Photo by Matthew Morand.
In the middle of my second question, I lose him."Sorry… I thought that was Richie Hawtin's Dad. I saw him at Starbucks like, two days ago."Fixated on the line of people waiting for their coffee, is Mateo Roksandic—a 23 year old producer and the latest of the Downpour Recordings prodigies. We're sitting in our hometown of Windsor, Canada—the friendly, Canadian neighbour to Detroit and the proud home to the dance music legend Richie Hawtin. Here in Windsor, seeing Richie's old man isn't farfetched.Growing up amidst the border city's music and culture, Mateo has polished a musical skillset that reaches far beyond his years. He's penned a number of steamy original tunes and remixes, played late night sets from Toronto to Europe, and has honed a smooth, nu-disco sound that radiates those moments driving windows-down while waterside.Jazzing over coffee, we talked about his plethora of musical endeavors, the woeful bottle service culture and scoring a show in Croatia. For this episode of Northmix, Mateo Roksandic sends you drifting into his deeply electric-disco and lets you levitate in the distant summer.THUMP: Tell us how you were introduced to music and gradually, electronic music.
Mateo: I've been a musician all my life, but my dad is also a great musician, so that's where I get it from. I used to play in punk bands in Windsor but I started getting into electronic in 2006. I went to see a Justice show back in 2007 in Detroit and they blew my mind. At that time I knew so little about it all. I had this Macbook in Grade 9 and I swear I was the only one who had a Macbook then [laughs]. So I started producing using it and I stuck with it. I started taking it seriously the last couple years, by trying to build my own sound with more equipment and incorporating different musical elements.You were born in Croatia and you've recently played a show at a club there, in a city called Osijek. How did that come about?
This guy named Miroslav Kicic, he's a DJ called Microseven and runs a radio show out there on the national Croation station called DigitalFM. He has his own night dedicated to electronic music. He was reaching out to Canadian artists and looking more specifically for to Canadians with a Croatian background, to tie it all in. Luckily, I was referenced and the next thing you know we had set up an interview and a mix for the station. Ironically, I was going out there for a wedding this summer and we set up a show for around that time.For the kind of music that I'm into, Croatia was great. You could tell people were cultured in the music. I went there and a guy was wearing a Plastikan shirt, like Richie Hawtin's. Just so averagely. You would rarely see that here.At the recent label launch for Downpour Recordings you previewed the first track off your upcoming debut EP. What can we expect from the track and the EP?
Smooth Child is the EP name, but also the title of the premiere track. It has a groovy, disco vibe but there are noticeable synth sounds—which makes it less organically disco and more electronically disco. The vocal edit is with an incredible vocalist named Cody Lee. He's also from the Windsor area, so I knew a bit about him and I knew he had an amazing voice. Luckily he liked my music, so I sent him the instrumental and the next day he came back with an intro and a verse that was just, amazing. You could tell he was genuinely into it and interested in doing a good job. It's all due out on November 21, with both an instrumental version and the vocal version, along with two other original tracks, "These Days" and "Let Go."Beyond the Richie Hawtin relation, what kind of influence has Windsor and/or Detroit had on your musical upbringing?
I think being so close to Detroit is such a blessing. Firstly, you have Movement and secondly, you have places like The Works and TV Lounge who host a legendary DJ every weekend. Like, Marc Houle was there just last night. It's a different experience altogether in Detroit. There's few people "having bottles." I'm not sure you can "buy a bottle" like you do here. It's an authentic experience and I couldn't have been luckier to have been exposed to a scene like it. It's not a pretentious, superficial environment per-say. Whereas other places can be. I'm not trying to knock down Toronto, but it's pretty clear bottles can really drive what's going on.Beyond the upcoming EP release, what else are you working towards in the foreseeable future?
I'm trying to build a non-traditional DJ set, where I play some live guitar, some keyboards. All while still delivering a fun and clubby sound… nothing too coffee shop sounding. I'm also one half of a DJ duo with my friend Colin MacDonald called Groove Right and we're playing a sold out brunch party in Toronto on October 25. But I'm really excited about my side project called Electric Treasure. It's a totally different style of music—a radio friendly, electronic-funk blend. All original vocals and sounds. That's scheduled for October 28 with Pop Gang Records, so watch for that.Smooth Child EP is due out on November 21 with Downpour Recordings. Catch Mateo spin with Groove Right at the Beringer Brunch at El Caballito in Toronto on October 25.Mateo Roksandic: FB / T / SC
Groove Right: FB / T / SC
Cody Lee: YT / SC
Advertisement
Mateo: I've been a musician all my life, but my dad is also a great musician, so that's where I get it from. I used to play in punk bands in Windsor but I started getting into electronic in 2006. I went to see a Justice show back in 2007 in Detroit and they blew my mind. At that time I knew so little about it all. I had this Macbook in Grade 9 and I swear I was the only one who had a Macbook then [laughs]. So I started producing using it and I stuck with it. I started taking it seriously the last couple years, by trying to build my own sound with more equipment and incorporating different musical elements.You were born in Croatia and you've recently played a show at a club there, in a city called Osijek. How did that come about?
This guy named Miroslav Kicic, he's a DJ called Microseven and runs a radio show out there on the national Croation station called DigitalFM. He has his own night dedicated to electronic music. He was reaching out to Canadian artists and looking more specifically for to Canadians with a Croatian background, to tie it all in. Luckily, I was referenced and the next thing you know we had set up an interview and a mix for the station. Ironically, I was going out there for a wedding this summer and we set up a show for around that time.
Advertisement
Smooth Child is the EP name, but also the title of the premiere track. It has a groovy, disco vibe but there are noticeable synth sounds—which makes it less organically disco and more electronically disco. The vocal edit is with an incredible vocalist named Cody Lee. He's also from the Windsor area, so I knew a bit about him and I knew he had an amazing voice. Luckily he liked my music, so I sent him the instrumental and the next day he came back with an intro and a verse that was just, amazing. You could tell he was genuinely into it and interested in doing a good job. It's all due out on November 21, with both an instrumental version and the vocal version, along with two other original tracks, "These Days" and "Let Go."Beyond the Richie Hawtin relation, what kind of influence has Windsor and/or Detroit had on your musical upbringing?
I think being so close to Detroit is such a blessing. Firstly, you have Movement and secondly, you have places like The Works and TV Lounge who host a legendary DJ every weekend. Like, Marc Houle was there just last night. It's a different experience altogether in Detroit. There's few people "having bottles." I'm not sure you can "buy a bottle" like you do here. It's an authentic experience and I couldn't have been luckier to have been exposed to a scene like it. It's not a pretentious, superficial environment per-say. Whereas other places can be. I'm not trying to knock down Toronto, but it's pretty clear bottles can really drive what's going on.Beyond the upcoming EP release, what else are you working towards in the foreseeable future?
I'm trying to build a non-traditional DJ set, where I play some live guitar, some keyboards. All while still delivering a fun and clubby sound… nothing too coffee shop sounding. I'm also one half of a DJ duo with my friend Colin MacDonald called Groove Right and we're playing a sold out brunch party in Toronto on October 25. But I'm really excited about my side project called Electric Treasure. It's a totally different style of music—a radio friendly, electronic-funk blend. All original vocals and sounds. That's scheduled for October 28 with Pop Gang Records, so watch for that.Smooth Child EP is due out on November 21 with Downpour Recordings. Catch Mateo spin with Groove Right at the Beringer Brunch at El Caballito in Toronto on October 25.Mateo Roksandic: FB / T / SC
Groove Right: FB / T / SC
Cody Lee: YT / SC