With Bonaca having new music out now on A Must Have we catch up with him for the latest episode of 12 Questions.
1. How old are you, where are you living and how long have you been producing and Djing?
Hi! Short and clear 🙂 My name is Petar. I’m 25 years old and I’m from from Croatia but am now based in Stockholm (Sweden). My electronic music journey started about 6 years ago as a duo Time4Tale, about at that time I started both with productions and Djing!
2. Where do your musical roots lie, what are your first memories of electronic music and when did you know you wanted to pursue it seriously? Are there any particular productions or artists from the past that really made you think to yourself this is what I want to do?
Well, as a kid i was hard into punk/rock music & still nowadays am fan of various genres! My first touches with electronic music were when I moved to city of Pula and started my high school there i had chance to go my first few techno events. To be honest I still don’t pursue musical career or so seriously i just have few visions of mine which I would like to achieve one day. And that is to play live together with some of my idols who I share the same passion with. Nothing more & nothing less 🙂
There are artists like Petar Dundov, Pole Folder whose music I listened more than 10 yrs ago and I was flying on their productions back then. So nowdays just working together with them and being in their company is huge thing for me and this is what I want to do! Just good music with good people 🙂
Never gonna pursue a full time music career I enjoy my workflow like this. Have big life plans and chasing only music can do a counter effect and just put you down because industry became hard to follow and keep track to. And beside that I believe many don’t even realize what kind of renouncement is that. Being full time touring musicians cuts you on life, passion for music, as well as creativity. It simply becomes a business which will never happen in my case!
3. How difficult was learning to produce for you in the beginning? Did you take any Audio Engineering programs or production courses to help you out or are you pretty much self taught? And did anyone give any advice early on that really helped?
uhh. It is difficult when there is no one to show you! I had some basic knowledge when I started, since I was playing guitar as kid. But all what I know nowdays I learned going trough videos etc. It depends from person to person some needs a tutor and some can catch things from video but what counts in the end is countless hours lost in front of your gear and learning from your own mistakes!
I have a friend who helped me a lot by looking his workflow and tipping me but most of the things i learned by myself.
One tip which all should stick to is simply not listen to the others when it comes to ideas or your track arrangements. No one haves the perfect recipe and only thing you should accept from others is technical advices rest just follow your spirit!
4. What parts of the production process do you find the most difficult and what comes easiest for you? When you do hit a creative block what helps you through it?
Most difficult part for me is still mix on my productions. I am never happy with my sound which is somehow normal, but time and situation haven’t yet let me have even basic conditions to achieve quality sound. When it comes to creating ideas and playing with melodies, arps, strings, pads that’s fun and that’s easy for me. I always find something new but there is certain synths and plugins i love and use constantly.
Creative block happens to those who are rushing into things and chasing after smth. I had similar state once but i knew it it was feeling for a day or two for me. Time solves it, if one weekend in studio was not great it doesn’t mean the next one won’t be 🙂
You just don’t have to release 10 EPs per year and do 35 remixes… do 2-3 and few remixes do it good and with time and feeling. Simple as that!
5. You have a new EP out now on A Must Have; two progressive minded productions that have already earned their fair share of praise. Tell us how you approached writing the tracks, how the relationship with A Must Have began and what’s coming later this year from you?
On “Ode To Eternal Youth” I started I would say second era of my productions as Bonaca. As you could previously hear from me I am trying to express a feeling, emotion in every single tune of mine. Some of them you will understand & some you won’t. But now i started with building up my style more and more. There is one major thing that will push my work a lot which is proper studio & few missing hardware I really crave for ages to get to!
I can say specifically in this EP i used a lot of my fav synth VIRUS and layered acid sounds from my tb3 and when I finished those tracks and Jaksa heard them he liked the EP and giving it to him and joining his label is a pleasure for me since he is unique guy with huge heart! <3
(good music, good people….he is one of those who I wanna be surrounded with as i already said)
Well about future plans hard to say. Didn’t expected nor I was chasing much gigs for this year so I could devote and try making 1-2 lovely EPs by the end of the year, but it happened. I will have a busy summer and who knows what awaits after!
What I am proud of and I can announce is my Vinyl debut release as part of ROMB 013 VA compilation with my techno track which is coming out soon! Also I am working on a remix for King Street Sounds, & some stuff on my own label One Of A Kind. That’s what I can say for now but secretly I am working on an EP which will blow your mind, and you can expect few more projects by the end of the year. 😉
6. Apart from electronic music what other genres do you listen to and who are your favourite artists outside of electronic? and do these genres or artists have a direct effect on your own productions?
At the moment rock music and old pop classics. I really really enjoy Swedish radio selections while listening on work! They are diggers!!!
There is really no favorite artists for me. There are certain artists and bands that constantly do quality stuff and they are my fav but i also simpatise small acts same as big. I can choose fav tracks but wouldnt choose artists. There are so many 🙂
On my own workflow can affect only my current mood. No matter what I listen or hear to influence me whatever i produce it will always be Bonaca.
7. What was the first and last physical (CD, Vinyl, Cassette etc) piece of music you bought?
uhhh first I don’t remember tbh… I remember buying almost all cassettes of Iron Maiden from a friend back in the days.
Last thing I bought was Joel Mull – Soursweet (Petar Dundov remix) vinyl yesterday from discogs
8. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?
I am grown up since I was 15 haha! I seriously take care of myself and live solo since i was around 15. I was horrible kid too but never had any real support from my family in anything.
9. Whats a normal day like for you? Do you have a job outside of electronic music? And what do you like to do when you are not working on music?
I have full time job in Stockholm. I work on construction in fire protection systems (Sprinklers). Whats great about Sweden is that I work 4 days 40 hours then i am 3 days home per week which gives me full freedom on music and my hobbies.
Usually i relax with my dog and girl which are both not yet here with me! 🙁
10. Which producers consistently inspire you? And where else does your inspiration come
from?
Petar Dundov is my absolute hero, Rauschaus, Jobe, Oliver Schories… there are so man.
It comes from my soul I believe 🙂
11. There are countless producers out there trying to find their way and create their own unique sound, what advice do you have for them?
That would be great if that’s the case. I would say there are countless that are trying to find the way by copy pasting other stuff and not trying to create nothing of their own. I mean you can’t create your unique sound by using the same plugins or hardware presets as some well known artists do or using only loops..
My advice is to really be yourself no matter what. This so called “race” everyone’s involved with, makes producers download label & artists signature sample packs with idea to get accepted on certain big label. It goes through to one of 10 and that’s what everyone is only trying to.
Build your gear carefully, play with what you like and do what you love.
12. If the final DJ/live set of your career was next week what would your last track be?
Most probably…
Valentino Kanzyani – Flying <3
‘Ode To Eternal Youth’ is out now on A Must Have, you can purchase the release: here
