WWD017 welcomes one of House & Techno well established stars; Toronto based Colombian Mario Ochoa. In 2014 alone, Ochoa graced the likes Kittball, Nervous, Toolroom Trax, 100% Pure, Great Stuff & Mihalis Safras’ Material Series. That’s not to mention numerous big hitters released through his own up and coming imprint Avenue Recordings. We caught up with Mario this week to get the lowdown on his hectic production schedule, what it takes to make it at his label & all that 2015 holds for the talented producer. What’s more, he’s provided an hour of killer house & tech in a very tasty mix. Check it out!
WWD : Thanks for joining us Mario. Delighted to have you here! What’s happening in Toronto this week?
Mario : hmmm not much just enjoying the last days of the holidays, and working hard in the studio.
WWD : You had very busy finish to 2014 with December releases on the likes Kittball, Material Series, Great Stuff & Nervous Records to name a few. You must live in the studio! Can you tell us a bit about your production schedule?
Mario : Well, i try to work in the studio from Mondays to Thursdays, but all depends if im touring or not, but yeah usually i try to use the weekdays as my gym and production schedule.
WWD : Can you give us an insight into your productions essentials when you sit down to make a track?
Mario : Ok first of all my DAW of choose is Live 9, and some plugins that i use the most are Ni Massive, U-he Diva, Battery 4, Ozone 6 to name a few.
WWD : You’ve kicked off 2015 with Trust Issues on your own imprint Avenue Recordings. Can you tell us a bit about your 2015 plans for the label?
Mario : Ok, in past few years i focused in helping lots of newcomers to get into my label, and i think that was good for them, but not so much for me since i really didn’t have space in the label for my own productions anymore, so i think that in 2015 Avenue will be more like 50% of my own productions and the other 50% for other producers, let’s hope it works better this way.
WWD : What do you look in an artist when you’re adding to the label family?
Mario : I just want to hear a producer that gives his/her personal touch to his own work, i hate when some producers just make a loop for 7 minutes and all they do is just cut some frequencies during breakdowns, a huge white noise and back to the same loop in my opinion thats lazy, i really like when i find someone that is very creative specially during breakdowns since for me thats what makes a track interesting.
WWD : On a personal note, what would make 2015 a good year for you? Have you set any goals for the next 12 months?
Mario : I really like to take this job/hobby on a day by day basis, i don’t like to feel disappointed if i didn’t achieve any kind of goal, so i just work hard and whatever happens happens, but if i wanted to set a goal right now, i will say that it will be to make Avenue Recordings a more respected label in the scene.
WWD : Any parties/venues you’d love to check off your to-do list in the next year?
Mario : There are some cities that i never played before that i would love to go such as Dubai, Sydney, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and London.
WWD : Lastly, any big dates on the horizon we should look out for?
Mario : I don’t know how big they are but i could say that im very excited for, i have some dates in Spain in april in a couple clubs that i really like, also Moscow that same month (never been there before) and next month ill be back in my homeland, Colombia, doing a little tour for a couple weeks.
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