Interview: Ordonez

Club Sweat, Farris Wheel Recordings, and Mother Recordings are just a sample of the labels that house talent Ordonez has put his stamp on over the years.

Returning to the latter mentioned, Berlin-based, Nhan Solo-owned Mother Recordings, he will release his new Lose Control EP this month, which offers two sides of groovy, infectious tech house.

Sitting down with the Ecuadorian producer, we got to ask him all about the forthcoming EP, how his relationship with Nhan and the team has developed over the years, and what he’s most excited about for when lockdown is finally a thing of the past. Get the full discussion below.

Talk us through your new Lose Control EP, what can your fans expect from this one?

I worked on this one during lockdown while in Ecuador with no clubs open, my idea was to make something that can be clubby but also listenable for your everyday Spotify playlist, so banging beats & beautiful vocals make a lot of sense for this one.

Tuba Jam is a fusion of strong tech house beats and weird tuba samples that give you a sort of circus feel with lots of joy and happiness.

It comes on Mother Recordings as your sixth EP for the label, you must have developed a pretty great relationship with Nhan and the team?

Yes for sure, it’s been really nice to be a part of the family but to be honest I felt like part of it from the first release. Everyone is really cool on the team from the producers to the people behind the desks, you can say Nhan surely knows how to pick up great people to work with.

You have also released on Club Sweat, Farris Wheel, and Simma Black, what kind of things do you consider when scouting for a label?

The most important thing is that the label believes in your music, that they are willing to put lots of effort and money to get your name out there and make sure your music is heard. At some point you realise that there are labels that don’t do anything for your music – so just work with the ones that do.

Which other labels can we expect to see you on in 2021?

Well we recently had a Too Many Rules release that got really great feedback from Jamie Jones, Nicole Moudaber, and others. And another one coming later this year on Lexlay’s Happy Techno label. I have some other tracks finished but I haven’t had the time to send them over to labels yet.

And which labels are at the top of your career bucket list?

Well i guess if you are into house music, Defected or DFTD is a must there, also Toolroom is a favourite since I started but I also really like more underground labels like Robsoul. There’s actually a bunch of labels that I like but they don’t fit the kind of music that I make.

Now that we’re seemingly close to clubs opening up again around the world, what’s one thing you’re most looking forward to about getting back in the booth in front of a crowd?

I was able to play at Lost Beach some time ago and it felt massive. I can’t wait for things to get back on track, I miss traveling, meeting old friends, making new ones, getting to know new cities, and seeing all those smiles in the crowd when you drop a massive track, to test all the new bombs made during lockdown with an actual crowd.

But what i’m really looking forward the most is falling back in love with music, I feel like this pandemic has pushed people like me away from it because we had to focus on paying the bills.

Do you have any pre-gig routines or superstitions?

Not really, but I do like to be in the club for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before my set to get the vibe of the people and think of a good way to handle the night.

And who’s the most memorable person you’ve shared a DJ booth with?

My little girl haha.

Ordonez’ Lose Control EP arrives June 11th on Mother Recordings.