HNQO: Curitiba to Hot Creations

Hailing from the southeastern city of Curitiba in Brazil, HNQO is a man on a mission. With a forthcoming EP signed to Hot Creations this young producer is making big records and running his label “Playperview” all while holding down a day (night) job. After taking the time to speak with us, he was kind enough to supply us with an exclusive mix that clearly speaks to his current sound and allows for some sneak peaks of the records that piqued the interest of Jamie Jones and Lee Foss.

Where are you from?  I'm from Curitiba, Brazil.

How old are you?  I'm 22 years old.

Are you working or studying these days?  I now work during the nighttime at a hostel here in my city. I was studying World Business, but I’ve stopped that because I’d like to choose another course that fits my interests more, which is more like International Relations.

What type of music is popular with your friends in your city?  Well, I know people from Hip Hop and from Electronic Music. These two styles are more familiar to me and my friends. A little bit of Rock too.

What type of music did you grow up listening to?  I don't remember exactly what kind of music I grew up listening to, but once when I was very young, 8 or 9 years old, I was going to school and I found a tape on the floor. I had my Walkman in the bag so I put it on and found it was a Brasilian RAP music tape. I started to listen to the tape and fall in love with the beats and rhymes. After that, RAP and HIP HOP became a big part of my life growing up.

How did you first get exposed to electronic music?  I have an older brother, when he was like 17 years old, he used to listen to the radio and some Electronic Music CD's. It was nothing major but it started my desire to know about those crazy beats. I remember Groove Armada, Tom Novy and a few others. Not really underground to be on Radio's compilations, but it taught me a few things and got me excited to learn more about the style.

Has it been difficult to spend time working on this style of music or is it a cool thing to do in your area?  Well actually it’s a difficult thing to work with in my country. We don't have such an electronic scene that is wide open to new talents. Of course we have some but not what we really need to make the scene even bigger. But things are changing for the better with regard to a better future for the Electronic Music scene here in Brazil.

What have been some important lessons you've learned as you've started to attract attention as a young producer?   That the industry runs slowly, especially when the deal is with big labels and agencies. So if you have a material, hold it tight and keep the offers till you feel safe to give it a go.

What has running your label, "Playperview" taught you about the industry? Do you envision building it into something more or are you content to just release your own records?  I'm running this label in collaboration with two friends, Fabo & Pako. We are trying to collect material from young and talented people. The idea is to share good music on the network and make unknown artists turn into known artists. We are very selective but don't actually care about the style. If the music has a catchy thing and a nice groove, it's ok.

You recently signed an EP to Hot Creations. How has that experience been?   Once Russ Yallop came to a gig here in my city, my friend Fabo went to the club to check his set and give him a USB Drive with our new tracks. Two months later he sent us an e-mail asking for some more tracks and saying that he was playing my track "Pain 'n Love". After this we sent him some other tracks and the things started to happen. I've found a video of Russ playing the track "Point of View" at the last WMC in Miami. People really went into the track’s vibe. A couple of weeks later a friend found a video from Jamie Jones playing the same track at the La Rocca club in Belgium and at Warehouse in the UK to 6.000 people. After this, I guess they decided to sign the tracks. Now I have a forthcoming EP with this two tracks. I wasn't expecting such a good outcome, but now that it’s happened, I'm happy about it.

When they first contacted you, did they want your record(s?) exactly as they were, or did they ask for some changes/mastering etc  They were playing not a final but mastered version. It was sounding ok, but I did some changes on the mix and did a final master to send them. They didn't ask for this, but I'm kind of paranoid about the details and I want the best quality that I'm able to do. This way when my music plays at clubs and parties, people can take the best of it.

Have you done any collaborations?  Not yet.

Who would you like the chance to work with in the future?  Gorge, Martin Buttrich, Giom, Ray Okpara. Great producers for me. But there is a lot more, no doubt!

What other labels would you like to work with?  Oslo, Cecille, 8bit, Objektivity, Kling Klong, Get Physical.  Some labels that I like and would love to make something that fits to their styles.

How long have you been DJing? Have you gotten to play with any of your idols so far? Have you played in some of the major clubs in Brazil, like Warung, D-Edge, Green Valley etc?  I've been DJ'ing for 4 years, more or less. Some parties and clubs here in Curitiba, like Danghai Club and Vibe Club. But unfortunately not yet with any of my idols. No, I’ve never played at these clubs. But in the future I want to try these 3. Who knows?! It would be lovely.

What are the best clubs in your area to check out good electronic music?  For my taste, Vibe Club is bringing some great names to Curitiba. In our neighbors cities and states, D-Edge and Warung are the main clubs for good music.

If you could buy three things of any cost to upgrade your studio, what would they be?
Actually I don't have a studio. I'm making music on my old notebook, an M-Audio soundcard and headphones. I would love to buy a new computer, especially an iMac, a better soundcard and reference monitors. Three things are not enough! hahaha

Listen to HNQO on Pulse Radio.