RA.876 Rebolledo

  • Published
    Mar 19, 2023
  • Filesize
    167 MB
  • Length
    01:12:49
  • Road trip across the desert with the Mayan Warrior DJ.
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  • Mauricio Rebolledo is one of those veteran artists who has stood the test of time. He can play Burning Man, go back-to-back with DJ Tennis and mentor young producers with unwavering finesse, staying true to his signature sound of sparse, psychedelic chuggers. Where many of his peers have embraced a more commercial sound, the Mexican artist likes to keep it weird, opting for touches of Krautrock and hazy atmospherics in both his sets and on his albums. He tends to be associated with tribal drums and screwy trance, but in reality, the Hippie Dance cofounder and long-time Kompakt affiliate is a man of many influences—as heard on his RA Podcast. Whimsical interludes of French dance pop and retro synth-wave are interspersed with shoegazey electronics ("Dive" by Pale Blue) as well as plenty of his own productions, which blur the lines between minimal house and techno. This is a hypnotic, brooding journey that starts and ends with versions of Justus Köhncke's "Elan," which adds to the mix's loopy feel. (There's also a Prins Thomas remix thrown in for good measure.) No peaks or climaxes here, just long plateaus of zigzagging synths and winding chords. Turn on, tune in and drop out, as they say. What have you been up to recently? Super busy in different ways, besides the touring which is back full on, I've been reinventing my way to operate after these past strange years which have influenced a lot my whole life structure. Even if DJing and music are the conducting thread of what I do, they connect the dots with new side projects like Futuro Primitivo and Bar Imprudente, which is a space that opened its doors last year. It's a restaurant and bar, designed by myself in which I partnered with friends with different skills to make it very special. It's basically a reinterpretation of the parties we sometimes have at home: wood fire kitchen, little disco, great drinks, open spaces with fireplaces. At the end of last year we celebrated fifteen years of our little club TOPAZdeluxe in Monterrey, Mexico with a big program during November and part of December. Also recently I've been doing my party series WAX UPON A TIME in which I play vinyl only, and it has been super refreshing for me because I've been able to rediscover a lot of music I only have in that format from my collection of more than 20 years. I do it once a month at Bar Imprudente and every now and then I take it out of town to special places. A pretty flashy highlight of recent times was to get back together with Superpitcher for two Pachanga Boys shows after almost three years since the last one we did, just before the pandemic. How and where was the mix recorded? And can you tell us the idea behind it? I mixed it live and recorded it in one take at the little club I have at home which we call The Situation Room. The environment is pretty great, I love using my E&S rotary mixer because going from track to track on it feels like surfing on butter. The sound system is all vintage Klipsch speakers, a bit inspired by The Loft, (or very) so even if it was me alone in the room. I had the full system on to feel the warm sound vibe of the whole place, not just the monitors. The mix is a little bit like a soundtrack. Just like in a movie, familiar elements come and go through what I like to think is a positive futuristic mental story. I used tracks from different decades, some old personal classics, some of my favorite latest productions and remixes. I chose not to give a playlist so the listener has no expectation or thinks what the mix is about before even playing it. What's one club or party that had a major impact on you as an artist? This is a very very difficult thing to answer as I really love extremely different types of party situations. So I'm gonna tell you my two favourites, which are completely opposite in context. One is a bit obvious—playing on the Mayan Warrior at Burning Man for the last nine years has become a very important thing for me, and something I always look forward to. From the big format shows I do over the year, this is one of the most special ones because of the setting, the crew around, the crowd which becomes part of the landscape and all the surreal elements that become part of the experience. Also, being part of the team and its history makes it even more special. The other personal favorite is a very little happening called Limited Edition in Portland, Oregon. Once a month, this crew makes this members-only party. (Nothing to do with a VIP thing—it's just similar-minded people that like special music journeys and put together the money to bring their favorite DJs.) Similar to Mancuso's Loft setting, they have 4 Klipschorns facing the center of the room, the booth is set up on cinder blocks, a Urei rotary Mixer, two turntables, two CDJs and very basic light controllers are your tools to operate with. Nobody opens for you, nobody closes for you. You play for seven hours from beginning to end and everything goes. There's no bar, there's a fridge with water and beer which anyone can access. Some of the attendees who are natural wine aficionados bring their own bottles to drink and share. The right chemistry is part of the formula and suddenly this not more than a hundred people crowd all become one for the full ride. I've seen tears of joy on that dance floor. Harvey, Thomas Bullock, Optimo, Idjut Boys, Matias Aguayo, Superpitcher, Ivan Smagghe, Justin Van Der Volgen are some of the guests that have passed through these happenings, so you can tell the kind of ride they