A couple of weeks ago a song swept across the Internet faster than a wildfire, and was credited to be a new collaboration between Swedish Hosue Mafia and Afrojack. Even here at The Top Sound, we got swept up in the madness, and whole-heartedly believed the song to be their work, it was just that good. Well, as it turned out, the song belonged to DJ Cruz, one of Switerland’s rising stars. “Burning Fuse,” has been largely successful, and has really helped Cruz get his name out in other countries, specifically here in the United States.

Anyway, today I’ve got a special surprise for all of you! An exclusive interview with the man himself, Vincent Dubinsky, aka DJ Cruz! Check it:

*Minor editing has been done to the interview, to make it easier to read. English is Vincent’s second language, but he did a killer job!

Intro:

Mike:
Hi Vince, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! I am sure that you’re extremely busy right now with the release of your new track “Burning Fuse.” It’s one of my favorite tracks in recent months, and I know it’s going to do huge things!

Vince:
Hi Mike. Thanks for having me. Yeah, a lot is going on at the moment. Right now I’m at Nice Airport, played at Gotha at the NRJ Music Awards After Show, was an amazing gig. The release of “Burning Fuse” in December of last year was doing well on its own, but what really made the release explode was the mislabeling of the track. Someone uploaded it as the new Swedish House Mafia feat. Afrojack single and it hit the web that way. Within a short time, tons of blogs started posting it like that. It was a crazy story.

Question 1:

Mike:
Can you tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps a quick bio, and some of your interests outside of music, djing, and producing.

Vince:
I’m 21 years old and live in Zurich, Switzerland. I used to skateboard and play tennis a lot, but unfortunately I’m not that active in sports anymore. I do go to the gym though, and that’s really the only place that I completely switch off. Other than that I’ve finished my education and worked at a private bank for two years, but I quit my job to follow my passion which is music.

Question 2:
Mike:
Vince, as most of us musicians know, our interest in music starts at a young age. What kind of music did you listen to growing up, and what inspired you to ultimately get into music yourself?

Vince:
At a young age I started to sing in a choir for classical music. In parallel, I grew up only listening to the so called golden era of Hip Hop. Gangstarr, Rakim, Nas, Red n Meth, etc. I wasn’t really open towards new music genres at that age, they didn’t interest me, as I was only into Hip Hop. Nowadays I check out all different genres of music, and love the variety that’s out there.

Question 3:
Mike:
So you started out at the age of 15, can you tell us a little bit about the journey since then? When was your first big break?

Vince:
It all started at a skateboard contest I participated in. There was this DJ who was scratching, and I went up to him and asked if I could give it a try. He let me scratch the playing record, and everybody looked because I accidentally changed the playing music. But I was instantly hooked. Scratching really fascinated me and still does today. Shortly after, an older neighbor of mine randomly offered me an old turntable. I took it and practiced scratching day in day out, and eventually bought a second turntable, as well as a mixer once I could save up the money. At that time, my best friend started djing as well, and it wasn’t long before we were djing in our cellar rooms for many, many hours. We decided to make our first Mixtape on CD and sell it infront of clubs for CHF 2.- (ca. $2). Through this process we got to know many party hosts, and finally got booked at different spots to play some warm up sets. After that it went step by step. My friend stopped djing but still supports me in different ways, such as editing many of my videos (www.youtube.com/djcruztv).
My first big break was at the age of 17, when I got to play at Switzerland’s most famous club, Kaufleuten. I was really nervous, but so proud to be able to say that I got to play at the legendary Kaufleuten.

Question 4:
Mike:
What is the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Vince:
Actual gig wise, I have to say both my own Party Labels “Cruz Unlimited” at Saint Germain,  another Zurich club, and “Unashamed Luxury” at Kaufleuten. (For American readers, we call these residencies) Both were truly amazing. The crowds were awesome, and receiving all of that support in the city I come from is phenomenal. I’m really grateful.

On an experience level 1OAK in NYC, Armani Dubai, VIP Room St Tropez and the wedding afterparty of Italian, Soccer Team Goal Keeper, Buffon in Italy were highlights.

