Doc Brown’s lifetime passion for music is both unmistakable in his productions and undeniable in his performances. Having experimented with MIDI programming and sequencing as a teenager, it wasn’t until moving to Miami – and getting his hands on his first set of 1200s – that he was able to link creating electronic music in the studio to his natural ability to rock a party.
Showcasing a melodic style firmly rooted in the underground, Doc’s unique sound has crossover appeal and is demanded not only by well-informed dancefloors but international tastemakers. Doc’s bassline-driven productions have landed on a range of notable labels: recent releases on Vanilla Ace’s Wyldcard, Cube Trax, Whartone, HoTL, Insomniac & Lapsus Music have gathered industry acclaim, with support coming from a spectrum of artists as varied as Damian Lazarus, Tiesto, David Tort, Tocadisco, Oscar G, Supernova, Marco Lys and Hector Couto.
Listen to 133. Klubikon Podcast and read the interview with Doc Brown where he tells us about keeping himself busy during lockdown, the effects of isolation and the launch of his new label.
Thanks for speaking with us Steve, how’s the year been treating you so far?
So far it’s been pretty…interesting, to say the least. Started with a bang – a big release on Roger Sanchez’ UNDR THE RADR that went quite well, including heavy Nicole Moudaber support across multiple platforms. I was gearing up for a pretty stacked MMW lineup in Miami followed by a trip up to New York for an EP release party, but it obviously all ended up cancelled. Although having this extra time was completely unexpected, there has been no shortage of things to do!
For those who might not know you, please tell us who you are and what you do…
Yes of course, I’m a DJ/producer from Miami, FL (USA)…I’ve been DJing now for quite some time, first as a hobbyist, and then professionally about 10 years out in clubs – and eventually festivals. It’s been in the past 5 years my producing career has really got some traction releasing on labels like Lapsus Music, Stereo Productions, Natura Viva, Go Deeva and Cube Trax…and in the past year or two is when I’ve really started to see some serious, heavyweight DJ support come in on my tracks – everyone from Danny Tenaglia, Judge Jules & Green Velvet to Solardo, Golf Clap & Fedde Le Grand. I’ve been lucky enough to perform all over the place & at some pretty cool festivals like BPM (in Playa Del Carmen, MEX) and, to date, five different EDCs. I’m also a resident on the bi-annual cruise ship based festival Groove Cruise and have a monthly radio show called Unlearn:Radio that airs on Data Transmission.
You may have already answered this one a few times, but where did the name Doc Brown come from?
Back when I bought my first set of 1200s, DJing was a bit different than it is now. A good chunk of my first records were gifted to me by older, more experienced DJs so that I could learn to play – and the DJs that took you under their wing also were the ones that gave you your DJ name. I loved the ‘Back To The Future’ movies and my online handle – which was AOL IM at the time – included ‘docbrown’ so the name just kinda stuck as to what people called me.
Do you think there are fundamental differences in the style of house music produced in the US compared to Europe?
Well, I think – fundamentally – music is always changing. Genres evolve, what was once progressive house sounds like deep house of another era or locale, etc. But stylistically within the underground, there are definitely some differences between the type of tech-house being played in Europe, which is more sprawling, minimal, trippy and set-focused vs. the USA, which is primarily dominated by powerful clubby song-based tracks (reminds me a lot of older European big beat, actually). Lots of great new talent all around. Both places definitely have thriving techno scenes right now as well!
We hear you’ll shortly be launching a new label… what can you tell us about it
Yes! This is something I’m quite excited about & have wanted to do for a long time, and the timing finally just seems right. Facts are, there are only a handful of labels out there that are big enough to get you decent exposure just by releasing your track – and even though top-flight DJ servicing and PR are pretty essential to the success of a release, most labels out there just aren’t providing you with that level of investment. Over the past year or two I’ve been investing in those areas, and it has made huge returns. At this point I figure if I’m doing all that on my own for my music, why not be releasing it under my own imprint? Obviously I still have goals to release regularly on the world’s top labels, but this is the perfect opportunity to build and grow something of my own as well. Plus, I can extend the benefits of my system to artists I sign so I can help grow their careers. The best labels out there (and the ones I enjoy working with the most) always do a great job of finding & developing talent.
