In the competitive world of electronic music production, Martin ‘Beltek’ Bijelic has hit the career fast-track his with his tech/house/prog audio hybrid. In 2007, with his freshman track ‘Copacabana’, Beltek pulled off his first musical coup. He engaged Pete Tong with the track to such an extent that it became the winner of his Fast Trax producer competition.
From such promising beginnings, at hurricane pace, he has delivered one twisting imaginative floor-charger after another. For example, if you don't know his #1 selling techno hit 'Back In The Race', his remix for Faithless single 'Tweak Your Nipple' or 'Kenta', which he recorded on Tiλsto’s label, then you aren't from planet Earth for sure. Tiesto also compiled ‘Kenta’ onto his mega-selling ‘In Search of Sunrise 7 – Asia’.
Up to now, he has now recorded original songs and album for Toolroom records, 1605, Cr2, Global Underground, PIAS, Ministry of Sound, Armada, Black Hole, Nettwerk, and remixed artists like Faithless, Shakira, Gareth Emery and others.
His latest release on Black Hole recordings sublabel Magik Muzik called ‘GO’ instantly became a club anthem, and is considered to be one of the big club smashes of the summer of 2012. So, it sounds like the best time to request an interview with Beltek, in order to find out what the producer and DJ, who is responsible for the slamming beats of ‘GO’ and other great releases, is up to.
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Radio/DJ/Music Journalist
Dimitri: It would be great to go back in time and ask you if you were fortunate enough to grow up in a family that had any kind of connection with music and other forms of culture as well. At the very beginning did you feel that your parents were supportive of you in pursuing your musical career as DJ and producer?
Beltek: My parents didn’t ever learn to play an instrument or take any musical lessons, so I’m the only one in my family who has something to do with music :) At first, my parents weren’t very supportive of my music production beginnings, but later on, as the electronic music got more popular, and I was played more and more on the radio, they started to understand and support what I’m doing.
Dimitri: Is it possible to list for us the Top 5 DJ’s or EDM producers that have been the major influence on the style of your productions and DJ’ing style, and give us a short comment about each of them?
Beltek:
1. Arty - This guy is simply one of the best producers around, and I’m a big fan of his work for many years already.
2. Zedd - His latest tracks brought a lot of freshness in my recent DJ sets.
3. Fedde Le Grand - Amazing DJ and a very versatile producer, which I really like. I love almost all his stuff, from techno to house.
4. Porter Robinson - He did a remarkable job on his latest tracks, especially Language.
5. Laidback Luke - For me, he is one of the most skilled DJ’s in the music industry at this moment.
1. Arty - This guy is simply one of the best producers around, and I’m a big fan of his work for many years already.
2. Zedd - His latest tracks brought a lot of freshness in my recent DJ sets.
3. Fedde Le Grand - Amazing DJ and a very versatile producer, which I really like. I love almost all his stuff, from techno to house.
4. Porter Robinson - He did a remarkable job on his latest tracks, especially Language.
5. Laidback Luke - For me, he is one of the most skilled DJ’s in the music industry at this moment.
Dimitri: Did you have the opportunity to get through any professional training in music, or are you totally self-taught? Do you think its very important and crucial for a young producer to attend music composition courses?
Beltek: Well I started making my first beats when there weren’t many YouTube music production tutorials around haha. So yes, I’m self-taught.
Regarding music composition courses, I think it depends on what music you are making. If you are producing more or less melodic stuff, you should definitely take some musical lessons. I think they can improve, or make it a bit easier for you to make good melodies in your tracks. If you want to make more percussive music, like tech house, techno, etc... then I think you really don’t need any music lessons :)
Dimitri: Please take us on a virtual tour in your home studio and tell the kind of hardware and software that you use to produce your club bombs. Do you have any favourite music composition software that you like to use and experiment with that you can recommend wholeheartedly to other artists?
Beltek: My studio is mainly software based. I just moved my studio to a new location, and I’m rebuilding it at the moment. Currently it only consists of my Adam monitors, RME Foreface sound card, CM6 midi keyboard, and a bunch of midi controllers from Evolution, Akai, Korg and Native Instruments. My music production software is FL Studio. I have been using it now for many years, and its an amazing piece of software, very easy to use and has a lot of unique features. I can really recommend FL to all producer-beginners to try and buy it.
