Having grew up on the somewhat secluded Spanish island of Gran Canaria, DJ, producer, party thrower and label boss Javier Carballo made the restricted reach of his homeland work to his advantage, coming together with like-minded peers to hone their craft before spreading their music to an international market.
Now his Under Your Seat parties and his impressive productions have put him in place where he’s now a Vatos Locos affiliate and regularly places in Europe and the Americas. We spoke to Javier about Under Your Seat, Vatos Locos, his plans for 2019 and a few other things, you can find the full interview below.
Hello Javier, how has your year been so far? Do you have much planned for the next few months?
Last year was a really good year for me. I had so many gigs around the world which allowed me to meet great people and visit countries I’d never been to before. And most importantly, share my music.
Also after being in Berlin for a while, I decided to move to London at the beginning of the year, where I’m still living now. Definitely one of the biggest changes. My double EP on Vatos Locos launched last year as well. So a great 12 months!
I wanted to chat about Under Your Seat. Can you tell us a bit about the party?
Under Your Seat was born 10 years ago, as we felt the need to play and share our music with friends and artists from other countries, something difficult on the islands of Gran Canaria where I’m originally from. We started in small warehouses with parties just for 200 people. After a year or so, we began to do our own parties in the best club in the island, Velvet Club, which hosted label residencies from Cocoon, Freak ’n Chic, Kompakt, etc.
At the moment we are located in Mood Club (Gran Canaria) where we tend to do one date per month, still bringing to the island the sound we love. Minimal, electro, techno, house with so many different artists. 2019 brings new challenges as we are working to have some of our nights in London which hopefully will happen very soon.
How does a night at Under Your Seat differ for example, to a Vatos Locos night?
Vatos Locos is a global party and is a big concept, a great label with amazing artists which focus on techno and house experiences in festivals and clubs. Underyourseat is something more intimate maybe, and focuses on smaller clubs and warehouses.
You recently appeared on the Rooted label alongside some really great artists such as Carlos Sanchez and MOISES. Can you tell me a bit about your association with those guys?
Yes, Rooted is Bolumar’s label and this is their ninth release. He had the idea to make a kind of Spanish special release and this is the result. I’ve known Moises and Carlos for more than 15 years now. We are all from Gran Canaria and have shared releases together a few times. Always a pleasure!
You’re arguably best known for your association with Vatos Locos, who we mentioned just now. What’s your fondest memory of your time spent with the guys?
Every time we spend time together usually is a great experience. The first time it happened was in BPM Mexico 4 years ago and even though it can be difficult playing alongside an artist you have never met before, it was cool and a really good party. But 2 years ago at Sunwaves was an experience I’ll never forget. Unbelievable memories!
Are there any labels that you’re yet to release with who you would really like to work with? And if so, why?
Yes, of course, there are labels I would like to release on. Rekids and Sushitech come to mind immediately as they both fit in with my TERMS project, where I focus more on techno and experimental sounds, be it electro, breaks, dub etc. Watch out for that one soon.
Do you generally make goals like this or do you prefer to take each day as it comes?
I think it’s important having goals to have something to focus on. I’m a pragmatic and like having things under control but without stress, always trying not be obsessed with anything otherwise things go wrong: it’s all about energy so I try to keep mine positive. It’s so important being able to let things go with the flow.
Let’s chat about touring, do you have any plans for the road in the coming months that you’re particularly excited about?
Yes, Thankfully. This month I’ll be in Honduras, Ecuador and Guatemala for the first time. I have started the last few years with tours in the U.S. which are always great as I get to escape the cold winter a bit! After that, I’ll come back to Europe with dates in UK, Spain, France and Germany. So excited.
And before we go, give us one tune we should listen to straight after finishing this interview?
I absolutely love the Svek label since the end of the 90´s and one of my favourites is The Persuader – Ostermalm. Every time I listen to it it takes me back. Enjoy it!