Brazilian DJ Hugo Castellan, aka Darth & Vader, has been taking the electronic music world by storm over the last few years with his electro-house/dubstep hybrid sound, most famously on his track “Return Of the Jedi.” Coming from a rock n roll background, Darth & Vader brings a heavy, headbanging sensibility to his productions, and he’ll be cranking the bass and lowering the boom on RVA when he performs this Thursday at Kingdom as part of the inaugural Laserface party, presented by BADASS Raves, the Party Liberation Front, and RVA Magazine.
Brazilian DJ Hugo Castellan, aka Darth & Vader, has been taking the electronic music world by storm over the last few years with his electro-house/dubstep hybrid sound, most famously on his track “Return Of the Jedi.” Coming from a rock n roll background, Darth & Vader brings a heavy, headbanging sensibility to his productions, and he’ll be cranking the bass and lowering the boom on RVA when he performs this Thursday at Kingdom as part of the inaugural Laserface party, presented by BADASS Raves, the Party Liberation Front, and RVA Magazine. There may not be a Death Star exploding planets in the sky over Kingdom this Thursday, but the bass cannon will be firing loudly enough to fool you, so don’t miss the smorgasbord of bass firepower! In preparation for the destruction that is to come, we caught up with Darth & Vader over email and chatted with him about Star Wars, Lamb Of God, and playing DJ sets with a helmet on.
How did you choose your DJ name, and why?
No mystery there. It’s a fun character, everyone always agree with that!
How many times do people come up to you saying some line from the Star Wars movies?
More often than you can imagine! The most popular is “I am your father.”
What sounds or bands have influenced you in your productions?
Porter Robinson, R3hab, Skrillex, Wolfgang Gartner, Knife Party, Far Too Loud, etc.
I saw that you’re into Prog Rock and metal–what particular elements of the rock genre influence you? And have you ever heard Lamb of God?
Metallica, Slipknot, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Dream Theater, Rage Against the Machine… And yes, I know the band Lamb of God, and I really like them! It’s going to be a big pleasure to be in the hometown of this great band.
What experience with musical production and music theory do you have?
I play guitar since [I was] 9 years old. When I was 14 I started studying music theory. When I was 18, I started messing with music production with Sonar, but after a few months I was already on Cubase. I’m working this way since then.
How do you start a particular track – is there a hook or sound you look for?
Usually I have some melodies or basslines in my head when I start a track. Everything else happens based on this main idea. This way, the track have some homogeneity.
You have worked with Afrojack and Moby–any upcoming projects or collaborations to look forward to in the future?
Actually I made a remix for Afrojack. Moby just played one of my tracks. I’m working on some collabs for this year, but I cannot announce anything for sure yet.
So you have traveled quite a bit. Any places in particular that you have visited that stand out? Where is it the most sexy – I’m thinking Brazil, but you tell me.
Yes, Brazil does have incredible places. But I think every place I’ve been have it’s own qualities, for example, South Africa, United States, Canada, Mexico, England…
When you put that Sith Lord helmet on do you feel any different? How hard is it to breathe in that thing?
Actually, I’m trying to avoid using the helmet on my sets. I do it only for a short period of time. Also it’s quite difficult to breathe and see through the glass of the helmet!
BADASS Raves likes to throw down hard, they also like kittens–particularly with lazers shooting out of their eyes. With all this in mind, anything special in store for your show in Richmond, VA?
I’m really looking forward for this show! I will put all my effort to make the craziest set of your lives!
Darth & Vader performs Thursday, April 18 at Kingdom as part of Laserface, an electro-dance laser party. Also on the bill will be Obscure, Agent, Reinhold, and Rudeebeatz. Show starts at 8 PM. Admission is $12 in advance (advance tickets can be ordered here: http://bit.ly/10SH7io).
For more info, check out the facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/456050064468349/
