Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/793527
As solo artists what brought you together as a duo? VERNON : Our influences of funk, hip hop were more present on the beginning. Now I think that like all artists who understand the inner working of the electronic music industry, we moved away from that sound and had to fight a lot to get lucky and release our music for the last 20 years. MASSIMO : Its true. Our first productions were based on a lot of samples of old funk, soul and disco tunes. At the very beginning I think Vernon was more into techno music. I think the mix up between our influences brought something special we still trying to keep. Momentum has continued to grow since you've come together. How has the Raw District style and sound developed over the past four years? VERNON : In my opinion the project evolves constantly. We have been working together for many years and RD has four years. Style will continue to change. This is precisely what we call a musical journey. You must have seen a real transformation of the electronic music scene over the years, what are your views? VERNON : Technically and musically, it has never been so rich. There are enormous events, and the communication channels have multiplied. MASSIMO : That's a really interesting question. Although I agree with Vernon about all that quantity of easily reachable music I admit that I feel like we lost something on our way to this kind of high music accessibility. I really miss that time where once a week we used to meet each other at the record stores. Today you can just shop the last tunes from the top releases of the week on Beatport or some others digi online shop, put it to Rekordbox, grab your usb key and go to your gig. Total needed timing : 6 minutes! On the production side, the good thing is that producers have to play now to earn money, developing popularity and being front of the scene. The time when you can live from your music production, hidden away in a wood is over. What has the experience of releasing on prominent labels such as Innervisions, Moon Harbour, Bedrock Crosstown Rebels, DFTD and others been like? VERNON : Very motivating. We've appreciated these labels for quite a long time; not only for the music but also by their structures and their ways of working. MASSIMO : It's hard to describe. We feel really lucky and it just pushes us to work further and harder on our music to make those people and labels proud of us. You've released four EPs on Crosstown Rebels in the last two years, gaining support from label boss Damian's Lazarus. How did you find Damian and the label? MASSIMO : Like the usual way I guess. Through a friend of a friend I got in contact with the A&R with Damian for Rebellion and Crosstown Rebels. We were working on a few new tunes we thought would fit the labels. I sent an email and 5 months later they came back to me saying that Damian would reach out to me about the tunes. He did and we had a Skype of one hours talking about everything : life, parents, cultures, music of course … the day after he confirmed the release and the name of the remixer of one of the tunes : 'Josh Wink'. Critically acclaimed artists such as Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos and Jamie Jones have appreciated your work. How much respect do you have for these names? VERNON : Regarding Jamie's I already had the opportunity to work with him during a previous project on Hot Creations. Honestly, It is very flattering and that really pushes me. MASSIMO : The guys have been following us since our first releases on Robsoul. As a DJ and producer nothing can be more motivating and flattering to get support from those people. Your new remix of Mark Jenkyns ft. Mizbee - 'Reach For Me' is out this month on Suara. Is this remix further insight into your deep, darker style of sound? VERNON : We did something close of what we feel at the moment. Maybe the next one will be different because we don't have a specific style. That depends of our mood. What are the top 3 festivals or clubs you've played at? VERNON : Dour Festival, DGTL and Extrema MASSIMO : Same response. Wecandance in Belgium is as well one of our highlights during the summer. How do you both like to unwind when you're not in the studio or performing? VERNON : It's very simple for me. Spending time with my family. Seeing my son growing up and chilling with my lovely girlfriend. MASSIMO : I spend all my time in Vernon. … I'm kidding! Family, friends, reading, restaurants, essentially balance is the key. 2017 / ISSUE 100 29 Vernon Bara and Massimo Dacosta have come a long way. First bonding over their love of funk, soul and disco, the due progressed into a successful electronic duo, first as Vernon & DaCosta and then relaunching as Raw District in order to focus on the more raw, sample free side of house music. Support has come in thick and fast for the duo from the likes of Jamie Jones, Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano, with the pair recently achieving a breakthrough with their standout track 'From The Inside', hand-picked for Innervisions by label bosses Dixon and Âme themselves. We caught up with the guys to find out more about the men behind the hype. follow @rawdistrict HOUSE Cristina Trujillo | Guestlist "I REALLY MISS THAT TIME WHERE ONCE A WEEK WE USED TO MEET EACH OTHER AT THE RECORD STORES. TODAY YOU CAN JUST SHOP THE LAST TUNES FROM THE TOP RELEASES OF THE WEEK ON BEATPORT."