We caught up with Violeta Reynal from the Biotech Patagonia duo who are based Argentina and recently dropped a debut EP on Bianco and Raffaella’s label Dilek Records, which also features a collaborative remix from UNER & Viviana Toscanini.

Hi guys, it’s nice to meet you both. I understand that not only do you collaborate on music together, but you guys are also boyfriend and girlfriend. What’s it like having a shared passion outside of your relationship that you can both contribute to?

Although it may sound cliché, we really enjoy spending time together while we produce our music or while putting up a show as DJs. It is so so special to be on a stage together and experience something we love to do so much. Producing an EP is intense and hard work, and we can be a bit too honest or picky with each other which is sometimes hard. I guess sharing work as well as love brings forward new aspects of each one. We admire one another as artists and that is sexy already.

We are speaking today after I heard your debut release on Dilek, could you talk me through the EP and any concepts behind it?

Natura EP is our attempt to share a little piece of Patagonia to the world. The dark and perhaps abstract melodies recreate the sound of the patagonian forest of Argentina. The constantly changing weather, the cold, the snow, and then back to an exuberant summer…what it feels for us to be surrounded by huge mountains is very intense. Living in one of the most beautiful places on earth is unique (and I´m not saying it because we´re Argentinians.)

So when it comes to making music can you talk me through your individual roles, and the skills you each bring to a studio session?

Constantino is certainly more creative during late hours, so we agreed on working together on the ep from sunset onwards. We interact well together and have fun as we´re naturally passionate and intense people. This can work very well for us or not, depending on the combination of emotions in every moment. Constantino is patient, introverted, and has resonated and worked on his production skills since the beginning. I find myself to be more extroverted and explosive, so I enjoy working on melodies, synth/piano arrangements, vocals, and the overall feel of the track.

You EP on Dilek seemed to have quite an analogue sound, what are the main bits of equipment you use?

We´ve built a studio at home with a few bits of analog equipment, but in general the sound you hear comes from Constantino´s hard work in designing VST sounds that express the emotion we want to portray, so we´re happy it felt analogue to you. The main instrument at home is a Steinway & Sons grand piano, which runs in my family for thirty years. We translate the melodies from the piano to techno, and we also have a B-side’s with only piano compositions.

I’m told you also have quite a unique DJ style where you have live vocals sung over the records you play. How does this work, do you already know what lyrics to sing, or is that improvised on the fly?

At the beginning we tried to determine what I was going to sing, but then on stage everything changed. So I stopped doing that and started trusting my gut when it got to improvising, because it made more sense to do it that way, and we could engage with people more directly. At home I take weekly singing lessons and we practice on the piano every day which boosters our creativity for the shows and productions. Constantino is also a good singer, and I´m hoping one day he´ll sing live too 😉

Keeping on the subject of DJ’ing, do you both pick out records to play in a set?

Yes, and we have different ends to it. We pick tracks separately, then we listen to each other´s selections to find a common ground, and we also surprise each other with new music in that moment. Constantino brings a deeper and hypnotic sound, and I focus a bit more on percussion and vocals. Our two worlds come together and deliver good dynamics to the set, because fortunately we usually play long DJ sets.

On your Dilek EP there is also a rather stunning remix from UNER who himself was working in collaboration with his girlfriend Viviana Toscanini. Did you already know those guys before they remixed your music?

We knew about Uner´s career and played his tracks before working with him, and the same with other artists on his label Solar distance. The concept of having another DJ couple remix our track was very appealing to us, and we decided to go with it right away! We´re very pleased with the outcome.

What DJ’s have been supporting your debut release, and do you have any other tracks lined up for official release?

The support we´ve been receiving not only from strong artists but also from close friends and producers has been essential, given that it’s our first Ep. Bedouin, Bog, Lonya, Pezzner, Uner and Viviana of course, Eelke Kleijn, Madmotormiquel, Mira, Armen Miran, Djuma Soundsystem. Most of all Franco Bianco and Raffaella, who heard our demos and welcomed us to their label Dilek records. More soon to come… we hope!

We are currently polishing plus testing new demos, and preparing a few surprises regarding this Ep that we hope will be released soon after Natura.

Thanks of taking the time to speak with me today, is there anything you want to add before we finish?

BioTech means the union between biology (our natural surroundings, the mud house where we live in) and techno (the sound we need). We´d like to thank Franco and Raffaella for being the first to trust our music and style. This has been a great year for us, we´ve learnt so much! Thank you so much for the interview!

You can buy a copy of the Biotech Patagonia’s debut on Dilek Records from HERE