Following an incredible 2019, Gil now sets his sights on another career-defining year with the first of many stellar productions to come. Fuelled by an innate passion for music Gil has made serious waves across the electronic music landscape, with his pop-focused and deep house offerings proving commonplace among the touring playlists of the industry greats. DJing alongside the likes of Tiësto, David Guetta and Martin Garrix, Gil is definitely carving his own creative lane and now focuses on including more live music in his productions.
INTERVIEW
CR: First, we wanted to say hello and ask you how you are doing in all the commotion and quarantine?
GG: Doing great thanks! The first two weeks were quite hard as I had some really cool shows that I was sad were canceled. Now I have gotten used to this “new” life and am enjoying taking this time off to think and work on a lot of new music. I never get too much time in the studio as I am always traveling or in the office taking care of the business side of things. This has allowed me to focus on producing and going outside to do some exercise and sports!
CR: How was the track ‘WASTED’ produced? The lyrics, vocals, and planning of it?
GG: ‘Wasted' was produced in the summer of 2019. While I was in Los Angeles I got to collaborate with DJ Swivel on this. He had already recorded the vocals with Candace Sosa who wrote the lyrics and sang. I wanted to dive more into the pop genre and felt there’s no better place than LA or working with a legend like Swivel who has worked with Coldplay, Beyoncé and The Chainsmokers.
CR: Who is your biggest supporter as a Producer/ DJ?
GG: I’d have to say in my life I am super grateful to The Chainsmokers and EDX who have helped me to get to where I am today. EDX taught me a lot as a teenager about the business side of things and even let me intern for his record label. The Chainsmokers opened so many doors for me as they let me join their Australia tour, do two remixes for them, a guest mix on their radio show and lots more. They are the coolest guys and basically always help out when I have questions or need advice!
CR: Is there a go-to track for you that is always in your DJ playlist?
GG: For some reason, I always have Martin Solveig's ‘Intoxicated' in my sets as it really works in any venue and everyone knows it!
CR: Growing up did you play any instruments and how that helped you go in the direction of Producing/ DJing?
GG: I started playing saxophone and piano when I was young. At the age of 13, I went to UCLA for summer camp in Los Angeles and took courses in radio broadcasting and DJing just for fun. I did it as a hobby for a while until it started getting serious when I was playing clubs that I was promoting.
CR: Are there any collaboration or remixes in the works for you this year?
GG: I put off remixes for the year as I wanted to focus on putting out more originals... now that I’m locked up in the studio I started doing remixes again for some bigger labels (can’t say anything until they are confirmed). I am happy though to say I’ve collaborated with a super talented singer in the UK by the name of Rika. Also working with Josh Charm on a collaboration that is more of a club track.
CR: What is one subgenre you think doesn't get the attention it deserves?
GG: Tropical house ... I think it had a big hype around 2016 but then shifted to be called “pop” as a lot of big names took it to the radio. I think there are some really cool tropical house club instrumentals that deserve more attention and really can work in a club without being too mellow. It feels as if this genre has been forgotten or even just considered pop or EDM.
CR: What do you like to do during your downtime other than producing music?
GG: I’ve started mountain biking again as the weather is so nice again! Besides that, I love to snowboard in the winter and hug my dogs haha!
CR: What is 2020 looking like for you? Anything our followers should know about?
GG: I had a lot of amazing shows planned but are now all cancelled due to COVID-19. The good news is expected a lot more music to come out. Myself and Sony music Switzerland switched up my timeline for releases to put more music out. I’m also working a lot on merchandise which is fun so keep on the lookout for that!
CR: Any message for our followers that are trying to get into this industry?
GG: It’s taken me 10 years, to this day I still feel like a newcomer. My motto is this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and even though you may feel like you are not where you want to be in your career take some time to look back on what you’ve achieved. I did that the other day and am so grateful for where I’ve gotten to in my career at such a young age. Never let anyone push you down as when I started I had so many people (older DJs) tell me I’ll never get signed to a label and never get booked internationally. Be grateful for the moment and make a list for yourself of what you want to achieve.