Switzerland has never been short on electronic talent through the ages, from Ripperton to Luciano. Another of the names that should be included in that group is Mendo.
He is a classy DJ and producer whose output is emotive and carefully crafted. It comes on labels like 8Bit, 100% Pure and Circus and he also runs his own well esteemed label Clarisse Records. He recently mixed the Toolroom Live 03 compilation, and also put a special mix together for Deeperfect. At the same time, his ‘Magic’ and ‘Melody’ tracks have been remixed on Material Series.
Here we speak about all that and more….
“I’m a workaholic. I devote all my time to music, whether travelling to play or in the studio, so I don’t really have time for a big social life”
As you will be performing in Ibiza on multiple occasions this summer, how do you prepare yourself, mentally and physically, for the rigours of the island?
Ibiza is obviously one of the best destinations in the world for parties – it’s a global showcase to demonstrate your talent to the public and promoters who will ultimately get you bookings for the rest of the year.
This year I will play residencies at Blue Marlin, Reverse at Sankeys, the Ibiza Global Radio Beat Boat parties, and for the second time this year Space back to back with my buddy Dosem…so for all of these, you must come out with new ideas and surprise a connoisseur audience who will judge your Ibiza importance, good or bad, for the rest of the year. I think it’s important to have a healthy lifestyle in order to be mentally and physically 100%…and not to go too late to the after parties 😉
What was your approach to your part of the upcoming ‘Toolroom Live 03” compilation? How did your part fit in with the other 2 mixes on the compilation?
Each mix has its own colour that reflects the influence and musical style of the artist, as well as his way of mixing. I simply chose tracks that I am feeling at the moment, and included two original productions and some I have produced with my partner Yvan Genkins.
As you hail from Geneva, can you give us a brief history of nightlife in that city? What was your first introduction to electronic music? How has Geneva changed over the years regarding nightlife?
My interest in electronic music began in the late 80s when acid house was on the rise. I was the only guy at school listening to it because everyone else was into rap, hard rock or new wave. I started DJing in local clubs when I was 15 after buying two Technics SL1200 MK2s, a mixer and a soundsystem from a friend. At this time there were no underground clubs, but now we are lucky to have many very good ones such as Weetamix, Silencio, Motel Campo or la Gravière, plus a few very good festivals too, such as Electron.
You are regarded as one of the scene’s “frequent flyers” What are some of your favourite destinations to play? What are some of your favourite destinations to chill? Is there one particular place you haven’t played yet that would be a dream to do so?
At the moment Budapest and Bucharest are my favourite cities. Since I started DJing, the public there have always treated me with a lot of love, gratitude and loyalty. There is a real culture of electronic music there and it’s always a pleasure to have a public that pushes you to do your best in the booth. And there’s Ibiza of course. I am lucky to play there regularly at almost all the major clubs, and I like to stay a couple of extra days afterwards to enjoy the island. The same goes for Hvar in Croatia, where we have one of our residencies with Clarisse every summer.
I think I’ve played most of the best clubs in the world – I’ve done Womb twice for example – and I don’t think I’ve missed out on too many others. For me, maybe playing more festivals would help me discover new things, so a huge one such as Burning Man, Tomorrowland, Ultra or Coachella would be fun.
How do you pass the time while on the plane?
Actually I am addicted to a game on my mobile phone called “Plants vs. Zombies 2″. My friends Los Surubas showed it to me last year and since then I play it whenever I catch a plane. I also watch a lot of movies on my iPad which prepares for me for hundreds of hours waiting in airports every year.
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