Alex
Fish has been with Pulse Radio and also with Boiler Room as LatAm responsible and
he is now with BE-AT.TV as a Global Business Development officer. Fish has also
a DJ career in NYC under his alias, Holosound.
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Life: When was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant for you?
When I was 15, I visited Israel in 1994
and came home with a cassette tape of psy-trance which I couldn’t stop playing
for about six months. I subsequently became a DJ and spent nearly every
weekend at clubs, festivals or in music studios while working various “regular”
day jobs during the week. Only in about 2011 did I get involved in the
business side of the industry itself. Every year since the demand for
dance music has continued to grow and I find myself getting more and more
involved!
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Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?
I’ve been very lucky to travel a lot for
my work so sometimes I tend to take things for granted like amazing DJ sets or
beautiful nightclubs. However, this past season in Ibiza there was a one villa
party on a Tuesday night with Ame and Dixon going B2B that was pretty mind
blowing.
Solomun was in the front row with tears
of joy streaming down his face from the records that were being played and
Adriatique and Bedouin were pretty speechless as well. The Martinez Bros
and a bunch of other DJs and were all having a great time and just
relaxing.
I had a bunch of friends from EU and US
visiting the island and it was nice to see how excited they were to be a part
of the night.
The whole thing went down in a private
villa with a Void Sound System and open bar for over 12 hours.
Paris Hilton was also getting pretty
unexpectedly after it on the dance floor to some deep techno which was good for
a few chuckles.
I’d say that was a pretty good time!
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Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?
I love how international and borderless
house music is. It’s shown me more of the world than I ever thought would
be possible, and has introduced me to some truly amazing people.
The majority of the people who care
about house music and culture also share a common regard for the wellbeing of
this earth and a basic respect for people from different backgrounds.
I love that the world is starting to
fully recognize and acknowledge a form of music the majority of my family and
friends thought I was crazy for devoting my life to 15 years ago.
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Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is
that?
I think the most significant moment in
my past career was when I returned home from a DJ tour in Europe in the fall of
2011 and decided I wanted to have more control over my future than whatever the
next booking I could get was.
This led me to Pulse Radio where I began
interning, then writing, then managing the North and ultimately South America
regions for the site.
Pulse gave me a voice and an entry into
a side of the industry I really hadn’t experienced as an artist. I’ll
always be thankful for this important starting point to my music career.
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Present: what do you think that is trending today in music, clubs and
festivals?
I think one thing that’s been growing at
a faster clip than everyone realizes is the appetite for “underground”
music. The global rise of EDM really opened up the floodgates to a bunch
of new people. 30%+ eventually grow tired of the predictable drops
and consistently find their way back towards the types of sounds where I feel
most comfortable as an artist and businessman.
Probably the greatest proof of this
reality is the growing global success of Ultra’s RESISTANCE concept. The
lineup for Ultra Rio’s Resistance is massive!
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Future: where is industry heading in the years to come?
I see lots of things happening that I
think will become even stronger trends down the line.
Live Performance in sets: As technology
advances more and more I think more artists will incorporate additional
performance elements into their sets to retain a unique edge in an increasingly
competitive DJ landscape.
Live Streaming/360/VR: As the world gets
smaller and smaller and fans and artists alike now expect to be able to tune in
or share their sets in real time.
People can really drill down into
exactly what they want to hear or see through what’s available online via the
wealth of festival and nightclubs streams. When I got started in ’98 my
taste in music was dictated by what the local record store stocked or who the
rave and club promoters were booking. That’s no longer the case at
all. With services like BE-AT.TV, there’s unprecedented access available
to events from around the globe. People are free to explore whatever gets
them excited.
Also, as more and more nightclubs and
festivals compete for ticket sales, it’s imperative to have an honest record of
the event that goes deeper than your traditional aftermovie. Having your
festival available for On-Demand viewing serves as a calling card for people to
check out how a party was when they’re deciding whether or not to attend the
next time.
Brands Will Enable Innovation:
Electronic music lovers are experts at avoiding direct advertising such as
banners and television adverts. They’re also adept at getting access to
the best content at little to no cost. Brands who want to resonate with
this difficult-to-message-to consumer will find unique ways to deliver valuable
experiences to people within the umbrella of electronic music and aspirational
music festivals by leveraging technology and disruptive thinking.
