Thanks for talking to us today! Where are you chatting to us from?
CL: The pleasure is mine. I’m chatting from Florianópolis (Brazil)
Your DJ name is quite unique, where did it come from?
CL: Yeah it was hard to find the right naming for my personality back in the days and when I found this one I was wondering about being the first one using this naming so it worked. Classmatic came from two words: “classy” (english word) and “temática” (portuguese word that means anthem) so everything together would be: classmatic
I wanted to be the one who makes a classy groove without too much noise or too many things on my tracks.. So that’s why 🙂
For the readers that may not be so familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
CL: I’m 27 right now and I was born in Brazil and still living right here. I started djing when I was 14 and have been making music since I was 18. I had a project before Classmatic when I used to play and produce House Music and EDM stuff. Everything changed when I was living in the United States (Las Vegas) in 2015 when a friend of mine introduced me to the real house music scene in US. I used to listen to a lot of underground music from the beginning because I am a guy who doesn’t care about genres or types of music so I’m always open to new genres. When it happened 7 years ago I decided to change everything and I’ve started to make some tech house stuff at that moment and then Classmatic was born. I’ve been receiving some great attention in the industry because of my releases and also because of my support from names like: Jamie Jones, The Martinez Brothers, Seth Troxler, Luciano, Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati and many more.
We’re here to discuss your forthcoming release on Hot Creations titled Toma Dale. The two track EP delivers two dancefloor heaters, it’s no wonder why Hot Creations wanted it under their umbrella. What does it mean for you to be releasing through such a renowned label?
CL: It was my dream label since the beginning so for me it means A LOT. Means that I never give up on my goals because I’ve been sending music to them since I’ve started. Jamie Jones for me is my favorite DJ as well so it means that I’m going to release on my dream label and the owner is my favorite DJ.
What was your inspiration behind the release?
CL: I wanted to put some latin vibes in a track because I live in Brazil and I’m also Brazilian so I didn’t have any track in that style so it was when I decided to create “Toma Dale”. I had a lot of tracks before and I never did any tracks in this style and I really needed it on my DJ Sets. Bape was created by hearing some Jamie Jones DJ Sets and then I’ve been inspired to make something similar with my characteristics.
Can you give us an insight into your creative process when in the studio? Do you use mainly hardware or software?
CL: I think the most important thing is making music for you and for your DJ sets as well. What do you want to hear? Make music for what you wanna hear. What do you wanna play? Make music for what you wanna play. This is my mindset before starting my own tracks. I only use Software stuff for producing!
Do you prefer DJing or producing?
CL: That’s a really hard question. I would say I like DJing 60% and producing 40%. So I prefer DJing a little more than making music.
Did the pandemic affect your creativity in any way? What did you do to keep busy while lock downs were happening and what have you been enjoying most now that things are getting back to normal?
CL: Yeah, it affected me a lot. Because as I said earlier I make music for my DJ sets so it was so hard to make some new stuff at that moment but I always try to make something for my moment as well. I’ve created “El Primer Corazón” (my last release on Revival) during the pandemic, finding some hope and love between all the chaos we’ve been through.
Can we expect any more releases from you this year and what is your calendar looking like for the remainder of 2022?
CL: Absolutely. I have some great stuff coming after my Hot Creations release as well. I can’t tell you right now too much because I am the guy who loves to make surprises but all I can tell you is: be ready! It’s been a pleasure!
