Bleeps, boops, and acid. The big three delivered excellently by d.clemente in AMF 54th episode. We caught up with d. clemente to talk about his move to Manchester and how they’re finding the cities rich club culture.
Hey d. clemente, thanks for coming on the AMF blog. It’s great to have you on the show. Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself? What’s your name and where do you come from? When did you start DJ’ing and why?
Hey! Honestly thank you very much for having me, this means a lot to me. So, my name is David, but you would pronounce it [da:veed] because I am from Fuerteventura in The Canary Islands. I grew up listening to a lot of Latin music, Pop divas and radio hits. I also always loved Brasilian-style percussion ensembles and dancing; carnivals in the Canaries are highly influenced by Rio de Janeiro’s. There wasn’t a lot of electronic music in my surroundings until I started University in Sevilla, where an interest for it grew deep inside me. In 2016 I moved to Bristol, immersed myself in the scene there and even if it sounds like a cheesy cliché, found my true self on the dancefloor.
A year and a half ago, after a long relationship bound to the four walls of my room with my Roland TR8 and an amazing first experience at Field Maneuvers Festival, I decided to get my decks and start working hard, every day, to become a full time DJ. During this time I have become a resident for Dialogue, these queer Techno nights run in between Bristol and London and have also played radio shows for Threads Radio and Limbo Radio.
Who do you look to for inspiration when you’re DJ’ing? Are there any artists, labels, or club nights you really like?
There’s some DJs that have truly inspired me to become one, even if my sound isn’t directly inspired by what these artists normally play and/or produce; it’s artists like Call Super, Jane Fitz, Powder, Eris Drew, Ifeoluwa, Courtesy or Lakuti (to only name a few) that have made me shed tears of joy, blown my mind away and pushed me in this direction. My favourite club nights in Manchester so far have been Homoelectric and Bakk Heia. I still need to discover many more, which I intend to do as soon as we can.
In terms of labels (some fresher than others) that I constantly rely on to widen my library I can think of childsplay, Planetaria Soundsystem, Lobster Theremin, Jerk It, Brainwaves, Unsustainable, Philthtrax, FTP, Sweat Equity or BARS of Beats.
You’re pretty new to the Manchester scene how are you finding the rainy city? Have you found any favourite spots or has COVID ruined your fun?
Yeah I am! Only moved to Manchester in November last year. I did this on my own in order to find my space and work on my artistic career in a new and exciting scene. This city has welcomed me as if I had been here all my life, I’ve found myself making amazing relationships with like-minded people and feeling like I will stay here for a long time.
If I have to be completely honest with you, my favourite spot in the whole city is “front right” at The White Hotel, just outside the toilets to be specific, but I also enjoy more wholesome locations (if that’s even possible) like all of the River Mersey, Soup Kitchen or Angel Meadows, which has become a big thing lately too.
COVID seemed like a big problem at first but right at the beginning of lockdown I got involved with the Save Our Scene – Manchester and Salford initiative and got asked to play on a livestream with United We Stream (thanks Marcos!). After this, believe it or not, I have made plenty of online friends and had amazing feedback and messages coming from all sides of Manchester. After that night I felt, finally, like at home in Manchester and even in the distance, and through a screen, I felt more supported than ever by everyone around me. It’s been chaos for the world, which is painful to watch, but it’s also been a blessing for me personally.
The mix you’ve put together for us is a frantic mix of bleeps, breaks, and acid. It certainly packs a punch and is built for the dance floor. Is this style of music your go-to genre when mixing or have you put together something a bit different for AMF?
Yes, when recording this mix I wanted to pack up what has slowly become characteristic of “my sound” (Acid, Breaks, Juke, Footwork and broken sassy edits and bootlegs) in 45 minutes. I definitely want to be a late night to early morning DJ and love to relentlessly keep the sweat on pouring out of every pore with what I play.
Are there any standout tracks in the mix you could share with us?
Yes, I’ve played a couple of tunes from Yazzus’ “IT’S YA GIRL’S BOOTLEGS” released in May this year (worth checking and copping now if you love a good bootleg). I have also played a couple of tunes from Oyubi, this crew from Tokyo that has worked on consistently mind-boggling releases expanding the 130bpm – 160bpm spectrum of dance music.
What have you got planned for the near future (Covid permitting that is)? Have you got any radio shows, club nights, or live streams planned you can tell us about?
Well first of all I’m planning to stay sane and not lose my mind from the lack of raving.
In terms of musical projects, I have a fair few including a couple of podcast mixes for High Hoops and a guest mix for DJ Luz’s monthly residency on Melodic Distractions. At the end of the month, I will be part of this very exciting, secret RebeccaNeverBecky livestream. Keep your eyes peeled on their socials to know more about it… Not to be missed! There are no club nights I will be a part of any time soon, but really hoping I get the Manchester crowds dancing at some point this year.
