Hailing from Valparaiso (Chile), Marco Villarroel moved to Borlänge (Sweden), and ontoCopenhagen (Denmark). Moving from place to place, he enriched his musical and culturalknowledge, infusing different elements into his musical productions. As a former tour DJ for SeanKingston, and a Swedish Battle DJ champ, his high energy mixing, sampling and scratching withfour CDJs is as thrilling to see as it is to hear. The prolific producer has spent the last few yearsfocusing on taking his sound to the next level, and with this latest release he showcases his abilityto craft larger-than-life creations that are destined to be played from the biggest dancefloors around the globe.
THE INTERVIEW
CR: Hello Marco, glad to have you on Canadianravers, how are you doing?
GBJ: Hey guys! Thank you for having me! I’m good! I feel that lately I’ve been in a great creative space and been very productive.
CR: Tell us a little bit about yourself and a little backstory about your stage name ‘Gettobabyjesus’?
GBJ: I’ll do my best do give a short version! I’m born and raised in Chile, moved to Sweden when I was 13 years old and got into a fast lane to become a professional football player. I played professionally for 8-10 years and decided to hang up my boots as I felt lost and forgot why I even played football to begin with.
Music has always been a part of my life, but I didn’t really know how much passion I had for it until I stopped playing football. I started as a Bedroom DJ / Producer that elevated into becoming a national battle DJ champ and touring around with Sean Kingston.
Today I’m touring with my solo project Gettobabyjesus.
CR: Your recent track 'Save Me' is a great, how was the creative process for this track? Who were some of the supporters of this track?
GBJ: Thank you! I appreciate that a lot! Save Me was made at the early stage of lockdown here in Copenhagen. So it showcases emotions that I was feeling in that period with a dark heavy feeling that progresses into a light progressive touch that represents hope.
I’m going to be honest and I’m bad at checking on who is supporting the track but I know that a good friend of mine Martin Jensen played it as a Radio Take over on Smash The House label. This obviously means the world to me to get supported by a respected artist like him.
CR: For your tracks, is there a method you follow or just create based on playing around with the instruments or picking up samples and loops?
GBJ: I always start the chorus / drop and build the track afterward. Usually, I record myself singing or humming melodies as voice notes on my phone so that I can refresh myself with the idea I initially had.
CR: If you had the chance to play an opening set for any artist worldwide, who would it be, and where would it be?
GBJ: Diplo at the venue Théâtre Antique d'Orange in France.
CR: Tell us a little bit more about your music taste; what are you listening to these days for your future tracks?
GBJ: So, the Chilean side of me is into riddims and grooves. The Swedish side of me is into melodies and storytelling.
Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to Mumford and Sons and Jose Gonzales to find inspiration for future tracks.
CR: What was the single event that changed you and how you view life?
GBJ: After I stopped playing football professionally, I started working as a caretaker for a handicapped young man. I learned so much about myself and how much we take things for granted, so I decided then, at 24 years old, that I’m never going to let money be the #1 source of motivation in anything I do. Money is great, but it’s not everything. Passion and having fun with whatever you have in front of you weigh so much more than making money in my book.
CR: When you are not performing or producing music, what does an average day look like for Gettobabyjesus?
GBJ: Together with my business partner, we own an e-sports management company called Forevr, so my free time is non-existent as I always have something on my plate whether it’s Forevr related or my personal project. But that’s the life I want to live, and I’m privileged to “work” with things that I absolutely love.
CR: What has been your biggest accomplishment of 2021, personally and professionally?
GBJ: I decided to be as proactive as possible during the lockdown / covid period. Both on my personal project, I produced music like never before, and Forevr became one of Europe’s leading e-sports management companies.
CR: Since summer is around the corner, what are your plans for summer this year? Are any performances and music coming out this year?
GBJ: Save Me is the first song out of 4 coming out of an EP titled Lost & Found that I have planned to release on Breeze Records.
The next release is scheduled for the 28th of May, which I hope dearly that you guys will like!
This summer will be a lot of touring Scandinavia with some festival shows in Sweden and
Norway is planned right now, and hopefully, some shows outside of Scandinavia this year!
LIGHTNING ROUND FOR GETTOBABYJESUS
• Coffee or tea? Coffee!
• Hard liquor or Wine? Wine for dinner, hard liquor at the club
• Cake or pie? Pie
• Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburgers
• Xbox or PlayStation? PC all day, every day.
• Movie theatre or arcade? Arcade
• Guitar or piano? Guitar but wish to learn to play piano
• Music or Podcasts? Music
• Marvel or DC Comics? Marvel, but The Dark Knight Trilogy is hands down the best superhero movie of all time.
• Dog or cat? Dog but cats have grown on me.
• Hot weather or cold weather? Hot weather!
GETTOBABYJESUS SOCIALS: