MAT CIPHER X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [YOUNGER YEARS, INFLUENCE ON THE TRACK, DREAM SET]

Born and raised in Budapest, Mat developed a strong affinity to music from the early age of 5, receiving classical training across a multitude of instruments. The rising talent continues to play guitar and piano which regularly take the lead in his tracks. Having previously been a member of the rock band Walrus In The Sunshine, Mat made an appearance at Sziget Festival in 2016, giving him a taste of a career in music. Looking to take his passion to the next level, Mat followed his musical dreams to Los Angeles where he has since flourished into the producer he is today. 2018 saw Mat release his first album ‘Dominoes’ followed by a remix pack of the album, featuring artists who have garnered support from the likes of David Guetta and Martin Garrix. As he continues to develop his sound further, Mat has decisively made his mark on the industry, proving once again that he is the one to watch.

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Mat, glad to have you on Canadianravers. How are you doing?

MC: Hi, I’m grateful to be able to talk with you, thank you for the opportunity!

CR: You have been making music for a little while now where did it begin for Mat Cipher? 

MC: There were key moments in my younger years, such as learning how to play instruments and attending concerts with my family, which all led to me writing songs for my former bands. This then eventually became more and more electronic-based. One day, my piano teacher introduced me to music production and instrumentation and I would say that was the dawn of this passion evolving into something that would end up determining my life.

CR: Were there any songs/artists that influenced the production of your recent track ‘Sand Toy’?

MC: I’m so happy you asked! It’s more of an insider but I grew up on a few Chris Rea songs and during quarantine I was listening to “On The Beach”. That is the song that somewhat influenced the creation of ‘Sand Toy’; the idea of being fully lost in the moment and enjoying a nice, warm summer afternoon/night.

CR: What is the best advice you have received while pursuing your career as a DJ/producer?

MC: Being a music producer is really quite complex because technically you are a composer, songwriter, engineer and entrepreneur, there are many fields where can you fail, but then also learn a lot. The best advice I could give, would be to build a strong team that is full of positive, ambitious, critical-thinking and hardworking people who have integrity. You can always replace a piece of gear, but the people that form your team will determine how your music will sound like.

CR: We know that you have been learning musical instruments from an incredibly young age, did that help in honing your sound as a producer?

MC: Definitely, playing guitar and piano made me understand the importance of individual instrument layers and the roles between them.

CR: Is there a track that never leaves your personal playlist because it has a certain emotional connection to you?

MC: For years, it was ‘Dragon’ by Martin Garrix because it reminded me of the energy that is present during festival shows. Currently, it is ‘Psycho’ by Post Malone, since it always puts me into a completely relaxed state where I let go of every bit of anxiety.

CR: DJs/ Producers travel with multiples of that one item, what is that item for you?

MC: Sleep mask and ear plugs! Regardless of the environment, you can try to rest when it’s needed.

CR: What do you like to do during your downtime other than producing music?

MC: I love working out, playing baseball, and just being with friends and family. Since I travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Budapest, I always miss my friends so I try to spend as much time as I can with them.

CR: If you had the chance to open for any artist around the world, who would it be and where would it be?

MC: It’d be dope to open for Kygo or Illenium. Also, I would have said the most popular festival here in Hungary but there are so many underrated festivals that I can imagine I would love playing at too. Sometimes these slightly smaller festivals have the most spontaneous and crazy crowds which often makes for an even more incredible experience whilst performing.

CR: What does the rest of 2021 look like? Any new tracks coming soon?

MC: Personally, I’m very excited for this year because we have been postponing some records but in 2021, our favorite projects so far are going to come out so I’m just doing my best to have the perfect timing with each song.

