Brian Cross Interview – Latvia (Essential Knockout festival 2008)

Brian – introduce yourself… Hi! I’m Brian Cross, I’m 28 years old and I’m from Spain. I’m a DJ and a party animal, haha. What’s been going on with you recently? What have your highlights of 2008 been so far?
Well, over the last 12 months I did a total of 1010 shows in 37 countries around the world. You could say I’ve been busy! This year I’m booked to play at some really great events like the Essential KnockOut Festival in Riga and Creamfields in Romania. Also I’m resident in Ibiza for the fourth year in a row, which I’m very happy about – come and see me!

You’ve been the biggest DJ star in Spain for the last three years but now you’re becoming more and more known around Europe and the rest of the world. How do you go about getting your name out there, and how do you get sets in countries like Brazil and Mexico?
I’m working very hard nowadays, talking to promoters all around the world and making contacts. I’m at the point where my name is doing the work for me but believe me, it’s taken dedication and self-belief to get there. I’m also producing a lot which helps raise my profile, making remixes for great names like Marco V and others. Some of my latest tracks have been very big in America, and my market in America is very good at this moment. That’s a big and very important market to break so I’m working hard on that!
How hard do you work to promote yourself? What advice can you give to young DJs starting out? How long has it taken you to get to where you are now?
Ha... I work a lot!!!! I have to produce, DJ all the time, keep in touch with my press agents, trying to do the best for everybody and being very focused in my career. I think I have a great team around me, and all of us work so hard to have success! If you’re just starting out, I’d say the best advice I can give you is to firstly believe in yourself and then be prepared to work hard. If you want to get to the top, you have to have natural talent but you also have to talk to promoters, send your demos out, be active in pushing yourself. You can be the best DJ in the world but if you don’t work hard, you won’t get anywhere. Success does not fall out of the sky, believe me! Also try and get into production. It’s a great way of getting your sound out there and making a name for yourself.
What’s the strangest event you’ve ever played? What happened?
Not so much strange, but I remember I was playing in Egypt, and suddenly people start to fight with baseball bats in the middle of the party! I was shocked, the police came and took us out of the party in a police car. That was really scary...
Which event do you always look forward to?
Amnesia Ibiza Opening and Closing Party :-) It’s my residency and my favourite party to play at. The atmosphere is electric, everybody is up for a good time and it’s in Ibiza – what more can you ask for? ;)
Have you played in Latvia before? What are you going to deliver to the clubbers with your music?
Yes, I played at the Essential KnockOut Festival last year and it was great, I absolutely loved it. You guys really know how to party! But to be honest, I REALLY want to play at Essential Club In Riga. I’ve been waiting for two years now but they still haven’t called me :-( Get on the phone guys!! ;)
You have a big new track coming out – Paradise. What does it sound like?
It’s very fresh. I’ve produced a lot of great tracks that have done amazingly well in the charts but I can honestly say that I think is my best track ever. It’s got some great, special production on it, amazing vocals, and a SUPER VIBE!!!! You’re going to love it ;)
You have remixes from Marco V and Robbie Rivera (plus about 10 others!!). How did you get Marco and Robbie to remix your track, and what have they done to it to make it different to the original mix?
Both of them are great producers, they heard the track and they liked it so much, they decided to make remixes. I think they did their own style remix which is great, they’ve both added different dimensions to the original and that’s fantastic for me to hear, how they’ve taken my work and done something completely different with it. Marco V’s is amazing, he’s my ultimate hero and a very good friend so I was honoured to have him work on the track. Robbie’s remix is a floorfiller, you just have to get up and dance!
What have people been saying about your track?
I have great feedback from Marco V, Robbie Rivera, Erick Morillo, Pete Tong and many more... I’M REALLY EXCITED!!! Haha, and that’s putting it lightly!
You made a video for it – what was that like? Where can we watch it?
Oh that was such a great experience, it was my first video and I’m very happy with the results. It’s a brilliant video and fits perfectly with the track. And I’m on it!!! :-) Haha! If you want to watch it, just go to www.youtube.com and write "Brian Cross Paradise" in the search box, it’ll come up straight away. Enjoy!
You have a massive presence in Ibiza this year. You’re resident for Armada and Juicy. Why should we come and see you out of all the DJs on the Island?
Well, I’m a really happy, positive, energetic and enthusiastic DJ, you can see it when I play, I’m always jumping and partying like a clubber in the club. As I love DJing, it’s my priority to make sure that that people on the dance floor have the best night too! I’m not interested in standing there, thinking I’m fabulous, and leaving the clubbers alone – I want them to experience the happiness I feel when I play. And I’ll be playing at Amnesia, it’s my home, I love the club so much, it has such a great atmosphere and it brings out the very best in me. If you’re coming to Ibiza, come and dance with me!!
When you look at the DJs ahead of you, who do you admire and why? If your career could follow anyone’s, who would that be and why?
Marco V, he is the man. He has been such an inspiration to me, both through his music and also through his friendship. I’ve admired him for such a long time and when I got the opportunity to work with him, produce with him, DJ alongside him, it was a dream come true. He’s such an amazing guy and we have such a good relationship, I’m very lucky that my idol is also one of my very good friends. It’s the DJ Mag Top 100 in a few months. How important is that chart to you and why?
It is important for the sponsors, better position, better money. I hope I can have a good place soon, but if not, I will keep the same and working hard as usual. I think the most important thing about the chart is that it’s voted for by the people, not by the industry. If you have a big fan base, it’s not because you’ve paid them to like you, but because they’ve been in a club where you’ve played and they love your sound. When you work hard, when you love what you do, and then you get into the DJ Mag Top 100, it’s must be amazing because it means people out there consider you one of the best in the world. But even if no-one voted for me I’d still carry on because I just can’t put the music down!
Where haven’t you played and would like to the most?
I never played at Essential Club and I want!!!! :-) I would also love to play in Moscow, Dubai, Lebanon – there are many, many places!!!! Bangkok is also a great place, one of my favourites. The people and lovely and the city is amazing, so bright and vibrant and colourful. If you get the opportunity to go there, don’t forget to visit Club Culture! That really is a stunning club. Finally, we give you $1 million to throw your ultimate party – where would it be, who would play, who would be on your guest list and what would you do to make sure we never forgot it?
Ay ay ay! Please don’t make me answer this question. We would be here forever!!! But definitely the party would have free entrance and free drinks :-) Haha although maybe with the free drinks it would be a party that everybody forgot because they were having TOO much of a good time! Haha!