14.10.2020
This week’s guest mix is by Botez, an up and coming DJ and producer specializing in minimal/groovy/deep house, signed to Andhera Records out of Brooklyn. You may also recognize him from previous Transit Station events around the city.
Botez is fresh off a performance at The Aretha last weekend, opening for Golf Clap in addition to Skywild. The vibes there were electric and he definitely knows how to get a dancefloor poppin’.
In his interview, we talk about his musical journey and his sound, his affiliation with Andhera Records, upcoming events, book reccomendations, and more.
I hope you enjoy his mix (on SoundCloud now!), and learn a bit about Botez after reading his interview.
detroit.dance: Talk about your musical journey so far – How did you get into music? How did you get to where you are now?
Botez: My musical journey kind of goes pretty far back. I started playing piano when I was five. So I have a heavy background in classical and jazz piano. Then shortly after that, like around seven or eight, I started playing guitar. And then started getting into bands once I was more into middle school, and started playing in bands with my friends. That’s when I started writing songs and performing them with the bands that I was in. Then I was writing all this music and I was like, “Damn, I really want to record this music.” So that’s where I exposed myself to the world of recording and started recording instruments…drums, the piano, the guitar, vocals…and that was my first exposure and attempt at getting into that world.
Towards the end of high school, I started to discover electronic music… so that’s when I started creating electronic music. And then I started college at the University of Detroit Mercy and also moved to Detroit. That’s where it all took off for me. I got exposed to the whole scene in Detroit, I found out about techno and how Detroit was the birthplace of techno. I wasn’t too involved with much going on at my school, you were always going to find me at the clubs or at the after hours….And that really spoke to me. In the meantime, I was really experimenting with all different types of electronic music. Making beats for trap music to r&b and hip hop, and so on.
It wasn’t until about two or three years ago, I was like, “Okay, I want to be a house and techno DJ and producer.” That’s when I set that intention, and started pursuing that full force.
detroit.dance: How would you describe your sound now?
Botez: My sound, I would definitely say is on the more minimal house side. I like to keep it groovy, but also stripped back and has the bass slappin’ the whole time. Then there’s times where it all depends what I’m playing, but I also like to get a little more deep and dark with it.
detroit.dance: What are you working on right now in terms of producing?
Botez: I have a collab with a friend from Brooklyn. His name’s Ken Kelly. And he’s a new producer to the scene as well. We just wrapped up one song. We’re about to start up another one, and we plan on doing a two-track EP that we want to send out to a couple labels to sign.
That one I’m really excited about – I was able to test out one of the tracks Saturday at the [Golf Clap at The Aretha] show and it did really well. That’s one one of the biggest ones I have right now that I’m excited about. Another one is a collab with another Brooklyn guy named Ky Williams. He’s actually the Founder of Andhera Records. So another two-track EP that we want to send around. Another track that I have in the works is with my really good friend Nic Joseph, and I actually went to high school with and we’ve been sharing this whole musical journey together. We had a track that we collabed on last year that was released around the fall time that was my first song ever released, this new track is going to be coming out on the Andhera Winter DA. So it’s been nice to be able to get back in the studio with him and create some magic. Those are my plans for the rest of 2020. We will see what 2021 has in store for me.
detroit.dance: You’ve got a super vibey track that I dig called “Searching” on the Andhera Records Summer Sampler Compilation, what was your inspiration for that track and can you talk a little bit more about your affiliation with Andhera?
Botez: Honestly, my inspiration for that track was kind of just a vibey summer track with a deep house sound.
My affiliation with Andhera is something that’s pretty important to talk about because they are technically the first label that I’ve released on, and I have to give a big shout out to one of the label bosses Ky William. He really put me on and believed in me and gave me a chance by allowing me to release with them. Everything after that just kinda took off for me. Through that, I was able to meet so many like-minded producers, and the Andhera community in general is a very tight-knit group of producers who are all super supportive. Everyone is always sending around tracks and showing love so I’m extremely grateful to be a part of that. Definitely keep an eye out for Andhera because they are doing big things and bringing a fresh new sound to the states that I know is going to pop off.
detroit.dance: Where do you see yourself in about five years (both in music and in general)?
Botez: I plan to be pretty far ahead in five years, hopefully, I would like to be like a touring DJ, you know, playing all around the world. And then also having tracks released on some of the biggest labels out there. I really see that happening in five years. But also I’m a strong believer in short-term goals and setting three and six month goals. Keeping that big picture goal in mind, but also staying realistic and focusing on the shorter term goals and making sure that you accomplish those and, and, you know, just like stacking little wins – little by little, day by day, week by week, month by month. Really being aware of where you are and where you want to be, and putting in the work every day and knowing that if you put in the work every day and set your intention, that anything can happen with the right mindset.
detroit.dance: Do you have any events coming up you’d like to talk about?
