S.U.B. Podcast #05 Interview with Kaloo (Bg)

Hello everybody. In this weeks podcast we have another dj guest, already known to few of you. He made a few sets in Skopje as a drum and bass / break beat dj. DJ Solaris comes from Sofia (Bulgaria),  works as a graphics designer, dj, producer, runs the e-zine http://bassline.bg/ . New musical taste brought his house / disco project Kaloo ( https://soundcloud.com/kaloo-1).  This week podcast session made by Kaloo for S.U.B. is a mixture of house/uk funky sounds.  To spice things up, here is an interview with Kaloo (Solaris).

As DJ Solaris, you have made an impression on those few parties in Skopje. Great mixing skills, even if you rolled liquid, there was no problem to run other sub-genres in your sets. Have to ask you, why the sudden style change ? 

Well, it was not very sudden. First, I become uncomfortable being almost the only DJ constantly trying to play not just heavy beats but music. At this time d'n'b scene in Bulgaria was all about heavy shit. Second and more important, I got really bored from the constant unofficial competition - which is the best crew (crews are lame btw), who is the best DJ, who is the best promoter and all the shit that fans and DJ's talked behind each others backs. If you look now you'll see that the so called 'biggest' or 'best'  d'n'b promoter is pushing liquid stuff (finally!) and the competition is still on. They cannot overcome this shit and I'm not into it anymore. I spent 6 years of my life being a d'n'b DJ and I can say I had great time. I do love d'n'b music and I always will. I still got big collection of liquid funk records at my place, which reminds me how I was bursting my ass working to get every single record so I'll never sell them for this reason.

One of the things which brought me back to the roots of electronic music (as a raver kid I started with techno and house, before I discover d'n'b) was the sudden birth of the dubstep thing. I really liked the 4 to the floor techno/dubstep hybrid tunes. Some of the DJ's were combining it with house music. It really fascinated me. Then I realized the liquid funk I used to love so much is actually build on the foundation of the house music. All the mellow sounds from deep house and all the sweet female accapellas are from there.

I also visited Amsterdam Dance Event as a journalist, representing DJ MAG Bulgaria in 2009 and I get so much knowledge about electronic music, all it's genres and how the people in this industry do business and so on. Of course I had an amazing time clubbing in Amsterdam too. So when I got back I already knew that being only into one thing is not for me. Not anymore.

Now as a house DJ I have the freedom to go into the nu-disco/house field or the techno or garage/bass and it's possible because they are running on almost similar BPM. This is a big plus. Now when I have a gig I don't know what to expect because everything depends on the mood of the crowd. Sometimes I'm playing disco music all night, sometimes I have crazy techno gigs. It's awesome.

Your e-zine bassline.bg is one of the first DIY internet magazines that covers Bass music. At first you have covered for drum and bass / break beat, now you are covering dubstep / uk funky,  house and etc. Did the Bassline.bg made and impact on the clubbing scene as you hope to?

Well, I believe that the right philosophy when you are into electronic music is just doing what you like. If you don't make compromises and you stand behind your principles then sooner or later someone will come and say 'I really like your job!' and you'll get the appreciation you deserve. So this apply to the website as well. Bassline.bg is not pretending to be a big media or something. I don't care if someone put my logo on his flyer or give me free entrance for his event 'cause it's in my website. If something is good and fit to the concept of the site it will appear there naturally. I can say it reach not so many, but the right people. And yeah, it helps in some way for the development of the electronic music culture in Bulgaria.

Do you consider yourself to be a geek, since you are a passionate collector of gundam robot figures ? 

Yes I'm 100% otaku. I'm crazy about giant robots/mecha anime and manga. I love spending weekends building some model kit. You must be filled with a lot of patience and you have to be very precise and handy. Also they fit great next to the turntables and are somehow part of my home interior.

How long do you run the project Kaloo, are you satisfied with this project?

I think already explained my view in the previous question. It's already 4 years being Kaloo instead of Solaris. As a DJ I don't push hard to have many gigs. I prefer the quality than the quantity. Mainly I play when someone invites me or when I and some fellow DJ decided to throw a party just for the fun. I have a great job as an art director and making money from DJ-ing is not my priority. I love music. I love to play music. That's it. For almost a year I'm doing some producing. This is the next field after graphic design in which I want to become very good. As a practical person I know that in the current state my production is not perfect, but you can decide for yourselves at: https://soundcloud.com/kaloo-1