With Soldera having new music out now on False Face Music we catch up with him for the latest episode of 12 Questions.

How old are you, where are you living and how long have you been producing and Djing?

I’m 32 years old, nowadays I live in a countryside city called Vinhedo in São Paulo. I’ve been Djing for the last 10 years and producing for about 2 years.

Where do your musical roots lie, what are your first memories of electronic music and when did you know you wanted to pursue it seriously? Are there any particular productions or artists from the past that really made you think to yourself ‘this is what I want to do.”

It all started when I was very young. My Uncle was a DJ and wouldn’t let anyone listen to commercial music, only trance music. At the time I didn’t think much of it, but later when I was a teenager I started researching more about trance and house music. When I first started going to clubs in Brasil that were playing electronic music, people didn’t care much about DJs and were much more focused on their friends, drinking, chasing girls, that kind of stuff. But after experiencing a big festival for the first time I realized how important the DJ is and that I wanted to become one.

How difficult was learning to produce for you in the beginning? Did you take any Audio Engineering programs or production courses to help you out or are you pretty much self taught? And did anyone give any advice early on that really helped?

In 2008 I started taking music production classes, learning Cubase, but with very little experience and little knowledge of Music Theory, I ended up quitting the classes and focusing on improving my DJ skills.

What parts of the production process do you find the most difficult and what comes easiest for you? When you do hit a creative block what helps you through it? 

For me the most difficult part of production is mixing. Mixing requires very specific and technical skills and I find it difficult to achieve a great result. But on the other side, living the DJ life and playing in different places every weekend helps me get inspired and creative and works as a good reference for what works on the dance floor.

You have a new EP out this week on False Face Music. Two incredible tracks, one of which is a collaboration with Poligamyk. Tell us about the production process behind those tracks and how you came to work with this fresh new label.

Nagoya is a special track for me, I produced it for an opening set at the XXXperience Festival in 2016. I remember playing a more techno oriented set at that gig and Nagoya had this long intro with an emotional touch to it. Kyoto was a production in partnership with a great friend of mine Poligamyk, we’ve produced many tracks together, so it kind of flows well when we are together in the studio. I am very happy with the release on False Face Music, it was a great thing to reach the top 100 techno EP’s, their work kind of surprised me with the great feedback and results.

Apart from electronic music what other genres do you listen to and who are your favourite artists outside of electronic? and do these genres or artists have a direct effect on your own productions?

Back in the day, I use to listen to the radio a lot, Michael Jackson and Madonna were a big influences, most of my grooves are inspired by them. I am a very eclectic guy in general, I love to listen to the radio when I’m driving, I find it relaxing.

What was the first and last physical (CD, Vinyl, Cassette etc) piece of music you bought?

My first Vinyl was Robin S (duplo) “Show Me Love – Luv for Luv”.

Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?

I am a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. It’s a lifestyle for me and I’ve practice it for many years since I was a child.

What’s a normal day like for you? Do you have a job outside of electronic music? And what do you like to do when you’re not working on music?

I have a music event agency called “FewBeats” and that’s kind of my second business besides being a DJ. I’ve had big events with great names in it recently like HotNatured, Solomun, Art Department, Lee Foss and many more….As I said above, another big chunk of my time goes to martial arts, I love it!

Which producers consistently inspire you? And where else does your inspiration come from?

The ones that inspire me the most are Maceo Plex, Solomun and Jamie Jones. I’m also in love with some producers of the new generation, like Rafael Cerato, Solardo, Detlef, Andy Bros etc. I also appreciate a lot of the Brazilian talent, big names like Gui Boratto, Dakar, Glen, and many more talented artist from Brazil.

There are countless producers out there trying to find their way and create their own unique sound, what advice do you have for them?

From my perspective, producing music is about translating your feelings to sounds and producing from the heart, something that you really believe in is good! Most of the music I produce comes from certain moments where I am feeling a certain way, most of the time when I am determined to produce something for a big gig.

If the final DJ/live set of your career was next week what would your last track be?

I am so happy about my last EP on False Face Music, I would play my track ‘Nagoya’ for sure.

‘Kyoto’ is out now on False Face Music, you can purchase the release: here