Born and raised in Montreal, Mitch Oliver is at the forefront of the dynamic East Coast melodic wave. This acclaimed DJ/Producer and Sound Engineer, is signed to distinguished labels such as Kindisch, TrybesOf, Hoomidas, and XYZ. His signature sound, a captivating fusion of deep emotive rhythms, has garnered him a revered standing in the music community.
With each performance, Mitch Oliver reaffirms his position as a trailblazer and ensures that the dancefloor remains an arena of magic and wonder.
We caught up with this great talent for an interview.
Connect with Mitch Oliver on website / Facebook / Soundcloud
Hello Mitch, welcome to Tanzgemeinschaft. How has your day been?
Inspiring. I’m feeling lots of gratitude for all the love that I’ve been receiving during this jam-packed Argentinian tour. I just finished an intense run of three, fantastic shows, where I’ve been playing more and more of my own, unreleased music – the response has been incredible. Currently, I’m in beautiful Buenos Aires and loving every moment of it. Soaking in the culture and its amazing people. I had been receiving messages and requests from promoters, fans and listeners for a while, asking about when I’d make it down here. The time felt right and it has been awesome, from start to finish – we’re already planning the next tour.
Congratulations on the release of your new single Hidden Gem. How long have you been working on the track for and is there a story behind it?
Hidden Gem was one of those songs that came naturally to me, in a wave of inspiration. Nothing inspires me more than playing great shows in front of a smiling crowd – the first thing I always do when arriving back home is head straight to the studio to channel all that energy into a new track. That’s how Hidden Gem was born and I couldn’t be more pumped to release it, it’s been a standout record in each and every one of my sets.
Can you shed some light on your creative process in the studio? Do you have a particular format of working that you stay true to?
My motto is to ride the wave of inspiration and let creativity flow. I embrace the unexpected and never set rules or expectations. At the moment, I’m quite focused on melody, but never for the sake of the perfect groove. It’s gotta be sexy and make people dance while telling a story through sound.
Let’s talk studio gear. What does your setup include?
When I built and designed my own studio, I wanted to make sure I could go from having an idea to implementing it as quickly as possible. To let the muse take over and avoid distractions, I mostly produce in the box, with my setup consisting of a Universal Audio UAD Twin X, a pair of Adam Audio S3A’s, Ableton, and Push 2.
You delivered a fantastic livestream from Montreal. Tell us about the day.
It was an absolute insane day, filled with so much love and contagious energy from my loyal fanbase here in Montreal who come out to see me, no matter where I play, often traveling from city to city and country to country. I have been making so much music and playing more and more of it in my sets, so I decided to throw a party on the vibiest rooftop in the city to showcase it all in one place. I have to thank my team, who worked extra hard to help make sure it not only went off without a hitch but exceeded all of our expectations. I’m so glad we decided to film it, we captured so many incredible, unexpected moments. I still have goosebumps thinking about it now. It makes me emotional to watch it back and relive it again. I hope you all enjoy the wild ride!
You must have spent a significant amount of time in the studio working on these track IDs. How long have you been working on this?
I’ve been playing such incredible shows from continent to continent recently that I have no shortage of inspiration. I handpicked my most special, recent tracks and made sure they fit together but were also diverse enough to embrace the different sides of how I play as a DJ. There are deep, low-key, sweaty grooves, big vocal records and melodic, festival-ready bombs. It’s come time to start sharing all of these, and more, with everyone, starting with the first one, and one of my favourites, Hidden Gem.
You’ve just completed your first tour of South America. Which venues did you perform at? Did you have a favourite show?
All of them were good. I just finished an awesome set at El Sexto. Before playing here in the capital, I had an incredible time in La Rioja, which was really special. It’s in a smaller, less crowded region of the country, so they don’t get to experience as many shows by international artists as they should, but I have no idea why, as this place is truly a hidden gem.
The crowd was super passionate and my 4 hour set flew by. I ended the night watching the sunrise in the mountains, just after 6 am, filled with inspiration to come back soon. I also really enjoyed the show at Africa Club for La Juanita and at El Sexto. All in all, it’s been amazing and we’re already planning the next South American tour, with many more stops and cities.
What’s next on the Mitch Oliver agenda?
A constant flow of new, always sexy, genre-bending original productions aside, I’m hitting the road again, with a quick stop at Stereo Bar before Do Not Sit in Miami and the rest of my upcoming US Tour.
Festival-wise, I’ll also be closing out Igloofest for the first time, alongside Miss Monique. It’s going to be awesome and I’ve got a few special tricks up my sleeve for the occasion.
Thank you
