With podcasts gaining traction in the Electronic Dance Music scene as an awesome promo tool, we thought it’d be helpful to give you guys some insight into how the big dogs produce and promote a podcast. To give you just that, we interviewed Barish Turker – Resident DJ for the Crobar Boramusic Housecast – on what it takes to produce the two-time IDMA nominated ‘Best Podcast’. If there’s someone qualified to talk to us about podcasting, it’s Barish. And he also happens to be one of Turkey’s leading DJs and a gentleman extraordinaire.
Take us through your history and where you started your career as a DJ.
Music has been the main motive of my life since very early ages. I was always trying to find the perfect sound in various genres listening to pop, rock, alternative, etc. basically whatever felt right, had soul and groove. But I remember being kind of obsessed with r&b/soul during my adolescent ages listening to names like jodeci, r.kelly, babyface, blackstreet and all that new jack swing sound and many more spending all my allowance on cd’s. Then I moved to the states for my university education, while studying architectural engineering at the University of Hartford, I was introduced to electronic music and rave scene being a regular at various raves. Then I started going to clubs like Tunnel, Twilo, Sound Factory in NYC on the weekends listening to names like Danny Tenaglia and Junior Vasquez. But the most memorable nights for me were when Sasha and Digweed started their residency at Twilo during ’97. I was following them every month for 5 straight years, and remember getting sad at the end of the night ‘cause I had to wait another month for their next gig. I also had the chance to listen to all the players such as Van M, Cusick, Howells, PVD, Seaman, Vath and many more. Around 2000 when I was about to graduate, I had my first inkling to go buy a turntable and start collecting records. To me it was an art form to be learned in addition to clubbing clubbing so I always tried to be at the club from the first record to the last, experiencing the dynamics of a night trying to educate myself about dj’ing and its mentality, how to build up a set, how to create a concept with it, and take people on a journey. Though I never thought I would do it professionally. After graduation I moved to NY, started working at an architectural company, and started doing my first mixes as a hobby. My mate Onur G (also a Twilo-ite) noticed my mixes and handed copies around and luckily people offered me to play at various lounges/bars and loft parties on the weekends. My first ever residency was at Ice Bar which was promoted by Onur . Then came the Liquids bi-weekly residency with my dear friend Julio Terra which went really strong for almost 2 years, getting packed everytime. When I won a dj’ing competition held by NY’s Mark Divine another residency started at Leopard Lounge and I found myself spinning every week. During 2002, I moved back to Istanbul ‘cause of some private matters. Luckily, I had friends (Fuchs, Subsky, Yunus Guvenen, Muzo B) here who were making names for themselves and also sharing the same passion and vision, lend me some support so I had the chance to continue from where I left off, and started playing at significant clubs, having different residencies all around in Istanbul and also started 3 different weekly shows at Dinamo 103.8. I also ran the label Red Flag Collective with Subsky, Muzo and Yunus till 2006. Till this date I have my residency (8 years) at NuClub with Gadi Mitrani also having various gigs around eastern Europe , US, etc.
When did you start working with podcasts? How did you become the resident DJ for the Crobar BoraMusic HouseCast?
It’s been almost 2 years with Crobar BoraMusic. Crobar has always been a strong trademark, I used to go to the one in Miami and NY at least once a year. They always had a great line-up. I knew Bora from the University of Hartford, he became a very successful promoter around there, getting all the big players in the city delivering great parties. He also promoted a night for our label in Hartford back in the day. Then he started his own Boramusic podcast which became successful and led him to be partners with Crobar. I wanted to be a part of the concept so I was sending him sets and my radio shows regularly. So one day he called and offered me to be their main resident on the podcast.
When you start mixing the upcoming week’s podcast, where do you start? What resources do you use to find and select new tracks?
I receive tracks from labels, promotion agencies and also dig into websites such as traxsource, beatport, djdownload, whatpeopleplay, dancetracksdigital, iTunes, etc. I’m never prejudiced about genres, and I never look into a specific genre since this is a podcast. Listeners deserve to hear the best of what came out from different spectrums of dance music, at least that’s the way I look at it. Of course maintaining quality and accessibility is very important. So I dig in and try to choose the best ones, prepare a concept accordingly and try to create a flow with them. I choose 10 candidates every week, 6-8 make it to the show. First I burn them on a cd and mix them live in my place, that way, I can see how they go together, so I can arrange the flow I’d like to manage. For me it’s never about putting all the hits back to back, rather using key tracks in the mids so the hits make more of an impact. I also edit some of the tracks, according to the flow, and do some mash-ups as well.
What software do you use to mix the HouseCast? And for general remixing?
After I prepare the final tracklisting, I mix them on ableton. That way, I can do my edits, mash-ups and mastering easily. But for general remixing, while outside at a club, I prefer using cd’s, and a pioneer efx-1000, there is nothing like the live action, feeling the crowds energy and tweak the set accordingly. It’s just more fun to me, being able to hold and play with something concrete rather than looking at a screen.
What makes a podcast successful? Is it all about the music, the DJ or something else?
I’d say it all comes down to the teamwork. Bora lives in Amsterdam, James lives in Miami and myself in Istanbul. The process generally goes like this: I prepare my 40 minute set, Bora is responsible with guest mixes and the script of the show, James does the voiceovers. And what a voice he has! So Bora writes the scripts according to the tracklisting I prepare, sends it over to James. James does the voiceovers and sends them to me. I do the final mixdowns with all the jingles, voiceovers, guest mixes, etc. and send it to Bora. He finalizes it with artwork, etc. and uploads the show on iTunes. So it’s a collaborative work fueled by that passion for the music. We have such a dedicated listener base, we’re getting such great feedback all the time which inspires us to do our best. We got nominated twice for the ‘Best Podcast’ category at IDMA Awards. The main key to success would be the dedication you put into your work, the brand is also important but you got to maintain the quality and give it what it deserves in each and every episode.
What are the benefits of listening to Podcasts if you work in the Electronic Music Industry as a DJ, Promoter, agent or manager?
Podcasts definitely play an important role in electronic music industry. For the DJ who prepares one, it’s a great showcase and promotional tool for that DJ and for guest dj’s as well. For listeners it’s a great opportunity to keep up with the newest music. I follow many weekly podcasts, see what they are doing or what they are playing at that time. It’s also a great platform to get in touch with the listeners. For example, we have our weekly shoutouts section in the show, and it makes us really happy to get positive feedback from all around the world every day and also show appreciation to the fans. It definitely is a global affair. There is so much good music, yet also so much trashy music out there. From what I see, podcasts try deliver the best in their concept and of course the most up to date music. For promoters, managers it’s a great platform to get introduced to new sounds, and dj’s.
Podcasts are just one way to get your name out there, what other resources can an upcoming DJ use to get his/her name out there?
Definitely production. Today if you want international success in this business as a DJ, you also have to deliver tunes and get noticed as a producer. There are many producers out there who started DJ’ing after getting noticed with their productions. Back in the day, just DJ’ing was enough but in today’s world it’s all computerized, so it’s not very hard to DJ. In my opinion producing significant tracks is the main key, so when your tracks get attention from wide range of DJ’s then it definitely makes things easier.
Anything else you’d like to add? General pointers, advice, resources, etc.
Thank you so much guys. Gigsby is such a great platform for the scene. Everyone who is involved in Electronic Dance Music, should definitely be a part of it. Cheers!
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