Botez: Yes, I have one really exciting one! I got together with a group of friends and we started this event called Off The Record. We’re throwing our very first party October 23rd at Bookie’s Rooftop in Detroit. It’s going to be myself, Nic Joseph that I mentioned earlier, a good friend of mine, Cooper Crank (it was actually his idea to do a party like this), and also an awesome, awesome DJ from Grand Rapids called Lenoir. So it’s a really stacked lineup. I’m super, super excited for it. I think it’s probably one of going to be one of the last opportunities that we have for an outdoor, socially distanced party due to the weather. It’s already sold out online, but there will be some tickets at the door. So, anyone who’s trying to come out I definitely recommend getting there early.
detroit.dance: What do you do outside of DJing?
Botez: My background is in architecture, and I have my Masters of Architecture from the University of Detroit Mercy, so that is my main gig. I work for various firms as an architectural designer. And then I also do graphic design, design consulting…I do virtual tours for real estate, so kind of just in the whole design and real estate sector. I was living out in New York working for a firm and now I am back in Michigan, looking for work out here.
detroit.dance: What are some hobbies you have and how did you get into them?
Botez: So a big hobby for me is exercising and things like that and staying in shape. So from running, to going to the gym, to doing yoga….I really like to stay active and keep my body in tip top shape. And then on top of that, meditation and mindfulness is also a big part of my life. I have a routine of meditating every morning and then exercising, doing journaling. Other than that, I’m big on reading so I like to finish every day with reading before I go to bed. Also podcasts; that’s where I get a lot of my info and my knowledge from. Apart from that, another big thing for me is the music, I guess within the music scene and playing piano. That’s a big thing for me. And that’s something that I’ve done since I was five years old. So another very big part of my life.
detroit.dance: Do you have any favorite podcasts or books from recently that you would like to mention?
Botez: Yes, of course. So, my go-to podcast is one that’s on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, called “Group Chat”, and it’s kind of like more just like news related things. They talk about anything that’s going on in the world from politics, to pop culture, to sports, to everything… they’re really good at just covering everything that’s going on right now. So that’s how I stay up to date with all of my info. Definitely recommend that one. And then, ever since Joe Rogan got added to Spotify, I’ve been going pretty hard on those. I love the conversations and the guests that he has on the show. So that’s another go-to of mine. Another one is a really cool one, it’s more design centered, but it’s called “Time Sensitive”. It’s actually based out of New York. It’s these two guys that interview people in the design field, and they have a conversation about time, how they perceive time and how it influences their work in the field. So yeah, those are three of my top ones that I’ve been kind of going to pretty hard lately.
And then in terms of books, I just finished a really, really awesome book that I definitely recommend for any like artists or creatives. And it’s called The War of Art (Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles) by Steven Pressfield. So essentially, it’s a book about overcoming resistance. It was a really big thing for me also, it helped me acknowledge where I had resistance in my life and helped me overcome it every day. So another one that I highly, highly recommend.
detroit.dance: Music festivals – What’s your most memorable festival experience or most memorable festival(s) you’ve been to?
Botez: Gotta stay true to Movement, I’m like seven years strong and I don’t plan on slowing down. It’s got a very special place in my heart. But other than that, I have two others that have really stood out to me. One of them was Defected Festival in Croatia. I went a couple summers ago, I think 2017. It’s a six day, six night festival so definitely the longest festival I’ve ever been to. I really like label-specific festivals because they tend to have a smaller capacity and they’re more intimate. It was in this really cool beach side venue in Croatia. I obviously knew about house music at that point but going there and experiencing all the Defected DJs for six days… I found so many other DJs that are extremely talented and it definitely inspired me. So that one was super, super special. The other one is also a label-specific one – Dirtybird Campout West. Like I said, I like a little smaller capacity and smaller venues because you get to meet more people and the chances of running into those people again are more likely. And you know, the Dirtybird following is always hype. And I think last year it was on the same grounds as Lightning in A Bottle was, so it kind of had this desert feel to it kind of like Burning Man. So during the day, nice and hot but then at night it got pretty chilly so everyone was in their fur coats. Really had a burner vibe to it. And yeah, that was super special for me as well.
detroit.dance: If you had a one-way ticket to any destination, where would you go?
Botez: Right now, I would probably say Egypt. I’ve never been to see the pyramids. And I feel like that’s something that I need to experience once in my life and just be at the bottom of them, to see them and to feel them and to just like sit there marveling knowing that no one knows how they got there. I think I think that would be an extremely profound experience, and especially on my list of places that I want to go.
detroit.dance: If you were guaranteed just one thing in life (besides for money), what would you want it to be?
Botez: I would want to be guaranteed to always be surrounded by people that love and care for me, support me, inspire, and motivate me.
detroit.dance: Is there anything else that you would like to say?
Botez: I want to say thank you for having me! I’m excited for everyone to hear the mix. I’m excited to continue doing stuff around Detroit. I was living out in New York and I thought I was going to be living out there for a while, but I was brought back here. Since then, things have been taking off for me over here, so I’m excited to keep putting on for my city. I’m excited to keep continuing to share music with everyone and to keep meeting and collaborating with like-minded people…and to really come together to do something that’s positive and filled with love – bringing people together and uniting everyone through love and dance.
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Make sure you check out Botez’s Destination Detroit (Boston-Edison Historic District), and his Recipe by Request (Butternut Squash Lentil Curry) that will be posted Friday.
Keep up with Botez on his socials :