are into. I just did my fourth appearance there last month and as usual I had a blast playing records I could not imagine playing anywhere else. Every now and then It crosses my mind how sad our industry can be these days in which Instagram is more important than music, and catching hands up in the air moments with the phone camera seems to be the only goal to pursue. But then I go to Portland for my Limited Edition fix and be reminded of how beautiful and interesting our craft is. Fun fact: the one thing these both shows have in common is that no money is expected from either. Expenses might be covered but making money is not the case, Both are done for the pure love of it. Mayan Warrior has grown into a distinct brand/organization in dance music. How has it grown over the years, and what do you want to do with it next? What kind of music or art are you trying to platform with it? It's been a crazy journey. The warrior was created in 2012 (same year when the Mayan calendar was ending, so that was part of the inspiration from Pablo Gonzalez, who created it) to go to that year's Burning Man. It was a smaller car than what it is now. Only friends from the inner circle of the Mexican crew who brought it there were playing that year. The year after, the bigger version debuted, and that was when I was invited for the first time and got to know the project. The machine was impressive but still the music direction was not very clear and defined. As I was pretty impressed by it I offered Pablo to get involved and help him to create musical journeys that would match the setting of this futuristic desert with guests I thought could fit that profile. So together with Damian Romero (the director of MUTEK MX), we started curating the lineups from 2014. Also, part of my proposal in order to give the Warrior its own identity and could be recognized in the distance, was to create a theme track of it to be played whenever it would be cruising the desert. And that's how the track "Here Comes The Warrior," which I included on my second album, Mondo Alterado, was born and became one of the most recognizable things to hear in the desert. Over the years, the project has grown exponentially and in order to finance its yearly trips to Nevada, several fundraisers are celebrated throughout the year around the world. So now it has become this big production party that hosts thousands of people. The team has grown and also the productions. These days several art installations are showcased as part of the scenery at each party, performers are included as part of the show. The music direction of these fundraisers, now taken care by a new team has shifted to sounds that can attract this size of crowds, there's not much room to be very experimental any more, but the high standard in the quality of the performances has been kept. As Mayan Warrior is a nonprofit organization, all the money which is not used to go to Burning Man goes to Planet Buyback, an organization that helps with different projects from cleaning the ocean to improving living conditions of indigenous communities. Mexico's electronic music scene is getting a lot more international attention than it used to. Are things better or more active now, or how has it changed? The scene in Mexico has been growing in a steady way for over a decade, with new venues and festivals all across the country and not only in the major cities. Fresh acts performing and producing music at a great level are also on the rise. Every winter it becomes party central in the Caribbean, with all the parties and showcases happening in Tulum and its surroundings. The pandemic made this growth even bigger since it was one of the very few open places in the world, so there was a lot happening. Mexico City is more vibrant than ever, with a lot of new people from all over the world moving there making it a more international capital. The demand has increased and also the expectations of better quality, so in general I do think our scene has been growing in a positive way. I wouldn't mind though if this Tulum madness would fade out a bit. This little piece of paradise has become way too hectic and overpopulated in the high seasons. What's one social or political cause you want the world to pay more attention to? The planet is burning, and there's no way back now. The very least we can do is to at least try to do damage control and make the least possible harm now so future generations still have a place which is appropriate to live in. At the end of the '00s, in a property we have in the mountains about an hour away from home, we planted over 100,000 trees which are almost fully grown now, giving a new life to that sector of the forest. This land has been officially certified as a "lung" of the area, as it produces around 400 tonnes of oxygen per year, which is enough for 400,000 people to live. So it's a nice feeling to contribute at least a bit to this major problem. What are you looking forward to in the near future? Going back to the studio little by little. With all these projects lately, parenthood and the usual touring, it's been hard to find the right time and mood to get back into production in a more steady rhythm. But I know it's gonna happen soon. Growing my hospitality projects really keeps me motivated also. We are expanding this new place soon, opening a couple of new little venues in partnership with very cool crews in different cities in Mexico, and hopefully the bigger dream would be to open a cool little hotel. I love hosting and I really love using my creativity not only on music but also into creating spaces in which soundtracking is a fundamental element of the experience.
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