Welcome to the first Interview Spotlight! This is where I will feature interviews or discussions with various musicians and learn more about them, what they do and how music affects them.
This week, I am pleased to showcase Luis Perez, also known as Neryko!
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?
“My name is Luis, I live in Tijuana, Mexico. I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing and I work for a commercial/industrial real estate firm.”
How are you involved in the music world? What do you do musically?
“I produce original/remixed tracks from time to time. I have a couple of tracks signed to different [record] labels and you can find them on diverse digital web stores like iTunes, Beatport, trackitdown, ect.”
Are there any previous associations or bands you were involved in before? What did you do and why are you no longer doing it?
“When I was younger, I used to play lead guitar for a couple of bands that never really took off. Then I discovered electronic music and saw that it was a better fit for me and stuck to it ever since”
How did you begin your journey into music? Have you had any formal training or schooling?
“At around thirteen years old, I started playing electric guitar and took courses in a local music academy. Later on when I discovered electronic music, I started watching a lot of tutorials and then enrolled in Sonic Academy for online courses.”
How would you best describe your music?
“Emotional Progressive Trance”
How has your music evolved over the years?
“I think it has gotten better in regards of sound quality. Sometimes I listen to past projects that never got released and they are just terrible”
Is there any direction you’d like to explore musically that you haven’t before?
“Not really, I am alright where I am right now”
What’s your creative process like? How do you go from a blank page, to a completed track or album?
“I never have a definitive starting spot. Sometimes I start with a bassline, other times with a melody, drums, ect. Just trying to get a cool sound to start off”
Have you done any type of yours or special venues?
“A while back I did a small tour over Europe in a series of small festivals where I met a bunch of cool people. Later on I got some opening gigs for the likes of Tiesto (when he still played Trance), Adam K, Ronski Speed and Darin Epsilon in Mexico and the US”
What’s your studio like? What type of equipment do you often find yourself using to help write and record or inspire you?
“My main DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] is Ableton Live 9 Standard, loaded with VST synths and effects. My KRK 5″ monitors, 25 key MIDI keyboard, external soundcard and my ATH-m50x headphones.”
What song of yours are you most proud of and why?
“I think it would be my Lazy Rich – “Damage Control (Neryko Bootleg Mix)”. That track put me in another level. It was so cool to work on it and it really stood out from the original.”
What music, other than your own, have you been listening to lately? What are some of your favorite artists to listen to in your down time?
“I listen to pretty much everything. One band that I’ve been listening to a lot lately is a Mexican rock band called Mente Vence Tigre. They are really awesome and electronic wise, I’ve been listening to Tempo Giusto a lot lately.”
What’s the first song you can remember writing? How does it compare with your current works?
“It was a track called “Nova” and it is shit compared to what I’ve been writing lately.”
If you wasn’t doing music, what would you see yourself trying to pursue?
“Well, I do have a career besides music and I love it. I just think I could do without the other. It’s all about balance for me.”
What would your advice be to someone who is trying to get into the music world? What should they look out for?
“Do your homework, put in the hours, experiment and do a lot of networking”
And lastly, what is your favorite type of food?
“Italian!!!”
www.soundcloud.com/neryko
www.facebook.com/nerykoofficial
Thanks to Luis for the great interview and giving us all a chance to see and hear about himself and how music works in his life. Make sure you guys give him some support and check him out!
If you’re a musician, artist, composer, DJ or anything to do with the music work, big or small, I would love to hear from you! If you’d like to be showcased, interviewed or be involved in the blog, please contact me at derekpalmer@derekpalmermusic.com or connect with me on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/derekpalmermusic
