Feature: Claudio Cornejo [Interview]

Hailing from Argentina, Claudio Cornejo has been one of his country's brightest progressive music talents. Either operating in solo capacity or as one half of Analog Jungs, the Cordoba resident has long been a favourite of progressive music tastemakers Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren, while also landing releases on Beat Boutique, Droid9 and The Soundgarden. Also finding a comfortable home on Antrim's Or Two Strangers, Claudio now returns to the label with a contribution to the second edition of the 'Strangers' series. We had a chance to catch with the talented Argentine for an exclusive interview just prior to the release. Enjoy!

Hi Claudio, thanks for joining us, how are you today and what are you up to? What are your plans for the week?

Hello everyone, nice to share a few words. Today I feel very well, sitting in front of the computer finishing many tracks, I have a positive week, with a lot of work and good projects to finish.

Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you discover electronic music and what led you down the path of wanting to be a DJ and producer?

From a very young age I have had a very close relationship with electronic music. My brothers and even friends always brought records to listen to on afternoons and summer nights. The fact of having family with several DJs, has led me to decide since then that I would dedicate my life to being a DJ and Producer. From the age of 14, she was already hanging around at parties and clubs, sharing music and always making beats after school.

How has growing up and living in Argentina affected your musical taste and the music you make?

Fortunately, I began to discover music in the digital age. I was able to access music that was not commonly heard in Argentina, or at least it wasn't popular. Here there is a lot of passion for music and the culture and that is contagious, everything is very diverse, and that led me to have more intrigue in various styles. So always my sound is mutated.

What tracks have been most important in your musical development over the years?

Classics like Laurent Garnier - The Man With The Red Face, or Sasha - Xpander, or Frankey & Sandrino - Acamar, have marked my sound as well as current ones like Sebastien Leger - Lanarka. or Guy J - Days of Lights

Progressive music is well known for being hugely popular in Argentina, how did your country become the genre’s mecca over the last 10 years? What would you attribute that to?

The great influencer was undoubtedly Hernan Cattaneo (one of my favorite artists). I bring the Progressive House closer to people who just needed to discover a new style. On the other hand, I think that the promoters of events had their thing, they brought international artists with a staging that made the Argentine public a lover of progressive sounds.

What are your favourites venues to play in Argentina and why?

Rosario, Buenos Aires, Tucumán, to name just a few of the places that make you want to return. Its parties, its people, are a great attraction.

You’ve contributed the lead track ‘Xandar’ to the new ‘Strangers’ compilation on Antrim’s Or Two Strangers imprint. Tell us about the track and walk us through the production process on it.

This track arises during the quarantine, in a different context than what I was working on. I started with the beats followed by its particular melody with the idea of ​​leaving the classic Progressive sound. In the composition of the track, the groove was the starting point for the rest of the sounds.

Where does your inspiration come from? And was there anything specific that inspired you to write ‘Xander’?

I am always listening to new music, be it from a Downtempo track to a Rock Pop. The appearance of Organic House inspired me to create Xandar.

You’ve now appeared on Or Two Strangers four times, what is that makes the label such a comfortable place to release your music?

Beyond that my brother handles it, there is a lot of seriousness about the brand. It is a label with a lot of quality in its tracks, there is a lot of talent and great friends are found.

What’s a piece of gear or software that always gets used when you’re writing a track?

I am currently working with Ableton Live, but when I started my career I used FL Studio. A pair KRK monitors, some synthesizers, and a lot of variety of plugins like Omnisphere, Diva, Dx7, among others.

How have you been dealing with COVID-19? The impact it’s having on travelling DJs is hugely significant. What is your feeling on all the live stream sets happening now?

Besides generating tracks and playing, I dedicate myself to teaching Musical Production to people who are just entering this world. Luckily, I am handling the situation well. Streaming has managed to bring us much closer to music, but it has lost the magic that was in the clubs. At first it seemed very interesting, but as time passes the sessions have lost energy, seeing a person standing in front of your DJ setup from their home is no longer so attractive.

What is something you do now (regularly) that you did not before Covid-19?

My life remained practically regular and has not changed much, surely now I cook more than before (Haha).

Once nightlife eventually resumes globally what kind of effect do you think this period in our history will have on the clubbing experience?

The only thing that is generating this long break is intensifying the lap. Everyone is eager to return to the parties, it will be a great explosion but with more precautions than before. Nothing will be the same.

When working on music is the dance floor always something that’s taken into consideration?

Each musical style has its purpose, if you make dance music, you must imagine how people would react in that place. It must be taken into account in order to program all the sound aesthetics of each track. Something good or bad that sounds in your studio expands exponentially on the dance floor.

What have been some of your favourite tracks over quarantine period?

My favorites in quarantine were the latest tracks by Kasper Koman or Dmitry Molosh. Still, maybe I have heard music so much that I would not put anyone on the podium.

Is there a movie you would have loved to have produced the soundtrack for? And if so why?

There are many films that I love their aesthetics, but the ideal one to produce for me would be Interstellar, with many emotional and epic nuances.

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

It makes me very happy to share knowledge and teach those who want to be part of this beautiful world of music. I have been a Production teacher for many years, something that I love as much as producing and playing as a DJ.

What does the remainder of 2020 hold for you? Do you have anything other new music coming out that you can mention?

I have enough new material to come out yet on this 2020. I personally have confirmed releases on Clubsonica and Balkan Connection to name a few. And with the duo Analog Jungs, there's music to come out on Plaisirs Sonores Records, Onedotsixtwo, Mango Alley, Manual Music, Magnitude Recordings.

'Xander' is out now via Or Two Strangers: https://bit.ly/2StOajz