INTERVIEW: Dam Vera

Mexico City mainstay Dam Vera debuts on Permanent Vacation with a dazzling new disco EP that is set to bring plenty of international attention.

We have had the pleasure of interviewing the producer and this has been the result.

1. Hey Damian! Thanks for sitting down with Chromatic Club, how’s your 2024 going so far?

Its been a very exciting start to the year. I’ve been gearing up for the EP release, planning release parties and some surprises for the next few months.

2. Your full production debut, ‘Quina’, drops on the 9th February. What can you tell us about this release, and why did you decide to partner with Munich based imprint, Permanent Vacation?

The first track I worked on for this EP was Quina, made as a tribute to my 18 year old dog of the same name, who passed away in the summer of 2022. I find it a bit melancholic but happy at the same time. Through this EP, her memory will live on forever. The other tracks were subsequently named Timo and Dolly after other dogs I had when I was younger.

Releasing this EP with Permanent Vacation has been really special, not only because PV one of my favourite labels of all time (I have been buying tracks from this label since 2007), but Munich has always been very important to me. I spent 6 months there in my 20`s and it was where I bought my first turntables, records and mixer and started learning how to mix.

3. You’ve been involved with several high-profile club nights in Mexico City, as well as co-founding the influential ‘Galaxie Nites’ party; what can you tell us about this?

After spending time in Munich I came back to Mexico and I got my first residency in a club called Galaxie, where I used to play a lot of electroclash mixed with DFA records.

Many years after it closed I decided to start the party Galaxie Nites with my partner. At the time, there were not a lot of venues in Mexico City so we started this party travelling around the country and and we are coming up to celebrate the 9th anniversary in a few months time. We now have a permanent base in our beloved Departamento studio bar for the last five years. We have been lucky enough to take the party internationally to Amsterdam, Madrid and New York and looking forward to seeing what happens in 2024.

I also play monthly as a selector in the hifi listening bar, ’Tokyo Music Bar’, where my sets are less dance floor orientated and I get to play a mix of italo and 80s music, which also in part inspired the EP. 

4. We’re loving the sounds of your new EP, ’Quina’. It’s an accomplished debut release with great production; how long have you been producing music as well as DJing?

I  have been DJing for over 20 years, starting with vinyls in the early 2000s and only a few years ago I decided to start producing. Initially I was making edits of songs I loved and a couple of them have been released on a local label called Magic Dolphin Club. 

I started working on this EP around 18 months ago, inspired by the warm reception to the edits I had released. That finally gave me the confidence to put some original music out in the world. At the time I never imagined they would end up finding a home with Permanent Vacation and I couldn't be happier.

5. How did the sounds of House, Disco and Italo Disco first come into your life?

House has always been present in my sets in all its different variants in these 20 years. Being latin, house music has always been a sound that connect immediately with me and could be heard all around.  Disco and italo disco came later as an influence in my life, I didn't listen to it much as a kid, but listening to acts like Lindstrom, Prins Thomas and Todd Terje really got me into that cosmic sound and I started to dig into it.

Italo has a big influence in the Mexico City music scene, led by the classic club Patrick Miller that has run Italo and high energy nights since the 80s as well as being introduced to a newer audience through the classic Sunday Sunday parties. 

6. In regard to Mexico City’s dance music scene, would you say that you stand out in terms of your chosen style?

I think my production goes on the dreamier, euphoric side of things but still very much made with the club in mind. My DJ sets tend to mix this with some harder sounds, as well as gems from when I first started playing. I like to have an element of the unexpected but the intention is always to make people smile.

7. Away from the studio and the label, what other passions or interests do you have?

I love working out. Even though I have always gone to the gym, it was after the pandemic that I started to have proper discipline to go 5-6 times a week. It helps me disconnect from everything for an hour, get my thoughts together and listen to new music.

8. After dropping this dazzling new disco EP, do you have any future production plans?

Yes, Im currently working on some new tracks that will hopefully see the light in the next few months, as well as an edit/cover of a classic 80s record that is finished and I am really excited about it; coming very soon.

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