Lighting Round

Texting or talking? Talking

Coffee or tea? Coffee

Hard liquor or Wine? Wine, unless it’s a gin & tonic

Cake or pie? Pie

Hot dogs or hamburgers? Burgers

Xbox or PlayStation? PlayStation

Movie theatre or arcade? Movie theater

Guitar or piano? Piano

Marvel or DC Comics? Marvel

Dog or cat? Cat

Hot weather or cold weather? Cold weather

MAT CIPHER’S SOCIAL:

JOHNNY BOURKE X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [ MUSICAL PASSION, RITUAL, THOUGHTS IN DANCE SCENE]

Hailing for Tipperary, Ireland, musician Johnny Bourke boasts infinite versatility across his back catalogue. The singer/ songwriter and all-around musician have been growing a loyal fan base with a slew of stellar releases, including ‘Can’t Do Without’ alongside London producer Dimiglio-Wood, who has previously worked with pop royalty, Shawn Mendes. ‘Can’t Do Without’ has been enjoyed over 20,000 times and has received regular radio plays in Ireland. No stranger to the live scene, Johnny has travelled all over the world to perform, with appearances as far as Australia and New Zealand. His latest single ‘Be Someone’ is an exciting glimpse of things to come from Johnny Bourke.

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Johnny Bourke, Glad to have you on Canadianravers how are you doing?
JB: Hi! Glad to be here, thanks for having me. I’m good, the sun is finally starting to show so that just makes everything better.

CR: Where does your love and passion for Dance music come from?
JB: I’m classically trained so you would think I’d be less inclined, but I’ve always just been mesmerized by the power of music that makes you want to dance. Whether it’s at a club or a bar or on the beach there’s something magical about the groove and how it gets inside you. I love being a part of that.

CR: Tell us a little bit of story behind the recent track ‘Be Someone’, producing process, as well as the certain connection to the lyrics.
JB: The idea came to me last year, I was thinking about how much your significant other influences your life trajectory without you even realizing and maybe in some pairings you can only be your best when you’re together so you should just embrace that! The melody and song actually came then when I was jamming some chords on a Juno. I then spent about a week building up the track (the chops and micro-samples took literal days) and then I let it sit for a couple of months. I met up with Saige over Christmas to get her vocals and then I finished the mix in January! Was great fun.

CR: Do you have a ritual while you are producing music?
JB: No not really, the main thing I’ve noticed that optimizes my workflow is to set little goals and don’t over do it. “I’m going to do the drums and bass before lunch”, “I’ll finish a rough arrangement by the end of the day”. Small things like that. When I just launch into a project it can be overwhelming if I don’t have a structure and then it can be disappointing and counterproductive to not meet your goals so I like to set manageable ones and then I’m usually in a good place every time I sit down to work on it after repeated little successes. Lots of short breaks are good too, even going to make a coffee. That five minutes away from the studio lets your brain reset and you often find the answer to a problem you spent the last three hours trying to fix.

CR: Where do you think the scene is headed? One year from now? Five years from now?
JB: I think there is going to be a bigger live scene than we’ve ever experienced. People who never went to clubs or festivals or live gigs are going to start going after the opportunity was taken away, people who always went are going to binge on them, and performers like myself are going to be much less picky about where we play because we just want to be able to perform for people! I think the next few years are going to be really fun. Lockdown has spawned some really great music and continues to do so.

CR: What is the best advice you have received while pursuing your career as a DJs/Producers?
JB: Make the music you like and don’t try to make music that you think other people will like. You will never please everyone. If you like your music then someone else will too.

CR: Growing up, did you always play musical instruments or was it something recent?

JB: Yeah, I always played, I’m a musician first. I studied piano formally and took up guitar when I was about 12.

CR: What is it that you love about the scene? Your subgenre's scene?

JB: I would call it nu-disco the genre I’m rooted in and referring back to an earlier statement I just love how infectiously groovy the music is. Combining classic sounds and samples of the past with modern and fresh elements is just so satisfying and really creates a sense of euphoria to me. How can someone listen to music by Lenno, or Daft Punk, or even Dua Lipa to a certain extent and not want to move their body? So good.

CR: What is one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?

JB: I’m biased because I’m listening to so much of them at the minute but “One More Time”, my god, what a tune.

CR: What is 2021 looking like for you? Any new tracks in the making? Anything else our followers should know about?

