Montreal-based artist Sinca has gone from strength to strength in recent months. The rising talent first seized the international spotlight with a label debut on UK juggernaut Anjunadeep. Her track ‘Mancora’ joined cuts from the likes of Sascha Braemer, MXV and Mr. Sosa on the 19th edition of the label’s ‘Exploration’ series.
Since then, she has dropped a lethal remix of Koelle & Margret’s ‘Is It Love’ on XYZ, while debuting her skills behind the decks in Miami, Denver, New York, Washington DC, Tulum, and more.
With much on the way, including a visit to NYC for the Anjunadeep Open Air at the renowned Brooklyn Mirage alongside the likes of Eli & Fur and Dosem, as well a fresh Coda (Toronto) debut with Ben Bohmer, we caught up with the promising producer and DJ to get her perspective on 2022 so far.
WWD: Thanks for joining us Sinca! Where are you right now and what’s been on your agenda the last few days?
Thanks for having me! Right now, I’m in the train number 68 from Toronto en route to snowy Montreal (yes snowy in April!). I had the chance to perform at Coda last Saturday in Toronto.
As for my agenda, I’m planning to spend a lot of time in the studio over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be working on some great new projects and collabs that I can’t wait to release later this year!!
WWD: You’ve made your debut performances in Miami, Washington, New York, Tulum and more this year. What have been the standout moments?
These experiences were simply amazing! I had heard so many great things about these iconic venues, so I made sure that the track selection process for each gig was very thorough, as I really wanted everyone present to have a great time. I am so happy about the turnout of each performance and really appreciated the support and love from the electric crowds! I danced so much that my legs were sore for a couple of days each time! I also enjoyed meeting some great and talented artists in person.
On that note, I had the chance to record my set from Do Not Sit (Miami), you can find the link right here.
WWD: Your remix of ‘Is It Love’ dropped on XYZ earlier this year. Can you walk us through your creative process for the remix?
First off, I have to say that Koelle and Margret really made “Is it love” an easy song to remix simply from how amazing the original version is! I couldn’t have asked for a better track for my first ever experience remixing a song. To get the blood flowing, the first thing I did was meticulously listen to the original song (at least 50 times) and gave myself the task to spot the 2 elements that made, in my opinion, the song the hit that it is! The two winners were Margret’s vocals and Koelle’s distinctive synths and after a bit of rearrangement sprinkled with some new sounds, I managed to stay true to my own “bouncy” style but also created, I hope, a great new track!
I hope people enjoy it as much as I had fun making it!
WWD: How did you first get started in music and when did your interest in producing electronic music emerge?
Music and I first fell in love when I was a young ballerina, and growing up in a household where Latin music was always playing. The playlists were often selected by my wonderful Peruvian mother and my older sister who was also a music enthusiast. As for my love for sharing the joys of music, this came a little bit later when I found this new passion for doing playlists and put them on discs, and then MP3 players. My parents and sisters can probably attest to the countless all nighters I spent carefully handpicking my favourite tracks with the thought of playing it at the next road trip or highschool party! At this point in my life, my Grey Ipod Nano was a mix of EDM, rock and hip hop and I have to admit that the occasional Queen B would appear when I pressed shuffle. 😉
At 24, thanks to one of my closest friends, I decided to attend DJ School Montreal where I learnt from Dj OKIN, my teacher at the time. At first, the goal was to create mixes for my friends and I to enjoy at hangouts, but very quickly what started as an extracurricular activity turned into a passion. My first gigs were spread in Montreal across bars, clubs, restaurants all the way to my favourite hair salon, Funky Toque on St-Laurent street! Show after show, I improved my technique and built a great network that surely contributed to the venue sizes growing exponentially. However, this took a sharp turn when we came face to face with COVID, which made me think twice about my young music career. But it’s at this point that I decided to improve my skills on Ableton and start producing, I had to move on to the next milestone I had in mind which was to create my own sounds. After hours and hours in my home studio (that consisted of my MacBook and a lot of coffee!), I started to develop my own sound and came up with my first ever single “Mancora”. It was picked up by Anjunadeep in the Summer of 2021. This signing has given me the international exposure and the energy boost I needed to give everything I got to music!
WWD: Is Montreal considered your hometown now?
Yes. Although, part of my answer may sound cheesy to some… I truly feel like a citizen of the world. I was born in France in a biracial family with a mother from Peru and a father from Quebec. Even though I spent most of my life in Montreal, I was lucky enough to discover the four corners of the world and had a chance to live in Barcelona, the UK and Burkina Faso for extended periods of time. That said, Montreal will always be my hometown!
WWD: Can you share with us your 5 favourite things about the city?
Easy one:
The people
The food
The parties
The culture
NOT the quality of roads!
WWD: Can you tell us a little about the thesis you wrote about electronic music DJs and producers? What were your main findings?
Yes I had the chance to do some research on this topic in 2020 during my Masters at HEC Montreal. I interviewed several DJs and producers in Montreal, and I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of similarities between a DJ/Producer and an Entrepreneur. In other words, your music career is like an entrepreneurial project and a DJ/Producer needs to equip themself with the right resources to succeed.
WWD: Signing on Anjunadeep is an honour for any artist. Will we see you back on the label soon?
Definitely an honour and an aspiration of mine to be signed on this world-renowned label!
Yes I’ll be back, to be continued… 🙂
WWD: What artists have you been listening to as of late?
As per electronic music, lately lots of Hernan Cattaneo, also Rashid Ajami, Enamour, Eli Nissan, Made in Paris, Shai T, Hicky & Kalo, and other very talented artists!
When I want to listen to other styles, I enjoy some Bob Moses, Sofi Tukker, Alexandra Streliski, L’impératrice, NoMBe
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