Blog Interviews

Uto Karem speaks about his debut album called Dazed

One of the most favorite techno acts on the White Isle, Uto Karem is also label boss at infamous Agile Recordings. We are got the chase to speak with him about his new single so enjoy the read and don’t forget to check Dazed below, because we were amazed!

Hi Uto, big news is that you are dropping your debut album next month. First, what can we expect to hear? Could you reveal something more about Waking Up the Neighbours?

The basic idea to write an album came from the feeling, after years of having released singles and remixes, that I needed and it was the moment to create and put down ideas on something that would represent me musically without any restrains; a project that could showcase my musical background without following the hype of the moment, something that could give me the freedom to express my creativity at 360 degrees.

Tell us something more about the starting idea and inspiration for Waking Up the Neighbours?

I also wanted to have something that was not just a collection of singles that would sound cool in that specific moment. The idea of the album was to have a record and a memory of something that will still be meaningful looking back in ten or twenty years.

“Dazed” is the first single from the album that we got to hear, and expectations are high for the rest. What can you tell us about this track?

The track was born try to take a different approach instead of starting with drum parts and bass. I approached the project from a melodic side playing first on the synth to make space, so those elements would be complemented by the drums while laying down the arrangement. I am very proud with the resulting final mix; it’s a track that has power and soul.

Uto Karem @ Utopolys Radio

“Living The Night” is a euphoric track, second single you revealed from Waking Up the Neighbours, it makes a great sneak peak, so how are you satisfied with feedback?

The 2nd single is more club oriented, and so far I’m very happy with all the good feedback we are receiving from the likes of Arjun Vagale, Sasha Carassi, Joris Voorn and Secret Cinema for example.

Were there any creative challenges you dealt with while working on this album and how long were you preparing it?

I worked on the album for about 2 years; started in my studio in Barcelona, and mixed it and arranged it in my new studio in Italy. In the meantime there have been lots of gigs, travelling and of course dealing with the everyday challenges of life. Main challenge with the album was choosing the right tracks to include. I made so many tracks during the process, some of them got mixed and remixed many times. In the end both I and my team are very satisfied and excited with the final results, and I want to thank everyone that was involved in the process. I hope everybody who listens to it will enjoy it as much as I did creating it.

When it comes to your Agile Recordings, most recent release was by Lewis Delay, right? What can we expect in near future?

Yes! We recently released lots of great music from Alex Mine, Lewis Delay, Landmark, receiving great responses both from the crowds and the artists. In the future we will keep focusing on quality and giving young artists a platform to showcase the talents. I will also be productive and keep up the pace with release.

What do you see as the mission or goal of Utopolys Radio?

The fun part of making the podcast is the chance to give people a sneak view of my performances worldwide, it could be a small club or a huge festival. Utopolys Radio has grown so much in the last 5 years; we didn’t expect such a big success! So I hope I’ll continue to make lots of people dance and happy with it.

Where can we hear you in next days or weeks?

Next weeks you can catch me in Salzburg, Austria, Figueres, Spain. Budapest, Hungary, Barcelona for Sonar, as well as touring over in Europe during the summer and later in North & South America, Asia and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdOgxnquEZI