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MAKIN' NOISE: EJECA

Ejeca's fresh garage house sound transcends the hype

The last few months have made for a whirlwind ride for Ejeca, aka Belfast producer and DJ Garry McCartney. Just three months ago he was working for an IT company that was slowly firing people, and today he’s embarking on a three-gig Easter weekend marathon.

“This weekend is the epitome of it all, I’m playing in Berlin tonight, then straight to the airport to fly to Ibiza and back to Belfast on Monday!” he beams, before recounting tales of being brought up on a diet of ‘taps aff’ techno at Belfast institution Shine. His rise to the top may have been a swift one kickstarted by encouragement from friends and countrymen Bicep, but there have been hiccups along the way, including some rather blunt but ultimately invaluable feedback from the Noir Music boss upon receiving early Ejeca demos.

“I’d learnt how to make stuff by reading magazines, and was making loads,” he tells DJ Mag. “I sent some to Noir who said he put it on his monitors and it sounded like the most bland, unfinished music ever. I locked myself away to really work on improving.”

It worked, and now he has a number of underground hits to his name on du jour labels like Needwant ('Horizon'), Aus ('You'), W&O Street Tracks ('Night Rays') and Sasha’s burgeoning Last Night On Earth ('Hi Rollin'), with new missives coming on LoKee and 2020 Vision.

The Irishman’s buffed-up sound lays between ebullient house and euphoric garage, with rich synth patterns and plenty of vocal hooks, and is ever improving, he says, thanks to more and more experiences playing on real dancefloors.

“My third proper gig outside of local bars in Ireland was playing the main room of Fabric. It’s been a steep learning curve, but that’s the best way I think.” Steep or not, it’s certainly worked for him.