Dimitri: On which label was your first production released, and which track was the one that you believe has helped you get more recognition and support in the EDM scene? Was it easy for you to approach them and get signed or did it take time to succeed?
Beltek: That was my first release with the house track Copacabana, which got picked up by Pete Tong, in his Fast Trax producer contest. When I won the contest, I signed the track to Chris Lake’s label ‘Rising Trax’. I guess this was my first breakthrough in the music industry, and it was one of my first produced tracks.
Dimitri: Would you like to define the “Beltek” sound, and do you believe that its easy to pigeonhole yourself under just one category?
Beltek: Beltek sound = House with a mixture of progressive & electro. The main goal in my tracks is to bring highest possible energy to the dance floor. So therefore I tend to make the sounds more boosted, distorted, fat, and greasy, with ketchup, or something like that! But for sure, I couldn’t pigeonhole my tracks in 1, category or even 2 for that matter.
Dimitri: Your back catalogue is packed with amazing energetic club tunes. Can you please choose for us the Top 5 of your original productions, and Top 5 of your remixes for other artists?
Beltek:
My top 5 originals would be:
1. Par
2. Party Voice
3. Go!
4. Belina
5. Running Backwards
My top 5 remixes would be:
1. Morgan Page - Fight For You (Beltek Remix)
2. Faithless - Tweak Your Nipple (Beltek Remix)
3. Gareth Emery - Full Tilt (Beltek Remix)
4. Alan Connor & Mike Melange - I Love The Sunshine (Beltek Remix)
5. The Henchmen feat. Tiff Lacey - As We Ride (Beltek Disco Remix)
2. Faithless - Tweak Your Nipple (Beltek Remix)
3. Gareth Emery - Full Tilt (Beltek Remix)
4. Alan Connor & Mike Melange - I Love The Sunshine (Beltek Remix)
5. The Henchmen feat. Tiff Lacey - As We Ride (Beltek Disco Remix)
Dimitri: You have had the opportunity to release your music on many record labels, and some are the most important and influential in the global EDM scene. Would you like to pick your favourites and explain why you chose them?
Beltek: The one I would like to mention is Dim Mak Records, which is owned by Steve Aoki. Dim Mak has been one of those labels where I really wanted to release my tracks, mainly because I have enjoy their release catalogue for sometime, and secondly because they are a strong label with great personal staff, that can really push your release, and make the best out of it in the music industry.
Dimitri: Your brand new anthem that cranks up the summer sound systems at the best summer festivals, is your release on the legendary record label ‘Black Hole Recordings’, the huge banger GO! Would you like to take us behind the scenes and let us know where the inspiration came for it? How long did it take you to produce it? Did you expect the success and the positive feedback that you received?
Beltek: My track Go! was inspired by the recent Dutch sound, and besides that I gave it a little more push when the track hits after the breakdown. When I tested it for the first time in the club, I knew this was a bass beast.
Dimitri: Can you describe for us the way that you produce a track. Do you always start from the very start, or do you work with the breakdown first, and then with the rest of the track?
Beltek: Mostly, I start with a melody or a basic idea of synths and percussions/FX’s, and then take it from there. But there are times when I start with just making a kick, adding a bassline, and go on from there.
Dimitri: Is it possible to reveal for us the production that took the most time to finish, and the production that was finished quickly and easily?
Beltek: ‘Himmel’ took me a few years to finish, because I keep re-arranging the track all the time, because my feel for the track changed through time. But finally I got it done :) The fastest produced track I’ve made would be Playmaker. It took me 1 day to arrange and mix it.
Dimitri: Do you usually produce with pre-existing samples, or do you like to swap them about and create your own personal sounds? Would you like to tell us about any of those personal sounds that we can find only on Beltek tracks?
