under a neon rainbow in a colored house and worship a massive Christmas tree - except that it isn’t a Christmas tree - and they don’t really “worship” it - nonetheless, it’s a tree decorated with 100’s rare and colorful sunglasses. Through this friendship I was allowed to pluck a few pairs of sunglasses from the tree - and then inspired to commence my very own collection of cheap, cheesy yet magical shades. Hence the yellow and black frameless pair you speak of.

2) When I first started listening to your mixes I did a little research and found out that you’ve been involved with house music pretty much your whole life. More specifically I always found it interesting how you used to be a rave promoter/host/MC. How did this background influence your career as a DJ?

To be honest I started as a DJ first. I was twelve, and I recorded music from the radio onto my boombox double tape deck - of course this was in the 80s when house music was in its infancy. I passed the tapes along to friends, family and the occasional stranger. Soon I was known as the handsome little kid who was a little too obsessive about spreading electronic music.

Years later I decided to throw my own parties. My rave company was called Liquid Adrenaline and it grew to attract thousands at each event. I did this to spread my love for the music even further. Eventually, due to years of chronic exposure to the music I caught a disease called making-music-itis. After releasing a few singles on Chicago based International House Records (IHR) I decided I was ready to play my own music to a crowd. So I started out by doing live performances at my own events, as well as at smaller shows nearby. This generally consisted of trucking my entire studio into a venue and working with analog equipment on the fly.
Soon after, I was lucky enough in that my third record was a massive international hit (“Spaced Invader”). At that time, the requests to tour globally came pouring in so fervently that I decided to make DJing and producing my number one priority. I continued to throw events for a couple more years but things got really tough with promoting in the early 2000s that I decided to finally pack up my promoters hat and move full steam ahead with DJing and producing. I haven’t looked back since.

3) When considering your role as one of Canada’s premiere DJs and the owner of two record labels, you have no doubt benefited from ‘electro’s’ rise in popularity. Although house and electronic music have always had a loyal following on a smaller scale, it has now garnered mainstream recognition in North America and become a source of inspiration for a great deal of Top 40 acts. Why do you think house / electronic music is finally enjoying such unprecedented success in North America?

House and electronic music have always been popular to those in the know. But, before the Internet, the massive labels would invest money in flashy videos and well-groomed boy bands to confuse the youth into believing that the music they were selling was good. Now, with the rise of the Internet, music has become democratized again. People have access to listen to the music they truly like, and not only to the music they are fed. The statistics online are undeniable. People flock to places like Beatport to buy the latest electronic beats. Youtube videos of electronic music are everywhere. DJs all over the world are posting their mixes online. The major labels are recognizing this undeniable momentum and, many of them are changing their strategies to try to tap into that market by hiring underground DJ/producers to make beats for their pop acts. To a degree, it is exposing the music to a larger audience. But, as usual, the pop world is generally well behind the fast evolving, cutting edge underground.

4) MC Flipside has made a name for himself both as a ‘hip-house’ MC [ala his ‘Hi Friend’ collaboration with Deadmau5] and a DJ in his own right. When playing with Flipside onstage, do you aim to create a more old-school drum and bass vibe or simply approach it as two DJs joining forces and take from there?

I’ve known MC Flipside for over 15 years now. Strangely enough, growing up mostly in Toronto we both have very similar influences in music. We both appreciate drum & bass, classic house, soulful garage and nasty electro. Because of that, working with him isn’t really work. We have an absolute blast on stage together and the crowd feels that. We don’t need to plan things - we may take turns DJing, he may be on the mic most of the time, heck, I may even get on the mic. The best description of what one of our shows together is like would be: a voyage of chaotic happiness (with flawless mixing, programming and lyricism of course) ;)

5) Due to the technology associated with DJing that has been developed over the past decade, collecting vinyl is no longer an occupational necessity. In response to this trend, have you started buying records more suitable for personal enjoyment?

I no longer purchase vinyl to DJ with. But I will occasionally hunt for old and rare vinyl to either draw inspiration from, or, to steal a few samples from (which I would then mangle and mutate in the studio so much that nobody would even know where it’s from). I do most of my DJ shopping at Beatport and check all the charts, as well as follow producers I like. I also play quite a lot of my own material and receive more promos and demos per day than I know what to do with. In terms of recent playlists - I just delved back into listening to Daft Punk’s classic “Homework” album. I think that a lot of those funky, disco-ey yet bangin’ sounds are going to be big again in 2010.

6) What’s your average annual touring schedule composed of as an internationally renowned House DJ?

Some DJs boast about doing 300 shows a year. That may work for them, but to me, that would cause a massive imbalance in my life. I like to pick and choose my shows and balance between touring, producing music, playing video games, bumming around, hanging with friends and family and catering to my cat. My schedule is hectic enough as it is doing anywhere from 3-8 shows a month. Any more and it starts to get really unhealthy for me. I love doing what I do, but I want to live well into my old age as well. In terms of favorite spots: well, recently I’ve noticed a really great, up and coming vibe in places like Texas (Mcallen, Laredo, El Paso, etc.), Newfoundland and Guelph. Other cities like Tokyo, Toronto, Los Angeles, etc. are already quite established but there is something special about a city where the scene is just exploding.

Make sure to keep posted with all of my music releases, weekly radio show, upcoming tour dates and tour galleries at Hatiras.com - thanks for the love :)