With his soulful house blends, Miguel Migs speaks to me like his music speaks to his audiences. “Whenever I hear your tunes I feel like kicking back with margaritas on a sunny tropical island!”, I remark when we begin talking. “Why thank you Miss Howard!”, he responds. And with that, the ice has been broken. Having just started a tour for his recently released album ‘Those Things’, Miguel takes some time out to have a chat with inthemix.
Miguel started out with Zion Sounds, a reggae dub band in which he was the guitarist in the 90s. It was a great learning experience for him, and was also a platform for him to embrace new sounds and respect all styles of music. An avid music fan, ranging from rock to hip hop and old school funk, it allowed his journey into electronic music too be a smooth and soulful ride, and one that we as fans have grown to love, appreciate and respect. “When I’m writing music I am influenced by all styles, but I am a true lover of the old school funk. There are no boundaries or rules when I’m writing music, it’s just me doing what I love and creating what is true to me then and there. I don’t write for the dance floor I write an album for listening pleasure”.
Migs’ new album, ‘Those Things’, has started its promotional tour, and Miguel has been adding live elements to the sets to accompany his DJing. If you maybe thought that meant we’d be seeing him as a frontman soon, then think again. He laughed and assured me that he doesn’t sing, that he’ll most definitely leave that up to the professionals! He does however play guitar and stand up the back doing his doo wop motown BVs. “My music isn’t hard to translate into a live set as most of my tracks are vocal and soulful so they are really easy to perform live. It’s not much hard work to pull it off, all the elements are there, we just get it done! I will still be doing my normal DJ sets but will be bringing in Lisa Shaw and some other vocalists off the album as well. I am a musician so it’s natural for me to bring my music up another level, and as we speak I am putting together a full band. I’m spontaneous as well and I love that part, it makes it fun!”
Having been immersed in the music industry for more than 15 years, Miguel has watched its state of change. An old school player, and having a love for vinyl, he remains nostalgic about the state of the industry. Watching his friend’s music stores close down and digital sales go up, I ask if there’s a plan for Miguel Migs to reverse the effects of plunging sales in an attempt to beat the game? “There are so many genres of music, and you have to observe and grow with it. In the dance music scene alone people love to categorise what’s hot at the moment, so there are SO many sub genres, like tech house, deep house, tribal, it’s endless. I myself am a deep house DJ, and I believe there’s good music and bad music, but I can appreciate all and I view and listen to them with an open mind and support.”
“You know it would be like eating the same food all day every day, that bores me, so I choose to eat from different plates and that’s all a part of the experience of change. I am still all about vinyl, but it is slipping into the collectors realm, and the convenience of CD is unquestionable. I love when a friend in Europe produces a track that day and then emails it to me, I download it so I can play it in the club that night. It’s great. What an option to have as a DJ! In saying that, I still play vinyl and will continue to produce vinyl even if it ends in a collectors box.”
Miguel is constantly chasing the summers and playing the best festivals around the world, his tan is living proof that this San Fran boy hasn’t endured a winter for a while, and he hopes not to anytime soon. “If I could live in shorts, singlets and flip flops all day I would.” Recollecting on a memorable festival experience, I’m happy to report that Miguel cites an Australia tour as his most notable on record. “Good Vibrations about 5 years ago I think? With Jamiroquai, an awesome outdoor event, I loved it. I’m pretty consistent down under, my music and I are not big room club kinda guys, we love a day gig, not necessarily pounding it out.”
Over his career Miguel has been linked to many record labels, and recently he finally stepped out of the shadows and started his own, which is now 3 years old. Called Salted Music, in Miguel’s own words he is “super excited” about the endeavour. “The opportunity to release and produce fresh, new material and artists is great for me. I get a lot of demos while I’m on the road, so now it gives me the chance to move forward with material I like. Lisa Shaw will be releasing on Salted Music in October, so we will keep our eyes peeled for her new material, also an LA based artist Joshua Heath will be a name to keep your ear out for.”
Miguel’s new album ‘Those Things’ is available now on Om Records, distributed locally by Stomp.
