Welcome To My World

Download this episode (59 min)   

Cristian Varela @ Row 14, Barcelona, Spain Pt.1 (5/12/08)

www.myspace.com/cristianvarela

CRISTIAN VARELA, WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY OF ARTISTS WHERE HE DEVELOPED THE SKILLS HE NEEDED TO BECOME THE GREAT SPANISH PRODUCER-DJ HE IS TODAY. HIS FATHER WAS A DRAMA THEATER 1ST ACTOR (DRAMATIC NATIONAL THEATRE); HIS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER, BALLET TEACHERS (LYCEE FRANÇAIS DE MADRID); HIS GRANDFATHER,A RADIO STATION DIRECTOR (RADIO MADRID), ETC. LIVING IN SUCH A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT, HE WAS INSPIRED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY PIANO WHEN HE WAS ONLY NINE YEARS OLD.

TWO YEARS LATER, IN 1986, HE WROTE HIS FIRST CLASSICAL COMPOSITIONS WHICH IMPRESSED IMPORTANT THEATER DIRECTORS. SOME OF THE WORKS WERE FINALLY INCLUDED IN THEATER PLAYS AS "EL RETABLO DE LA AVARICIA","LA LUJURIA","LA MUERTE DE VALLE INCLÁN" IN THE POPULAR THEATER COMPANY CALDERÓN DE LA BARCA. THIS STARTED CRISTIAN VARELA´S FRUITFUL CAREER AS BOTH COMPOSER AND PIANIST.

IT IS IN 1990 WHEN CRISTIAN STARTED LISTENING TO KRAFTWERK, MORODER, FRONT 242, SPLIT SECOND, NITZEREBB, DEPECHE MODE, VANGELIS AND MUCH MORE. FEELING A STRONG ATTRACTION TO THESE GROUPS AND ARTISTS, HE BEGAN TO CREATE HIS FIRST ELECTRONIC PRODUCTIONS.

IN 1991 HE WROTE HIS FIRST ELECTRONIC PIECE CALLED "INTRUDERS" WHICH WAS COMPOSED FOR THE CLASSICAL DANCE FESTIVAL(LFM). RESULTING IN A BIG SUCCESS, CRISTIAN CONTINUED COMPOSING PIECES FOR THE FUTURE FESTIVALS.

1992 MARKED HIS FIRST CLUB RESIDENCY AS A DJ IN A VILLALBA CLUB CALLED PORCHE CLUB WHERE HE INTRODUCED SOUNDS SUCH AS E.B.M. AND ELEKTRO WHICH WERE NOT REALLY WELL KNOWN IN THOSE DAYS IN SPAIN. HE ALSO WON THE RADIO VINILO- "CARLOS EISMAN"- BEST DJ PRIZE ALL OVER MADRID. MONTHS LATER HE BEGAN HIS RESIDENCY IN ATTICA, A VERY POPULAR AND FIRST UNDERGROUND MUSIC CLUB IN MADRID WHERE HE PLAYED AMBIENT, ELEKTRO, HOUSE, TECHNO AND E.B.M. CRISTIAN SESSIONS WERE CONSIDERED OUTSTANDING OVERALL AND HE SOON BECAME ONE OF THE UNDERGROUND CULTURE PIONEERS IN SPAIN.

IN 1994 CRISTIAN LAUNCHED HIS FIRST MAXI "EL CIGARRITO" WITH AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY (DID.S.A.) AND REMIXED A DANCE TRACK FOR A HEINEKEN SPOT. LATER THE SAME YEAR, HE BECAME BOTH RESIDENT AND DIRECTOR TOGETHER WITH HIS BROTHER AND CURRENT MANAGER LUIS VARELA AT THE FULL GLAMOURED AFTERHOURS ZARABANDA. AT THE SAME TIME, CRISTIAN CREATED THE LEGENDARY EPSILON SESSIONS IN AIRE CLUB-MADRID. TWO MONTHS LATER HE WON "SPAIN ATTICA AWARDS 1994" FOR THE BEST SPANISH TECHNO DJ. AS HIS FAME AS A DJ STRENGTHENED, HE BEGAN TRAVELLING THROUGHOUT SPAIN AND TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES SUCH AS BELGIUM AND FRANCE.

ALSO IN 1994, TOGETHER WITH HIS BROTHER, HE SET UP PHRENETIC SOCIETY, A PIONEER COMPANY IN MASSIVE MUSIC FESTIVALS, MUSIC SHOPS, IMPORTED CLOTHING, DJ´S SCHOOL AND NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL ARTIST´S AGENCY. WITH THIS, THEY PROMOTED NEW ARTISTS AND STYLES SUCH AS TECHNO ANDHARD TECHNO WHICH NOWADAYS ARE STILL UNDER APPRECIATED IN OUR COUNTRY.

