Tomas Briski [Interview]

Hailing from the progressive house mecca of Argentina, Tomas Briski began his musical journey at the tender age of 14. Born into a family of artists and inspired by the likes of Guy J, Jamie Stevens and Roy Rosenfeld, the Cordoba resident would find his footing quickly, signing his first project to Mango Alley’s ‘Augmented 013’ collection in March of 2024. Immediately regarded as one of his country’s top progressive house prospects, Tomas would sign EP’s with Nick Warren’s The Soundgarden and Mayro’s Traful imprint, in turn earning support from genre tastemakers Hernan Cattaneo and Sébastien Léger, amongst others. With an unrelenting drive for innovation and detail in each production, Tomas now adds Constellation Music to his resume with ‘Eunoia / The Clock’, alongside remixes Rokazer and Redspace.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with Tomas to learn more about the release of 'Eunoia / The Clock', his background, electronic music in the Argentina, DJing, and much more. Enjoy

Hi Tomas, thanks for talking to us today. How has the first half of the year been for you?

Hi, my friend! First of all, thank you very much for the interview. It's a pleasure to be on PA for the launch of this new EP. It has been a very different and interesting first half of the year for me. After a long time of work, learning, and experimentation, I can finally see the fruits with my first releases on labels I respect greatly.

Let’s also look at tracks released since the beginning of the year. What do you think have been some of the standouts so far? (not your own music)

I think we got really big releases this 2024, probably my favourites of this year right now are The Wash – Clusterfuck on Mango Alley, Mike Isai – Tunnel on Sudbeat, Mental Whispers of Ric Niels in Plaisirs Sonores and Panko Day of Roy and Sebastién are just some of my favorites

You started your journey into electronic music at 14 years old I think, so now six years on from that, at 20 years old, your dreams are becoming a reality, with Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren playing your tracks. First off, how does it feel to have achieved such success at a young age, and also, what if anything did you do to help the learning curve of production? Or are you completely self taught?

It's simply incredible. In all these years, I never really imagined having this level of support. I just wanted to create the best version of the music I love, drawing inspiration from the artists who have inspired me up to this day. When I saw Hernan and Nick playing my track together, I couldn’t believe it. It was 8 a.m., and I was still asleep when I saw that video, and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It’s been many years of working invisibly without expecting anything in return. But seeing them appreciate your music is truly special. As for my learning process as a producer, it was always self-taught—hours and hours of YouTube tutorials, from any genre. You need to know how to transfer general production knowledge and apply it to the music you want to create. There came a time when I needed to share more technical doubts and talk to someone about progressive production. That’s when I met Claudio (Cornejo). I took a course with him to open my mind, and it unleashed an incredible wave of creativity in me. I’m very happy to be part of his label today, filled with great artists and poised to become one of the best in no time.

In terms of electronic music, was progressive house the style you discovered first? And what was it about the style that made you want to pursue it at the level you are now?

Not really. The first genre of electronic music I discovered was Progressive House in EDM, with Avicii, Eric Prydz, Swedish House Mafia, and others. I remember the video that started it all for me was the Tomorrowland 2011 aftermovie. I began by wanting to replicate that sound, then I evolved to tropical house, tech house, and melodic techno, until reaching this great genre that I feel combines the best of all these styles. But I never rule out the possibility of switching to another style—great music is simply great music.

Take us through a typical day please, what does a day in your life look like?

A day in my life can be quite varied. Right now, I’m academically studying International Trade while working on my artistic project. It’s a constant struggle to create a balance in my day so I can contribute a bit every day to both things. I try not to waste time on too many distractions so I can focus more on producing music.

How did growing up in Argentina influence your music taste and direction? Or did it all?

Growing up where I did, I feel, is the most important factor I’ve had. I come from a family of well-known and great artists whom I admire greatly. They’ve passed on to me something you can’t find in any tutorial, course, or academy: the special sensitivity needed to create something genuine and valuable to oneself. It’s a special sensitivity that only those who connect and enter that aesthetic tunnel above the ethical (consciousness) can understand.

