[ad_1]
MR BLACK. Photo courtesy of Urban Rebel PR
DJ, producer and artist MR.BLACK spoke to Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about his latest music endeavors and future plans.
Hello MR.BLACK, with the end of 2021, how was the year for you?
This year has been super productive and amazing for me. I’ve had a few shows and festivals throughout the year, but a lot of studio time because of Covid-19, which brought in a lot of effective studio time. The results have been 40 tracks this year, launching my own imprint and time to bring to life my vision of combining art, music and technology in different forms.
You, along with the electronic duo Gproject, just announced a partnership with the NFT Desperate ApeWives community and the launch of DAW Music. Can you tell us more about this project?
DAW Music is a pioneering label that was co-founded by myself, Gproject, GoodDollar and the main company NFT Desperate ApeWives. Our vision is to create a bridge between art, music and technology. DAW music is a futuristic NFT label. Our mission is to build a healthy ecosystem and a home for artists to make a living from their talent and also for collectors to be part of their success.
As part of this partnership, you and Gproject have also released the very first Desperate ApeWives anthem. Tell us about the track and also what was the reaction?
First, it was great working with my good friend Gproject in the studio; the work was for something unconventional so we had to think outside the box to bring something unique and focused into a new world. We had to research the community, the taglines, the language, and the form of expression to figure out how to execute the idea properly, so there was a lot of groundwork before we even jumped into the studio to produce this. The reactions were amazing; the community really liked the way we brought this monkey anthem to life, tagged us and used our slogans on social media. In the music industry we had to explain more and educate why we chose the monkey and the elements because not everyone is aware of this NFT world. Some people thought we were a little crazy, haha.
So how was your stay in Miami for Art Basel? Was this your first time in the city for Art Week?
First of all, I want to start by saying that Miami is one of my favorite cities in the world. The last time I was there was during Ultra, but this is my first Art Basel during Miami Art Week, and the experience was amazing; seeing all these parties around town brought a lot of atmosphere. Our first party was on a big yacht with a lot of people from the DAW community and I played it with my good friend Gproject. The second night was at a cool club that involved art galleries inside the venue, we played there right before Major Lazer, and it was amazing. Regardless, it was fun to see people from a different industry, lots of productive meetings, and overall a great experience.
You have a history with Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings. What made you decide to work with the label and what projects are you working on together at the moment?
Revealed has been my private label for a few years now; I really trust and believe in the team, and got a lot of support from Hardwell himself, and it was natural for me to open my HYBIT footprint with them. We’re set to close 2021 with around 20 releases this year, which was beyond expectations. We’re currently working on the music schedule for 2022, and we’re already lined up with major cross-label collaborations between Revealed and legendary trance imprints.
What prompted you to get into electronic music production and DJing?
My inspirations were The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and Daft Punk, then Tiësto, Infected Mushroom and Shpongle. After I connected with these artists and their music, I felt like music production was all I wanted to do.
Who inspires you musically today? Dream collaborations?
Innovation is inspiring. The ability to combine multiple genres and create a fusion is what inspires me. David Guetta is a dream collaboration for me, always up to date, fresh and definitely reinventing himself every time. This is an example of how you can do multiple projects and everything still looks solid and functional.
It has been a difficult time for so many with restrictions and blockages. How has the pandemic impacted you and your music? What was your first comeback show?
At the end of February 2020, I returned from a tour of Japan straight into my first 40s and learned that all of my upcoming shows were canceled. I realized that we are in a new reality. I took this as an opportunity and opened the label and alias with Revealed Recordings, a house for most of my releases. I started working with music and technology which brought the DAW label and joint projects with the community to life and I am very grateful for that.
We all understand it’s been a tough year with restrictions, but are you hoping to play a few live sets when they become available? Please tell us what to expect.
To be honest I look forward to touring regularly without the hassle of restrictions, looking forward to performing all over the world again at all clubs and festivals. I have a concert in Israel this weekend, luckily things are open here and I am going to drop the DAW anthem for the first time here!
In the future, what are your plans for 2022?
To continue working on my dream of combining art, music and technology in different forms and bringing to life many of the projects that I am currently planning. Super excited and can’t wait to share with everyone!
To learn more about MR.BLACK, visit his official site.
[ad_2]
