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10 Questions with ... Florian Picasso
November 17, 2015
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/florianpicasso Twitter: twitter.com/florianpicasso Instagram: instagram.com/florianpicasso Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/florianpicasso
1) Where are you from?
I'm from Switzerland and France; I live in the South of France, but I'm adopted from Saigon, Vietnam.
2) How long have you been doing music?
I've been doing music for quite a long time. I started producing music at 18. I'm 25, so it's been seven years, and here we are today, I'm still grinding.
3) Recently, around the time of ADE in Amsterdam, you spent time in the studio with Martin Garrix...
Yea, we have something, I mean he really liked the track, "Origami," so we're very close now. He hand-picked something for his new label; that's coming out next year. We're still talking about it, but there's some stuff coming up.
4) You have a song that just came out on Protocol, that originally was an instrumental "Origami," and you added vocals to it and it's now "Want It Back (Origami)"
Yes, the vocal is great. It's very uplifting. The writer/singer is Nolan Sipe from Los Angeles. He's one of the best songwriters I know. He writes for a lot of good guys. He had a #1 on Billboard, with the song, "Honey, I'm Good." So yeah, I'm very excited about this.
5) You mentioned you started doing this at the age of 18; who were some of your earlier inspirations?
That's a tough one, as a Frenchman, I have to say Daft Punk. At 13 I started DJ-ing before producing, and I was listening to a lot of Hip-hop music, vinyls, and watching DJs with an 8-track computer. My first vinyl actually was Warren G, his DJ track. Then I switched to Dance music.
6) Your last name is Picasso and your great-grandfather was the legendary artist, Pablo Picasso. Has that helped you or hurt you in trying to build a brand for yourself?
At first, it was hard cause they're like yeah, he's just a rich kid who's gonna last one year maximum, then he's going to do something else. Now it's different. I had a tough time with promoters; they never want to book you, and then when my management asked for a fee, it's like, "His family has so much money, why would we want to pay him?" It hurts me a lot, actually. And now, it's really different. I'm really happy that people are starting to understand that this is what I want to do as a living.
7) Do you think that your great-grandfather being such an incredible artist, and now you as a DJ as an artist as well, do you tell a story a little bit different? He did it with paintbrush strokes. you do it with music ... do you see similarities?
Similarities, no, because he is a genius I cannot be compared to him, but the name and being surrounded by his paintings, it gives you the need to create. He was creating, non-stop, day and night, 24/7. So it influenced me in the way I work in being creative, but I don't think I am, you can't compare what I do with what he does. I'm not trying to be a genius. I'm just trying to make music and do what I like.
8) You have a single, are you working on more music? Working on an album?
Yes the album is pending for now because I was working on "Origami" and then I was working with some lyrists on some originals. But the album is something maturing and I think I want to sit down and think about it because I want to put quality music and with an album there's a lot of time needed making an album. I cannot be like, "Here's the album, man." Right now I am focusing on tracks, and collaborations and the remixes that I have and then we will see, but I'm thinking about the album. I want a good story line for the album, a good concept. It takes some time to come up with something good.
9) With all the touring that you do, is there a favorite city that you like to DJ in?
Yea, I love Miami. Miami's great! And Vegas. Vegas is crazy. I did more gigs, and the atmosphere is nice. And Ibiza is crazy so I don't know. Each city is so different, to me.
10) Was it two years ago that you did a big event in Miami?
I have a small residency; each year I go. It's very private; maybe 100-200 people, invitation only, you cannot buy tickets, and that's the party I do.
Bonus Questions
If you weren't working as a DJ, in the studio and could go see any artist or DJ perform, who would it be?
It would be Axwell & Ingrosso.
With all the traveling that you do, what's one, must-have travel item?
It would have to be an eye mask, I can't sleep without an eye mask.
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