IN 1995 CRISTIAN WAS CONTRACTED BY SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT SPAIN THROUGH WHICH HIS FAME FLOURISHED IN DISCOGRAPHY ("TWO SPIRITS IN ONE" 1995, "I.L.T.E.C.S" 1996, ETC.). AT THIS TIME HE STARTED MAKING COMPILATIONS WITH BIG ARTISTS LIKE JEAN MICHELLE JARRE, CULTURE BEAT, APPOLO 13 AND MORE.

THEN IN 1996 CRISTIAN REMIXED MUSIC FROM CHRIS LIBERATOR, ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEEJAYS OF THE BRITISH TECHNO SCENE AT THAT MOMENT, CREATING THE TRACK "MADRID ACID RMX"- STAY UP FOREVER REC. WITH THIS, CRISTIAN WAS ON THE CHARTS AND ON THE BIGGEST RADIO STATIONS IN LONDON.

SOME MONTHS LATER, CRISTIAN RECEIVED AN OFFER WITH ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TECHNO LABELS: PRIMATE RECORDINGS-UK. FOLLOWING THIS, CRISTIAN WAS PROPOSITIONED BY IMPORTANT LABELS SUCH AS PLANET VISION FROM GERMANY, PRIMEVIL FROM UK, ELEPHANTHAUS FROM USA, EQUATOR FROM GERMANY, SESSION IN BELGIUM, ETC. AND REMIXED TRACKS FROM SPEEDY J, BEN SIMS, GAYLE SAN, PASCAL F.E.O.S, TIM BAKER, MARCO BAILEY...

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT IN ADDITION TO BEING CONSIDERED AN INTERNATIONAL DEEJAY AND PRODUCTOR, CRISTIAN VARELA SERVES AS AN OPEN DOOR MAKING THE SPANISH SCENE WELL KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD. CRISTIAN THEN BEGAN TOURING BRAZIL, TOKYO, USA, COLOMBIA, CANADA AND BEYOND AS AN INCREDIBLY RESPECTED DEEJAY IN THE BEST WORLWIDE NIGHT CLUBS AND FSTIVALS.

IN 1998 CRISTIAN DEVELOPED HIS OWN LIVE ACT TOGETHER WITH HIS THREE INSEPARABLE PERCUSSIONISTS. NOT ONCE DID THEY LET DOWN THE AWAITING CROWD IN FESTIVALS SUCH AS "I LOVE TECHNO" IN BELGIUM, "AWAKENINGS" IN HOLLAND, "NATURE ONE" AND "LIBERTY ONE" IN GERMANY; PLAYING IN UNISON WITH SOME OF THE BEST LIKE CARL COX, SVEN VATH, RICHIE HAWTIN, DAVE CLARKE OR GREEN VELVET. TODAY CRISTIAN´S NAME CAN BE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE MEDIA IN SOURCES SUCH AS MTV, VIVA, TELE5, ANTENA3, TELEMADRID, TVE, GROOVE MAG, MIXMAG, DEEJAY, EL MUNDO, EL PAÍS, LA VOZ DE GALICIA, LA NUEVA ESPAÑA, FUTURE MUSIC, ETC.

IN 2000, TOGETHER WITH HIS GOOD FRIEND AND ARTIST, MARCO BAILEY, CRISTIAN CREATED THE POPULAR RECORD LABEL "PORNOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS" WHICH STANDS AMONG THE BEST TECHNO LABELS WORLWIDE. THE LABEL ALSO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES TO NEW TALENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT IS ALSO IN YEAR 2000 WHEN CRISTIAN WROTE THE MUSIC FOR THE POPULAR PASARELA CIBELES , FASHION CATWALK IN MADRID AND WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT HE WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF PROVIDING MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE ONES TO COME. HE ALSO COMPOSED HIS FIRST ALBUM "NEW ELECTRONIC AUDIO/ ARCHITECTURES" WHERE CRISTIAN´S MATURITY IS APPRECIATED IN CREATING DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC.

ONCE MORE, CRISTIAN WON "BEST TECHNO DJ PRIZE" IN BACHATTA CLUB AWARDS, ALSO "BEST TECHNO PRODUCER" IN DEEJAYMAGS SPAIN AWARDS 2000 AND ALSO RECEIVED "BEST TECHNO DJ PRIZE" IN DJ ONNERS SPAIN AWARDS 2000. HE WAS RANKED SEVENTH AMONG THE FIRST HUNDRED WORLWIDE PRODUCERS BY "SATELLITE", THE FAMOUS AMERICAN DISTRIBUTOR THANKS TO HIS MAXI CALLED "GROOVIE WAVEDRUMS E.P" IN PRIMATE RECORDINGS UK. BOTH HIS BROTHER AND MANAGER RECEIVED THE BEST NATIONAL DJ´S AGENCY PRIZE.

