Manda Moor is a Danish/Filipino producer and DJ based in Paris. Her unique productions and DJ sets are based somewhere between House & Techno and are very groovy and tech infused always. We caught up with her recently to find out what’s in store with her over 2022, and what initiated her love of dance music…
Hey Manda, how are you, what’s good and bad in your world right now?
Hey! I’m doing great, busy working on myself and the future, learning and experiencing.
What’s good is that I’m extremely grateful everyday for waking up in good health, grateful for my close ones, my cats, my team and my growing career. There is no good without bad of course, but focusing on the good and learning from the bad is what makes me go forward.
How much has the last pandemic year affected the music you have made, the style and sound of it?
The pandemic was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a curse for the obvious reasons being the uncertainties, the inability to gather and do what I love which is playing music and uniting a crowd. But it was a blessing because it was the kick in the butt I needed to work even harder on production and doing things differently.
2020 was the year I signed my first EP (Kaluki), it reached #1 on Beatport Minimal Deep Tech. It’s also the year I started Mood Edits with Sirus Hood, a concept of limited series of edits, available only for a few weeks.
In a world where there is an oversaturation of music due to streaming for example, the aim with the edits was to give value back to music with its scarcity, while reminiscing the good times. House music started with disco edits, this inspired us. We wanted to make easy listening tracks and to reach people that were not necessarily familiar with our style of music. It was a huge success and the edits were played by the greatest names of the scene like The Martinez Brothers, Pete Tong, Loco Dice etc.
This kickstarted my name and gave me consistent nudges to make more originals and to find my own sound.
Tell us about your journey into dance music, when did you first fall in love with it?
I fell in love with electronic music when I was 14. It was kind of mainstream but my taste progressively narrowed down to underground House, especially when I started clubbing. When I moved to Paris in 2013, I went to every event where I knew there was a good DJ playing. I was a big party person and I was fascinated by the unity and the feelings every sound procured. I was so obsessed with digging music, until I decided to purchase my own DJ controller following my urge to learn how to play.
And when did you start making it, what sounds and DJs and labels and parties inspired you?
2020 was a pivot year for me, I got into my first (and current) booking agency and as soon as clubs and events started operating again I was living the dream. My favorite parties that motivated me to push trough are mainly in Ibiza: Paradise, Music On, Circoloco, and of course the magical after parties. The DJs and producers I look up to the most are the Chicago House legends like Paul Johnson & Armando (RIP), DJ Deeon, DJ Sneak, DJ Pierre, K Alexi Shelby, Derrick Carter…
& amazing artists like Sirus Hood, Jamie Jones, The Martinez Brothers, Apollonia, Luciano, Gauthier DM…
And what is your own sound, what makes your music unique?
My own rolling groove, with spices inspired from the 90s, warm percussions and love.
What gear do you use, and does that matter to you?
For production, I use Maschine and a keyboard mostly, with drum machines like the 909 & 808. The gear doesn’t really matter as long as there is a good workflow and taste. You can make the sickest tunes with not much.
To DJ, I use the CDJ3000s with the V10 LF. I also absolutely love to play vinyl, with the rotary mixer DJR400. To me, being comfortable with the DJ equipment is important to deliver the best set possible.
How do you work, do you have an idea in your head you work towards or do you just experiment and jam and see what happens?
Sometimes I do have ideas I try to recreate. But I mostly just go with the flow when I feel like producing. Most of the time I don’t know what I’ll be making. But I do know the mood and direction I want to take when I start.
What hopes and goals and dreams do you have for 2022?
2022 is a very important year for me, I will be playing at my dream parties, releasing on my dream labels, and will be creating a new label.
The goal for me this year is to make the absolute most out of it, because it’s the kind of excitement and spark you rarely get in a lifetime.
Are you concerned with your environmental impact as a dj, and what can you do about it if so?
Being a successful DJ implies a lot of traveling. Unfortunately it’s not very environment friendly but I do my best to counter balance by not eating meat or fish, limiting my use of plastic, recycling, supporting local businesses, choosing brands that are environment friendly, using electric scooters, trains when I can.
I believe that nobody can be 100% green. But every individual can do their part by making right choices daily and being conscious.
Manda Moor EP “Péché Mignon” is out now on Tamango Records
Grab it here
Follow:
Facebook
SoundCloud