Beltek: I try to manipulate the sounds and change them so they fit to my exact taste. But sometimes, I also find some sounds that is just breathtaking and would be a waste to destroy, so I just implement them into the track. My personal sounds are definitely the kicks. I have made a bunch of them, because I hardly found any good kicks in sample libraries. Other than that, I always layer the sounds/synths so I can mix them the way I like.
Dimitri: From the countries and clubs where you have performed so far, can you choose your all time favourite venue, or big stadium event, and your favourite country with the best crowds?
Beltek: Hm - that’s a hard one! But if I look at just this year’s events, then one of the highlights was definitely when I was performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
Dimitri: Can you reveal please how you prepare yourself for your DJ performances? Do you choose the tracks beforehand, or do you let the crowd reactions guide you on which tracks you will play?
Beltek: In every live set I always play some of my unfinished tunes, so I can test them out. Also, I never prepare the tracklist of what I’m going to play that night, because most of the time when the vibe is amazing on the dance floor, I extend my set for an hour or two if possible.
Dimitri: Is it possible to share with us your best and worst moment in any of your many DJ sets around the world?
Beltek: Best moment was at Ultra Music Festival in Miami this year, where I was playing right before the last DJ, and when I started there were like a couple hundred people on the dance floor, and by the time I was playing just for 15 minutes it got packed with over a few thousand people having a good time. This was such an amazing feeling. It was godlike haha. The worst moment was when I was still playing on vinyl, and at that time I didn’t even have an alias, and a friend and I got a gig early in the morning at 7am. When we arrived at the club it was almost empty, and the security guard looked at us and said “who are you guys? We are closing the club in 15 minutes.” haha. That day was such a failure.
Dimitri: Are you an active and passionate user of the internet and the social networks? Everyone nowadays talks about the Facebook or Twitter generation, after the MTV generation. Do you believe in the importance of Facebook or do you feel is a bit exaggerated and over hyped by the media?
Beltek: In these times being active on social networks is definitely a must. But I’m not yet used to it so much haha. I should be more active on my social networks, but studio takes a lot of time, so I gotta start combining those things somehow haha.
Dimitri: Are you tweeting before or even during your DJ sets to your fans. What is your view of some DJ’s who tell very much about their life on twitter?
Beltek: I’m always tweeting before and after my DJ sets, but never during one haha. That would be a bit disrespectful to the fans who paid money to hear me DJ I think.
Dimitri: At the moment DJ’s are sending messages to their fan base asking them to vote for them in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s poll. Do you think that this is really important and vital for any DJ or do you feel that is over hyped by the media and the promoters, without any real substance behind it?
Beltek: I think this list has lost a lot of the credibility that it used to have back in the days, and I think it is not that important to be on that list. You have a bunch of really successful DJ’s who are not on that list. But still some promoters who don’t know much of what’s going on in the music world, are looking at this list, and booking the DJ’s if they are on it.
Dimitri: What is your opinion about the explosion of radio shows hosted by well known DJ’s and online radio stations? Do you have your own radio show and have you noticed that it has helped you to increase your fan base?
Beltek: Wouldn’t know much about that since I don’t have a radio show. But I think it definitely helps you increase your fan base, and be in touch with your music with fans who can’t make it to your DJ performance.
Dimitri: One of my favourite questions to all the DJ’s is that one about self-reflection and self-criticism. Out of 10 with what score do you rate the various elements of your DJ performances and why?
Beltek:
a) your mixing skills: 8
b) your ability to choose the right track for the right occasion: 8
c) your friendly attitude towards the fans that want to shake your hand when you perform and after? 9
Dimitri: Is it possible to let us know about future tracks or remixes that you are going to release in 2012??
Beltek: I’m just in the process of arranging my new single for Dim Mak records, and recently I produced my remix for the legendary duo Booka Shade, which will be released in the next few months.
Dimitri: Many thanks for the interview, please give us your message to the people who will read it.
Beltek: I hope you have enjoyed the interview and I’ll see you all on the global dance floors. Stay cool, and vote for Paris Hilton in TOP 100 DJ’s.
Many thanks to Beltek for his fantastic answers
Many thanks to Mac at 2night Global for his support in helping to organise this interview
Many thanks to Paul at 1mix radio for proofing the final version.
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