All of us over here at Slow Roast HQ have been brimming with excitement over a fresh new act who’ve recently joined the fam. We first ran into them hangin’ out in the smokey VIP of an old discotheque in Miami. It was tough to really make out what they were saying to be honest, with freestyle beats rattling and general after hours shenanigans at hand. Luckily we caught their names from some groupies as we stumbled out of the club, in time to catch the sunrise on South Beach I might add!
Señor Stereo is: Joe Masurka (aka Joe Maz), Danny Gomez (aka Danny Daze), Matt Masurka (aka Gigamesh) and there is something special about these guys. They possess a unique kinda cool and charisma that sparkles like a disco ball, filling the room with energy and excitement, …and the uncontrollable urge to dance yo’ ass off!
Without hesitation, we organized a meeting. Next thing you know, we were clinking champagne glasses and plotting out plans for their first Slow Roast release. 5 tracks that reach back to the golden era of house and techno, throw in a nice serving of sexy disco and funk, and top it off with some addicting vocal hooks, and you have a (shaken) musical cocktail you’ll be sippin’ on all summer long.
With the world-wide release of Señor Stereo’s debut “Unintentional EP” approaching fast (June 29, 2010), we figured it was about time we gave you all little bit of background on these guys, and a taste of what they’ve been cooking up in the studio, and this time, we chose a little more laid-back setting to have a chat!
Oh, they were also nice enough to give us some music! Don’t forget to grab it on the way out!
Slow Roast Records: First off tell us who you guys are and where you guys are livin’ these days.
Joe: I finally decided to move to Miami where Daze lives from Minneapolis after thinking about it for 3 years. My brother Matt has also decided to join us in Miami this coming September so we really can all be in the same studio working for the same ideas. This is going to be a big step forward.
SRR: People wanna know about the name, Why did u guys choose the name Señor Stereo? Who is Señor Stereo or what does it mean?
Daze: This name was chosen while Joe and I were were on a way to a gig. Took about 30 seconds to think of because we already had an idea of what we were going for. Señor Stereo is more of the lifestyle we would portray if we were him. “Señor Stereo” is a gentleman, stylish, has a bachelor pad in Manhattan with mahogany wooden floors and has knowlege of the finer things in life.
SRR: Most of us got a chance to check your Hogcast #3 Mix, there was quite an eclectic tracklisting! The list includes some obscurities from the Italo disco and techno days. Care to shed a little light on some of your musical backgrounds?
Matt: Yeah, I think we all have the attitude that ‘good music is good music’. Speaking for myself, I rarely listen to the same genre for a long time so I think that reflects when DJing. I grew up being really into bands like Nirvana and Radiohead and was later introduced to electronic music through acts like Daft Punk, DJ Shadow, the Chemical Brothers and Mr. Oizo. It wasn’t until I started taking DJing & production seriously that I got into the more ‘obscure’ history of disco & techno.
Daze: I grew up listening to Old School Electro (Cybotron, Afrika Bambaataa, Newcleus ect …) then little by little got into Techno where I started djing at the Full Moon raves when I was 13. There was a quote that said “If Pac Man affected us as kids, we’d all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music”. Except for the pills part, that quote was meant for me. The fact we grew up in different areas listening to multiple genres gives us the sound we have going.
Joe: I’m going to be straight up, I was completely in love with west coast hip hop and punk rock growing up. My mom rocked the Led Zeppelin and Carly Simon and dad was into country. My brother actually turned me on to electronic music in about 96 with Daft Punk. From there we were both really into Fatboy Slim, Crystal Method, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers. I must have listed to Crystal Method – Vegas about 82792876387927343284 times in my car. I still like hip hop, but only the old school stuff for the most part.
SRR: Are any of you classically trained musicians? How has this influenced your music?
Joe: I played the piano and trumpet really well up until the time I decided being the NBA was my new purpose in life. Turns out I was 6′3″ with a weak ass vertical. I could dunk but I really had to work at it. I fell into djing and producing in 2002. I can still play the keys but not anywhere near what I used to do.
Daze: If it wasn’t for MIDI, I’d be a working in a bowling alley or somehting. No training whatever here.
Matt: Yeah I have a bachelor in music. It helps but the stuff I learned in school are skills anyone with a good ear could pick up in a few months (basic music theory).
SRR: We know you guys spend a lot of time in the studio, what are some of your favorite pieces of gear you use?
Daze: We would love to say we’re these huge analog freaks but unfortunately an ARP 2600 cost a bit too much money and isn’t very practical. Although we do have analog gear some of my favorites pieces in the studio are the Roland JP-8080 and the VF-11 vocoder. We’ve got one virtual synth we use alot which ryhmes with “Moe.Me.Mex” but we’re keeping that one on lock.
Matt: My favorite gear pieces are my ears and coffee mug.
SRR: What can we expect when Señor Stereo goes on tour?
Matt: Time will tell! We’ll likely have to distinguish between live sets and DJ sets. Eventually the live sets will include a drummer and possibly other musicians but it will mostly depend on where we get booked and what works best for each gig.
Daze: Groupies
Joe: World Domination, Polar Ice Caps Melting.
SRR: Haha, great answers! Can you tell us about any other projects you guys have been involved in?
Daze: We each have our own taste when it comes to music. On the solo tip, I tend to produce techno/house/sleeper music
Matt: Yeah we do a pretty big variety of projects. I produce bands/solo artists and we all do occasional pop remixes (gotta pay the bills!).
SRR: What plans do you guys have for the future?
Daze: Like Matt said above, time will tell. For now we’re hitting the studio and producing music we feel is true to who we are. Expect different styles, Miami Bass, Techno, Italo Disco, all kind of stuff just blended together made for people to dance. Eventually we’d like to collab with legendary artist ……. Giorgio Moroder send me a text if you see this.
SRR: Give us a little background on these two tracks we are going to share with our readers. (Hot Damn! and Babe We’re Gonna Love Tonight)
Matt: Babe We’re Gonna Love Tonight is a cover of the Lime classic. I think it was Danny’s idea to cover the song and I had my friends from the band Lookbook provide guest vocals. Hot Damn was definitely one of those things that came out pretty organically. We all contributed ideas and over the course of a few days in Danny’s studio it was done. We basically just wanted to make a straight forward, happy party song that blended some different styles.
Thanks guys for meetin’ up for a little Q and A for us! Don’t forget to grab their debut EP everywhere that carries digital releases June 29th! We can all catch Señor Stereo LIVE in select cities TBA on the multi-city Slow Roast Tour this summer. Keep checkin’ the calendar for dates. You can find a full tracklisting and other info for the “Unintentional EP” by visiting the Releases section!
As promised here’s some music compliments of Señor Stereo. (DJ’s and enthusiasts alike will appreciate these 320kpbs mp3’s!)
Señor Stereo – Hot Damn! .mp3 (right click / save as)
Señor Stereo – Babe We’re Gonna Love Tonight (feat. Lookbook) .mp3 (right click/ save as)
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