Beltran, congratulations on your first Beatport number 1 with “Smack Yo'”. How are you?

Hey there, thank you! I’m good and happier than ever!

How did the track start out? What was your initial idea or spark?

The initial idea for the track came to me when I was waiting for the bus to go to work. I couldn’t get the vinyl scratches and the bassline out of my head — so I grabbed my cell phone and immediately recorded an audio ‘singing’ the beat. I’ve never wanted to go to the studio as hard as I wanted on that day!

From that initial idea what was the process of making the track? Did you know immediately what kind of beat and sound it should have?

This track was very special for me because I was able to extract the idea directly out of my head and translate it to my DAW. The beat was exactly how I’d intended it to be and the vocal fit like a glove.

You’re from Brazil. What is the scene like and you grow up with? What are some other emerging producers, DJs or labels from Brazil that you can recommend?

I’m from a small town in the south side of Brazil, and because of that, the only contact I had with electronic music was because of my brother and cousins. As I grew up, I started attending local events/clubs and saw that we have a big and amazing scene here in Brazil, the people really get into the story you’re telling within your set and that is the best feeling for a DJ.

I know a lot of talented producers here in Brazil, but the ones that come to mind instantly are: Classmatic, Jamie Coins, Trallez, Roddy Lima, Panna, Duarte, Mochakk. Along with these talents, there are a lot of labels here in Brazil that I really love, like Dogghauz, Elevation and Blackartel. There’s also one party label that has my heart, that is called Basement.

“Smack Yo'” is your first release on UK label Solid Grooves Raw. How did you get in touch with the label and its co-owner Michael Bibi?

As for a lot of producers, Solid Grooves was my biggest goal and achieving it was the best feeling ever. I was sending promos to Michael for almost three years and never gave up, but one day my cell phone vibrated in a different way. I was at work at that moment I almost fell out of my chair when reading Michael’s e-mail response. On the same day, he played “Smack Yo'” at Cocoricó in Italy and the crowd went crazy. A few days later, he put me in contact with their label manager, Ramin Rezaie, who is a good friend of mine, and we got things ready for the release.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on other tracks that I also had the idea of while I’ve been working or while waiting for the bus. My next debut is “Warning” which is coming out on Revival New York next month.