Skip to main content
DJ Mag Top100 DJs
73
Carl Nunes
26

Guatemalan DJ and producer Carl Nunes promised us changes to the way he works when we spoke to him last year. And this year, his fourth in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll, he’s stayed true to his word. 

“I had the most productive year putting together some of the plans I had envisioned throughout my entire career,” says Carl excitedly. The end result is NuCulture, Carl’s fiercely open-minded, genre-less label, which solely aims to put out “fresh yet elegant tunes for all music lovers”. He continues: “We’ve got many incredible projects in the pipeline from artists across different genres and continents. I can’t wait to present them to the world.” 

And that new perspective has been reflected in his own music. While he’s always had melody and hard-hitting beats at the core of his best work, ‘Hong Kong Flow’ and his two-track ‘Gold’ EP, released on Nu-Culture, saw Carl move into slower-paced hip-hop/trap/EDM territory. Lead track ‘Million’, in particular, marks out a (b)rave new world for Carl, his label and his artist evolution. Change is good, very good in fact. 

Do you submit your DJ setlists to the relevant royalties collecting society?

“My team helps me with that… Although I’m not sure if all my setlists have been submitted.” 

What more can we do to combat the mental health crisis in our scene?

“We could start by all being more open and humble about it. Asking for help whenever we need it, and letting others know it’s OK and normal to need help. It’s also crucial to be more conscious of each other and offer support if someone looks like he or she need it.” 

Are you personally doing anything to improve the gender balance of line-ups?

“I have many DJ friends from the opposite gender and support their music. I’m aware of how severe this gender imbalance is on line-ups, among other things. Unfortunately, I feel most of us haven’t done enough to influence it going the other way.” 

What changes have you made this year to be more environmentally friendly?

“Cycling has become my first choice of communal tool when I’m not touring.” 

What was your favourite toy when you were a kid?

“I would say a soccer ball!” 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

“Anything with caramel.”