Photo by Juanma Alvardo
Producer and DJ Regal started on his musical journey when he was about 14 years old, initially as a hobby.
"I used to play sets with Virtual DJ and then record them into CDs to listen to them on my Discman," he says. "At that point I didn't even know being a DJ could be a real job that I could live from one day. The moment I started deejaying on a higher level, as a professional, or someone who was trying to do that on a professional level, was around 2009, when I was 19 years old and started playing in some clubs."
Regal says that his sound has become more adult and mature over the years.
"I think you can still hear my essence with those acid and trance sounds and influences, but also some classic Detroit techno sounds," he says. "Even though, sometimes I also enjoy some less serious sounds with vocals or what you would call “commercial” melodies. Maybe that is because I have the feeling, I no longer have to be a purist and prove anything to others--I just do what I enjoy most. But as said, in some way the sound is more mature and sounds more 'professional'."
His latest release is the Not Another Summer EP.
"My newest EP was totally focused on summer vibes and here you can listen to what I mean with 'funny' sounds," he says. "I didn't take techno so seriously and did something that I would enjoy listening to in the crowd, during a festival on a hot day. The whole EP has a rather fresh sound focus, perfectly fitting open airs or sunny raves, the tracks are a bit slower than what is trendy, and they even have some housy influences, that are something new for me."
As for gear: "Actually, in my studio I'm not using as much analog gear as I used to in the past," he says. "I usually like to work fast, so I have already all my favorite plug ins and favorite sounds sorted into my DAW. Probably the most important physical gear in my studio at the moment are the monitors, Genelec 8030 with the calibration kit, which basically allows me to calibrate an internal EQ on my monitors – no matter how the room sounds, you will have a perfect sweet spot."
Looking ahead, Regal has plenty planned for the second half of 2024.
"I'm currently working on a bigger music project that will most likely see the light of day in autumn of this year," he says. "It's quite a big project for me, so I'm very excited to spread the word – but not yet! Also, there are a lot of shows that I'm looking forward to, some of them connected to this upcoming project. I'll share all the info when the time is right, so stay tuned on my socials!"
Regal's Not Another Summer EP is out now.
