George Carrasco, better known as Matches (and formerly, Clockwerk), introduces himself to Blisspop coming off the success of his breakthrough collaboration, “If This” with Danny Daze. Appearing in Noir’s Second Chances and New Romances Vol. 3, sitting fairly high throughout Beatport charts and landing in Resident Advisor’s top 50 for December of 2011, it’s easy to say the release of “If This” has placed Matches in the realm of up-and-coming house producers to keep a close eye on.
Get to know Matches below, and groove to his hand-picked “Blisspop Playlist” which includes several of his own mixes, remixes and original tracks.
You passionately represent Spain. Is that where you’re from?
I’m actually a born and raised Miami kid, but I like to give representation to my heritage of being from Cuban/Spanish descent. I feel, as a person, you don’t really know where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from. Lucky for me, I had generations as far back as my great-grand parents still around while I was growing up so it really gave me the opportunity to absorb, on a daily basis, the diverse palate of cultural influences that Cuban/Spanish art and music bring to the table…
From what influences do you draw the sound of “Matches”?
The sound the world gets from “Matches†started off back on the last bit of remix work and original releases I had under my real name, George Carrasco. It carried a bit into the “Clockwerk†project, as short lived as that was, until finally coming full circle under the guise of “Matches.â€
I actually like to dig into live percussion sampling at every opportunity I get, while keeping melodic chord progressions throughout my tracks to keep them flowing and a little more emotionally connecting…
I think for an artist it’s very difficult to define influences but if I had to give it a go, the list would start at the very top with Guti, Guy Gerber, James Holden, Davide Squillace, Luca Bachetti, DJ T, Steve Lawler, Matthias Tanzmann, Dyed Soundorom, &Me, Tim Green, Gui Boratto, The Timewriter, Stryke, Peace Division, etc…and if we had to attempt of giving it a genre I’d have to go with all things drummy-deep-bass-heavy-a little melodic-with a side of disco.
How does the sound and project of Matches differ from Clockwerk?
Matches is actually the continuation of Clockwerk. I had to pull the plug on that moniker as Danny and I were working a lot together on stuff and if I remember correctly I think the guys from Hot Creations asked if I was “Clockwork C/W†which was about to unleash their amazing “It’s You Again†bomb on Hot Creations to the universe, and when he told them I wasn’t I was “suggested†to change the name to avoid confusion. Later that night shootin’ the breeze outside of Danny’s studio he tosses me a box of Strike Anywhere Penley Matches and says, “What do you think of this? …Matches?†and pretty much went with it from there on out. It’s still a bit weird introducing myself to people in the scene as “Matches,” but none the less its growing on me…and apparently quite a few others.
Will you give us insight into the creative writing process between you and Danny, and the story behind “If This”?
Danny and I are full on studio nerds and we’re constantly alternating spots on who’s handling the computer and who’s tweaking a synth. 10 or 12 hour studio sessions are the given norm as long as we aren’t under any time constraints with local gigs or travel the following day. As for the creative process, we’re both constantly working and we utilize the same platform for production, Ableton, so we’ll phone or text each other up and take over unfinished stuff that we feel either of us can add to something of substance to. Worst case scenario we start something from scratch like we’ve done with some of our secret bootlegs.
As for “If This,†I personally love that track!!! It was one of those tracks we finished in no time and everything was flowing flawlessly from start to finish. We looked like a pair of bobble head toys sitting at the desk working on that. We couldn’t be more thankful of Rene NOIR Kristensen, the Noir Music family of artists and the overwhelming support it received from the public upon release. I believe it topped out at #4 on Beatport’s Deep House charts for a couple weeks and like #11 or #12 in the overall top 100…annnnd since Danny’s successful release on Maceo Plex’s label, Ellum Audio, and landing on the Resident Advisor’s Top 50 Charted Tracks for December 2011 it actually started climbing AGAIN…annnnnd shortly after the release it was requested for Toolroom Records’ upcoming compilation mixed by John Dahlback set for release February 2012.
Last month you posted a preview of “They Know” via SoundCloud, is this set for release anytime soon?
“They Know†is going to be coming out soon on my good friend David Sulihvan’s label, Kúbu Music, out of Barcelona, Spain.
What else can we expect from Matches in 2012?
Early 2012 has couple remixes coming from me on Savoir Faire Musique, Deep Edition Recordings, SK Supreme with local girl wonder Ms. Mada, a track that’s called “Lovejack,†and Draft that will also be releasing an original collaboration between long time friend Mika Materazzi and myself called “The Game†and it includes a remix by Desolat’s current wiz kid, Allì Borèm. As for later in the year I’m looking to have my artist album completed by April and ready to hit the airwaves for the summer.
Where and when can people usually catch you spin while in Miami?
The crew at the CoveLove Thursday night party have really been the ones to open their doors for regular air time. They’ve really done something incredibly special there with the vibe and energy that the party carries through the night. The same guys also work in conjunction with Davide Danese of Link at another venue, Tree House, on great Friday night party. There’s also Gaby Izarra and company over at mybeatFix.com who booked me to play alongside Mika Materazzi, Ms. Mada and Amari on Thursday, January 12th at The Electric Pickle for their monthly locals showcase. As for touring and other gigs, I’ve got a couple of dates my booking agent has confirmed for later in the month both locally and over in North Carolina in February.
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Matches via
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