The Sundowner. Mix #26 comes from Colombian DJ and Producer Fabbs on, founder of Plural Musik. His latin and jazz influences since young age are certainly present and strong pillars in the creation of his music and makes his mixes something very special. Check out his fresh new mix and get to know him better in the full interview we had with him.
Inés: Hi Fabian, how are you?
Fabian: Hi Ines, now I’m fine after a little injury I had in my leg. I am in my apartment in Berlin, and because of the recent injury I cannot walk much lately. So I am staying at home for about two months and mostly in my studio where I spend the majority of my time until I am fully recovered.
Inés: Ohh that’s unfortunate to hear, we hope you get better soon! So tell us, what’s your family’s relationship to music? And your home town/area?
Fabian: My hometown is Medellin in Colombia where I was living until the age of 22. I have been involved in music since I was 8 years old, because my father is a bass player and he had an orchestra during my childhood. My father has a large collection of salsa, jazz and American music vinyls from the 80’s which I liked to listen to on his turntables since I was very young. That’s the reason I have a lot of influence from those genres and Latin music in general.
Inés: You are running the music label Plural and the Pluralized Mix Series, tell us how everything started and what was the idea behind Pluralized?
Fabian: Two years after having released the first EP in 2018 was when I realised that I had a good collection of Downtempo, trip hop, future jazz records and music in general not directed to the dance floor. I decided to start with the Pluralized show in order to offer the Plural Audience another side of music that I find very interesting and full of different nuances. The artists that we have invited, as well as myself, have loved being able to discover many songs that we never put much attention on before and explore all those other styles in our collections in order to do the podcasts. The idea of the Pluralized Mix Series is to be able to offer the listener a moment to disconnect from everyday rhythms and listen to something different.
Inés: When recording a podcast do you improvise or do you take a more structured process approach? Explain to us a little bit the process.
Fabian: This depends on the kind of podcast. In some I can improvise more than in others. For example, if it is music for the dance floor, I can improvise more, because I have more variety when choosing. If it is for Pluralized or that kind of music, I like to dig deeper into each topic and be able to structure a little more given that the speed and variety of music are very different from each other. I find it a little challenging to mix this kind of music in a way to make it sound like I am telling a story.
Inés: Apart from being a DJ you are also a producer, who or what inspired you to start producing music?
Fabian: My musical education goes back to the study of piano and classical guitar. When I got into electronic music, I felt the need to start creating and producing music. In my productions, percussion, bass and harmony always play a very important role, without it, in my opinion, the music doesn’t have much impact.
Inés: What would you say it’s a key ingredient to success in the music scene nowadays?
Fabian: I believe that in the past, as much as nowadays, and the future, the key might be to contribute with something that is timeless, without being influenced too much by sounds that come along with trends. Always starting from scratch and getting carried away in something new, without using sounds or elements, that one is usually using. I think this makes the process a lot more creative. It’s about creating something that is very unique, for example talking about music harmony, or instruments that you like to use often in your productions.
Inés: Can you name an album or EP you consider “timeless”?
Fabian: Fila Brazilia – Luck be a weirdo tonight EP I have always liked the work of these artists. I think that they had a visionary sound since their beginnings, and 30 years later, they still sound fresh with a lot of creativity and personality.
Inés: Any projects or releases we should look out for?
Fabian: The next release for Plural, PLR04F, is my debut EP as Fabbs on, , with 4 original tracks, I have produced different styles of music for many years and this work has a little bit of each of those different nuances. I think that’s the beauty of evolving but without losing your roots.
Inés: What is one thing that you can’t live without?
Fabian: After having my first dog for 14 years, and having the experience of letting him go, I have been without a dog for 6 months and now I have another puppy in my life. I realized that, if there is something that I need to have by my side, it’s a dog. They fill your life with love and give me personally a lot of peace.
Inés: Thank you Fabian, we are looking forward to hear your next release and good luck with your future plans!
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