Carl Bee is as busy as his name sake insect right now. He has remixes and remixes coming on Time Has Changed, CR2 and Blackwiz Records, has recently just played Ibiza’s legendary Cafe Mambo for the first time and had one of his tracks use don the last ever Space Ibiza compilation.
Marco Carola is a fan who regally plays his tunes, and he is also resident at UNO Village in Malta, where he has his own night Gringos and has had for the last seven years. As such, with support coming from Annie Mac and Pete Tong, he has never been hotter than right now. Here we speak to him about all this and more.
“The past few years, Malta’s scene has been amazing”
How are you, what good, whats bad?
I’m good thanks 🙂 Busy period at the moment with a lot going on lately in terms of production. Currently working on lots of new music plus the summer season officially kicked off, so being a promoter too means a lot of work. Apart from all the good things happening I don’t get to enjoy the beach as much as I wish to considering I live on a beautiful Island with an average temperature of 30 degrees J Cant complaint anyway really as when you have so much to do it’s always a good sign being busy!
What is the Malta scene like right now? Who and what is popping?
The past few years, Malta’s scene has been amazing, having something on every weekend with Artists flying in frequently! Festivals are also happening which increased the younger generation of tourism, which we relate to as ‘festival tourism’.
Summer 2017 is set to be another big season with GRINGOS having international guests week in week out with the likes of Nic Fanciulli, Jackmaster, Joris Voorn, Green Velvet and many more, IMS Malta College is in it’s second year running after last year’s successful weekend, this year having Sven Vath and Agoria for the opening party, Todd Terry on the Saturday and Richy Ahmed for Gringos on Sunday .. all this is Happening at UNO Village!
How did you first get involved with UNO Village? When did you become resident?
The relationship came quite natural so to speak. Been working with the guys for so many years and on several events apart from that they’ve been doing this business for the past 17 years. When we met to discuss the opening of their New Amazing Open Air Club last year, the guys had a clear vision on where they want to go and what they want to do, so personally I couldn’t stay out of this project both as a brand / artist and also due to the good friend relationship we have.
What makes the club so special for you, why do you love playing there?
Basically UNO is the only Open Air Club locally that gives me the freedom to express myself musically, whether the event is happening in the main area, club Roots or Tropicana! The Main room still feels intimate in a way, yet on a big room scale as capacity reaches up to 5K however personally I feel home in Tropicana and Roots where the DJ booth is close to the crowd and that’s what makes it even more special!
What is the role of the resident DJ do you think? How is it different to a headliner?
Being a resident DJ is a huge responsibility; you need to approach things from a different perspective. You’re there all the time and every weekend, whether you’re playing the main slot, opening set or the closing set! .. You need the crowd to enjoy themselves as you want them to come back the next weekend!!
Being a resident DJ also needs knowledge, especially when doing an opening set or a warm up to a guest headliner and you need to know the venue more than the club owner at times! So a resident DJ suerly needs to have a skilled musical knowledge when playing every weekend at the same club and most of the time for the same crowd!
You have been producing for quite a while now and are starting to make some noise internationally. What do you have coming up?
Yes producing is certainly one thing I wake up for every morning, I love the studio work. Lately i had a release on Leftwing & Kody’s Lost Records having the Label bosses remix reach #29 on the Beatport Tech House top 100 chart. I’m doing a remix for Timid Boy on Time Has Changed, have 2 separate originals signed for 2 different compilations on CR2 records , one to be released on the IBIZA Underground Compilation and another one on the compilation mixed by Todd Terry & Mark Brown.
Have more lined up and confirmed but unfortunately I can’t give more detail yet till we get approvals J
So please keep your eyes open for more info!
What labels would you love to produce for?
There are loads of good labels at the moment but Hot Creation, Cocoon, Diynamic, Intec & Get Physical to name a few have always been a bench mark, however I’m lucky enough to have releases on Saved Records, Lapsus, Lost Records, Time Has Changed, 303Lovers, CR2 and many more. Such lables where also my target to be reached one day.
Who has been playing your new music?
Lately Marco Carola & Dubfire had been smashing one of my latest Releases on Lost Records called “Dirt Fader” the Leftwing & Kody Remix. Had a few plays from Annie Mac, Pete Tong & Danny Howard on BBC Radio one with the Tech House remix I did for Apexape “Joy & Pain” and during the Sonar Off-Week 2017 Solomun played one of my yet unreleased tracks as Managed to watch his stream on Be-at tv. Solomon also played it at Pacha the day after that…
What else have you got coming up?
Apart from a lot of studio work and productions, GRINGOS Season has just started and its already looking sharp after just 3 weeks ! Definitely a lot is lined up .. IMS Weekend & Creamfields Malta are also something I’m looking forward to
What tunes this summer will really work do you think and why?
There’s a lot of good music at the moment, really hard to choose from but the ones working out pretty much for me right now are:
Bontan – The First Thing
Dee Montero – Halcyon
Carl Bee – (Leftwing & Kody Remix)
Boris Dlugosch & Cassara – Traveller
Carl Bee latest release is out now on Lost Records BUY
