Darko Jecinac, better known as Conte, is a young DJ and producer from Novi Sad. Interest in electronic music production appeared in his teen days when he started creating his first rhythms as an amateur. He soon dedicated himself seriously to music and at 15 started deejaying. Two years later he meets the crew from the Novi Sad radio AS FM, and in 2004 he got a chance to become part of that crew. Through his work and effort, in 2006 he becomes one of the most wanted disk jockeys in Novi Sad. Since then, he has left a large number of club performances in many towns across Vojvodina.
VSG: How often do you perform and are you satisfied with the amount of work on a yearly level?
Conte: I am generally satisfied. The number of performances depends on the season and time of the year. Sometimes I have eight performances a month, something like every Friday and Saturday, and sometimes less. I am fine with that because that is how I manage to produce. I also spend my time on the radio which is personal promotion in a way and helps me a lot to further develop my career. Everyone who gets a chance to be part of some radio crew should use it.
VSG: The question that is often placed is whether one can make a living in Serbia exclusively as a DJ? And does it make sense to produce?
Conte: I would say yeah, but very hard. There are few who make money solely from deejaying. There is the most of those who, along deejaying, are part of some organization, radio and such. And production should be a vital part of a DJ’s career if he thinks about moving forward and getting noticed. By starting at remixing well known tracks, and later authored songs.
VSG: A what does it take for a young disk jockey to step into production, to get noticed?
Conte: Above all, will. Basically, in order for him to produce quality, and at the same time not think about expensive studios, he needs to have a good sound card and monitoring. And everything can be done on the computer. It takes a lot of effort, but eventually someone can notice that and support it.
VSG: Is that what happened with your first single “Starlight”?
Conte: Well yeah. It was the first single I made and released for the British “Soundslike” in 2006. Kid Massive, Delicious and Group Dynamics noticed it and made official remixes. Later the single was supported by Baggi Begovic, Lenny Fontana and other names of global production.
VSG: We often compare the global with the Belgrade scene. What is the current situation at the Novi Sad scene?
Conte: We are having a bit of a crisis at the moment. Actually, young unrenowned disk jockeys work for low money because the club and venue bosses don’t know how to appreciate the quality of those DJs who are in this business for awhile. But luckily there are a few clubs where there’s a stable situation.
VSG: And what is happening to the audience, are they happy with the scene?
Conte: People don’t go out that much, unless there is a big party or a foreign performer. I think it’s different in Belgrade and it’s kind of easier to throw a party because the estimated number of people would certainly show up. One time Groover and I worked at a foam party in Bastion and there were around 4000 visitors, which is like 2% of the Novi Sad population. And that is good. But |
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if compared to Belgrade, which has about 2 million residents, those 2% would be like 40 thousand people which would be a truly large number for a party.
VSG: Which large party that you performed at is your best?
Conte: There are more, really. They were all good. They are mostly parties organized by Radio AS. Now, if I had to single out one, it would be the party at Exit on the Radio AS Crossroad stage in 2006. That was the chosen “hit stage” that year.
VSG: According to everything, 2006 was a very successful year for your career. What marked the start of this year?
Conte: A remix came out in mid January that I did on the “Jelly For The Babies – Can’t Sleep” for “Ambasada”. For now, I think it is well accepted with the audience. Time will tell.
VSG: We definitely wish you a lot of success, in your production, as well as in your DJ career. Thank you for taking the time and answering our call.
Conte: Thank you as well. See ya! |
