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Yellow@TheLight

"So come chill out, sit on the floor, dance across the subway, crank your headphones up, turn the subwoofer on, and have a listen. =)"


Yellow@TheLight is different. Always trying to push away from the mainstream scene, into a realm that the radio play and pop tunes cannot be heard. Just playing for the present moment. His music style varies drastically from Deep House to Melodic Techno with a bunch of Groove, House, Soul, and Classics, but Always Deep.

Open Linktree
EP

This project is my most recent EP that I am self-releasing and something I’ve wanted to make available to people for years now.

Tell us about yourself, who are you and where do you come from?

I am a nightclub DJ working in NYC for the last 15 years, spending almost 10 of those years working at Pacha New York alongside some of the biggest and best names in dance music, which greatly pushed my musical style and playing skills over the years. Since I have traveled extensively playing in several different countries over the last decade.

How was your passion for music born? Who are your idols?

My Idols vary musically from James Brown to BT, and all sorts of musical talents between. I have always been a massive fan of deep basslines and funky vocals as well electronic music of all sorts, from Deep House to Melodic Techno, but always with heavy bass and beautiful melodies.

What kind of music do you do?

The music I write ranges from Downtempo to Deep House to Melodic Techno, but always different than what I usually find in those genres. I guess its hard to describe yourself, but I always try and steer away from who everyone else is playing and sounding like… Not that I don’t love some of those records too, but when it comes down to my musical style, and the records I write, they’re emotive, deep, melodic, and different. I also love so many genres of music that it’s really hard to stick to just one, so I try and keep things moving a lot and not really sticking to one sound, tempo, or overall vibe. I guess you could say I get bored easily. =)

What is the most important song for you? What message do you want to convey to the listener?

Being yourself. I used to spend a lot of time worrying about whether people would be interested in the music I was writing and playing, but as I’ve gotten older, I just started to care less about what anyone else thought. Which has been great. At the end of the day, I definitely want people to love and enjoy it for sure, but on my own terms.

Stream which is an emotive, dark, deep, ethereal record that not only has the ability to shake subwoofers, but also leave you with a solid impact on your senses and make you aware of the moment you’re in… especially when I play it live. You definitely have to make sure you have the right system to listen to it properly, but I remember playing it back at Jenja (Bali, Indonesia) in 2015 at the end of the night and it literally blew people away when they realized how much bottom and power is in that bassline – Thanks Bob Moog. =)

I also love Last Row. It’s hooky, simple, melodic, and pretty. But decently danceable which I like. Ive gotten some great feedback on it, and people seem to be enjoying and playing it more and more lately. I love that its coupled with Stream on this EP because they’re totally different. It sort of makes me happy to not have two records that sound too similar to each other, because neither do the records I write. Which is a double edged sword for sure, especially in today’s music industry, but I love it. It is what it is.

Why should a listener who doesn’t know you listen to your music?

Because its got a lot of love in it. As do all the records I write and play live. I love being a DJ even more than writing my own records a lot of the time because I truly love sharing records with other people and introducing them to songs that they might love but had never known about, which is what I’m going for with my own records as well. Plus making people dance and playing through a great soundsystem is truly a gift. You’ll see it on my face when I’m playing live, it’s definitely my happy place.

What are your future projects? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Honestly, finding a great middle ground between family life and playing out. I absolutely love my alone time with my family (they’re my everything) and also booking more gigs around the world because playing and traveling are my other favorite things in life, other than surfing which I generally get to do a lot when I travel.

I think in 5 years from now I’m going to get out of NYC and spend some more time living with my family in Europe. I’ve been a Special Education Teacher for the last 12 years, and its been fantastic for every minute of it. But it’s time for me to start taking my music career more seriously, because nothing makes me happier. I think I may very well spend some time in Amsterdam with my wife and son and dog, and set up a solid monthly residency somewhere intimate and fun, and spend the in-between time touring through the venues in Europe for a few years. Although I’ll probably travel back to the States often to see friends and family.

Tell our readers a funny episode that happened in your career as an artist.

When I was in my 20’s, I had just started working at Pacha NYC and became part of that amazing family who are some of the most genuine, hardworking, and just downright amazing people I’ve ever worked with. And one day after a long weekend at the club, I took my girlfriend at the time to the Cloisters (which is a gorgeous rebuilt French castle on the Upper West Side that’s turned into a museum) and we had to stop and get gas before we drove back upstate to college.

So, the only gas station that was available was a full service (they pump the gas for you) station where this pretty cracked out dude was pumping gas for the attendants there. I figured I’d roll the dice and see if he knew how to get back to riverside drive because I’m usually not that far up in the Bronx and this was way before Google Maps. So I asked him if he knew how to get back to the West Side Highway… My mans rambled complete gibberish at me for about 30 seconds and then looked me dead in the eyes and said “and then, you take a Yellow at the light…”

I was pretty baffled at the time, but I’ve been playing as Yellow@TheLight ever since then, and I’m sticking to it. <3

What else would you like to share?

My Most recent gig in Costa Rica from two weeks ago at Selina (Nosara, Costa Rica)