Techno Talent Charles D (USA) Talks Support From Cirez D + New EP On DTLA

There’s a star shining down on rising techno producer, Charles D (USA). The Brooklyn-based artist went from discovering the scene via a night out seeing Eric Prydz, discovering the darker sounds of Cirez D, to almost 10 years later, signing to Pryda Presents. Some might say, lucky. Most would say, talented.

Charles D’s home away from home is the west coast label, Deep Tech Los Angeles. Via the imprint ran by his peer and friend, Jason Trevor Miller aka Redux Saints, he’s churned out a handful of quality tunes. 2019 saw ‘Amplify’ go on to become DTLA’s biggest selling track to date and spending 50 days in the Beatport Top 100.

He now returns to DTLA Records with a brand new two-track EP. Here’s what went down when we grabbed him for a chat…

Congrats on the Feel EP on DTLA. How did you initially get into bed with the label, so to speak?

Thank You! Well, my relationship with DTLA stems off my relationship with Jason Trevor Miller, the label boss of DTLA. We have known each other for a few years, and in November the label released their DTLA Amsterdam Compilation, in which they included me on. The record I provided them with, Amplify, did really well and had massive support by big DJs such as Eric Prydz and Adam Beyer.

Listen to Feel on Spotify. Charles D (USA) · Single · 2020 · 4 songs.

Let’s go back to the beginning of your time as a producer. Where did you learn your craft?

I started out as a DJ here in New York at around the age of 23. After a few years, I really wanted to learn music production and with no musical background, I decided to apply to Dubspot (former Music Production school in NYC) and my first class was Music Theory. After that I took an Ableton course to learn the ins and out of a DAW. Once I completed the Ableton course, I left Dubspot and continued to refine my skills in the studio at home. Wow, that was almost 7 years ago…

Did you always set out to produce progressive techno?

To be honest, it kinda organically happened. I’ve always enjoyed progressive house but at around the age of 28, I really started getting into the Drumcode sound. From there I started noticing that I kept gravitating to certain habits and decisions in the studio. Once I made the track Amplify back in September of last year, I told myself to keep trying to recreate the track so that I could nail down the style that I had created with Amplify. Within the last 11 months or so, I have been able to establish my sound and style.

Listen to Amplify on Spotify. Charles D (USA) · Song · 2019.

Where did your love of the scene start?

Ha, so growing up in my teens I loved hip hop and never listened to house music. Then in my early 20’s I started doing nightclub promoting in NYC and being in that scene really exposed me to dance music. Deadmau5 was probably the first artist I was paying attention to and that is how my love for progressive house formed. From there I went down the rabbit hole, and really started to get into Eric Prydz’s sound. When I saw him at Jones Beach Theater back in 2011, I was blown away.

You say the sound of Cirez D was what got you into techno. How did it feel to later have your track Amplify spun by him and then to release on Pryda Presents?

Yeah, so as I got familiar with Eric’s work in 2012-2013, I realized he had another alias as Cirez D, and that’s when I really started getting into Techno. His tracks ‘Glow’ and ‘On Off’ were two tracks that made an immediate impact on me. Back in November when I found out that Eric played my track ‘Amplify’ as Cirez D, I was shocked. I never expected him to play one of my tracks, especially because he rarely plays other peoples’ music in his sets. It was for me a huge accomplishment, as it made me more confident to continue to work on my sound. Then it led to me making a track called ‘YOU’ which will be released on Eric’s label Pryda Presents sometime this fall – check Adam Beyer dropping it below. To be included on Pryda Presents is an unbelievable feeling, to be on a label that only a few names such as Cristoph and Camelphat have released music on.

Where did you grow up and what musical influences were around you?

I was born in Italy and came to The States when I was 3 years old. Growing up, my parents were into their Italian music, and American pop culture didn’t exist in my household, so as a teenager I had to kinda find out about new music through my friends. I was heavily influenced by what they were listening to. In my teenage years, I was listening to pop rock acts such as Green Day and Blink 182. Then in my late teens I really got into hip hop, but then as I mentioned before, I really got into the house music scene in my early 20’s once I started promoting in NYC nightclubs.

What do you listen to in your downtime?

Oh man, so when I’m not in the studio or out at a club, I listen to Sports Radio… I know, right? But it helps me decompress from 10-hour days in the studio.

What was the last gig you played before lockdown?

My last gig was in LA in February – wow, it feels so long ago. It was a great night as I have a few friends in LA that came down to the gig to hang out. Jason Trevor Miller, actually lives in LA, so we were able to meet each other in person for the first time.