What are some of your best memories from first going to clubs? Were there specific nights or sets that really made you feel you wanted to pursue electronic music?

This question is very interesting because the first time I was able to go to a club was when I turned 18, after having produced electronic music for four years. It’s something that’s usually the other way around. But it was incredible—seeing the great Guy Mantzur at Forja,. The subs at Forja were huge. Back then, I was producing something more related to melodic techno, and that night I discovered what progressive felt like in person. It definitely changed my path, and I started exploring more.

If you were a tour-guide for nightlife in Argentina, what would be the clubs you’d take the people to see and what local DJs do they need to hear?

Argentina is a very large country with an electronic scene that doesn’t stop growing. You should definitely go to "La Cumbre" at the We Are Lost Festival with Guy J, then to The Soundgarden with Nick Warren in Mar del Plata, and Hernan at Forja in June. These are three incredible parties, each very different from the other.

As for Argentine local DJs, there are many great ones. My favorites by far are Mike Griego, Ezequiel Arias, my friends from Analog Jungs, and Ric Niels. But I’m leaving out several great ones too

Being a Cordoba resident, how would you say the nightlife differs from Cordoba to the other major cities in Argentina? Or is there a difference at all?.

Córdoba is the pinnacle of Progressive House in Latin America today, with shows like Hernan's at Forja, and the presence of clubs like Palacio Alsina, La Estacion, and La Fábrica, spreading the best progressive sounds every week in Córdoba. Other cities like Buenos Aires are more varied and tend to feature more genres like Techno or Melodic Techno historically. The scene is big, considering the number of people there are.

When we ask most artists what is responsible for the popularity of progressive music in Argentina the overwhelming answer is Hernan Cattaneo, would that be your feeling also? And if so please speak on that, also to add to that, who else from Argentina inspired you when you first discovered the music.

Hernan is 100% responsible for making progressive music as popular as it is today. Without a doubt, he was the first to trust in this style from the beginning in our country, and he’s the reason why young producers like me have arrived at this wonderful but not so well-known genre. Among my Argentine inspirations as I was discovering the genre, a very young Ivan Aliaga definitely appeared since he was a schoolmate and I closely followed what he was producing and releasing.

You have a new EP ‘Eunoiá’ out now via Analog Jungs Constellation Music. Tell us a bit about the release, what vibe you were going for on the tracks and how they showcases your current sound.

The vibe I wanted to convey with this EP was to present darker and groovier pieces, ideal for the “peak time” of the dance floor, showcasing a more modern sound compared to the first release of this year, which perfectly follows the label's line, using hypnotic arpeggios, powerful basslines, and groovy drums. It’s definitely a sound I’ll continue to pursue for a while.

Which of the two tracks has gotten the most play in your sets? And to what reaction? (or this question can be revised to “which is your favourite and why?

"Eunoia” has been the most played in my sets, without a doubt. It’s a track that’s more adaptable and blendable in a set, very effective. I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s my version of the styles I admire from artists like Simos Tagias, Tonaco, The Wash, among others. But I must say my favorite is “The Clock” because the bass hook is something I’m passionate about, and I feel it’s a brief and subtle showcase of my inner “Techno” side, even though it brings progressive melodies

There are also two great remixes from Rokazer and Redspace, first off how invoiced in the selection process were you? And please tell us why they were a good fit to re-interpret these particular tracks?

Claudio and Gustavo told me that the remixes would be a surprise, and I totally agreed with that. Coming from those two, they were surely going to be by two great producers, and I really believe they made a great and different reinterpretation of Eunoia—Rokazer with his more dreamy and melodic version, and Redspace with a concept similar to the original track but with a deeper and more structured groove. I want to congratulate them both; they are two artists who are on the right path to making a name for themselves.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically on your ‘Eunoiá’ EP?

