Marino Canal is fresh off a release on Guy J’s Lost & Found label. We got the chance to catch up with him and find out the if getting Fabric seal of approval has done anything for his career.

Hi Marino, tell us about you 

I’ll be 29 by the end of October. I’ve been putting myself out as Marino Canal since 2013. Before that I was working in Berlin for a music tech startup and now I’m living in Málaga.

What made you get in to dance music?

Marino Canal: Music has always been part of who I am. As a kid I did 4 years of piano and music notation. In the 90’s all sort of music was playing in the background at my house. My parents used to brainwash me to sleep with Brian Eno’s Music For Airports 1/1. I first connected with dance music at one of my parents raves in the country side. I believe what you experience as a child defines who you become, so it’s natural in a way that I became a Dj/Producer. Although maybe I should have studied finance…

Where was your first gig?

Marino Canal: My very first set for an audience was at a rave when I was 9 or 10. Can’t really remember that much to be honest.

Talk to us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it

Marino Canal: With the music I’ve been putting out in these past two years I’ve been trying to produce something more than functional club tracks.

These 3 tracks were originally intended to be part of an album called ‘A Deep Spiral’ both the titles and music try to convey a sense of gloom but also hope. The EP and the unreleased music I’m working on right now reflect on the current state of my generation. Technology is rapidly changing how we live for both good and bad. I believe In the next 10 years we are going to experience some very fundamental changes.

We are in an Endless Fall, staring at The Midnight Sun hoping for All The Right Endings.

Fabric’s Keith Reilly said you’re someone with something very special going on. Has his words helped your career?

Marino Canal: I can’t thank Keith enough for the amount of support he gave me, it was very kind of him. I’d like to think that it helped but I truly do not know, it’s hard to measure it. I do believe that most promoters these days only care about social media.

It’s all about your hype online, how many followers you have on Instagram, how your tracks are performing on Beatport and so on and so forth. The internet has allowed underground dance music to crossover to the mainstream, Spotify playlists and Instagram stories are the new playola.

Dance music is a very physical experience but most of the decisions are made from a digital context, the thing is that all those metrics can easily be manipulated and we find evidence of this from the market built around gaming social media or chart positions. A promoter might hear you play or might hear about you and book you but that’s usually rare, most of your gigs will come from your booking agent marketing you to a club or a promoter, the promoter will check your socials, your chance to get booked will be directly correlated to your online numbers, most of the time they won’t even read your press pack.

Keith heard my unreleased music and decided to book me, and that’s how they do things at Fabric, grassroots, with care and love for the industry.

What’s the music like during winter in Malaga are how often are you playing in Spain?

Marino Canal: Málaga’s scene has been growing steadily in the past 3 years. I’m lucky to be involved with Metrica, which were throwing monthly open-air events during the summer. Sadly the club scene here is very small and there are not many options during the winter.

Electronic music is now just starting to pick up here, it has been stigmatized for a very long time. For years electronic music events would not have the same support as say an acoustic concert, but we are starting to see that shift as dance music is now embedded in popular culture.

I find myself playing abroad more often than in Spain.

Which other DJs or producers are you really liking right now?

Marino Canal: Adriatique’s sets are unreal, I feel they are at this place now where they know exactly how to set the vibe and they are playing this sort of hypnotic techno which I love, their set at Tomorrow Land is amazing. Nicole Moudaber’s sets have been doing it for me too, I listen to her Mixcloud podcast weekly. As for producers I’m loving Denis Horvat, MUUI, Sebastian Mullaert, Architectural, Fideles, Patrice Baumel, Nandu.

8. What are your preferred labels?

Marino Canal: MOOD, Just/This, Afterlife, Siamese too many to name them all, a lot of great music is being put out lately. If you check my list of liked music on Soundcloud you’ll be able to find many many more.

9. Tell us about your DJ setup

Marino Canal: I’ve been using Traktor and two X1’s since 2013. Been thinking about switching to CDJ’s lately as I would only need to carry an USB but the way I play with 4 decks which sometimes might involve just 8 bars from a track, or I might want to quickly jump mid track to the end, it’s easier done with Traktor.

10. What’s been your biggest achievement?

Marino Canal: Playing Fabric’s Room 1, having my music recognized by other artists that I respect, and now starting to see my music career grow, I put all the eggs into the music basket so I guess that’s good that it’s starting to pay off.

From the outside the music industry has this romantic glow sort of like a honeypot, it seduces you but by the time you realize how shallow and fucked up it is it’s already too late to leave and you are just hoping it will work out.

11. What can we expect from you soon?

Marino Canal: I’ve got some new music on Adriatique’s Siamese coming this year, i’m also trying to finish my Live Set.