This Saturday, June 8, 2013, Bosnian techno star Mladen Tomic will make his Toronto debut at Li’ly Lounge. Playing alongside Joee Cons, Amir, Random Doug, DJ S!KK and Pinky Pereira, Tomic will feel right at home, in the underground of Li’ly where the rhythm resonates and the sound pulsates.
EDM TOR had an exclusive opportunity to interview Tomic before his arrival. Read below to see what he’s looking forward to!
EDM TOR: Please tell us a little bit about yourself, who is Mladen Tomic?
Mladen Tomic: My name is Mladen Tomic and this is both my real and artist name. I come from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am a big music lover, DJ, and producer of underground electronic music and I play and produce mostly techno and tech house. I play and travel all around the world, but also spend a lot of my time in the studio making new beats. I have been doing this job for more than 15 years and I really enjoy it every moment, especially when I’m on stage and can share my music and energy with other people.
You’ll be playing a set in Toronto this Saturday at Li’ly Lounge – is this your first time in this city? What are you most looking forward to?
Yes, this will be my first time in Toronto and I am mostly looking forward to playing and presenting my music and making a good party there. Also, it will be great to meet friends and fans and spend some time together, and of course to see the city. Unfortunately, I will stay there only 3 days due to my pretty busy schedule this month, but next time I will try to stay longer.
Will you be testing any new tracks on the dance floor in Toronto?
Yes! I’ve just finished couple of new tracks and can’t wait to play them. This testing of tracks is always very exciting for me and gives me incredible adrenaline and more inspiration.
Earlier this year you released the Dance of Shadows EP on Sci+Tec – can you tell us about the inspiration behind it? What has the feedback been like?
Dance of Shadows EP is one of my releases that I’m the most proud of. I made it in the period of 3 months, at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. In that period I had great inspiration; I made a lot of tracks and signed several of them on Sci+Tec, Terminal M, Octopus, 1605 etc. This EP consists of four tracks, each a bit different to one another. All four tracks have different stories, but they have in common strong bass lines and an energetic groove with some interesting moments and vocal samples. I played these tracks all year before they had been released and they always kicked off a great atmosphere and I got amazing feedback from the people. I would also add, that all four tracks truly represent me, my sound, feelings and my way of making people dance and feel good, which for me is the most important thing.
Aside from DJing and producing, you run a record label, Night Light Records. What can one expect from label?
I run Night Light Records together with my friend Sinisa Tamamovic and we work very hard to expand the label more on the electronic dance music scene, sourcing artists and music which the label represents. We are focused on good music and good artists from the beginning and we have more than 60 releases and a lot of great tracks out. Recently we have released a big VA Compilation and an EP by Boris from USA. Next will be Alex Costa, Ant Brooks, myself etc.
What is it about the techno/tech-house sound that intrigues you more than any other kind of dance music?
It’s simple, I love music generally, but it is this underground sound I enjoy the most. I can feel it deep and clear in every moment; when I’m on the stage, in the studio or just listening to it. It’s all about groove, bass and positive energy!
What has been you proudest moment in your musical journey?
It’s not possible to mark just one moment, there are some things which I’m really proud of since my musical journey and my career are based on really hard work all the time. I am so proud of the feedback which I’ve gotten, and when I’d see that really big and major names are playing some of my tracks (Blackwhite Man, Before Sunset, Front Pocket, Into the Game, Filterize, In the Corner, Dance of Shadows etc). I’m also very proud of Night Light Records and watching how it’s growing.
Talk to us about the dance music scene. What are the biggest differences you’ve observed between Europe and North America?
I played in North America in March 2013 for the first time, and I’m not sure whether there is a big difference compared with Europe, from my point of view. I’ve noticed that there is an underground scene and it’s going to be bigger and bigger and everything is at a very professional level when we talk about business, and I’m so happy because of that. Also people follow the music, djs’ and producers’ work, and for my first time there I was very impressed. I’ve played my sets very similarly to how I play in Europe and got amazing reactions from American people! The only difference which I can note are regarding the audience, in some countries or cities, the crowd just listen, drink and dance easily but in other places they can be so crazy and jump around all the time.
What can we expect from you for the rest of 2013?
I have worked a lot throughout the last months in my new studio and have prepared some new releases. In the next 2 months, there will be a follow-up release to my very successful Techno Tools EP on Suara label and my new EP on Night Light Records. I am also working on some new material for Octopus. Also I have a lot of gigs during the summer in Europe, North and South America.
That’s amazing! Sounds like you’ve got great things coming. Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions – we’ll see you on Saturday!
LINKS:
Anjali Handa – EDM TOR
