Can't Stop Playing With Gregor Salto

 INTERVIEW 

Chatting with Gregor Salto 

Gregor Salto has been producing electronic dance music for over a decade and knows exactly what it takes to get the crowds going. His track 'Can't Stop Playing' with Dr. Kucho! (Oliver Heldens & Gregor Salto remix) saw remarkable success after its release in August 2014. Not only has he received praise for his masterful originals, Gregor has also become renowned for his adept remixing abilities, crafting massive official edits for the likes of JLO, Rita Ora, Mariah Carey and Rihanna. With tour dates scheduled at an array of festivals around the world, and with a slew of original productions & collaborations in the pipeline, Gregor is geared up to make 2015 one of his most productive years to date and we just had to catch up with him to find our more. 

Hello Gregor and a warm welcome to Think In Electronic. It’s an absolute pleasure to be interviewing you.

1.     How are you doing and what song do you currently have stuck in your head?

I’m doing great and I was just listening to Gregory Isaac – ‘Night Nurse’ great tune! ☺

2.     Everyone knows the name Gregor Salto, what’s the one thing people don’t know about you?

I hope there’s more than just 1 thing they don’t know about me ☺

Some facts you might not know:

- I live in the Dutch City of Haarlem. Harlem (NYC) was named after my city.

- I play classical piano, or I used to, gotta get back to practicing..

- I would like to become a semi-professional photographer one day

- I’m an ambassador for WWF

3.     We are from South Africa and this is a staple question. You have had many opportunities to tour our diverse country. Can you tell us about the first time you toured South Africa?

When Chappell and I came to SA to perform ‘Your Friend’ we met the warmest, nicest crowd you can imagine. Really, those gigs are in my 10 top gigs EVER. I remember in Durban, we played ‘Your Friend’, and the place exploded. When we finished the song, we had to play it again. Place exploded again! ☺☺ Such nice and warm people, best crowd in the world, I’ll never forget that!

4.     Your music draws on many different styles ranging from pop to African, what inspires you and what are your initial thoughts when producing a track?

I usually just go and start creating on vibes I feel. I don’t know why, but I sense I have a strong link with Africa. You can hear that in quite some of my tunes I guess.

Anyway, I always have a bit of Soul, Latin, Jazz and Afro in the back of my mind when producing tracks. And House of course.

5.     Crossing boundaries and expanding is something you are not afraid of doing, how do you ensure you stay true to who you are?

True to who I am… Well, I think every person changes over time. So do I. Some changes are good, some not so good. After some time you look back and think, ok that’s the way to go. If I was as talented as Michael Jackson or Prince I would probably only make classic songs, but I’m not so I just try and do my best.

6.     Rise Again is your collaboration with our local stars Liquideep, what was it like working with the duo and how did they inspire you?

That was a nice experience. They were on tour in Europe and came to visit me especially for 2 studio days. Nice guys, very talented. Who knows, we may do some more stuff in the future.

7.     Recently you gave Can’t Stop Playing a remake with Oliver Heldens, is there any specific reason why you chose to work with Oliver Heldens on his rework?

Actually, it was his idea. His label (Spinnin) asked him what song he would really like to remix and he said ‘Can’t stop playing’. When I came to Spinnin’s office for just an A&R meeting they showed me the initial idea and asked me if I liked it. I was like: oh yes, let’s get together and do this!

8.     “ Can’t Stop Playing ” can be dubbed a classic, what’s the real story behind the original track and the lyrics?

The real story is that I wanted to create a house song with an 80’s disco funk feel. The bassline is meant to be one of those lines you used to hear on a funk track, played with a moog. But I didn’t know how to finish it. I just had that melody and those guitars. Then I showed it to Dr. Kucho! and he immediately loved it. We finished it together. The original vocals – well let’s say I just found them inspiring ☺

9.     What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned from working with and remixing stars like Pitbull, Rihana and JLo to name a few?

Don’t know. Every remix is so different. No lessons learned yet ☺

10.  It’s currently Ibiza season tell us about your first visit to the white isle.

Pff I don’t remember. I do know I’ll be playing at Hardwell’s party this year, really looking forward to that!

11.  Where is your favourite hideout place in Ibiza? 

Actually, I’m not really an Ibiza expert. Honestly, I think the island is nice, but nothing compared to Cape Town for example.

12.  There has been much talk about what laptop DJs and so on do you think the real art of DJin has been lost?

Ah well, you can’t stop technology. I rather focus on good progress and innovation then winge about how it used to be. The most important part of the ‘art of DJing’ (let’s not pretend we’re all Jimi Hendrix behind the decks…) is about selecting the right tracks at the right moment, if you ask me.

That being said: playing on 1200s with real vinyl is a different game, and serious fun!

13.   How do you find the perfect balance between your music career and family time?

That’s difficult sometimes. But that is difficult for every family with hard-working parents. DJ’s don’t have such a hard life.

14.   What’s one of your favourite places to visit in South Africa?

I haven’t seen enough yet. So far it is Cape Town because of its beauty, but I’d love to discover more.

15.  Who are some South African artists who people should be looking out for?

People already know guys like Cuebur, Black Coffee, Culo, Gold Fish, Black Motion. Honestly, I’m sure there’s much more talent out there, I just haven’t really checked in a while.

16.  A little birdy told us you might have a South Africa tour coming up this year is this true? 

Nothing confirmed yet as far as I know!

17.  What does the rest of 2015 hold for Gregor Salto?

Some more releases on Spinnin and my own label G-REX, tours in Europe, US and Asia.

Check out Gregor Salto's Soundcloud page to keep up with his latest releases.

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