Rising Music Star DJ & Producer Chris Valencia On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Edward Sylvan

Do as much research as possible. If you want to be a DJ, go to the different nightlife venues, and see what the crowd is into. If you are a producer, watch tutorials on arrangement, plug-ins and new techniques to make your sound unique.

As a part of our series about rising music stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chris Valencia.

Widely recognized as a staple in the Miami nightlife scene with notable residencies in world-class venues, Chris Valencia has shared the stage with the biggest names in the House music scene such as Axwell Ingrosso, Kaskade, Afrojack and Diplo, to name a few. With a mixture of tribal, tech and piano-driven house, Chris has a long list of original tracks and remixes on Juicy Music, Whore House, Get Down Recordings, Vamos Music, and Hotl Records, with many featured on Beatport’s top 100 (funky-groove-jackin-house). Most recently, Chris’s latest release “Falling” on Groover Sounds, a catchy vocal on a melodic break and a super drop to combine some amazing vibes, is climbing the charts.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thanks so much for having me! I was born in Tampa, Florida and raised in Miami. From an early age, I’ve always been obsessed with music! As a matter of fact, I couldn’t eat a meal without MTV playing in the background. Fast forward to my teenage years I discovered the art of Djing, and I was instantly hooked. You can say, music has always been a big part of my life.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

At 13, a local radio DJ took me under his wing and taught me everything from mixing, scratching and how to read a crowd. He even invited me to do guest mixes on his radio morning show every so often. I DJ’d all through high school but when I attended college, I took a break and focused on my education. I was still making mixtapes, aimed at discovering new talent. I thought It would be interesting and cool to work as an A&R at one of the major record labels. I was given the opportunity to become a college marketing rep for Sony BMG (Sony Music). After I graduated, I moved in NYC with hopes of landing a job at the label. There were very few career opportunities for me at Sony, so I went ahead and took a different job in online marketing. As you know, NYC can be a very cold place, so I was not used to the winter months, so I spent a lot of time indoors. That’s when my passion for Djing finally came back. So, for fun, I started creating my own mixes for the gym, which led to the start of a podcast. When I would eventually go out, most of the time it would be a nightclub in the city where they would play house music. Since I was doing the podcast, I thought it would be cool to start making my own music. The moment I started working on my first song, even though it wasn’t any good, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I was the headlining Dj at Sway Nightclub one night and Sacha Baron Cohen was shooting a segment of his show “Who is America” on Showtime. He was dressed as an ex-convict who had just gotten out of prison and wanted to become the next EDM superstar “Dj Solitary”. From the moment he got on everything that could possibly go wrong, did. When he tried to get on the mic there was massive amounts of feedback, he didn’t know how to start the music for set and the crowd was confused like “What the fuck is going on”? Needless to say, Sacha Baron Cohen opened for me, which is pretty nuts when you really think about it.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first started Djing, I started off as an opener for friends of mine that were older than me. So, one night, they were offered another club gig and I took over without the owner knowing they weren’t there. So, it got to the point of the night where you start playing the most popular songs. Keep in mind we were playing off vinyl records and not SD cards. I start the track and the crowd goes crazy. Me not realizing and so excited because of what happened, I didn’t realize which deck was playing and lifted the needle making the song that was playing stop. Since it was an album there were multiple songs in that one vinyl and since I dropped the needle so quick it landed on one of the slow songs on the album. Imagine I had all this hype energy going on to then everyone facing me with this look of what the hell is wrong and finally laughter. I even think someone threw a drink at me.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m working towards releasing my first artist album. I have about two songs done but looking forward to releasing that soon.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversity in the entertainment industry is vital because it promotes cultural acceptance and appreciation. It also allows audiences to learn about differences in cultures.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Be patient and pay your dues.
2. Do as much research as possible. If you want to be a DJ, go to the different nightlife venues, and see what the crowd is into. If you are a producer, watch tutorials on arrangement, plug-ins and new techniques to make your sound unique.
3. Work to establish your brand early on. When you start off, it can be overwhelming because you have all these different ideas on how you want your brand to be perceived so focus on what makes you unique. For me it's versatility.
4. Never forget why you fell in love with your passion in the first place. A lot of the time, you can find yourself frustrated when producing music and hit creative road blacks or as. A DJ when a gig doesn’t go as planned.
5. Networking is vital. In this industry, it’s all about who you know so keep every door open.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Take as many opportunities as possible that are presented to you but also be strategically selective about which opportunities are going to be beneficial in the long run for your career.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-).

In this industry, there are a lot of highs and lows but one thing that has helped me get through it is taking care of my physical and mental health through exercise and meditation not only for the obvious reasons, but it also helps with my creativity.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve been lucky to have a great support system from the start. My parents for starters. My mom bought me all the equipment I needed and my Dad for taking me to many of my early gigs even the mobile house parties. And my wife Christy who has taken on multiple roles in my career such as managing my gigs and promoting my music for example.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Never take yourself too seriously and treat everyone with respect. In this industry, a lot of times musicians let their egos get the best of them.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Quincy Jones because he’s produced so many of my favorite albums and he’s a musical genius.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can always keep up with my new music on Beatport, Spotify, etc. through my Instagram @Djchrisvalencia or my website www.djchrisvalencia.com.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!