Mir Omar Interview by Danielle Sanders
Mir Omar took the time to answer a few questions after his most recent gig at Intricacy Pathways on April 13th 2018:
Adolescents is a time when most kids are playing video games, hanging out with friends, getting in trouble, and most importantly figuring out whom they are. Ā Occasionally during adolescents, a person is lucky enough to stumble upon something that will end up being a major aspect of their life and help shape who they become. Ā For Mir Omar, he took an adolescent hobby and is now starting a blooming career with a bright future in a very competitive field. Ā Finding his niche, the New York native shows poise and distinction behind the decks, while still maintaining a playful, good humor and determined nature in his day to days. Ā The New York scene has some major hitters coming out right now, and Mir Omar is one of them.
1) Ā Ā Ā You have been producing and djing for over 12 years now, yet you describe yourself as the same old (young) kid from New York. Ā Is it important that you stay true to yourself? What growth have you seen in the last 12 years?
I got introduced to dance music, djing and production all around the same time when I was 14. My older brother is really the reason all of these learning opportunities came to me at an early age. Up until the first year of college, all of these were just hobbies except I actively listened to a lot of music and was up to date with what was going onā¦ As time went by, with better self-discipline and very supportive people around me, Iāve gotten to where I am at the moment. Staying true to yourself is important for sure, regardless of what your profession is. But, itās far more important to have integrity, never forget the people who were there for you when you were starting off, remembering that thereās always more room for improvement and that there is no end to the learning process. In the past 12 yearsā¦ I replaced playing soccer with drinking beer lol but many of my hobbies have remained the same, Iām a bit more confident as person now than back then. I also have very supportive people around me so I owe a lot of it to them.
2) Ā Ā Ā Your newest track is the remix of Tim Penner āLost Again,ā which has received amazing support. Ā When you finish remixing a track or completing one, were you surprised by the support? When do you finally decide a track is ready for release?
When I initially got the invite to remix Tim, I got super excited. Tim is a brilliant producer and I have known him for a few years. This track was tough to remix because there are already great remixes to it, on top of the brilliant original piece. I was able to give it a new theme and Iām happy with the support it received. Surprised...a little bit but mostly happy :) I usually finish the entire track in a 6-7 hour overnight sitting lol then clean the track over the next few days, listen to it over different headphones, speakers. If I have a gig, Iāll play it out and see how people react to it. The ready for release is tough to answer, but I guess when I hear it repeatedly, feel it and donāt have any obvious mixing nightmares haha. My friend Monoverse actually is always there to give me feedback so itās refreshing to get a second pair of ears in.
3) Ā Ā Ā You have received a lot of praise and support from John OāCallaghan, especially with him asking you to open for his Total Spectrum show in Chicago. Ā What does that mean to you?
Being a progressive Dj, and growing up listening to Johnās music, I was extremely curious about his Henrik Zuberstein alias that he had been releasing progressive house under. After a long discussion about music with him at Subculture NYC, I asked him if I could get more of the Zuberstein stuff before release etc. We exchanged some emails later and he requested me to open for him at Cielo in December 2015. It was a 3 hour set and Iām happy that he liked what he heard. I got the chance to do the same in June 2017 and most recently in Chicago this past weekend at Total Spectrum. All I will take away from this is that there arenāt too many of the big guys who will take notice of the warm up guys. When I first met John, I didnāt even think of where this would take me, but Iām glad that our talks, and him pushing me to make music has brought me where I am now. This is the beginning of something great for years to come, and hopefully many more booths shared with John.
4) Ā Ā Ā There is a lot of debate, especially on the internet for progressive house vs. progressive trance. Ā Where do you see yourself, and what do you feel are the biggest differences between the two genres.
I personally dislike talking about genres and subgenres of dance music. Music should be felt, not argued about...Although I can see why prog house has a bad taste attached to it thanks to the misinterpretation of progressive during the EDM boom around 2010. I donāt really have an opinion on it because I donāt know if what I believe is even right. I do have a thought that because of social media, and how fast it is for us to know about whatās happening in Ibiza, Buenos Aires, LA, New York, Tokyo all at the same time, it exposed us to something we didnāt experience 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago.
What someoneās interpretation of techno, house, prog, trance, french fries (jk about the fries) in one location can vary from someone in another continent on the other side of the world. Thatās pretty fascinating and thatās a big reason I think itās a waste of time to tell someone whatās what. Let people enjoy things.
Althoughā¦ I donāt understand the association of wearing all black and liking techno thing. What if I accidentally put on a pink t-shirt and red shorts, I canāt like techno? *shrugs*
5) Ā Ā Ā In January 2018, when your track āSuddenlyā was released on Solarstoneās Pure Progressive label, you mentioned it was the start of your discography. Ā Can you go into more detail what your discography will consist of and what can fans be on the lookout for?
Solarstone is another great guy that has been looking out for me the past year. I met him in 2013 and have had many discussions about music with him over the years. āSuddenlyā is strictly a direct flow of my thoughts, into what it sounds like now... Iāve found it hard to mix āSuddenlyā into my sets because itās a bit faster and āprettierā than the usual stuffI play so hopefully during a much longer set Iāll be able to give it a spin.
As far as my discography goes, Iāve been making a lot of bootlegs. I have a remix coming out on Subculture soon, and a single on Pure Progressive and one on Madlochās label, 3rd Ave. Iāve been receiving support from Hernan Cattaneo, who is my no.1 DJ of all time so Iāve been Ā basically glued to videos of him playing my stuff lol There are lot more tracks that Iāve written that are still in the āis it finished yet?ā process and I hope to find a home for them soon. A lot of late nights and bags under my eyes :\
6) Ā Ā Ā Finally, if you could only live by one motto, what would it be?
I donāt really have a mottoā¦ but I am a huge fan of this quote by Albert Einstein - āonce you stop learning you start dyingā
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