Meet Viceroy. He's the "dance game Jimmy Buffett." He's here to make summer last well beyond the warmer months for all of us and help us relax the whole time. While almost everyone else is going ham at raves and festivals with face melting drops, the Cali native has adopted a "jams not bangers" philosophy. His music has an uncanny tendency to mentally put you in Miami during simpler times when neon spandex was the norm, gas was cheaper so you could go everywhere with the top down, and everyone was a lot more easy going. Fortunately for him, and for the rest of us, he discovered his talent to create music with just the right amount of summertime vibes early on, allowing him to only get better over the years. It's not just a trend. It's a lifestyle.
As a kid, Viceroy was exposed to all kinds of music, from Green Day to Coolio, sometimes behind his parents' backs ("Sorry mom!"). He was also a part of the generation when music channels on TV actually played music videos and radio stations weren't as corporate as they are today so TRL and Live 105.1 opened his ears to new music constantly. But for about 6 years, it was close to impossible for anything to literally open up his ears. Until he was 7 years old, Viceroy suffered from chronic ear infections almost every day of his life. After receiving surgery to insert tubes into his ears to help him hear, he slowly caught up with his peers with intensive speech therapy to now producing your new favorite summer anthem that you couldn't imagine living without. And yet, somehow he is pretty much tone deaf: "I can’t match a note with my voice or another instrument with a note being played. Do I know if it's just a lack of natural ability or due to my early hearing problems? Hard to say. Regardless I look at music mathematically. Everything has to fit in its right place."
While in college, heavy blog checking on sites like Gotta Dance Dirty, Discobelle, Chubby Beavers, and Palm Out Sounds, got Viceroy into Disco music and artists creating their own brands of Disco like Treasure Fingers, Bit Funk, Herve, Justice, and Sebastian. In 2009, during his sophomore year, he started producing, particularly mash-ups as DJ Philistine (you may hear him spin his favorite mashup that he created way back when, "Shine On Low," at his next show if you ask nicely). Then he moved on to producing French House. But both of those styles quickly ran their course, as he subconsciously wanted to make something more original that spoke to his laid back personality more. Then while in Italy for a study abroad program, around the same time he found his voice in chill, feel good music AKA "Summertime, All The Time," a bold, drunk move got him into the DJing game:
"The first or second week that I was in Rome, I went to a club called Anima. I was pretty wasted and went up to the DJ and asked for a job. He said talk to the manager and he gave me Tuesday nights. I woke up the next day and realized that I had no idea how to DJ or promote. Luckily I read up how to make an easy DJ set on Ableton and somehow pulled it all off. I moved to Serato with vinyl to CDJs over the years."
From there, it's been generally smooth sailing. Viceroy has toured worldwide, put out releases on labels like Dim Mak, and also gives his fans free music in the form of his popular "Jet Life" remix series. Lady Gaga and Maroon 5 have even tapped him for official remixes and that signature warm sound. You'll also notice at any of his shows, that he'll be rocking a very appropriate outfit of any one of his floral patterned shirts. So it only makes sense that he's in the process of creating a collaboration with summer clothing company, Chubbies. You can expect to purchase your own Viceroy starter kit (Hawaiian shirt, shorts, swim trunks) this summer.
And with festival season in full swing, we asked Viceroy what a festival curated by him would look like:
"Let’s start with food trucks. Definitely a Sushiritto truck and Bahn Mi truck. I’d probably have it on one of the Hawaiian islands and it would have a wide range of artists like Talking Heads, Goldroom and Bob Marley and the Wailers."
Finally, if you find yourself DJing a festival or a show with a less than ideal climate, follow these simple steps from the sultan of summer, himself:
- When’s it's cold play something warm! By warm I mean something uplifting, maybe a vocal or two that people are familiar with.
- Once you get them locked in you can experiment a bit, but remember each crowd is different so you can’t plan out a set completely.
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?Layer Cake
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?Treasure Fingers
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?Assumptions people make about the lifestyle.
4. What is your current DJ set up at home?I’ve got a pair of Technic 1200s that I mess around with, Serato and Traktor as well, and I own a full studio down the street where I’ve got all kinds of gadgets.
5. What's your favorite record of all time?My favorite dance tune: Empire of the Sun - "Walking on a Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix)"
Non-dance song: Talking Heads - "This Must Be The Place"
Keep up with Viceroy on his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Look out for Viceroy's next release on Dim Mak, "Impressions Of You" with Giraffage and Patrick Baker on July 10. His upcoming shows are as follows:
- 7/3 - Southampton Social Club - Southampton, NY
- 10/17 - Treasure Island - San Francisco, CA
Bryan Hahn doesn't want summer to ever end. And now it doesn't have to. He's on Twitter: @notupstate.