IN 2001 CRISTIAN WAS MOTIVATED BY HIS OWN ALBUM AND CREATED A NEW MUSIC LABEL CALLED "DONKEYHEAD RECORDINGS" WHERE HE PLAYED DIFFERENT STYLES SUCH AS ELEKTRO, AMBIENT, HOUSE, AND OF SOMETIMES TECHNO, WHERE HE UTILIZED THE PSEUDONYM OF CARLOS DURAN. WITH THIS NAME WE FOUND CRISTIAN PLAYING THE MOST SMART SESSIONS IN PLACES LIKE CHICAGO, NEW YORK, MADRID, AND MANY MORE.

ALSO IN YEAR 2001, CRISTIAN WON FIVE MORE PRIZES, THREE OF THEM ARE AWARDED BY DJ ONNERS SPAIN AWARDS 2001 TO THE BEST MIXED CD -TOGETHER WITH TONY VERDI, ALSO TO THE BEST ELECTRONIC MUSIC ALBUM AND TO THE BEST RECORDINGS LABEL "PORNOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS". THE OTHER TWO PRIZES ARE GIVEN BY "DEEJAYMAGS SPAIN AWARDS 2001" TO THE BEST TECHNO DJ AND ALSO BEST DJ OF THE YEAR!

IN 2002 CRISTIAN CREATED THE UNIQUE THURSDAY TECHNO SESSIONS IN MADRID: EMOTION TECH CLUB, WHERE THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS DEEJAYS ALL OVER THE WORLD PLAY. EMOTION REPRESENTS THE BEST SPANISH CHOICE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT.

CRISTIAN WAS APPOINTED OFFICIAL DJ OF FINAL SCRATCH (STANTON) IN SPAIN AND IS TAKING PART IN THE SOUNDTRACK IN A NEW COLUMBIA PICTURES FILM (THE MIX) ABOUT THE LIVES OF DJS, TOGETHER WITH HIS FRIEND JOHN ACQUAVIVA.

HIS COMPOSITIONS IN SOME THEATRE SHOWS, MOVIES, FASHION "PASARELAS" AND TV SPOTS AND HIS SPECTACULAR SETS AT 3 OR 4 DECKS ALONG WITH HIS CONSTANT TOURS AROUND THE WORLD, MAKE CRISTIAN THE NUMBER ONE REPRESENTATIVE FROM SPAIN IN CLUBS FROM JAPAN TO U.S.A, ENGLAND, EUROPE, …AND IN FESTIVALS SUCH A:

EXPO AICHI- JAPAN- MIAMI WINTER CONFERENCE- U.S.A- GLOBAL GATHERING- UK - EXIT FESTIVAL- CROATIA- DANCE VALLEY- HOLLAND- AWAKENINGS-HOLLAND- INNER CITY- HOLLAND- SHOCKERS- HOLLAND- POPKOM- GERMANY- LOVE PARADE- GERMANY- NATURE ONE- GERMANY - LIBERTY ONE- GERMANY- GLOBAL GATHERING- UK- I LOVE TECHNO- BELGIUM- TECHNO PARADE- FRANCE- TEHNO INSIDE- PORTUGAL- ELECTROSONIC- SPAIN - GROOVE PARADE- MONEGROS- SPAIN- SONAR- SPAIN -FESTIMAD- SPAIN... AND A LONG LONG ETC.

CRISTIAN HAVE A MASSIVE WORKLIST WITH MORE THAN 100 PRODUCTIONS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS LABELS AND COMPANIES IN THE WORLD SUCH AS SONY- SPAIN, INTEC- UK, MB ELECTRONICS- BELGIUM, PLANET VISION- GERMANY, ELEPHANTHAUS (U.S.A), PORNOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS- SPAIN (HE OWNS TOGETHER WITH MARCO BAILEY) AND HIS OWN BRAND NEW LABELS DONKEYHEAD RECORDINGS AND BLACK CODES.

HIS PRODUCTIONS HAVE APPEARED IN THE TOP TENS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DJ´S IN SPECIALIZED MAGAZINES, TVS, RADIOS, INTERNET.

IN THE FIRST ALBUM "NEW ELECTRONIC AUDIO/ARCHITECTURES" (PRIMATE REC), CRISTIAN HAS SHOWN HIS MATURITY AND VERSATILITY TO MOVE AMONG OTHER FASHIONABLE STYLES AS AMBIENT, ELECTRO AND HOUSE. ALL THIS TOGETHER WITH HIS MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE PRODUCING AND DEEJING AS LEAD HIM TO BE ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE TOP STARS IN THE WORLD´S ELECTRONIC PANORAMA AND THE BIG TALENT IN SAFEHOUSE MANAGEMENT WITH CARL COX AND BROKEN DOLLS.

TAKE CARE WITH HIS INCREDIBLES LIVE ACTS WITH HIS THREE PERCUSSIONISTS!!

MORE THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS AS COMPOSER AND PIANIST AND MORE THAN TWELVE YEARS AS PRODUCER AND DEEJAY HAVE PROVED WHY CRISTIAN VARELA IS TODAY CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURES WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC WORLD AND THE BIGGEST AND GREATEST REPRESENTATIVE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OUR BORDERS.