Q+A: 5 Minutes with CONFLUENCE

With a lifelong commitment to music and a knack for splicing together genres, the progressive house DJ and producer known as CONFLUENCE recently released his new record titled ‘My Everything’, a song that traverses boundaries and swims in oceans of melodious colouration. Mustering his skillset, he combines the thrill of dance music with the heart of a concerto, wrapping it all together in a glossy package. He has honed versatility of note and, with each new movement, displays various facets of this gem that he released under CNFLNC. We wanted to know more, so we asked him about himself and his journey:

Steam / Download: Confluence – ‘My Everything’

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?

Music in general has been there with me for a long time. My parents were listening to a lot of music from Moby to Depeche Mode. At 12 years old, the first Electronic album I was listening to was ‘One Love’ by David Guetta and from there, I was only listening to electronic music. It came naturally to me to make music. I’ve always been creative and music has helped me to express myself.

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

It depends. Sometimes I would have a melody in my head and start working from there and sometimes I can spend hours making a sound until I obtain the perfect one. Most of the time,  I like to start with drums to set the tempo and rhythm. 

Does your material feature any collaborations?

No.

What’s on your current playlist?

Moderat – Neon Rats, 

The Dualz – Vision, 

WhoMadeWho – The Summer, 

Shiffer – Memento (Adriatique Remix),

Awe Kid – Eve (Max Cooper Remix). 

Those are my favourite summer tracks.

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

There is always this chemistry between me and the fans, which is the ability to take them on a journey with the music I play. Many of them are telling me that my music helps them to focus, to motivate them, and for this, I’m more than grateful.

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

I can spend hours or even days creating a sound but the most efficient way to make something original for me is to start with a pre-made preset and experiment with the different features and effects until it starts getting interesting. 

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

I usually start working between 9 and 10 am. I’m using Logic Pro X and I usually start working with drums. Splice has a lot of good one-shot samples which I load into my Maschine MK3 by Native Instruments, also good to come up with interesting chord progressions and melodies. I have a Launchkey 49 MIDI from Novation, where I spend most of my time looking for the right hook of a track as well as incorporating other sounds such as strings, brasses… more ambient and orchestral.

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

Going back in 2012, I got to see David Guetta and Nicky Romero playing in Montpellier, South of France and I remember looking at my dad and saying ‘That’s what I want to do.’

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?

A glass of water. Stay hydrated.

Any emerging artists on your radar?

Koo Read, Callum Stack, Alex Moretto, Josh Anton, Ben Elding, Gamys, THEOS. I’m surely missing other great talented friends of mine, all from Point Blank Music School.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

It all depends on how creative I am. I can get a full track idea done within a day just like I can spend an entire day working on a melody and at the end of the day, give up. When I’m happy with an idea, the rest comes naturally.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

Logic Pro X, any Native Instruments plugins especially Reaktor and Kontakt. Spitfire plugins are also very important for me when I make ambient and orchestral sounds. Maschine MK3 by Native Instruments, for working on drums and finding good chord progressions and melody ideas. Launchkey 49 by Novation is my go-to piece of equipment. I started making music with it and it’s still in my studio.

Any side projects you’re working on?

I recently finished a track which I played at a beach club bar and I think that the audience loved it. Besides that, I’m working on 4 different projects at the same time and hope to finish those soon, as I have about 200 unfinished projects sitting on my laptop.

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

When the COVID-19 pandemic happened, I spent the time experimenting with new sounds, new horizons, and exploring different genres. Point Blank Music School has also been very helpful in enhancing my production and DJ skills.

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

I have a 4 tracks ambient and electronic EP,  which should see the light in 2 or 3 months.

Follow CONFLUENCE:

Facebook – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify – TikTok

Image credit: Morax Photography