This is probably my favorite question, haha. Right now in my studio (which is still my bedroom), there’s only a pair of 5’ KRKs, an old Scarlett, and a MIDI keyboard—nothing more. I’ve always thought that the quality of a project really comes from the mind and the dedication you put into it. Eunoia is a track that has between 60 and 70 channels in Ableton Live—not all of them sound at all times and at full volume. They are finely tuned to contribute their grain of sand to the project. For this EP, I used a lot of distortion. I like Ableton’s native plug-ins for that aspect, but in terms of synthesizers, there were plenty of Divas, Omnispheres, and Repros. Lots of delay and subtle automations.

Although you are only in your first year releasing music, you’ve already appeared on some prestigious record labels within the progressive house space, Juicebox Music, Mango Alley, The Soundgarden and Traful come to mind, so i’m curious, with such an incredible start to your career what sort of goals do you have going forward? Is this something you think about?

 I really think about so many goals ahead that it often keeps me up at night and doesn’t leave me time to produce as much as I’d like. I’m working hard to release music on very exclusive labels in the genre like Bedrock, Lost Miracle, Sudbeat, and Anjunadeep. They are all very different and very detail-oriented, which is the challenge that excites me. And outside of progressive, I’d love to bring my style to genres like Indie-Techno and Afro House.

Now let’s talk about DJing for a moment, with such a quick rise to the start of your career you’ll likely be a fixture of Argentina’s nightlife in no time, so tell us what your approach to DJing is? And how do you go about programming a set?

My personal goal as a DJ is to transfer all those hours and dozens of unreleased IDs to the dance floor, slowly building my confidence. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to test my own tracks live, even knowing that the best in the genre are using them. I also like to play music that I personally enjoy from current artists, and throw in a track that doesn’t really fit with what I’m playing at the moment, to take the audience a bit out of the comfort of the progressive groove. It could be a classic from a few years ago, a lesser-known indie remix, or simply a track with a different structure from the rest. I think a lot about the moment when it can be used, and I like to have several options to choose from live.

Now that you’ve spent a few years mixing music as a DJ, can you tell us a bit about how that has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks and how you produce tracks in the studio?

I believe it has changed my way of thinking when creating a track, especially in the arrangement of elements, and in the elements that, when entering and exiting the mixer, I like to keep. The pressure level of some elements like the kick and the hat, as well as maintaining the atmosphere of the backgrounds to not disrupt the story of the set. It has also broadened my perspective and keeps me updated on the music artists are releasing all the time, to see where the scene is at that moment.

How much prep do you put into the sets you play, or are they spontaneous for the most part?

I prepared them a lot because I don’t find much external music that represents the line I want to follow in the set. I like to feel that the tracks that aren’t mine have something of me in them and that I don’t just choose them because they are effective for the night. It takes me quite a while to choose the music—if I don’t love it, I don’t download it.

Current Top five tracks in your sets?

Ric Niels – Mental Whispers

Ivan Aliaga – Ordinary Craziness

Fakr – GMJ & Matter Remix

Mike Griego – Back In Trance

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

Probably in my chair studying, since I’m pursuing a degree in International Trade, but I hope you always find me in the places you mentioned earlier, haha.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

I love this one—let's pretend the budget is unlimited, haha.

Open - 1 am: Keinemusik
1 – 4 am: Hernan Cattaneo & Nick Warren
4 – 6 am: Guy J
6 – 8 am: John Digweed

I think it would be a great night...

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life?

I would likely stay in the realm of music and audio, following in my father’s footsteps in sound design and mixing for live shows—it would still be a lot of fun

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

I've always liked movies and TV series, but right now I feel like it’s not the time to spend hours on that. I try to use that time in the studio, but the last thing I watched was a good documentary about the master Quincy Jones—no doubt, the maestro.

 What can we look forward to from you for the rest of 2024? Any releases or gigs we should know about?

For 2024, there are several interesting releases coming up on labels I greatly respect. Juicebox and Clubsonica are confirmed for this year. As for tours, nothing is confirmed yet, but we are exploring the possibility of doing something abroad. 2025 will definitely bring a significant change in my sound.

Thank you so much, Mitch, for the interview and to Progressive Astronaut for the space. I hope you all enjoy my EP on Constellation.

'Eunoia / The Clock' is available now via Constellation Music: https://tinyurl.com/ms9286uk