To be a producer for almost two decades in the electronic music scene only means one thing: dedication. Utrecht-based producer and co-founder of the Quetame label, El Mundo, is a shining personification of this.

Since he started focusing on his solo career in 2012, El Mundo has been pushing himself to constantly come up with great new releases, collaborations, and remixes. Establishing the label Quetame in 2021, together with Zazou and Niki Sadeki, was their way of raising the bar even higher in the world of Melodic House and Techno.

This month on HMWL Records, El Mundo and Zazou have once again combined forces to bring us a mesmerizing remix of AHDM’s Walking Moments. Let’s have a little chat with El Mundo about this new HMWL release, life, and juicy ideas.

WWD: Hi El Mundo, we love the remix of ADHM’s Walking Moments that you’ve done with Zazou. HMWL is humbled to have been part of this process. Our readers would like to know what you two have done to add your unique touch to the original track.

Hey there, well you see Zazou and I have a somewhat unconventional approach to remixes: every original that we work with has let’s say 2-3 elements that we really like. We’ll isolate and loop them, add temporary drums and just wait for the inspiration to kick in, while jamming on the song’s essence. Soon enough we’ll come up with something that we like and then just continue building on it, until we’re satisfied. This process can take several weeks, as we prefer to not force a song’s completion just for the sake of it. By the end of this process the remix will have a unique flavor, and sometimes be only loosely connected to the original. This means no disrespect to the artist though, quite on the contrary: we love every single original, which we turn into a remix – it’s actually a precondition.

WWD: Why ADHM? What was it about the original mix of Walking Moments that attracted you?
Jaschar was in contact with ADHM over instagram since he loved our Vibrancy Liveset a lot. He is a really nice and cool guy, so naturally the idea of a remix for him came up. The vibe and the groove of the original got us, so this was the foundation to build our remix on. El Mundo Del Mundo

WWD; Impressive work on launching the Quetame label right in the middle of the pandemic. How difficult was it? And are you proud of how far everything has progressed?

It was not easy and a little insecure. All my savings were in there 😀 But the wish of conceiving a label and an own musical home was bigger than the fear of it not working out. Now after a year. Financially most of the costs are break even, which is a relieve. And there is a nice label in the world, where we try to really add something to the scene.

WWD: Of course, creating Quetame was a wonderful musical space for all of you to come up with music that moves you and touches you. What’s a track by another artist that has moved you deeply recently?

That’s a track created by Budakid & Nordfold. It’s called “United” and coming out on Watergate Records. Its such a beautiful record. I play it all the time 🙂

WWD: What’s your guilty pleasure in music? Please tell us you sing along to Britney in the shower.

Well, I’m a sucker for “overly emotional” music. I still love the 90’s boybands like Backstreet Boys, East 17 etc. The dramatic love songs 😀

WWD: We see that teaming up with Zazou has been a fruitful experience, at least for the fans, we can’t get enough of your releases. What’s the most beautiful thing about working with this person? And what’s the thing you dislike most about him (yes, we all love a little gossip sometimes)?

Jaschar is one of the most talented musicians i’ve ever met. Playing and composing music comes so naturally for him, its in his blood. And… this is a good thing, he has opposite characteristics; He is sensitive, yet rational. He can zoom in on the right moments and zoom out when needed. He can be serious, yet playfull.

I can’t think of anything to dislike him; he is good as he is. Yet sometimes I’d see him having a bit more determination. There is so much natural talent in thim, that he sometimes “forgets” to keep on learning intentionally, shaping your craft. He is a romantic soul and his mind can makes him drift away easily sometimes. But thats where our qualities meet. I’m can bite myself in something, that I really want.

WWD: Where do you hope to see Quetame and El Mundo in 5 years? We know we can’t tell the future, but we can never dream too big, right?

Pff in 5 Years? I never look that far in the future. So this is a hard question 🙂
I like to move in life in a organic way. I’m not in favour of pushing for things or aiming for someting particular. Of course sometimes it’s necessary to make a little dot on the horizon. But my main approach is to work hard and focus on things which really move me. From that things evolve. Specifically for the label we don’t have a big aim. We just want to create a nice place for nice music we love.

WWD: So, what’s in the pipeline? What is next in terms of gigs, festivals, releases, that our readers should go crazy about?

There is a summer ahead with nearly each weekend now gigs and places where we can bring our music to. In terms of releases there is a lot up on our sleeve which I can’t tell too much about 🙂 On a short term there will be a new remix coming up for ADHM (on HMWL) and remix for Joshua Richards on Flow Music. Also in May there will be a new EP coming on Kindisch Music.

WWD: Lastly, let’s talk about our future generations. What do you look forward to young, up-and-coming producers, and what advice would you give them? Maybe cliche, but my look

in this is; Be yourself, follow your heart and enjoy the ride, embrace the moment and search for the music and sounds which touches you. Be willing to learn. Nothing is perfect. Don’t listen (too much) to others 🙂

Follow El Mundo on Beatport. Binge El Mundo & Zazou on Soundcloud. Or you prefer Spotify? Add El Mundo & Zazou to your playlists.