Page 48 - DemoZone Magazine Summer Issue 2020

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ZONE-MAGAZINE.EU
Without having to follow any fashion or trend David's productions are always undeniably relevant.
In 2015 David launched HoTL Records to fill up a space that was missing in the club scene. When everything was turning either too mainstream or too underground, he wanted to create a home for artists like him who sees themselves more in that middle scene, and started helping new talent from over the world. Joined by his partner Markem, the motto was to release whatever could be played on an extended DJ set, from open to close. No matter the genre, from House to Techno HoTL is releasing music for Djs twice a month. With no limitations but making people dance and serving music to DJs, they are about to reach the label’s 100th release in 2019. After the big success in Miami for the last 4 years the label will expand its HoTL parties around the globe.
In 2017 David's collaboration "Strangers" with Markem, Yas Cepeda, and Ella Loponte has made waves via Tiesto'sAFTR:HRS, sound tracking Miami's WMC as one of the top buzz tracks. The record remains a mainstay in the Beatport Top 100 charts and in dj sets worldwide for over a year since its release. With more than 5 million plays on Spotify and about to reach 3 million views on Youtube “Strangers” keeps going all over the globe. You hear the record being played in clubs and radio stations every
weekend.As important as his studio work are his live gigs. From his 6 years residency at his second home, Space Miami, to Summerland, Tommorrowland, and WeAreElectric festivals, David's marathon sessions never disappoint. He has played parties for DJ megastars Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, Tiesto and Sander Van Doorn, and is the only Spanish DJ to perform at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. He’s also a staple performer at the annual Winter Music Conference in Miami for the last 10 years, having his own label showcase since 2015 growing every year.
David Tort sets are always packed with driving beats, powerful bass lines, and sexy drops. On the back of a busy 2018 Tort reaffirmed his position as one of dance music’s most respected figures. Amidst constant club appearances around the world from his hometown in Barcelona where he’s throwing his David Tort & Friends event every summer for 5 years in a row, to North and South America, Ibiza and Asia.
Who is David Tort, professionally and personally?
It’s both the same person, there’s no character on me or maybe the character swallowed the person when I was still a kid. My mind is on music 24/7 but there’s also space for my family which is the most important thing to me, I’ve seen many artists end up alone or in some dark places, I mean that living the artist life alone would be a nightmare to me but maybe a present to others, some of my friends they’re super happy being alone and traveling the world, but I can do the same and also have this grounding that is an essential for me as a person and as an artist. There were moments that I was touring so much that I didn’t knew where it was home, so Tatiana always gave me that lead to the real world that I really need, not easy living with a creative mind sometimes.
I’m lucky enough to have found the woman of my life 24 years ago and we built a home together, we have a 8 years old daughter and I could say we live kind of a normal life, even if dad has an extraordinary job, which is not a job to me but still make me able to bring food on the table. When I’m home I bring Mia to shcool every day and then I make it to the studio at 9 am, I never loved to work at night in the studio but I do it often when I’m in LA and nothing else to do but music, then it does not matter at what time I wake up, eat or work, but honestly I know that I’m a way more creative during day and I’m a totally day person, during week I mean.I love to cook at home and watch netflix with tati when Mia goes to be, as I said a normal life, isn’t it?
What got you into the music scene and the DJ life?
I was always in music in one way or another, but it was in 1988 when I made it to the club for the first time and then I realized that was exactly what I wanted to to for the rest of my life. The darkness, all the bodies dancing to Bam Bam “Give it to me”, the strobe lights, the neon, and that incredibly loud sound system reprogrammed my brain forever; then I’ve seen the Dj booth and there was 3 guys with their Acid House look and driving the crowd like if it was a tribal trance, I knew that was for me, the way to express myself cause even if I’ve tried with many instruments I never found something that really was like that, playing music from others so you can pick the ones youlike and then go live and do scratch, mix 3 vinyls a time, pick acapellas and play it over another track so no one understood what was really playing but sounded amazing and hypnotic. Next monday I went to the record store and like that I was going every week to buy the records I heard on saturday afternoon, I was 14 but I was squeezing through the door every saturday sayin I was 16, the only way was making it at the 6pm sessions and I kept going for few months, till one day the record store guy offered me a Dj job in a small pub on my city, that was also the coolest one, so I went there and once again I said I was 16, the owner knew that I was lying but somwthing made him let me go in, and from then I’ve played all the clubs in my area, the first Pacha in teh world, L’atlantida in Sitges that was a legendary club, and few others...but something was missing in my life, I also wanted to press songs on vinyl for other DJs to play them, playing live made me happy seeing the crowd happy but something inside of me was telling me that I had something else to offer, and also that feeling oif creating beats on my mind and not being able to find them on the records out there, so slowly I’ve build a studio with a couple friends with some drum machines and a synth, that was terrible, till one day I asked for a loan to the bank that I still don’t know how they gave it to me, I was 6 years paying for that MAc but getting rid of the old Atari and having the software industry developing just at that right time, I grew together with the soft synths and that was a totally different world to me, then David Tort was re-born.