{"id":39898,"date":"2021-07-31T18:11:35","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T18:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiestaybullshit.com\/cristian-varela-en-mis-comienzos-fuera-de-espana-la-gente-no-nos-tomaban-en-serio-solo-por-el-hecho-de-venir-de-espana\/"},"modified":"2021-08-02T08:16:19","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T08:16:19","slug":"cristian-varela-en-mis-comienzos-fuera-de-espana-la-gente-no-nos-tomaban-en-serio-solo-por-el-hecho-de-venir-de-espana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiestaybullshit.com\/en\/cristian-varela-en-mis-comienzos-fuera-de-espana-la-gente-no-nos-tomaban-en-serio-solo-por-el-hecho-de-venir-de-espana\/","title":{"rendered":"CRISTIAN VARELA – 30 YEARS OF TECHNO – INTERVIEW."},"content":{"rendered":"

Cristian, we extend our most sincere congratulations to you and thank you for giving us so much music. To start by taking a look back at the past 30 years, where, how and when was your musical baptism?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The closest thing to a musical baptism would be at Porche<\/strong> in Villalba. It\u2019s where I really started out doing a professional session in the evenings. Before that, you started out as number two in the booth and if it worked out for you and you managed to fill the club, they would promote you to booth manager and they would move you to the night session.<\/p>\n

At that time, when your family saw that you had what it took to dedicate yourself to music, you were giving piano lessons and teaching music theory… How does it feel now that you have ended up so focused on electronic music and on being a DJ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the beginning it was like having a jug of cold water poured over me because I was studying piano and when I told my parents that I had been offered a job as a DJ, they were perplexed. The first thing they asked me was \u201cBut how are you going to work if you are not old enough?\u201d So, I explained to them that it was in the evening and that they would pay me a little money… After my family discussed it, they accepted and said \u201cWell, okay, if I have to go with you, tell me and I will help you to manage your money and make sure that you don\u2019t spend it on a load of crap\u201d. Logically, at first, they were not amused, but they trusted me, which meant a lot.<\/p>\n

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Cristian, you were a young lad at that time and people around you were older and had more experience. How did they react to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it is curious, but what people felt at that time was curiosity rather than suspicion. They heard about that 16-year-old boy and they came to listen to me out of curiosity. Those who had most professional experience spoke wonders. When I went from Porche<\/strong> to Attica, a lot of DJs came to see me, and everyone was delighted. This was something that Fan dl kaos<\/strong> \u2013 who is a key figure for me \u2013 he was one of the first to make electronic music and release it on vinyl \u2013 told me all the time. He said: \u201cThere is something different about this kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was it like when they start calling you from places outside Madrid to play? At what point did it happen? Who were the first ones?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The perfect example was my good friend Luis Iba\u00f1ez<\/strong> to whom I owe part of my career, who heard about a very young lad who was going down a storm in Madrid, and he got in his car and came to see me at Epsilon. That day, when I finished playing, he was introduced to me and he suggested I go to La Real<\/strong> in Gijon, which was before La Real in Oviedo, and I went for the first time. I did a session with four turntables and it was a total success. From that moment on, I began to go religiously, and they began to call me from venues in Galicia such as Oxido, La Kripta<\/strong>, and La Capilla<\/strong> for the after parties. They also called me from Valladolid, from Komplot, and from my favourite venue from that time, CAMAROTE<\/strong>, where the resident DJ was Joshua, who was wonderful to listen to.<\/p>\n

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Many people in music talk about your talent and your great abilities in those early years. When did you see other people who were doing the same as you? Who do you remember seeing\/hearing in those years and thinking, that artist is one step further ahead?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have never mentioned it but Tobias<\/strong>, a great DJ and professional who had a music store called Planet (thanks to which I met Luis Iba\u00f1ez<\/strong>) introduced me to Yuriy,\u00a0<\/strong>resident DJ in the evenings at New World, where Iker and Oscar used to play at night. We would go to his house a lot and he would show me tons of videos of the DMC championships, and when I was that age, seeing that skill, all the repetitions and the scratching, I became obsessed with all of it. I started to practice; I marked the records with stickers to scratch. I did not take part in contests, but all the DMC contests were etched in my mind forever. At that time, Yuriy was a very, very good DJ.<\/p>\n

You started to go beyond our national borders; up until recently, we have regarded Spain as always seeming to be one step behind. What did you feel? How did they treat a young man from Spain?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think the first gig outside Spain was in Toulouse, and when I got there, and they saw me looking so young, with long hair, and that look… They immediately started taking the mickey with all the cliches about: \u201cSpain, bullfighting, paella\u2026\u201d. Just as well that I\u2019m bilingual: I speak French and so I told them \u2013 I was really cocky \u2013 \u201cWait till you hear you hear me play and then start going on about all that folklore and paella…\u201d. When I went to Belgium and Holland, people didn\u2019t take me seriously just because I came from Spain. It pains me to say this, but that is the way it really was. On the basis of doing tours and starting to produce on very prestigious techno labels such as Primate Recordings, Planet Vision, Stay Up Forever, Plus8… And starting to play at the big festivals of that time such as I Love Techno, Shockers, Nature One, Inner City, Awakenings,<\/strong> and Dance Valley…<\/strong> That is when they began to take a bit more\u00a0interest in Spanish techno.<\/p>\n

You have already talked a bit about it, but what role has your brother Luis played over the entire course of your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right from the start, my brother was vital to my career and in my life in general. As well as playing the role of elder brother, adviser, confidant… Luis took charge of everything for me: the shop, the agency, the accounts, my gigs… He was my manager. I owe everything to him!<\/p>\n