With support from A-list names like David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, and Martin Garrix, co-producing for Madonna and releasing collaborative projects, remixes and hit releases for Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings, Warner Music, KSHMR and Tiësto, MR.BLACK has become one of electronic music’s stand-out new stars. At the tail end of 2021 he announced the launch of a new project called DAW Music, a collaboration with NFT community Desperate ApeWives and Gproject. The announcement also included the first-ever Ape anthem under the newly launched DAW Music. We caught up with MR.BLACK to understand more.
Hey MR.BLACK, we last spoke to you on Fresh Music Freak back in January 2020, and life has changed for many of us since then. So how has the past year and a half been for you? End of February 2020 I came back from a tour in Japan straight to my first quarantine and got the news that all my upcoming shows are canceled. I realized that we’re in a new reality. I took this as an opportunity and I’ve opened the label and alias with Revealed Recordings, home of most of my releases. I’ve started to work with music and technology, which is something super excited and challenging, and recently launched my venture with Gproject, GoodDollar & Desperate ApeWives.
You recently announced your partnership with Desperate ApeWives to launch DAW Music and unveil the first-ever official Ape Anthem, alongside Gproject. How did this project come about, and what are your long-term plans? DAW Music is a pioneering record label that was co-founded by myself, Gproject, GoodDollar, and the leading NFT venture Desperate ApeWives.Our vision is to create a bridge between Art, Music, and Technology. DAW music is a futuristic NFT label. The long-term plan mission is to build a healthy ecosystem and home for artists to make a living out of their talent and also for collectors to be part of their success.
Were you into crypto and NFT’s before teaming up with Desperate ApeWives, or is this something new to you? I think NFT is something that is still new to everyone and developing every single day. I was more into Crypto and invested in digital coins but I feel like today we’re in a new world which we know how it starts but doesn’t know where it’ll lead us to. Definitely excited for this journey.
We love the video for the Ape Anthem single, and Gproject and yourself did a great job on the song’s production. How was the feedback from the NFT community been around the release? Firstly, it was great to work with my good friend Gproject in the studio, the work was for something unconventional therefore we needed to think outside the box in order to bring something unique that is targeted to a world that is new. The reactions from DAW collectors were amazing, the community really liked how we put into life this Ape anthem; tagged us, and used the slogans that we created on socials.
You’re a familiar face on Revealed Recordings and more recently launched your own label HYBIT with Hardwell’s renowned label. How has the initial feedback on the label been? What led you to want to start your own imprint? Revealed is my home label for a few years now, I really trust and believe the team and I’ve been getting a lot of support from Hardwell himself and it was natural for me to open my own imprint HYBIT together with them. The vision behind the label was to put out music that inspires me, diversify my catalog, and experiment with new sounds. The feedback is great so far from the audience and artists and we’ve got some major plans for 2022, stay tuned!
2021 has been another rollercoaster year for dance music. Give us your Top 3 tracks from the year and why?
Mucho Bien (by MR.BLACK & Offer Nissim) – It’s a song which I did with superstar DJ Offer Nissim. This track opened my horizons more in terms of inspirations and sounds. I was glad to see it peaked on major radio stations across the world as well as #1 Shazam in Hungary.
The Business – Tiesto definitely released a gamechanger and the results speak for themselves. Whether you like it or not it’s a great thing to see that someone at his caliber is re-investing himself again and again after decades.
Flame (by ARTBAT) – Flame is such a unique tune, the first time I’ve heard it, it felt like there’s the technology inside. It’s super fresh and I love it.
As a touring DJ, you’ve performed on many stages alongside many big-name artists. If you were to stage your own festival arena, what would your dream line-up be and why?
David Guetta – One of my biggest inspirations and a true legend.
ARTBAT – One of the best underground music for me that I think works best on the crowd.
Tiesto – I always like to see Tiesto on stage with his unique sound and energy.
Gproject – Best friends and one of my favorite guys to party with.
The end of the year is fast approaching. So how will you be partying for your New Year’s Eve?
To be honest, this year is a special year for me and I want to have a private party with my friends.
What can fans expect from you in 2022?
Continue working on my dream which is combining art, music, and technology in different forms and bring to life a lot of projects that I’m currently planning. Super excited and can’t wait to share with everyone!
