Julian Perez is one of Spain's hardest working DJs and has earned himself a place amongst the rising elite of the global house music scene. With tracks on VIVa, Leftroom, 1Trax and his own vinyl imprint Fathers & Sons, Julian has earned his place as a figure to keep firmly focused on. Playing gigs for VIVa Warriors at Sankeys Ibiza, and many more, Julian's 2012 has been the stuff of legend as he looks towards another storming 12 months. For our 'Pulse Loves…' feature today, we explore the different aspects and elements of the Spaniard, championing his love for a house party, eclectic DJing style and what he gets up to when he's not immersed in dance music culture.
Pulse loves: DJs that come from the grassroots level. Do you often find yourself playing at home?
Years ago, I was playing records nearly every day, buying as much music as I could and looking forward to the weekend to buy and try the newly purchased. I'm still keeping that feeling. I'm always excited when I get some new vinyls and head straight on my decks to listen to those little pieces. With digital files it's not that exciting, so now I'm trying to spend most of the time working in the studio making music. I feel very comfortable now on it, so it's time to create and leave the DJing for the gigs.
By the way, if you join me at my house we can arrange a party. Last week we made one with a few friends — The Martinez Bros, Jamie, Seth, Dan, Shonky and René were all hanging out with us. So much fun!
Pulse loves: eclecticism in sets. What are your surprise tunes in your set?
My sets are very like that — you have only one hour to write your own story with not many tracks. Personally I like to play all the styles I love in the set, starting from very soft tunes to warm up, going more groovy showing up a bit of party, and going a little bit more down to finish. I don't like very linear sets; I need to make my story with the mood I have. The surprise tunes in my set are the unreleased tracks from me, from people on my label, from friends, and very occasionally some old stuff.
Pulse loves: varied music style and a variety of outlets. What are the benefits of releasing across different labels?
My sound is very open and depends on many things. My sound is always changing and going between house and tech house — all my tracks sound like me in a different way. So when I have some new tracks and a label is interested, it's another good and fun part, because you go with your sound into a new label which has its own artists and personal sound, and now your tracks are bringing a new and different touch. I don't make specific music for any label; I just make the music I feel in every moment, and then the right label is always there in the right place.
Pulse loves: other things than dance music. What are your hobbies?
The last two years were a little crazy and I didn't do much of what I really love — travelling. For me that means going with my best friends to new countries with a backpack, no plans, no return date, no responsibilities, seeing what's out there, listening to other kinds of music, meeting new people and learning all the time from others. For me this is the most awesome thing in life. I do less of this now because I'm more busy touring (which is also travelling, but in a very different way), but I hope to combine it more in the future.
Pulse loves: those finding new ways to share music. Tell us about Fathers & Sons Productions.
Fathers & Sons is a vinyl-only imprint I run with my friends out of Ibiza. Everything is limited edition and strictly vinyl. The idea is to build a catalogue that means something — not just releases, but a story. So far we've had very positive reactions from DJs and press, and every record has sold out. That response means a lot and gives us motivation to keep going the right way.
We're not in a rush. We take our time to choose artists and tracks carefully. What we care about is the music and nothing else.
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