Hailing from Brazil but now based in Switzerland, BTK is a drum & bass DJ, producer and label owner of Dutty Audio. With numerous big releases coming in 2012 we decided to catch up with him to get the lowdown…
You’re originally from Brazil but now reside in Switzerland, how did you end up there?
Yes, I was touring Europe in 2007 for the second time when Jonas Blokhe4d, who at that time was living in Zurich, invited me to come and visit for a few days. Cheese, chocolate, a lovely country, stunning girls and a very healthy drum & bass scene were pretty much the reasons that made me stay.
Most of your collaborations seem to be with Optiv, how did this partnership come about and how does your work with him differ from your solo material?
Well, the fact that we live in the same country, both use Cubase and we always have lots of fun working together, helped to keep the good flow of collaborations going. Our first tune was Crawler and at this very moment we both hope that won’t be our last. I did a few solo tunes in the past, Drop It was my biggest release until now and it’s cool to see something that you did alone being this well accepted in the scene but, all in all, I find it boring working alone in the studio.
Your first release of 2012 is the Over The Edge EP with Optiv on Renegade Hardware, tell us a bit more about the tracks on it and how they came about…
It all started with a remixes EP that didn’t happen. Optiv and I had the Forcefield remix done, heavy support from Ed Rush and Audio on that one, but the idea that the tune would never be released was sad.
Scott [Cold Fusion] mentioned that he was putting another various artists EP on Hardware and asked us for a new tune. I sent him Over The Edge, convinced him that it is the next Messiah on the dancefloor and came up with the idea of an Optiv & BTK EP separate release.
Some say that End Run has that Virus vibe because of the techno stabs and action break in it, meanwhile Insight is a deep roller. We’re very proud of this project and I personally would like big up Ink and Scott who are taking care of the label and definitely putting Renegade Hardware back on the map.
You also have 12″s with Optiv coming on Demand and Frequency, what can you tell us about those releases?
Demand is a label which I have lots of love and respect for. They had a very special tune I did called Things I Do as their first release and I’m always happy to work with them. Our next single will be Jackknife / Menace Part 2 and it’s coming out in March.
The Frequency release, Zero Hour / Berserker, will be the second Optiv & BTK on the label following the same big dance floor vibes as our last one, Let It Hit Em / Mind Over Matter. The tracks have received really good promotion and support from Andy C.
You’re also working on an album with Optiv, what can you tell us about it at the moment?
We finished a few tunes and sent to Ed Rush & Optical for proper feedback on those. For now we’re just writing lots of beats and when we have a solid eight to ten tracks we will move forward to wrap it up. No rush to get it done or deadline for an exact release date at the moment.
Done any interesting remixes recently?
Yes, I did a solo remix of one of my favourite Cause4Concern tracks, Paranormal, and it shouldn’t take long to be released. Optiv and I have also remixed The Upbeats’ Big Skeleton, coming out this year on NonVogue. Hopefully for this year, I’ll have a few more remix offers, it’s nice to have the opportunity to twist someone else’s idea.
What’s happening with your Dutty Audio label this year?
It’s slowly growing, recently I saw that the last release, Whatever with Optiv, finally made it to Beatport’s Top 10, which is definitely a big look for the label. I haven’t got the next release planned yet, but the label is always open for demos.
Where can we see you DJ next?
Here’s a quick list of what I’ve got confirmed for this year:
Jan 20 – Marley Club, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Jan 21 – Subclub, Bratislava, Slovakia
Feb 18 – Volks Club, Brighton, UK
Feb 25 – Area Club, London, UK
Mar 02 – Unsichtbar, Saarbrücken, Germany
Apr 06 – Hasselt, Belgium
Apr 14 – Ubu, Rennes, France
Apr 27 – Fluc, Vienna, Austria
Got any new years resolutions you can share with us?
I’ve been planning on joining the gym close to where I live, quit smoking, visit my family in Brazil and also beat up DJ Ink more often on Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition for PS3.
What are you looking forward to in 2012?
More parties, more releases, more money, more bitches, golden chains, holidays in Acapulco, finishing Batman Arkham City and for Blizzard to finally release Diablo 3.
Anything else you want to tell us about?
For bookings contact butoke@gmail.com and submit demos for Dutty Audio on AIM to duttyaudio.
Bookings for Optiv (North America) can be done through:
Cyber Groove AM
http://www.CyberGrooveAM.com/optiv.html
Scott@CyberGrooveProd.com
CyberGroove2K (AIM/Skype)
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