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Q&A: MILLER SOUNDCLASH FINALIST CAISSA

With Miller Genuine Draft

Over the next few weeks we’ll be profiling the Miller SoundClash finalists; getting to know the DJs who will be flying to Las Vegas to compete for a chance to play alongside Dannic at Drais! Today we are speaking with the entry from Dominican Republic. Make some noise for Caissa.

Tell us in one sentence who you are and where are you from?

“What´s up guys, we are Caissa and we´re from the Dominican Republic.”

Where did your love of music first come from?

Jean: “Most of my family are musicians so music has always been a big part of my life, but if I had to pick a moment I’ll had to be when my great grandfather taught me how to play the piano back when I was 5 years old, I knew right there I wanted to be a musician.”

Marco: “Being the youngest of three brothers (two sisters and a brother) I always had music playing around me, from ’80s synth pop, to ’90s rock, to my dad’s classical music. My big brother specially has always been a major inspiration for me, he was always playing his ‘MegaMix’ cassettes and making mixtapes for his friends and school parties and it seems to have stuck with me!”

How long have you been DJing?

“Separately we have been djing for about 8 or 9 years but as Caissa is a little bit over a year.”

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

Jean: There have actually been a couple. Way before we were Caissa we had another duo called ´GeeknRoll´ and we had the honour of being the closing act of Armin Van Buuren’s show, here in Dominican Republic. Our release on Pyramid Recordings ‘No Rules’ got some amazing support and obviously this moment right here it’s definitely a big one, too!"

Marco: “For me, it was being in the same stage with Armin as Jean mentioned, he has always been one of my major influences. Also, in 2011 I won 1st place a DJ competition in the ”Techno“ category, and finished in 2nd place on that same competition in the ”Clubbing" category.

 

Jean Sosa & Marco Bonarelli - Miller SoundClash 2015 - Dominican Republic by Miller Soundclash on Mixcloud

 

Tell us about the success as a DJ you’ve had in your own country.

“Separately we’ve had the chance of headlining some pretty amazing parties in the country and held residencies at various clubs, but as a duo winning the Miller SoundClash is probably our biggest success in the country up to date.”

How does it feel to win your local Miller SoundClash competition? Tell us about your experience in the competition so far.

“Oh wow, it was amazing. At first when we got to the club we had our doubts in regards of the other finalists, mostly because our friend (and finalist) Natu, delivered a solid set, he plays big room¨ which is a really big genre here in the country and we are more house and future house, but once we got on stage we definitely felt the energy from the crowd rushing in. In general we’re still in shock because it all has happened really fast, but we are super pumped about everything.”

How much does it mean to you to have made it to this stage of Miller SoundClash?

“We are extremely excited and grateful for this opportunity, because whatever happens in the final this is a life and career changing experience for us, so we are definitely pumped for it!”

How do you plan to stand out over the other DJs in Las Vegas? How will you be preparing for the finale?

“We are preparing our set with unique personal mashups, remixes and some originals. We always try to use as much original material from ourselves as possible in our sets. We always thrive to please the crowd but always with our personal style and touch. ”

What makes you unique compared to the other international finalists?

Jean: “That we are a duo [laughs...]. No, but in reality what we think that makes us different is the vast different backgrounds of music we come from, I mean we used to be in the rock/metal scene way back in the days, and Marco´s style has always been heavier like trance, drum&bass and grime while mine is more of a progressive, electro type. When we mixed all of that together in the Caissa personal style it comes out really great. ”

Tell us a bit about your home country - how is the electronic music scene where you are from?

“We live in a beautiful Caribbean island called Dominican Republic, it has the most beautiful beaches in the world, the food is great, it’s always sunny, and our people are always smiling, drinking and dancing. We also have a very active nightlife and plenty of bars and clubs spread out the city. Most tourists only see the ”tourist" part of the island, but if you travel to the city I can bet that you’ll never want to leave again. The electronic music scene to be totally honest, is still struggling because the masses mainly listen to Caribbean music but in the last couple of years we’ve had a couple of radio stations that have switched to only EDM programming and we’re getting shows from Paul Oakenfold’s Planet Perfecto, All Gone Pete Tong, A State of Trance, Carl Cox’s Global, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, to name a few. So, we’re slowly but surely getting there.

Be sure to follow the finalists progress and support your favourites in Las Vegas by following #MillerSoundClash on Facebook.