Exclusive Interview: Galago

This week in our Artist Spotlight we have Chicago’s up and coming Dj/Producer, Galago. Over the last year, Galago has released a number of excellent remixes. He’s also played some impressive shows including opening up for Audien. Give the interview we did with him a read and check out his remix of In My Head by Galantis.

How did you first begin DJing/Producing?
DJing and Producing was always something I had wanted to do, but didn’t really know how to go about learning. I was actually a train wreck of a DJ a few years ago, but I started putting in the effort and ended up spending quite a few hours a day practicing my transitions and learning the fundamentals. Going forward I used that knowledge of song structure to start getting into production around May (2015) and have since spent every day doing working on music.

Who is your biggest influence(s)?
My biggest influence has got to be 3LAU. I think he’s an extremely talented producer, which is what I strive to achieve. He makes a lot of progressive and electro house, which are easily my two favorite sub-genres. Making both those genres gives you a lot of options when performing live, which I believe to be essential as an artist.

What’s your favorite record of all time?
This is definitely a tough question to answer. There are so many good tracks out there, but I’d have to go with ‘Escape’ – 3LAU. It’s one of those tracks that really pushed me into wanting to be involved in music and to this day it still gives me chills. Its epic.

What was your favorite party of all time that you have played?
Favorite party of all time has got to be when my Indiana University’s fraternity held Audien for Little 5. I opened along with a few other artists and had a blast. It was the first time I felt as though I had actually performed for something. Nerve-racking, but rewarding feeling for sure.

Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?
I would honestly say Henry Fong, Nom De Strip, Paris Blohm, 3LAU, Hardwell, and Borgeous are the guys I would want to collaborate with the most right now. I’m really into that aggressive electro and dreamy progressive house. So any artist that makes music along those lines would be awesome to collaborate with.

What’s the most embarrassing thing thats happened to you at a show?
I use an S4 generally when I play and I have my own mapping set on it with a ¼ bar delay/reverb effect on it. For some reason if you don’t use it at least once after opening up Traktor it doesn’t work and I learned that the hard way. Train wrecking is never a good feeling, especially when it’s a vocal clash.

What do you like to do when you’re not working on music/DJing?
When I’m not making music you can catch me hanging out with my bros. If I could work on music all without going insane I would, but that’s just not the reality. After a while your ears get fatigued and you finish a song only to wake up the next day with an image of Steve Harvey on the screen of your DAW, if you catch my drift.

What is your opinion on the current EDM scene?
The current EDM scene is growing, which is cool because now we’re going to start seeing a larger fan base for electronic music due to all the different types of genres. There really is something for everyone out there. It’s never a bad thing and people, who trash other genres, should just avoid saying anything at all. There is no reason to hate on any other form of music (or sub-genre), at the end of the day its all art and if it’s genuine, then you can appreciate that.

What do you think will be the next big thing in EDM?
The next big thing in EDM has got to be that jungle-style electro. Say I’m crazy, but electro house is one of those things that I don’t think will go away and this style is just another variation of electro that’s gaining some momentum.

What do you think about all these “frauds” in the EDM scene using ghost producers, buying likes and purchasing their own tracks on Beatport?
This is a hard thing to comment on because you never know if someone is actually being a fraud like people claim they are. I guess I believe that if they are going to do it, then we should just ignore it. I mean if you buy plays, likes, etc… What does that change? I’ve come across a few artists here and there with garbage songs, 3,000 followers on Soundcloud, and 450,000 likes on Facebook, all while getting around 10-20 likes on their posts. I just believe that it’s not going to help you get noticed or get your music out there. You’re not going to be able to play more shows cause of it. Real fans are the ones that determine those things. Work hard and be genuine and you’ll see results and I truly believe in that. I think using fraudulent ways is only going to damage a career, not aid it.

Is there any upcoming releases/shows we should keep an eye out for?
Upcoming song is a remix I’ve been working on, ‘In My Head (Galago Remix) – Galantis.’ Really stoked about this one. I think I’ve come a long way since my last track ‘Disarm You (Galago Remix)’ and since starting producing last May and that’s all that matters right now. As long as I’m improving, then I’m happy.

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