To quote the British Tilllate (the nightlife community), “he reigns in Spain”. Celebrated Catalan DJ and producer Coyu has made his mark on Suara music by helping it to become one of the most prominent labels in the world of techno and house music. The label’s resounding success has been proved by the fact it has reached #1 on both, Beatport and Resident Advisor. The electronic music scene has surrendered to Coyu’s constantly outstanding efforts. What began as a dream is now becoming a reality. Coyu shares with MEOKO the story behind his Djing career and at the same time makes us curious as his upcoming showcase for Mola Club is approaching...
I understand that you are the label owner of Saura, what has helped and what has hindered in it's evolvement into success?
The unique key of the success of our brand is the work we have been doing since the first day. There is great team working when it comes to us. It makes everything easier.
I couldn't help but notice your fascination with cats, please tell me more about this, do you have any of your own?
I have 4 cats and we own the Suara Foundation, where we help street cats. My girlfriend is a feline vet, I discovered the cat's world through her. We started depicting cats on our artworks since GaAs became our designer, then people began to call us “the label of the cats”.
Originating from lively Barcelona, do you believe this is being reflected in your music?
If you live in a place where the sun is shinning 300 days per year and yet the temperature is cool in almost the whole year, I think your music has to reflect that. I like to play drums on my tracks. Probably because my mum is originated from Rio Grande Do Sur (Brazil) and I heard a lot of samba and bossa-nova at home when I was a child.
Which are your favourite countries or venues to perform live that are out of Spain?
Every place has it's good and bad things. I used to like UK crowds because they have been listening to electronic music for 30 years and are proper connoisseurs... but this is also the reason for why I love to play in countries where the electronic music is something new, they don't know almost anything about it, they have been listening to electronic music for a few years only. They get very excited when you play in their country because it's a big opportunity for them to see a well-know artists playing close to their home. India and Peru would be two good examples.
Between re-mixing, mixing and producing, what do you like most about each?
I like both but if I had to choose, I'd say I prefer to mix music in front of a crowd than make music for my own in the studio.
When playing live, what responses do you want the audience to have?
I want to see smiling faces on the floor and people having fun. That's the most important thing. That's what I love about being a DJ.
What were your influences growing up and which DJs do you look have respect for now?
My background and roots are quite eclectic. I always liked the hard & dark techno of Birmingham made in the 90s (Surgeon, Regis), the trip hop of Bristol (Massive Attack, Portishead, the house of Chicago (Armando, Larry Heard), the techno of Detroit (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson), the IDM made by Aphex Twin or Plaid, the minimalistic techno made in the North of Europe and America (Mika Vainio, Dan Bell, Plastikman), the neo-trance of Koln (Michael Mayer and all the Kompakt family) and many other styles.
You've played along with several well renowned artists, who do you consider you've had or would have good chemistry to play B2B with?
I love to do B2Bs. It doesn't have to be a famous DJ. Playing with your friends is always great. I did two B2B2B with Edu Imbernon & Dosem and both were great.
What kind of events do you feel most comfortable and prefer to play in? As in, festivals, big venues or small rooms?
Both. Playing for 20.000 people is an incredible experience but I also like intimate rooms where you can see the faces of the crowd. You can feel very different in those special cases.
I'm very curious, how did you make up the name Coyu? It has a very nice flowing ring to it, does it mean something?
It's the diminutive of Coyuco. I heard it when I was 15 years old in a track included in a CD of Amnesia Ibiza. I liked it and I became to call myself Coyuco as nickname on music forums over internet. My friends started to call me Coyu since then.
Lastly, how do you feel about your upcoming gig for Mola Club? Us Londoners are surely excited about it!
The guys of Mola are very good friends of mine. Cannot wait to be there with them. London is a very special city for me. I used to play quite often and I always feel the love of the Londoners. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a great party!
Catch Coyu play at Mola Club on the 30th of May at Crucifix Lane.
