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Sona, DJ
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House
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May 2009
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nosarecordings.com/
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myspace.com/djsona
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n/a
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Oxide
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Hot off the success of his release on Pete Tong's Bedroom Bedlam label, this Dallas native-Taiwan transplant is making steady waves in the dance music scene. With his innovative production style and genre bending sounds, Sona is coming into his own. The highly successful launch of his label, Nosa Recordings, put Taiwan on the dance music map in 2008 with the critically acclaimed Noobian EP and the most recent floor stomper "ESS.O.ESS". These two releases garnered positive nods from John Acquaviva, Onionz, Carl Cox and many top players within the dance music scene. 2009 finds Sona with an onslaught of top notch remixes including Alicia Keys' backup singer Rogiers, Intensity of Sound, Mario Dujic as well as more original releases on his own imprint.
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URBNET What prompted the move to Taiwan from Dallas?
SONA I was at a point in my life where I knew I wanted to live outside the United States. Coincidentally, I happened to be on tour at the time, so that allowed me to survey my options. ;).. When I stopped in Taiwan, I was enthralled by the fantastic cuisine, the public transportation (which is practically non-existent in Texas), and the challenge of living completely out of my element. Lucky for me, the promoter who booked me invited me to come again that same year, so I just told him to book a one-way flight and packed my things. That was nearly 3 years ago.
Where are some of your best places to wine and dine before going out to play at a club?
Taiwan has so many great places to eat, it’s hard to choose favorites. But there's a joint called the 8 Clouds of Taipei that has excellent Proper Taiwanese cuisine. Also, there is a small place in that serves up amazing Middle Eastern food called Sababa. A strange choice considering where I live, but hey, good food is good food.
Since the Bedlam label release have you been able to reach new audiences you didn’t before and where is it taking you now?
The Bedlam release really helped me to reach listeners outside of the underground house community. It's great to have your peers and people in the scene appreciate what you do, but it’s even more rewarding when people who have no idea what house music is to appreciate it as well.
As far as where it’s taking me..that’s kind of weird actually. After that release I had this naive expectation that all these great things were going to happen. I'd get big label heads knocking on my door for tracks or remixes. Maybe a few gigs. .. Nothing happened. ha-ha! Once I realized this, I just decided to start my own label, release my own music and just carry on.
When are the next Nosa Recordings releases due and what other future artists are you looking to work with?
I plan to have the next one out by April featuring two original tunes from myself. Before that, the music video for Control(from the Noobian EP) will premiere. When I first started, I was new to the label business and I didn't want to put other artists' music at risk until I was somewhat successful at releasing my own. This year I plan to expose some of the hidden talent that's on the island and maybe others abroad.
In a dream:
I'd be working with the Timewriter, Llorca and great vocalists like Colette, Heather and Lisa Shaw. Maybe one day...he he.
The Rogiers remix is by far one of 2009’s best remixes, when sitting down to rearrange songs in your studio what are some of your favorite pieces of gear/software to use?
Thank You! I hope djs and clubbers alike enjoy it.
I get the gear question all of the time and people never believe me when I tell them what I have; which is a Mac book w/external monitor, an M-Audio Ozone, and Logic Pro. Plugins: Battery 3 and FM8. That's it! I do all of my eqing in my Sony MDR 7506 Headphones and then I do the mix down on my little M-Audio Dx4 monitors. It's pretty minimal compared to most, but for me it forces me to be more creative.
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