Rising from the Southampton dance scene Mr. Sosa made a name for himself both in the clubs and behind the mixing desk. Bournemouth- based Mr. Sosa has gone from strength to strength over the last two years & has made a serious name for himself in the house & breakbeat scene, renowned for his menacing acid lines & catchy chords.
Mr. Sosa first rose to the scene with his release “Orion” including the famous tracks ‘feel the love’ & ‘Orion’ that was supported, downloaded, and streamed worldwide and was even pressed due to popular demand. With the success of Orion came support from Anjunadeep & thus lead to Mr. Sosa signing to Anjunadeep the same year.
Connect with Mr. Sosa on Soundcloud | Instagram
His latest release Scarab lands as part of Edinburgh-based label Fresh Take’s new vinyl series Fresh Wax: a phenomenal collection of tracks, many of which come from artists who have been involved with the label since day one.
Fresh Wax 001 is out now on Fresh Take – listen & buy
You’re from the UK but grew up in Spain, whereabouts was that? What was the club scene like there when you were younger?
I grew up in a place called Xàbia in Spain, basically, the closest point to Ibiza on the mainland and a lot of DJs would stop by on route to Ibiza, so the club scene was actually really good. We’d sneak in at 15 and leave when the sun came up. Looking back now that probably had quite an impact experiencing that so young and hearing great music.
How did you first start making the transition from clubber to the other side of the decks?
I bought a pair of decks when I was 15 and used to make mixes and mashups just for me and my pals and would play at house parties we’d put on. But never gave any thought to producing or DJing properly until about 5 years later when I discovered lo-fi house and had a crack at producing.
You’ve said previously you have a love of all things vintage – does this also apply to the kind of kit you’re using to make music?
Yes! Most definitely, I’ve always been fascinated by anything vintage and that’s definitely true for my studio too. I have some vintage synths and drum machines, my favourite is my Oberheim matrix 1000 and also my vintage reel to reel Revox tape machine. It adds a magic element to tracks.
Do you have any go-to bits of kit you’re currently obsessed with?
My only go-to was always my Digitakt for sampling drums, although nowadays I’m finding I’m getting more creative messing with drums in the box. I like to switch it up a lot and start each track fresh. Most recently picked up a UDO Super 6 synth which sounds insane, so trying to get the hang of it and get some cool tracks made with it.
You’ve cited artists like DJ Boring as key in getting you hooked on the lo-fi house scene, what was it about that particular strain of electronic music that appealed to you?
At the time I was mesmerised by the simplicity but pure emotion that people like DJ Boring, DJ Seinfeld, Ross From Friends and Mall Grab were bringing to the lo-fi house scene. The drums especially were what stood out to me, in particular, DJ Borings 909 saturated kick drum haha.
The melodies in your records are always very distinctive… do you have any formal musical training, piano etc?
Not at all, I never learnt any theory. The odd guitar riff when I was younger but everything has been self-taught. Only recently I’ve been getting into theory a bit more just to help speed up the process of making a record and it does help a lot. But I think you have to learn for yourself first to stay creative and see theory as more of a problem-solving tool.
How did you hook up with Fresh Take for the new single?
They were looking to press their first physical record and wanted artists who have been part of their journey from the start. I remember fresh take (under a different name) reaching out when I was first getting started and we put out a few releases. So I was more than happy to contribute a track to be part of their first vinyl.
For us, Scarab sounds completely timeless, and has similar vibes to a Joe Smooth track – is that an era that inspires you?
Scarab definitely has a late 80s feel to it with the digital synths. Every era inspires me as long as there’s good music but the 80s especially I think had the peak of good music and production.
Was there any specific inspiration behind this one?
It was inspired by the tv series Miami Vice which I absolutely love! Don Johnson’s boat was a Scarab and the series had an insanely good song selection. I definitely take a lot of influence from that music and that era in general. I actually made an EP full of inspiration from that show, maybe one day it will be released 🙂
What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I’ve been quietly working on an album which will hopefully be completed soon! Still, relatively early days because I want it to be completely fresh and unique but still me. I’m pretty hard to please, so I’m going to be tough on which tracks make the cut haha. Until then I have some more releases and exciting gigs/festivals coming.
Will you be making it back to Ibiza at any point?
Oh yes, hopefully, this year and on the other side of the decks. I love Ibiza, the island has a magical feel. I haven’t been since 2019 as it’s been pretty much shut since Covid hit. Although I did make it to Formentera last year which was amazing!
Thank you.