After a string of releases, London-based imprint Everything Will Be OK welcomes Davka and Leon Lobato to their label, and from the depths comes this gripping new collection of stories from the Paris and Mexico City based producers.
The pair fuse together to deliver the thought-provoking EP, ‘De Profundis’, which takes inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s letter to an old acquaintance. The letter, which he wrote from prison, documents his extravagant lifestyle and love for spirituality… setting the scene perfectly for EWBO’s latest release – out on 23rd July.
We spoke with Davka and Leon earlier this week to find out more about their story, the EP and loads more.
WWD: Guys, thanks for joining us today and congratulations on the release of Everything Will Be OK. We’ll start off simple, how are you both doing? It’s been a crazy year and a half to say the least, how have you guys been through it all?
Davka – Hello and thanks for the invite. The good days are back, the holiday season is starting again, my EP is about to come out, I couldn’t feel better! It’s true that the last few months have been complicated for everyone, especially for the entertainment and nightlife industry, which was on hiatus. For my part, this hiatus has allowed me to refocus on music, creativity, trying new things and I’ve learned a lot.
Leon – Thanks also for the invitation and yes, I’m very well. I’m taking care of my health in all aspects and taking advantage of the time there is to let creativity flows.
WWD: For those readers who are not familiar with your music, would you mind introducing yourself to our readers and telling us how you got to where you are now?
Davka – I’m David, Parisian, 31 years old, passionate about music since childhood, and DJ / composer for ten years. My revelation with the Organic / Downtempo scene was made through labels like All Day I Dream or Sol Selectas, whose DNA perfectly matched my style and influences.
Leon – I’m a 27 year old Mexican producer and Dj, with 8 years of experience in different musical genres and 2 years dedicated to deep house music, with releases on labels like Sound Avenue and Seven Villas to mention a few. Since then, I’m working constantly, knowing when to rest without losing the passion for music.
WWD: Your latest EP is inspired by none other than Oscar Wilde, can you tell us more about the release and how it came about?
Davka – Leon was the one who chose the title of the EP, De Profundis. The funny thing is that this title meant different things to each of us. I personally had Oscar Wilde’s text in mind, very dark and written in very difficult conditions, while Leon was referring to the biblical psalm, which fits just as well!
Leon – It’s an EP that tries to convey a more intimate feeling, to change, a bit, the traditional way of loading a lot of drums for the track and work a bit more on soft melodies, that can stay in mind. At first, Davka asked me to remix a nice track called “Isaac” and after seeing that the result was good, I suggested him to work together on some projects with the great Mexican singer Ammy Romo and the result was amazing.
WWD: The release comes out July 23rd on Everything Will Be OK, was this a label you always had in mind for your De Profundis EP?
Davka – The choice of Everything Will Be OK for De Profundis EP came naturally. When it came time to finish it, I was releasing the track La Ultima Cena on this label, and I was so impressed by the involvement and love that the EWBO staff had for their label that I immediately thought of them to release the EP.
Leon – In this case we didn’t make the EP with a particular label in mind, we just let the music flow. However, EWBO was the label that welcomed us in such a nice way and it’s a real honor to work with people as dedicated as Josh.
WWD: You invited 3 stellar remixers to participate on the EP, and what a job they have done by the way. How does that process usually go, what do you look out for when choosing potential remixers?
Davka – As for Greg Naïro and Cocho, they were two artists I admire a lot and I really wanted them to take over the track. Greg, as always, turned it into a deep, underground hit, and Marcos brought his festive, ethnic touch to it. Then Josh mentioned the possibility of working with George X, who we both admire with Leon. We went for it and the result has exceeded our expectations.
Leon – Indeed, we gathered friends and music partners for the remixes. Cocho because he is a great Argentinean promise, at his young age he has a very well defined sound, dreamy and percussive. On the other hand I’ve always loved Greg’s sound, very original and with a deeper atmosphere. For the third remix we were honored to have the participation of George X, EWBO got it and completed the EP in a fascinating way.
WWD: Can you both share some insight into your production process? With one of you from France and the other from Mexico, how does it usually work?
Davka – Working remotely is exciting but also challenging, especially when you are 10,000 km away. Our process was like a game of ping pong with daily exchanges of stems, new elements, new versions…. The advantage of the time difference is that every morning, I was sure to have at least one message from Leon with new things to hear and the same for him!
Leon – I personally like to start a song with some improvisations on the piano. First to have an essence and little by little add the rhythm, so that the song doesn’t feel “lifeless”. Even though our schedules are very different, we always try to find time to talk about the projects, exchange files. A detail which matters is that in the time we started working together, Dav started speaking Spanish and in a very natural way we ended up communicating in this language, my mother tongue.
WWD: What else do you have in store, can we expect more releases or possible sets?
Davka – After a very busy first half of the year with four EPs, several VAs and remixes, I plan to focus on making an instrumental live set that I might present this fall, stay tuned!”
Leon – At the moment we are still working on our personal projects. I have upcoming EPs on Dream Culture, Where The Heart Is, 3rd Avenue and an involvement in a VA for Loot recordings and we will definitely be working together in the near future, Dav is very nice to work with and I think we found a unique sound when we put our ideas together.
WWD: We really appreciate you joining us, do you have any last words you would like to share with our readers?
Davka – Thanks for the invitation, again! I’d also like to thank Josh and the entire EWBO team for their amazing work; congratulations to Leon for our incredible collaboration, and to my wife Allison for doing me the pleasure of recording her vocals on Le Chant de L’eau! I hope you enjoy the EP as much as we enjoyed composing it.
Leon – I would like to thank everyone who supported this project, the remixers, the label, you guys for the interview and without a doubt the people who listen, buy or share our music, you are the best.