Might sound cheesy but really every successful, and fun gig is a highlight in its own.

Question 5:
Mike:
So you’ve become a resident at Zurich’s most famous club, Kaufleuten. What’s it like playing there? Are there any songs or styles of music in particular that really get the crowd going?

Vince:
I used to play every first Friday of the month for 4 years as their resident DJ, at a party called CHIC. Now, I have my own party label “Unashamed Luxury” where I play monthly there on Saturday nights, and I’m really grateful for how its going. I play music that I like, and my style is all about spinning open format. Taking it from Tiesto, Lil Wayne, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Avicii back to Nirvana.

Question 6:
Mike:
I’ve never been to Zurich, but I’m actually going to be taking my first trip out there later this Spring. Can you tell us about the Zurich EDM scene, who’s really popular out there right now. Do you see yourself staying there long term, or do you have future plans?

Vince:
I feel that many people are aware of what’s going on in EDM and also request the very latest tracks. The clubs are all booking really big names at the moment. Kaufleuten for example had Gregori Klosman, Yves LaRock, Norman Doray, Laidback Luke, and Benny Benassi all booked in January. There are many different clubs with completely different scenes to them. I’ve been traveling almost every weekend, but I always like to come back home to Zurich. It’s clean, pretty, small and the living standard is very high. I can imagine moving to a bigger city in the future, but right now that’s not my main focus.

Question 7:
Mike:
So recently, you began to spend more time producing your own original tracks. Can you tell us a little about your process? Where do you get your inspiration, and which DAW do produce in?

Vince:
Most of my ideas and melodies I first record in Ableton, because its fast and easy. The rest I do in Logic, where its easier for me to do the arrangement, and etc. Once I finished the track to the degree I’m happy with it, I go to the studio of my friend Cedric Zeyenne. We continue to work on the track, exchange ideas, improve it, and etc. Once it’s done, I have it professionally mastered. So far, I have three tracks out, and a fourth one that is almost complete. I have a lot planned for this year.

Question 8:
Mike:
Can you tell us a little bit about your track “Burning Fuse?” The track is a serious heavy hitter with fantastic synth lines. It’s modern house at it’s best, so it’s easy to see why bloggers including myself confused it for a SHM/Afrojack track. Do you know how or where this misunderstanding originated?

Vince:
Thank you. I have no idea, I was shocked myself to see my track posted as SHM/Afrojack. I didn’t know what was going on. But the mistake got me some unexpected publicity, and my name got out there a little more. But as a producer and DJ, I want to pay my dues and work myself up on my own. I did take it as a compliment though, that bloggers and the listeners believed it could be SHM. That motivated me a lot.

Question 9:
Mike:
Is there any producer in particular that you would love to work with and collaborate on a track?

Vince:
I admire producers who manage to have their own unique and recognizable sound. I would love to have a studio session with Avicii, Laidback Luke, Hardwell or Skrillex. But first, I still have a lot of producing to do on my own. Haha.

Question 10:
Mike:
What’s in the immediate future for you? Will you be putting out an EP any time soon or going on any tours?

Vince:
Right now, I’m looking for a singer for “Burning Fuse”. I want to release a vocal version, and maybe even do a video clip for it. Furthermore, I’m releasing my next track fairly soon. An EP is something for the future, but right now I rather focuse on single tracks and travel around playing good DJ bookings.

Question 11:
Mike:
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Vince:
As long as I’m having fun, and giving my best, I am really grateful for how far I’ve come already. Life can be full of surprises. For now, I just want to constantly improve my music productions. Besides that, I am pleased to just let things unfold. So far so good.

Closing:
Mike:
That about wraps it up! Again, big thanks to you man for taking the time. If you’re ever in America, you’ve gotta hit me up! We’ll do some serious partying!

Any closing words for our readers?

Vince:
Thanks for having me and props to your blog, I like it a lot! To all the readers, thanks for supporting me, and stay tuned, a lot more is coming =)

www.djcruz.com