JB: I’m making so much music it’s a really exciting time. I’ve also got a couple of remixes coming out later in the year so those collaborations have been really fun. I just want to get back to playing live shows so I can put on a spectacle for people to enjoy but in the meantime keep an eye on my socials for the most up to date music, I’m really cheeky, I post teasers of pretty much everything I’m working on. I get too excited when something is hitting hard!

The Lighting Round

Texting or talking? Talking. HATE texting.

Coffee or tea? Both are staples but for the sake of my productivity let’s pick coffee.

Hard liquor or Wine? Hard liquor lol

Cake or pie? Cake.

Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburgers.

Xbox or PlayStation? I used to own an xbox but I have no idea where it is.

Movie theatre or arcade? Movie theater.

Guitar or piano? Guitar 🎸

Marvel or DC Comics? I always mix them up, whoever has Batman 🦇

Dog or cat? Doggos all day.

Hot weather or cold weather? I enjoy both in moderation but hot more so.

JOHNNY BOURKE SOCIALS:

FAMBA X CANADIANRAVERS INTERVIEW [INSPIRATION, COLLABORATION, BEST VENUE]

After bursting onto the scene in 2016, Famba(Ryan Pettipas) graduated from the local music scene in his hometown Halifax, NS to becomeone of the country’s biggest electronic artists. He has quickly earned a reputation for his heartfelt songs and laudable production talents via his major label original releases and widespread remixes which have collectively garnered tens of millions of streams across multiple platforms. His first two major label releases, “Wish You Well (feat. Trove)”and “Swear to God”each went on to achieve Gold certified status in Canada, while his third release, “Storm (feat. Kyra Mastro)”introduced Famba to the U.S. market in a big way by scoring the #1 spot at Dance Radio(Mediabase) and logging over 10 million global streams to date.

THE INTERVIEW

CR: Hello Famba, Glad to have you on Canadianravers how are you doing? 

F: I’m doing great!

CR: Tell us a little bit about the history of your name how did ‘Famba’ came to be? 

F: Famba came from Star Wars. I was watching the Phantom Menace years ago and was looking up names of the characters on the “Wookipedia” and I came across the name “Fambaa” and I thought it had a good ring to it. So I took away an A and the rest is history.

CR: Tell us a little bit of story behind the track ‘Still Call You Mine’ from the writing, producing, and the inspiration, where did that come for it?

F: The song came together during my first zoom session last year when lockdown first started. We wrote the song in under an hour and I produced the song the next day. It came together so fast, that’s definitely a first for me!

CR: What is your music/producing style from when you started to where it is right now?

F: I started by making tech house, techno & deep house. Now I’ve kind of circled back and started making all of that again.

CR: As a Canadian artist you have played in a lot of Canadian venues, which one was by far the best production and vibes?

F: Rebel in Toronto! Such an incredible space.

CR: Who inspired you to become a Producer/ DJ and If you weren’t a Producer/DJ what would your other career option be?

F: I think it was a melting pot of so many artists. Calvin Harris/Skrillex/Avicii being my big 3 when I was 18. If I wasn’t a DJ I would 100% be a chef.

CR: As we are all in a lockdown are there any genres that are inspiring you to create your next EP Wishes Vol.2?
F: I’m constantly listening to 90’s house music & disco. I think that’s where I take the most inspiration.

CR: Which Canadian artist would you love to collaborate with in the future?
F: So many! I actually have a collab with DLMT that we just finished.

CR: What do you like to do during your downtime when you are not producing music? 

F: I love cooking and gaming, so both of those occupy most of my time!

CR: What are some of your goals for 2021, anything our followers should know about?

F: I just want to make music I’m proud of. That’s my only goal! Besides music, I want to stay happy and healthy.

Lightning Round

1. Texting or talking? Talking
2. Coffee or tea? Coffee
3. Hard liquor or Wine? Liquor
4. Cake or pie? Cake
5. Hot dogs or hamburgers? Burgs
6. Xbox or PlayStation? PlayStation
7. Movie theatre or arcade? Theatre but love both
8. Guitar or piano? Guitar
9. Marvel or DC Comics? Marvel
10. Dog or cat? Dog
11. Hot weather or cold weather? Hot

CONNECT WITH FAMBA: