Romanian-based duo Groovetique (composed of Alexander Funkmachine & Niro Lassano) burst onto the electronic music scene in 2013 with a refreshing take on lush, Deep-inspired house music, pricking up the ears with some flavored Groovy House and Techno sounds.
As Romania’s underground scene takes shape under the guise of an increasingly deep and experimental form, there are some who would seek to break from the path that those before them had previously set. One of these few promising individuals are Groovetique, a duo living at the heart of the Romanian scene, it’s capital Bucharest and literally Targu Mures. Groovetique shared the decks alongside with big artists like: Dosem, Subb-an, Izhevski, Luna City Express, Nu Zau, Vinyl Speed Adjust, Super Flu, ANNA, Barem, Hearthrob and so on…
One defining feature of these two gentlemen it’s that they are difficult to pigeonhole.
Both in their productions as in their dj sets, Groovetique always take an ‘anything goes’ approach. Their restless straddling of genres and inspirations are testament of years of working.
Groovetique on Facebook
Our questions:
Tzinah Records: To start with, please, recommend us something to listen to while we go through this interview. It can be anything.
Groovetique: Vinyl Speed Adjust – Lost and Found
Tzinah Records: Could you remember when and where have you felt it for the first time that you were to become a music artist?
Groovetique: For both of us happened long time ago, when we started to attend to our favorite DJ’s parties in each of our local town’s clubs. The atmosphere and the crowd back in 2000s were just…amazing and eager for tasting the underground sounds. For one of us was in Studio Martin, Bucharest and for the other one was in Avi-Cola, Targu-Mures.
Tzinah Records: Why did you choose to create and play this particular type of music? Are there any artists that touched you deeply while developing your own style?
Simply because it is not that kind of music you can throw together with a few sample loops as the more generic genres are. For Groovetique this means our generation’s movement, a specific one with a super organic touch, nice dark atmospheres, groovy bass and elegant break-beat kicks which makes the people dance and really feel the vibes.
As for the artists, indeed there are some guys to mention here, who influenced our style a lot. Most of them are Romanian fellows, bright producers in our opinion. We can mention here: Premiesku, Vinyl Speed Adjust, Mirror States, Iuly.B, Primarie, Ada Kaleh and some lads from Sunrise roster also. Foreign artists we can mention Guti, tINI, iO Mulen, Nastia, Silat Beksi, Bella Sarris and many more.
Tzinah Records: Please, briefly, describe for us, the current state of the underground music scene in the place you come from. Is it any good?
Groovetique: Romania’s underground scene takes shape under the guise of an increasingly deep and experimental form, there are some who would seek to break from the path that those before them had previously set. Already, the Romanian electronic music is considered its own genre because of this specific techno movement with these dub and break-beat influences.
Tzinah Records: Without giving out too much about your secret weapons, please tell us how does the magic work in your production routine. Software? Analog? What does your DJ set-up imply?
Groovetique: We consider that the magic in this branch is sustained only by the passion driven to the next level, dedication and of course perseverance. We are using as well software programs (Ableton plus some solid and specific VSTs) and analog devices (such as Akai APC 20, Arturia KeyLab 49 etc.) As a DJ set-up we always play from the CD Players and sometimes Turntables, we never tried the digital part of it.
Tzinah Records: What are the aspects of your daily life that are influencing the shape and sound of the music that you currently make?
Groovetique: We are constantly surrounded by things that inspire us, starting from the very beginning of a day till the end of it, we are surrounded by sounds that reflects in the end in our productions.
Tzinah Records: Which underground house DJ or producer would you love to take out for a summer picnic? With which artist (from any music genre) would you spend 24 hours stuck in an elevator?
Groovetique: Haha, we will definitely pick for a summer picnic the guys from Premiesku and the guys from VSA for a long talk in the elevator. )
Tzinah Records: Have you already played in your most-dreamed about venue? Which one is that?
Groovetique: We have played in numerous gorgeous clubs and places, but we are still pursuing our dream to play in Fabric, London.
Tzinah Records: What motivates you to be an active part of the underground movement?
Groovetique: Passion and love for this wave, our generation’s footprint.
Tzinah Records: What’s your favorite type of breakfast?
Groovetique: Milk, toast and honey.
Tzinah Records: What do you do when the music is not playing?
Groovetique: When the music is not playing, we are producing it.
Tzinah Records: What’s the story behind your Tzinah Family Podcast? How did you record it and are there released or unreleased tracks?
Groovetique: We always get together and both of us come up with 5-6 tracks each and we are getting started and recorded. Of course behind any track is a story and if the sounds strike our hearts it is a must to share it with our people and friends. Yes, in this exclusive Tzinah Podcast are some unreleased tracks ;))
Tzinah Records: Are there any of your plans/upcoming projects that you would like to share with us? Where can we see you play next?
Groovetique: We have recently signed 3 tracks with a London based underground label and we are so pleased and eager to see it released. There are no secrets, we are talking about Coquette Records so keep an eye on these fellas because they are doing it reeeeal good. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose our next event, but you can meet us right on 25th of December in Bucharest. More info will be soon published on our Facebook artist page.
Tzinah Records: Supposing you come back reading this interview in 10 years from now; could you try saying something to your future-self?
Haha, this is a good question. We would say: Be well-balanced, be unique and keep on rockin’! Peace and thank you for having us.