You had a busy gigging schedule before coronavirus struck… how much has it affected you, both professionally and personally?
Professionally it initially meant a lot of gig cancellations and dried up income. Moving past that, it’s been a great time to refocus, fine-tune, and get caught up on all the things that you just never seem to be able to. I feel like down times are the best times to make moves to get ahead, so I’ve been working hard to set things up for the future. Initially it caused us to push back the launch of the label, but music consumption is actually sky high right now so it’s full steam ahead! Personally I’ve been taking much better care of myself with diet & exercise – and despite the worry about future revenue (and the overall state of our world) my mental health is better than it’s been in quite some time.
A crisis of this scale has lead a lot of people to question fundamental aspects of the music industry… what kind of reforms would you like to see once we’ve returned to ‘normal’?
It seems for the past 25 years the industry has not seen anything consistent on how to create revenue streams, and we need some better balance there. In the dance music world as revenues declined from vinyl & CDs, artists adapted to monetizing merchandise & live event revenue (with the emphasis heavily on the latter). Now the biggest revenue stream has been stripped away again, and we’re seeing people have to adapt once more. I think with all this instability, we’re moving to a more direct fan-to-artist support system. You’re definitely seeing that with sites like Gofundme & Patreon, and even paid subscription sites as well. Personally, I’d like to see more education in the dance music community about copyright law so we have less people thinking it’s OK to rip each other off, and I’d also like to see some copyright reform or changes in the streaming world. If your music is well-played on online platforms, you should be able to make a living off of that.
How important is it for artists’ to be in control of their own releases? Is that part of the reason you started the label?
Yes…absolutely! Don’t get me wrong, signing music to other labels is great – and healthy for your artist career. Like a collab, it can help spark new ideas in you or learn a certain skill via observation. Outside perspective is always helpful as well. But, if you’re going to give away 50% of your work to someone you really need to ask yourself, “What am I getting for that 50%?” I think it’s important to be well-balanced, and that includes owning and controlling a good bit of your own material. When people approach you about licensing music for example, you can out-license your own catalog (rather than having to go through someone else to collect less money). If you think of music like a stock portfolio – which in actuality it is very much like – diversification gives you both greater stability & flexibility.
Tell us about the mix you’ve put together for Klubikon Podcast… any tracks in particular you’d like to highlight?
For sure…in addition to some fresh new releases from standout artists like Luigi Rocca, Dead Space & Tini Gessler, it’s also got a few productions from up-and-coming producers I’ve met along my artist journey like Kid Cut and Pass the 40. The mix also has three new tracks of mine, including the lead track ‘Invisible’ which is coming out on Andreas Hennberg & Beth Lydi’s SNOE (I’m really excited about this one as it’s one of my favorite labels!). I’ve also included one of two remixes I did recently for a vocal track called ‘Vibrate’ by Sebastian Park & So Vogue out now on Vanilla Ace’s WyldCard label. Then, towards the end I’ve got the dub version of an upcoming remix of mine that needs to remain an ID for now!
What else should we be looking out for you this year?
In addition to the label launch, I’m going to be doing even more to expand the Unlearn brand, including a weekly livestream show. I’ve really learned a lot about livestreaming over the past weeks both on my own and as part of a few online festivals – they’re actually a ton of fun both as a DJ and as a participant. The last one I did with the Groove Cruise ended up being a 12.5hr after-hours set into the next day…over the entire weekend the festival was able to raise around $25K for people affected by the pandemic, which was amazing! I’m really hopeful that later this year we’ll be able to return to performing more traditionally as well. I miss DJing to people and being in clubs quite a bit.
Finally, what one record do you think you’ve listened to the most so far this year
Bontan’s ‘Shake It’ has an undeniable funkiness (and the highest play count in my library of any track from 2020 that’s not my own). Gets me every time!
