Best of 2013 Interview: Eminence. Eminence, aka Dillon “DLN” Wong and Matt“Kazmo” Kazmierowski currently call Vancouver home. Their musical talent and taste for the live experience has garnered them worldwide attention, grabbing them DJ Mag’s Top 100, #20 in Canada, #35 Trance, #89 Progressive House, #169 Overall. The group has shared the stage and performed with the likes of Tritonal, Showtek, Marcus Schossow, Jochen Miller, Myon & Shane 54, and more!
The Eminence United Podcast and Radio Show has expanded its reach and audience to tens of thousands of listeners each week on YouTube. This success has translated into future expansion of the show, which will start airing on FM and online radio dials worldwide in the summer of 2013. Each week’s show seamlessly weaves in between Trance, Big-Room, and Progressive House tracks that are handpicked by Dillon and Kazmo. Already approaching 10 million YouTube views be sure to look up the podcast on iTunes and radio outlets everywhere!
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias , Music Journalist, Radio & DJ
Name: Eminence
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Dimitri: Can you tell us about your achievements in your music career in 2013 as DJ &/or producers?
Eminence: We were ranked #20 best DJ's in Canada and #169 in the world, made #10 on Beatport trance charts!
Dimitri: If you look back on 2013, are there any events in your music career that you wished you had done differently in order to get a better outcome?
Eminence: No, all our gigs went perfectly as planned and we have our amazing fans to thank for that! And we’ve had some amazing progress with our releases so 2013 has been an incredible year! We are just ready to get going on 2014!
1) Best Track:
Eminence: Andy Duguid - 7Even (feat. Jaren) for 2013 and Man on the Run (Nic Chagall Remix) as our all time favorite
2) Best Artist (DJ & producer):
Eminence: Andrew Rayel for 2013. He’s absolutely on fire this year. And Daft Punk all time because they’re such innovators for the genre.
3) Best Remix:
Eminence: Lana Del Rey - Young & Beautiful (Cedric Gervis Remix) for 2013. Man on the Run (Nic Chagall Remix) as our all time favorite.
4) Best Remixer:
Eminence: Rafael Frost for 2013 and Justice for all time!
5) Best New Talent (DJ or producer):
Eminence: David Gravell because he makes the perfect blend of festival big room drops with addicting trance melodies.
6) Best EDM Album:
Eminence: Daft Punk – Discovery. It’s really inspiring and innovating. And not enough can be said for how important it was bringing dance music into the mainstream.
7) Best EDM Compilation:
Eminence: Dash Berlin - United Destination 4 for 2013 and Search in Sunrise 7 for all time. Amazing selection from Dash Berlin and Tiesto.
8) Best artwork/cover of an album or compilation:
Eminence: Tycho - Awake EP. We are huge fans of Tycho. His album cover brings simplicity and vibrant.
9) Best lyrics in an EDM track:
Eminence: Porter Robinson - Language. Fell in love with the lyrics immediately
10) Best Vocalist/Singer featured on an EDM track:
Eminence: Lana Del Rey…if she counts.
11) Best EDM Label:
Eminence: Wake your Mind and Monstercat
12) Best Music Video:
Eminence: Dillon Francis Ft. TEED - Without You. Really cool video! We can watch it over and over!
13) Best amusing video from Youtube related to Dance Music:
Eminence: Harlem Shake pretty much any one of them!
14) Best Online Social media network:
Eminence: Youtube. All our fans stay consistent and that's also how we started to get a lot of attention. It’s been a big part of our success.
15) Best music composition software:
Eminence: Any DAW is good, depending on producer. Everyone has different needs and preferences. We use FL though.
16) Best Event or Open Air Festival:
Eminence: Tomorrowland hands down. Of course we hope to play there soon as well.
17) Best personal DJ Gig:
Eminence: One of our hometown shows in Vancouver or Toronto! People are always so supportive when we come back in town.
18) Best DJ set of the year from another DJ?:
Eminence: Major Lazer – EDC. These guys are unreal. Full of energy, no genre boundaries and they have full control over the crowd.
19) Best country in which you have performed:
Eminence: Canada, it's our home and we love the support.
20) Best Radio show:
Eminence: Above & Beyond - Group Therapy
21) Best Radio station:
Eminence: Electric Area. If you have satellite radio this is the go to station. Hopefully one day you’ll even hear an Eminence release on there too!
22) Best Online Record shop where you usually purchase your music:
Eminence: Beatport. They have exclusives way before they are released on iTunes. Also it brings attention to the up and coming artists, which is really important.
23) Best Website that you visit regularly:
Eminence: Less Than 3. They are always up-to-date and have some of the most written articles.
24) Best smart phone/mobile/App:
Eminence: Drop box. Without this thing we wouldn't be able to share our music and project folders the way we do. So simple and yet so effective.
25) Best DJ/Producer product (software or hardware):
Eminence: Sausage Fattener (Dada Life) and Xfer sample pack by Steve Duda and Deadmau5.
26) Best new sound or sample which has been used in EDM this year, preferably introduced by you?
Eminence: Nothing new, people are still using the same stuff as they did last year!
27) Best Twitter or Facebook message you received from a fan or friend or you have read from someone else:
Eminence: "Just got my Eminence tattoo." They linked the picture of it! It really hit us hard because we really felt the love. It’s such a commitment to us and it was so wild.
28) Best piece of News you heard this year related to Electronic Dance Music:
Eminence: That Tomorrowland was going to do another weekend! Such a great festival! So stoked for the future of EDM.
29) Best personal achievement related to Electronic Dance Music:
Eminence: Getting Top 10 on Beatport trance charts was amazing!
30) Best holiday destination or best hobby or activity that you spent some time in during 2013
Eminence: Always loved Chicago for the food and the people.
31) Best piece of advice you got in relation to your career:
Eminence: Never give up. Work hard and be patient. Your time will come.
32) The Best Book this year, preferably related to EDM:
Eminence: “Assistant Engineers Hand Book”
33) Best Movie of the year preferably related to EDM or inspired you to compose a track.
Eminence: No joke, Fast & Furious 6.
34 Best tip that you learnt this year relating to DJ’ing or music composition
Eminence: If you feel like your track is not going anywhere, take a break and get back to it the next day. You can’t force inspiration or creativity.
Dimitri: 2014 is ahead of us; would you like to tell us your plans for future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations or DJ gigs.
Eminence: We're working on another track with Johann Stone at the moment. We would like to start our concept album this year and hopefully tour North America.
Dimitri: Thanks very much for taking the time to reply to this interview
Eminence: Thank you for having us!
Thanks a lot to Alex at We are Management for the support to organize this interview
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