Sirus Hood is a French DJ/Producer who’s love for House Music started at the tender age of 10 when he was fed by his older friends mixtapes recorded in a legendary club in Algiers. Now with numerous releases on some of the worlds biggest labels, and countless appearances at standout clubs and festivals of the world, we sat down with him to talk more about his journey, and his recent “Trapped In’ release on Cuttin’ Headz…
Hey Sirus, how has your summer been?
One of the best so far mainly in Ibiza. I was invited to play with my fave crews, Paradise by Jamie Jones at Amnesia and The Martinez Brothers at Hï. Manda Moor and myself also had the opportunity to host our own Mood Child party at Hï, in the wild corner and it was magical. We just couldn’t stop there so we are hosting a Mood Child event in Zürich, Switzerland for Halloween on Saturday Oct 29th.
What has been something you have learnt this year musically or otherwise?
I’m a perpetual student, in the music and in life in general so I keep learning and the list of my 2022 knowledge is pretty huge lol
To keep it simple, I’m learning about how to make a magical event and I can tell you the secret, it’s just to make everyone party like when we were kids.
I also learnt about how to produce vinyl in 2022 which is challenging and how to run a special music label that Manda and I will launch in a couple of months.
Is it true you first fell for house music aged ten? How?
Yes, in the 90s. Actually an older friend was bringing me cassettes recorded in a night club and it was mainly House. The DJ was talking and singing on the tracks while mixing them and I was like: I want to be that guy. I could never have imagined being more than that guy and being able to travel the world.
Do you still like the tunes you did then?
I don’t remember specific tunes as it was mainly underground and music I never heard other than in these cassettes. But I still remember the rhythm and some bassline melodies, it was very Chicago / New York style.
How has your sound evolved over the years?
Like every kid who tried every type of fashion to find himself, I tried a lot of stuff. I love so many sounds from so many cultures. It’s like the food of the world. There is some good shit everywhere. I just try to stay away from the hype which is a challenge by itself. Especially after visiting Chicago and spending time with the House legends. House is not even a hype anymore, it’s classic. It’s here to stay. And I’m not talking about the “Beatport / Spotify House” that can be confusing. In people’s mind, House is a kind of pop with a Dance beat and I urge them, if they are music lovers to learn about Ron Hardy, Paul Johnson DJ Sneak, DJ Pierre, K-Alexi Shelby, Roy Davis Junior, DJ Deeon etc and I’m not talking about their hit records. The hits rarely represents the artist, nor a genre.
How did you hook up with Cuttin’ Headz to release on their recent compilation?
I was chilling last summer with The Martinez Brothers, my mpc was turned on and I started a beat with the speakers ON. The beat was banging and I found this vocal saying “Trapped In”. When I left the bros said yo the beat is fire, send it when you finish it. Cool!
A few days later, back home, I finished the track, I sent it and boom they played it this whole year and wanted to release it on Cuttin’ Headz.
Did you make something specific to fit that sound?
Not really. I love fast House inspired by the Chicago legend Ron Hardy or even the Ghetto House of DJ Deeon or Paul Johnson and I have this natural groove from my African roots. After finishing the main beat I was scrolling in my personal library of samples that I recorded from vinyl and old music from the world, and one sample was this latin cowbell that I chopped months ago and one of my best friends Trangaz was walking right behind me and he just said “this!”. It happened so fast, but he confirmed my thoughts so I loaded it and it gave the extra spice to the track. I think the environment by itself helped to create the magic here.
What is next on the horizon for you?
Manda Moor and I are starting a label called Mood Child. It’s a new generation label focused on the community, web 3 with special content, limited editions and experiences. We also started Mood Child events in the best venues in the world. The first event was in the Wild Corner of Hï Ibiza, Club #1 in the world. The next one will be for the Halloween week end in Zürich, Switzerland on October 29th.
We just released Mood Edits vinyl only few days ago and it’s already almost sold out.
I have a remix coming out on Hot Creations.
And I have bigger projects including a documentary about the history of House Music and an album.
What was the best dj set or tune you heard this year and why?
This summer in Ibiza, the opening of Paradise, Jamie Jones did a set never heard before or after. It was literally the war, he shocked everyone, and I’m not saying this because he played some Sirus Hood’ music haha
The other one was The Martinez Brothers b2b Black Coffee. It was the perfect match between the South American and the South African groove. I was in a trance.
Sirus Hood’s “Trapped In” is out now on Cuttin’ Headz
Grab it here
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