There is a huge debate…

…in the scene when it comes to the lower bpm melodic music that is dominating the music charts. Is it progressive house, progressive trance, melodic techno? Whatever it is, it’s good, and one of the best in that genre is Dutch producer Estiva. On the heels of his 4^th album release, Estiva is touring the world and spreading some seriously good music. I was able to catch up with him as his Southern California stop to catch up and see exactly what he has been working on.

Thank you for taking the time to sit with me today. You are currently about halfway through your tour. How is the tour going? Are you home sick? What have been some highlights so far?

Lovely seeing you again! More dates are being added to the Infinita Album Tour.  So, it really feels like I’m just starting to be honest. It feels great to be on the road in full effect sharing all the music I’ve been working on the last couple of years and months.

Danielle: What have been some highlights so far?

A highlight to me is that I’ve noticed I’ve gained a lot of new fans who are now seeing me tour for the first time.

Danielle: Are you home sick?

I go back home as much as I can between shows.

Your latest track Carnal Emotion with Jess Ball, is out now on Colorize, which is the 3^rd track released on your upcoming 4^th album. Tell us about this album?How did it come about?  Any surprises we can anticipate?

Carnal Emotion is one of the tracks I wrote quite recently and was specifically written for the album. Not all of the tracks were intended to be on an album but as I was going through music, I realized some tracks were a perfect fit. After three years I had the urge to write a new artist album that would be true to my current sound. I write a lot of music, so the biggest challenge was to get to a well-balanced mix of the variety in my album track selection.

On average, how long does it take for you to write an album?What is your process?  Do you prefer albums or singles?

Some tracks could be finished in 5-8 hours if things go well. Other tracks are done after a couple of months with writing and tweaking little bits.

Danielle: 5-8 hours seems insanely fast

Well, working on an album helps me to focus on certain themes and I usually challenge myself a lot more. So, in a way you could say writing albums is a great way to evolve.

The great debate of progressive trance vs progressive house vs melodic techno. What are your thoughts on this debate? Why or why not?

Those genre names are just to make talking about music a little bit easier in my opinion. Unfortunately, this also means that you’re breaking down complex music to a generalized idea of what certain styles sound like. To make it even more confusing the (made up) definitions of those genres change continuously.

Danielle: Does the genre label matter?

I guess we shouldn’t take the labeling so serious.

Your music has been described as “sexy” or “baby making music.”  What are your thoughts on that?

HA! Talking about genre labels! I sure do hope people can contain themselves while on the dance floor.

Finally, if you could only live by one motto, what would it be and why?

Prioritize things that make you and others feel good. Feed you passion or passions as much as you can!