DJ Mag Japan Special Interview: Carta

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Up and coming new DJ 'Carta', who is currently leading the Chinese EDM scene, is largely influenced by Swedish supergroup 'Swedish House Mafia'. He established his top-runner position at the tender age of 19. In 2015, at one of China's largest EDM festivals 'Budweiser Storm Festival', he shared the stage with the EDM industry's finest artists including Don Diablo, Above & Beyond, DVBBS, Laidback Luke, Skrillex, Tiesto and more, sending the audience into a frenzy of excitement. The name 'Carta' is expected to resound, not just in Asia but, around the world. DJ Mag asked Carta about his thoughts on fame and about future releases.

Q1. We heard your new track “Shanghai” was stored on 2nd of September. Did you make the track while you imaged Shanghai? Can you tell us more about the new track?

Well I was inspired by a Chinese song I used to listen to when I was a kid and I spent most of my childhood in Shanghai so it brought back a lot of memories for me. This is so much more than just a record already. Through out the shoot of the music video of Shanghai we visited alot of the historical spots. It reminded me of a lot of things from my childhood and I'm super proud to see it do so well as it's only my first solo record!

Q2. We heard you started producer career when you were 14 years old. What made you started producing tracks?

Well I discovered dance music when I was 14 and figured that dance music is what the djs plays so why not try and dj my self. So I did and when i was 16, I asked my self what would the next step. It was a very natural transition for me to go on and start to mess around with DAWs like Logic and made my first attempt to produce.

Q3. How do you remember the moment of your first gig you ever played? What was it like and how did you feel?

I played my first gig in April 2012. I remember that I was super nervous and excited at the same time as well as worried cause when I first started talking to friends about how "I'm djing" in my bedroom really, no one really took it serious. So for me it was like ok now is the time to prove my self so i can not mess up tonight. Surprisingly my first gig went super well, also cause it was my prom after party at that club so all the people from my school were there and were all impressed :P

Q4. As China and Hong Kong's economy grows, how is dance music scene there? What is difference between European country and China?

The dance music scene is getting bigger and bigger every day in Greater China. Every year more festivals are popping out, more and more artists are playing in China and there are more and more people from China that wants to be a dj now. People understand the whole dance music culture a little bit more now, but comparing to Europe the market is still quite behind. Not in a bad way but it's just not so advanced in terms of stage productions at festivals as well as music trends and etc.

Q5. What kind of music do you like besides dance music? And Who was your favorite musician from your childhood?

I listen to a lot of dance music everyday and when I say a lot I mean from the moment I wake up to the second before I sleep. Besides dance music, I'm also a fan of hip hop. Personally when I'm going out with friends I would even prefer Hip Hop over dance music just cause I deal with so much dance music on a daily basis. Sometimes it's nice to have a little break from it. My child hood favourite musician would be Jay Chou, he's a rapper from Tai Pei, probably one of the biggest names in China or at least when i was a kid.

Q6. There are a lot of Japanese producers who want to be like you in Japan. Can you give them any advices?

Honestly the only advice I have for everyone would be to keep on doing what you like and ignore all the people who doesn't believe in what you do. Turn any negativity into your motivation and work even harder to prove all of them haters wrong!

Q7. What is DJ Mag to you as a DJ and producer?

Everyone has their own perspective on DJ Mag but personally it's probably one of the only dance music magazines I really look up to and care about as well as pay a lot of attention to it. I've always dream about being in the DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs list of course :P

Q8. TOP100DJs voting started in Japan from this year. Would you like to leave a message for your fans and voters in Japan?

I wanna thank everyone who has supported me and voted for me so far. Hopefully I will be able to play in Japan sometimes soon so I can meet you all and have a great time with everyone during the show :)