How old are you, where are you living and how long have you been producing and Djing?
Hi, I’m 32 years old and after my 20’s spent in London and I’m now based around Barcelona & Berlin in summers. I’ve been focusing on my music for the past 5-6 years or so and first time I touched turntables I was 16 years old, so yes long time ago….
Where do your musical roots lie and what made you get in to dance music?
My brother is professional pianist & composer, so I always listened classical music at home, but I kind of rebelled and I got into electronic music when I was 15 years old, I think first time I heard a tape from Paul Van Dyke or so I was like wow,,,what is this??! and since then I got into underground house & techno in our town with local djs who showed me some love, then when I was 19 I moved to London, and yes there it really all unfolded for me.
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?
Beginnings are always funny, but I try to do music my own way and of course I had some influencers, some great producers, but I never took any classes or so, I do what I comes into my head, so If I have an idea then I go for it, and if not then I just relax. Musically wise of course my brother did give me some tips on composition as I think thats important to have a musical knowledge but then its just a flow and of course tell a story.
You have 2 strong remixes out this week on Deepwave, tell us about the inspiration behind it.
Yes, the latest remixes I did for talented “Sebastian Deluca” and his single Terranova are out this week. First time I heard the original I loved it, its strong and direct and different, great track for dance floor, and I wanted to make more chilled version of it, so first remix which I did was the “Lost In Sound” version, which I like a lot, its kind of a journey and builds up nicely, then after some time I wanted to do something more going, so I started again from the scratch and the “Afro Retouch” version came up, which Im also very pleased with and final result in promo was just great on all versions including one more remix from my friend “Smeti” who also did a very nice interpretation in his way. If I talk about inspiration, I never do a remix or release on my label unless I am really in love with the track, so it has to be something really nice and special and something that I did not hear yet. We don’t release massive amount of releases as I really believe in originality, quality and that less is more, so it has to be always something unique and different to others and something that I know can be played and enjoyed even after some time, kind of timeless music, and thats my main aim I would say…
What’s the music scene like where you live and how often are you playing?
Music scene in Barcelona is not bad, but nots like in Berlin or London where I used to play a lot, I had residencies in past years at very nice spots but I like to be around here for the the vibe and I as I mainly focus now on my own productions and putting together my live set, then it gives me the right balance to focus on what I love these days, and that is production and running my label “Deepwave”.
Which other DJs and producers do you admire right now?
I don’t know if I admire anyone, I mean there are so many djs these days that its crazy to keep focus on, but yes one name stands out for sure and it is Dixon. I always go to see him when he is around and he is my big influence until today I would say..
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 and what makes your music so distinctive sounding??
I love Ennio Morricone for example and other great composers of classical and film music. I like stories thats for sure, I also like good Jazz Music. Then I really listen alot of electronic music from chillout to techno, but these days less and less and only from my favourite artists and I try not to get to influenced as I know how my brain works and If I listen to too much of music then Im confused and loosing my own touch, so sometimes I take long days off between listening demos which come to my inbox and my own production as I really need my head clear when I compose my own music, and when I am producing my own music, then these days or weeks I listen only this and nothing else simply just to stay myself… There is so much music out there that sometimes its difficult to keep your focus but its important to stay yourself as that is the only way how to really express yourself and be different to others..
You mentioned your label “Deepwave” what is the story behind?
5 Years ago, when I was still in London and having some residencies around Brick Lane and Shoreditch, I was feeling like it was time to set up my own platform as I was having some first productions and I wanted to share them with the world like many of us.. So Deepwave was born and I started releasing mine and some friends music too, these days its still the same but of course over time I changed a bit of taste which is notable especially with past releases and I now collaborate a lot with Roman Rai who is I would say my label soulmate and we work on all releases together and we discuss the sound and quality of music that is to come out on our imprint, also we have some new stuff from him and me with some cool remixes from top producers coming out soon so stay tuned as some good pieces coming your way..
Speaking of Roman Rai, he had a strong release “Abstract Theories” on your label right?
Roman is a great producer and top dj from Prague and this year he has some really quality music coming out and yes his last release on our label was great. Joris Voorn was playing it among others and my “Lost In Sound Remix” was also played by many top djs around the world which helped the release to get for the first time in deep house, techhouse and electronica top 30 charts on Beatport, so for us it was kind of a breakthrough release and since this release people just expect more and more from us, and I got plenty of nice and encouraging emails about my label and to keep it up etc..so yes it was great and so far our best release up to date!
https://soundcloud.com/ianmetty/roman-rai-aka-inceptions-abstract-theories-ian-metty-lost-in-sound-remix-deepwave-out-now
What’s been your biggest achievement to date?
My biggest achievement is obviously my son. He is 3 years old now and is the most important thing for me. Apart from that Im just happy I do what i love and that I love what I do. I love to do music and I love to run the label and I look forward to many more years to come and Im just hopeful I can keep going as its not always easy to do what we love but I believe if you really put right energy and yourself into it you will see results. Next thing I want to do now is to start with our great label showcases and as we have already 5 years of label this year we start of this year with some shows in London, Prague & Barcelona just to name few. Idea is to do 4-5 events a year at really cool locations and to invite our friends and some top djs and producers that we like too!
What are your aspirations for the future?
As I said before, just to keep going and to keep delivering good music that people will enjoy. Of course i have also some dreams and some labels I love so If I can release on some of the labels I like that would be also cool, but mainly really just to keep on making music I like and run our label as best as I can and to support artists who are original and unique in their own way.
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?
Im shy person..Yes, really…, I don’t like big crowds etc.. but when I get to play in front of them I get to enjoy it and I dance with them, but at the end of the day I like my own privacy and I never look for overcrowded places. I live in nature and I like to be connected with that nature where are not that many people..Maybe after so many years in the cities I had enough, so really Im very quiet these days and I love it.
