Matt Caseli - Rock N Roll Star
SHE are hosting Pacha Ibiza resident DJ Matt Caseli for their Easter long weekend of sophisticated sex and soul; 3D spoke to the man himself.
There aren’t too many young DJs out there who don’t dream about a residency at a place like Ibiza’s Pacha. Do you remember the day you were first invited to play there and how that felt-
Yeah, originally I was the first ever resident at the now legendary Bora Bora, so that was more or less my first day in Ibiza. But spinning on a beach is not my cup of tea – not everyday anyway. So then a friend took me to the Funky Room at Pacha and I was blown away, the sound was so incredible. Up until then I’d only known UK house and garage. I met with the boss and asked for a slot and amazingly he agreed. I then kicked ass and was asked to be the resident. OK, it helped that the previous resident was being a naughty boy on the turntables – he got fired and I was in! So I have him to thank, really…
You’ve been in Ibiza since 1997 now – what is that lifestyle like as a DJ and do you ever have moments where you get tired of it-
I love the rock n roll lifestyle. It is what you make it, and I damn well make sure it’s like that. I can’t stand boring DJs looking at their shoes, drinking a glass of milk. I mean, come on son, we don’t work in a bloody dental surgery! Do I get tired- No, never – only tired of stupid promoters who can’t get their act together. Apart from that I love my job, the music, the people and everything else that goes with it.
You moved to Ibiza from the UK, what were you musical influences back then and is the UK still where you get a lot of your new house music from-
Wow, I had a whole other style way back then. I used to produce jungle and drum n bass, which is probably a surprise to all you lot. I worked for a label in London called Production House Records, had about 12 singles out myself and then moved on to producing for the rave legend Baby.D. You might remember her classics Let Me Be Your Fantasy and I Need Your Loving. I ended up producing for her album, which was an experience! PAs on MTV and around the UK at the tender age of 22. Musical influences were a lot of old funk, disco and ’80s hip hop back then…
As for where do I get my music now- All over the world. Sure the UK is one of the leaders but you have many great producers all over now. I even know some dudes in Siberia who are making good shit. I hope they got a lot of vodka and other things to keep themselves going, though.
What plans do you have for future recordings and if there were any dreams collaborators you work love to work with, past and present, who would they be-
Future plans: I have a new project coming soon on Mousse T’s label Peppermint Jam. It’s a collaboration between myself and Sebastian Krieg from Shik Stylko. We are calling ourselves The Weekend Warriors, for obvious reasons. It’s a deeper style, a touch electronic with some great remixes from Audiowhores and Shik Stylko themselves. That’s out end of March in time for the WMC in Miami. As for dream collaborators, I’ve always been a fan of Soulfuric so I would have to say Brian Tappert, and I love Grant Nelson’s stuff – plus I always have a mad time with him. I did a track with Jason Herd called Come Into My Life a while back and that was fun, we did a real classic soulful number, which should see the light this summer. Will premiere it at the SHE event for sure.
WHO: Matt Caseli
WHAT: Plays SHE Easter Long Weekend Special at Bungalow8 / theLoft
WHEN: Sunday 12 April
MORE: shesydney.com