Pushmann: Zaragoza’s Techno sunlight

For our third episode of Palpebrae Mix series we are pleased to welcome the Spanish DJ and producer Pushmann. We had a little talk with him and we went through his career’s path, talking about the clubs in Spain he played and how those were meaningful for his growth. We had the chance to find out his early artistic influences and what came after that. Victor told us about his label NN Records and future plans. For the sweet end some words about his new clubbing project called LILA Sessions and the collaboration with Höhle Club.

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Hi Victor, thank you for being here with us. Growing and playing across several techno clubs in Spain allowed you to get a great reputation into the international techno scene.

☉ Which party has been the most important for your career?

“Hey, first of all, congratulations for the project, it’s a pleasure to be part of such beautiful things like this.
I have to say that I took something special from each one, I don’t know, I could say the Tresor’s closing before the pandemic, or the closing of Florida 135 for the anniversary just after the pandemic, or the first time at Monegros festival… There are many gigs that I keep in my mind, not because they are better or worse, but because the places where they have been were very important to me in another time, or how to put it, a place of worship where Techno culture was respected, and where one day people like Jeff Mills, Ben Sims or Nitzer Ebb were some of those artists who made me move to these different places, so being able to play there some time later is and has been incredible.”

☉ Some of the most important influences of your style have been Hip-Hop, Funk and House. Who are the artists that inspired you the most for each of these genres?

“In Hip-Hop I’ve always listened to North American artists, people like Nas, EPMD or James Brown in funk, Todd Terry in House for example I’ve always liked, in the end one thing leads to another, and investigating sampling has led me to search through a lot of good old shit, I always try to see the heart of each track, and see how it’s made, so, when I find something it’s like a prize for me.“

Your production styles vary between raw components, slightly industrial details, like an eye for metallic drums and fierceness, all in a fast-paced key to spread fire and power on the dancefloor.

☉ How did you get into this sound? Who are your main Techno-related inspirations?

“As I was telling you before, over the years I began to develop a taste for faster Techno than what was just beginning to take off at that time. I go back to 2005, when Minimal started to take off. I’m not talking about minimal as a concept of an energetic track with few elements and very clean production, I’m talking about that sound that was fucking boring and which many artists fell into. I’ve always decided to follow the path of the people who inspire me even today, as I said before, Jeff Mills, Ben Sims, James Ruskin, Oliver Ho, Mark Williams… so that’s where my sound comes from, from labels like Primate, Hardgroove, Axis…“

☉ Across the years you have collected releases on top-notch record labels like Axis, Symbolism, Be As One and more. Which of these releases is the most significant for you personally?

“I think that each and every one of them has something special in me, because being able to work with these artists that I mentioned on their labels after a lifetime of seeing myself grow hand in hand with their music is super nice for me, but I think that being able to release on Axis and being able to do something that isn’t directly something for the dance floor was one of the things that I have marked in my career, I managed to get out of my comfort zone, it was cool.“

Beside releasing on other labels, you have created NN Records, where actually there are some of the best talented producers like Mike Storm, DisX3, A Thousand Details and others.

☉ What is the concept behind the label? What can we expect for the future?

“The label was created for the simple fact of capturing in it what I play every weekend, giving opportunity to new artists and of course having references that support the latter, either with a remix, collab etc… And the truth is that it works great. Soon people like Antony Doria, Ritzi Lee, Matraxia, Linear Straight will be here. I don’t look for names in particular, I look for quality music and dance, so my concept is clear. If I like it, if I see in the artist a good human being, and it makes me feel good feelings, the doors of my house are open, whatever your name is.“

☉ What do you think about newcomers and which are the ones you like the most?

“There are a lot of quality artists and music in the scene, but we have to be honest, there are people who don’t understand anything, and that sometimes makes me feel bad, although I quickly change my mind and don’t spend much time on it, but envy, friends of friends, and conveniences in the scene are not Techno, and I think we have to lose the fear of saying it and pointing it out, a social network is not Techno, it’s just a kid’s thing necessary to be able to stay in the breach. However, I find very valid people today like Blasha & Allatt, Altinbas, Hemka, VIL, Cravo, Fixon, anything that comes from the Matter Wave label, End Of Dayz is always very good. But I think the problem is not only with the artists, but with the people who hire things for Instagram videos. Techno is not that, it’s simple, hearing and feeling.”

☉ Another project you curate is LILA Sessions, a Techno event retailer in Zaragoza, your city. How the idea was born, as the collaboration with Höhle Club, and what kind of attitude is the project approaching?

“The idea came up with Aaron, who is the owner of the club, and it was very fluid and simple. I played a gig there, I loved the club, it had a club vibe and I definitely told him: “Man, I think we have to do things together, in Zaragoza there is no electronic club worth its salt that really supports this culture, it is time to give people a place of worship, dance and freedom” and that is where LILA came from. We only want people to come here to have fun, to listen to quality music, to forget about their fucking shitty boss for the whole week and to let themselves be carried away by a sound system that I have rarely seen.
Without a doubt I have to say that this project I am involved in is one of the best projects of my career, the excitement it transmits to me and the excitement the public makes me feel every time the club opens its doors is something special.”

☉ Lila Sessions has already invited powerful names of the techno scene like James Ruskin and Truncate, will it give chances to play to new talents and artists around the globe as well? What are the future plans of the organization?

“Of course, in the coming months more international artists will also be here, in addition to the national artists who have already been here, such as Paula or Anika, more quality Spanish artists will have the opportunity to be here. In the future we are planning big things, always starting from the basis that the club is the epicenter of everything, and that will be our way of working, we book good people above artists, of course here we look at the quality of the DJ, but if you are a guy who only brings shit to the scene you are not going to come here, and that is very important for us.”