Dear #DJDIARY, #MatteoBarr Tuesday, 14 October, 2014
When you walk into Matteo Barr’s home studio you’re hit with an image of Swedish House
Mafia, and it says it all - Swedish House Mafia inspire this 21-year-old to make music.
Matteo has gone from staring at an image of the Swedish trio to rubbing shoulders with one of its main men.
And it all started with a passion for house music.
This is #DJDIARYENTRY/15
Based in Adelaide, Matteo started djing at 16 and says it was simply the crowd’s elevated reaction that inspired him to continue.
“I loved what I was doing and the effect I had on the crowd... seeing people enjoy themselves always makes me smile.”
But Matteo knew he wanted to do more than just house parties: “From day one I always wanted to take it to the next level by challenging myself to learn new skills and improve in every possible way.”
Taking it to the next level is exactly what this young Aussie is doing.
Last year Stereonsonic expanded to a two-day event, opening 300 spots for local acts across Australia. Matteo was picked out of the local talent in Adelaide to perform at Stereosonic Adelaide 2013, his biggest gig to date.
“I ended up playing on the local stage, although it wasn’t one of the bigger stages it was still an honour to have been picked out of the local talent in Adelaide,” Matteo beams.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I’m very grateful to have been given the chance to play at such an amazing festival.”
Matteo also works on production and says he started about a year and a half ago.
“At the moment I’m working on my own originals and remix’s which are going really well, so hopefully I can release them real soon,” Matteo says.
Check out some of Matteo's remix's here.
Earlier this year, Matteo travelled to London to see Steve Angello’s label Size Records present Size Matters at the O2 Academy Brixton.
Matteo met Steve Angello at the Big Day Out festival in 2013 after contacting the music producer through Twitter.
“Steve follows me on Twitter, so I direct messaged him...and from there I met up with him and had a chat about his tour and music,” Matteo explains.
The relationship didn’t stop there. The two now keep in contact and when Steve heard Matteo was traveling to London to see the Size Matters show he even offered the Aussie an all access pass.
“I saw that he was holding a Size Matters show...I told myself it would be an awesome experience to go see the Size crew and travel overseas to get out of normal daily life and gain some inspiration,” Matteo says.
“I told Steve I was coming and he gave me an all access pass and the rest is history!”
Matteo says his goals for the remainder of the year include working on music production, and getting some of these new beats to his fans.
“To top it off maybe even get something signed to a label,” Matteo says.
Matteo believes he can make it in the electronic dance music industry but doesn’t shy away from admitting there’s a fair way to go.
“I still have a long way to go and have many goals I still want to accomplish but it is my passion and I will do my best to get there.”
He’s already ticked off some experiences on his bucket list but Matteo Barr says the dream is to “one day play at Tomorrowland.”
#DJDIARY Question
Q: Who inspired you to start djing?
A: I would have to say Swedish House Mafia are the ones that really inspired me to start djing from day one.