IN CONVERSATION WITH MOCHAKK
interview by MARIANA MALHEIRO and TIMOTEJ LETONJA
Earlier this month, we danced the night away to the house tracks at one of the best summer festivals, Loveland. In the midst of it all, we managed to sit down for a bit and have a chat with Mochakk, a 23-year-old Brazilian rising sensation. Mochakk’s dynamic style and talent for storytelling, mixed with his incredible energy on stage truly made this year’s Loveland an unforgettable experience.
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and how you came to the house industry since you started on hip hop?
I started producing hip-hop beats around 12, Like just by playing around. I downloaded a music production software and I started trying to remake beats that I liked from the artists that I was listening to. And after a while, I met Cesar Nardini, a guy who now he’s my partner in my label Dogghauz Records. Back then he had an underage house music party in my city. I met him in front of my school and he invited me to promote his party so that I could sell tickets and stuff. When I showed him my beats and stuff he showed me a couple of tunes from Brazilian producers that were coming up at the time. I just fell in love with it, with the sound and I started producing my own stuff, and started Djing at his party. He taught me how to play. He would bring me to the club after class, like super young, I was like 15 or 16 at that time. He would take me from school to the club, and he would open the club for us and weekdays during the day so we could practice. When I learned how to DJ properly I started DJing at his parties. That’s how I started…
What is your impression of being in the Netherlands for the first time ever and playing here?
I am loving it! It’s my first time ever, and my first impression of the people is that everybody’s happy. Everybody rides bikes, it’s amazing. This place is amazing! The venue here for the festival is so crazy, going to the stage by boat, having that fantastic sight with the lake, everything, just amazing!
What were your highlights over two days playing at Loveland? I mean, you even played back-to-back yesterday?
Yes, that was super unexpected. That was my first time meeting Dixon actually. Dixon is such a big legend in Brazil, like everybody loves him. And he was there for the whole set. After 10 minutes, I looked back and I was like, oh shit, is that Dixon? Watching the set down? I was like, okay, playing and looking behind me playing and looking behind me. And after a while, my manager hit me up and he was like, Oh, would you be up to doing it back to back with Dixon? Really? Yeah, we talked a little bit and then we started playing. We played for like, one hour in something. Then he stepped away so I could end the set. It was amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Big Experience, what a way to debut!
And you’re also coming back in October for ADE, right? Your special night?
Yes, exactly. It’s my own little thing called Mochakk Calling: ADE Amsterdam x Loveland on the 22nd of October. I will be playing for eight hours and I have a couple of guests coming in from that one. So I have a little bit of a surprise. It’s gonna be really nice. My first Amsterdam Dance Event as well. So happy it’s sold out already!
Let’s talk more about your music, it is a super groovy house. You tell a story as you play, what do you want to evoke from people?
Yes, I love storytelling, especially when I come back from traveling to all the places that I go. I live in so many moments, watching sets from other people. When playing my own sets and figuring out something cool that works and sometimes getting surprised by, for example, playing a track that I never played before. Something I found during the week and I thought was cool. Playing it goes really well, it gets a big reaction from the crowd. Those moments make me want to repeat them elsewhere. So for example, I played stuff here and in the Netherlands that worked really well and created a really nice moment during the set. But I know for a fact, in Brazil, for example, or in Italy, or wherever I go, like in a different place, it might not be the sound that suits that dance floor the best. But I want to create a moment where I can replicate that moment, or that song that worked in the Netherlands. A lot of the thought process behind my sets is trying to fit in other stuff that I like, and that maybe worked somewhere else, and or that I enjoyed with my homies and trying to make other people enjoy it as well. I played some reggae stuff today. You know, I even like stuff outside of electronic music.
In terms of things you have coming up, what are you excited about?
I am very excited about Jealous, my upcoming single on Circoloco Records coming out on August 25th. Pre-saves are already up my people! Yeah, it’s been the biggest track of my set, almost everywhere I play. It was the biggest track of this set today. Like, it’s been going really well. A lot of people are supporting it, a lot of people that were references to the track are supporting it as well so that’s a big stamp of approval for me. So yeah, super, super happy about that one. I think that one is gonna, it’s gonna be a real right.
How does it feel to represent Brazil, especially seeing all the Brazilian flags?
It’s amazing. I was talking to a girl from Brazil before the set, she was saying thank you so much for the music, it was amazing. You made me feel like home with the vocals and stuff. So creating that feeling for Brazilians that are migrating from Brazil to live abroad. And they haven’t been to Brazil for a while having that little moment. I think it’s a really nice thing! Also, it’s a really nice thing to be able to show our music and stuff from our place that we think is really nice, exactly that thing I said before about trying to show other people that if it works in Brazil, it can work here as well. You’re probably gonna like it.
Do you see yourself mixing up some other genres, playing some more techno or others?
Definitely, I love it but also it depends a lot on the club. For example, I played at the Warung Beach Club in Brazil a couple of months back. Warung is really techno-like but they have a lot of house nights as well. But it’s really known for being a techno place, D- Edge as well. When I played those places, the room, the atmosphere, everything called for a little bit more. So yeah, I try to bring it in. When I play in rooms that fit more of that vibe or festivals as sometimes it’s a huge stage that needs really huge-sounding techno tracks, that are like a really pumped up house. So I filter house tracks that sound really huge, depending on the room of the set. So when I try to go down that lane it’s when I try to put more, a little bit more of the hard stuff in. I love every genre, it depends on the mood of the day. I’ll go this way or the other.