Kallaghan - Behind the decks
Interview
The French Producer and DJ Kallaghan has stepped onto the Electronic Music scene to make an impact; an accomplished Producer with gold and platinum accolades from his work with Artists across a myriad of genres, Kallaghan is now striking out to share his own distinct sound with the world. With a performance history that includes taking to the stage with top names like Diplo, CID, and Tchami, among others, there is no denying the reputation that Kallaghan continues to gain, quickly becoming one of the most exciting stars on the scene today.
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Kallaghan as he takes us behind the decks, sharing a look into his journey to performing live.
Hello Kallaghan, how are you?
I am great guys! Thank you!
Can you tell us about when you first discovered Electronic Music, what was your initial introduction to the genre?
Daft Punk and Prodigy were my first loves. There is something in Prodigy that spoke to me as much as Rock artists. To this day I don’t do a workout without listening to one of their songs. The energy!
What was your first DJ setup like, and how did you acquire your equipment?
To be honest, I don’t even have one hahahah. I learned to use CDJs at my homies house. Jake Mercer hooked it up and showed me how to use the sync button. My other homie, Garrett, showed me a bunch of tricks too haha.
Tell us about your first live performance; where was it and how did it go?
I played for the Higher Ground party with Diplo, BLOND:ISH and all that fun crew. It was a lot of fun. I play a way harder style though so I quickly understood that my scene was closer to the Wax Motif, Tchami and Lorenzo.
How do you approach selecting tracks for your sets; what criteria do you use to determine whether a track is a good fit for a particular audience or venue?
I am very selfish haha. If I like it, then it should be in my set. I have a lot of Classic Rock songs remixed in my set, from Rage Against The Machine to Blur. So, it's picking what fits in “between”, anything with a “hard” attitude is for me.
What is one of your favourite memories of performing live?
Breaking my pants right before getting on stage and having my manager Yair holding them the whole time hahaha!
What piece of advice would you give to a DJ who’s just starting their live performance journey?
Try to be unique, as much as possible.
Where do you hope to perform next?
I would love to perform at Hard Summer in LA. One of my favorite festivals.
Which new skills or gear would you like to incorporate into your DJ performances?
I just added guitar! I play a bunch of riffs and leads. If I could use a drummer, it would be awesome haha.
What do you think is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in terms of DJing and performing live?
My biggest challenge is respecting the vibe I install, without switching to a song that I get too impatient to play.
We conclude our interview by thanking Kallaghan for taking the time to speak with us; on an exciting path, one sure to see him reaching new milestones and achievements as he continues keeping the quality high, Kallaghan is certainly an unmissable talent on the Electronic Music today. So, be sure to keep him on your radar by following him across social media.
Kallaghan Online
