Boston’s Joe Bermudez hasn’t yet accomplished everything he wants in his DJ career, but he’s gotten off to a pretty good start.
After launching his journey in the early 2000s by spinning events and clubs in the New England area, the Maine native began to make big waves on the radio and from the studio. Beginning with his syndicated “Open House Party,” Bermudez later hit with his long-running “Mass Movement” mixshow, which spread his brand and helped increase his gig opportunities. Abroad, he did dates in Europe with Avicii and David Guetta; at home, he opened for Madonna on her “MDMA Tour” and played Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
Additionally, his remixes for top acts like Rihanna, Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson set the stage for a series of well-received productions. Indeed, his collabs with Louise Carver – 2016’s “Sunrise” and 2018’s “Crazy Enough” – topped the Billboard Dance Club Chart. And now he’s returned with “Lose My Number,” another pop-dance winner with the South African vocalist on his 617 Records – and check the recent video with Bermudez playing a well-intentioned burglar.
We recently caught up with Joe Bermudez to discuss his latest doings, his approach to music videos, and how he’s succeeded as a DIY DJ.
DJ LIFE MAG: Musically, what were your first influences? What made you want to pursue music?
Joe Bermudez: I grew up on classic rock. AC/DC and Van Halen were huge influences on me. It’s probably why I like using guitars so much in my music. They were also playing massive stadiums, so they designed their music to have an impact on those types of venues. That taught me the simplicity of just a kick and bass can be more powerful than hundreds of elements stacked together.
DJ LIFE MAG: Which DJs do you admire and why?
Joe Bermudez: Kaskade – his music is timeless. He doesn’t chase trends and does it his way. Zedd – I love how he voices his songs. There’s always an unexpected 13th chord or something. David Guetta, I admire his work ethic. He is straight-up dropping bangers weekly.
DJ LIFE MAG: Creatively, how did you approach your recent single, “Lose My Number”? What was the process of making it with Louise Carver?
Joe Bermudez: This was the first one I started during lockdown. It was also the first song I’ve written remotely. Usually, I’d be in a room with someone, and we’d hash out all the ideas face-to-face. But, for this one, we never saw each other, not even on Zoom. It was all done through email. I came up with a rough backing track idea and sent it to Louise. She came up with a rough topline idea, and sent it back. I came up with a rough concept, and sent it back. And we kept emailing melodies and lyric ideas back and forth until we had something we were happy with. She recorded the vocals in Johannesburg, and I comped and mixed everything in Boston. The song went through a ton of revisions, and you probably wouldn’t even recognize it if you heard the original demo.
DJ LIFE MAG: Tell me about the video and where that idea came from.
Joe Bermudez: I like to have fun with my videos. For “Teach Me,” we took over a classroom at Berklee College of Music and turned it into a full-on rave. For “Ghosting,” we did a live-action Pac-Man chase around the city of Boston. But this one took some time to come up with something clever and different. We ended up shooting an “Ocean’s Eleven”-type heist where I break into a mansion to steal my number out of the phone from a crazy ex, who won’t leave me alone.
DJ LIFE MAG: How did you get through the lockdown? Did you do it creatively?
Joe Bermudez: At first, I was making tons of edits to play in my sets. Then, when we found out the lockdown would be longer than a few weeks, it didn’t make much sense to continue doing that, as I couldn’t play them anywhere. It was really rough at first. I was in a dark place, like most, but managed to push through and start collaborating with people all over the world. Getting back into some sort of routine helped my mental sanity a lot. It gave me a purpose again.
DJ LIFE MAG: Were you streaming during lockdown? What do you think of that platform for DJs?
Joe Bermudez: I personally didn’t stream, but would have them on in the background while I worked. DJs aren’t always the most exciting people to watch, and I didn’t think people would want to see me mixing in my living room without pyro, strobe lights and go-go dancers.
DJ LIFE MAG: How has it been like returning to the clubs/events?
Joe Bermudez: It’s been great. People were cooped up for so long that they’ve been going extra-hard making for some of the most fun shows of my career.
DJ LIFE MAG: What are a few tracks that you always have at-the-ready in your DJ sets?
Joe Bermudez: “We Found Love” Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris… quite possibly the greatest dance song of all time. “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. It never fails to get everyone singing along at the top of their lungs. Also, “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled. Living in a sports town like Boston, this one comes in very, very handy.
DJ LIFE MAG: In the DJ booth, what’s your gear? What’s your approach, as a DJ?
Joe Bermudez: My set-up is pretty simple. All my music is on USB flash drives and I use two Pioneer DJ CDJ-3000s linked together to manipulate everything. My style is smooth. Once I’ve hooked you on the dancefloor with your favorite song, I want you to get lost in the music and not realize I’ve mixed out of it until at least four or five songs later.
DJ LIFE MAG: For years, you had a radio mixshow. Prep-wise, how did you approach it and keep it going?
Joe Bermudez: Yes, my radio station in Boston fell victim to the pandemic, so I’ve been doing lots of guest spots around the country until I find another slot locally. Prep-wise, if you’re playing out on the regular, all that work is pretty much done. I do a live set, like I would in a club. I could do it in Ableton Live, but feel like it would take me longer to warp all the tracks than to just mix it live.
DJ LIFE MAG: What’s your main studio gear?
Joe Bermudez: I’m in Pro Tools. It’s not the most dance-friendly of DAWs, but it just makes sense for me. I started doing production for radio stations and am used to working with audio. Even though the MIDI may suck – I don’t think they’ve updated it since 1981 – the mixdown engine is unmatched. I’m also a big fan of the playlist options when tracking vocals and guitars. My favorite plug-in is the AIR Stereo Width. Being able to quickly switch and hear things in mono at home has really helped my productions shine on a club system.
DJ LIFE MAG: Which producer/remixer do you most admire and why?
Joe Bermudez: Max Martin – everything in his tracks has a purpose. Even though there’s a lot going on, you can hear every element clearly and, if something were muted, you’d know something was missing.
DJ LIFE MAG: What’s next for you?
Joe Bermudez: Lots more music, for sure! I wrote a ton during the lockdown and am starting to release them all now. We’re about to shoot another music video for the next single, called “Tug of War.” I don’t want to give too much away, but it will be the craziest spin class you’ve ever seen!
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