Last month, Music On resident Leon brought forth his “Don’t Stop” EP, a collaboration with Hector Couto, released on his own DFLOOR imprint.
Now, preparing for the DayDream Festival in Barcelona, as well as dates in Birmingham, Zürich, Verbania and Rome, among many others, Leon and Roush‘s Hector Couto go “In Conversation” on their collaboration, mutual respect, creative approach and more.
“…it was so easy and fast to develop the tracks sharing the ideas.”
HECTOR: Do you remember how this collaboration came about?
LEON: I’ve been following your work for years and I had this cool voice from Tea Time and I said to myself, “if me and Hector do a super groove, it will come out a super bomb”. I think you have an incredible talent, your own style, I like it a lot.
LEON: So, did you like to work on this project? What did you like the most about this collaboration?
HECTOR: My favourite thing about this project was the good combination between us because we have a similar style, and we flow better on the development of the track, so for me it was easy to understand each other. Because of the distance, it was not easy to work together in the same place, so we decided to work on this project sending parts of the idea of the track and sharing the project step by step.
LEON: Yes, we exchanged ideas and Ableton projects with some vocal parts and grooves and then the final part… the EP came along in a very short time! The musical idea was already very strong, so it was easy.
HECTOR: I found the idea of adding a vocalist very interesting. What made you think about Tea Time for the vocals?
LEON: I’ve worked with Tea Time before and it was incredible. He is a very famous artist on the underground scene in South America and he has also collaborated with Ricardo Villalobos. For me it was very nice to work with him, so there was no doubt for me to use that recorded voice I had.
LEON: Is Tea Time’s vocal very different from the vocals you have worked with before?
HECTOR: To be honest I prefer to work always with male vocalists because it is not so common, and Tea Time’s voice is so different; he is from Chile and he gives to the track a kind of South American flow that I like.
HECTOR: How do you usually start and develop an idea when you begin a new track? How did you start this one?
LEON: Usually there is always something that inspires me. It could be a song from the past, something that I hear on the radio or in a movie, or I have a great collection of vinyls and sometimes I take something from them. In this case I had this voice and I thought we wanted something SEXY and HOUSEY.
HECTOR: What hardware and software do you usually use in the studio?
LEON: I have not used machines for a long time. I’m looking for something faster than what I use PLUG IN / VST, I really like Korg, Roland, even Rob Papen, Battery for drums and Omnisphere for pads…we have too many!!!
LEON: Did you like the remixes? And if you were to do the remix for one of them, who would it be?
HECTOR: Yes, I love both remixes because they are so different and charged full of energy. I think it’s a really good combination for the EP. If I had to choose one to remix, it would be Matt Tolfrey.
LEON: In this pack there are two very important remixes, Matt Tolfrey’s – already supported by Martinez Brothers – which is a more funky and sexy version, and then there’s the remix made by Siopis – already played by Damian Lazarus and many more – that is much darker and trippy!
LEON: When did you understand that this track was so good? And what was the best part of producing the EP?
HECTOR: Ever since the first time I listened to the vocal, I realised it had something special. The best part for me was the connection between us, because it was so easy and fast to develop the tracks sharing the ideas.
LEON: I know that you have been following my label for some time. Would you like to play in our showcases often? Tell me what you think.
HECTOR: For sure, I’m always open to working with friends and people that I admire. I love the music of D-FLOOR and its artists.
LEON: Thanks! My label is growing a lot, we are investing time and money to get everything perfect, in terms of sound, graphics, artists, promotion! I’m sure that soon the whole world will notice us! We have releases ready for the summer played by artists like Marco Carola and Solomun … and more and more!!!
“Don’t Sop” is now available on DFloor
