First off, can you introduce yourself for anyone who might be new to your music.
I want to start by saying thank you for having me and for all the support on my music! My name
is Rodrigo, my artist name is RDGO, you can probably guess where that comes from haha. I’m
a Salvadoran born, Vancouver based DJ and producer. I’ve been making music for just over 10
years now, and my sound is heavily influenced by old school House Music, UK Garage, and
Disco.
How did you first get into music, and what pulled you toward house specifically?
Growing up, I was always surrounded by Latin music, reggaeton, bachata, cumbia, you name it.
But in my early years, my biggest passion was actually football, and along with that came
playing A LOT of football video games, including the FIFA series (now known as EAFC).
Subconsciously, I was soaking up a lot of sounds through those games that still influence house
music to this day. Later on, MTV became a huge influence during my teenage years. I felt like I
was discovering a new genre every other week, until one day I stumbled on Daft Punk’s “One
More Time” music video blasting through the TV and that’s where it all kinda began.
It would be great to also hear who your early house influences were. Is it safe to assume
the French House wave played a part?
Absolutely! I’d say that initial attraction to Daft Punk was the pillar of everything for me. I also
think when the ‘golden era’ of EDM back in 2012 and 2013 was at its peak, I was always so
drawn to the different sounds that were big in Big Room, until one day I heard Avicii’s ‘Seek
Bromance.’ I was blown away by those melodic pianos and vocals that carried the record. That
made me do a bigger deep dive into the older stuff, especially coming from labels like Defected
for instance, that had such iconic records but with a different vibe. A bit more moody, classy, and
with that bit of cheekiness that made those tunes so iconic. There’s something about those older
records that sample old soulful and disco acapellas that just makes it impossible not to love.
Was there a specific time of track when you felt you had finally landed on your modern
dancefloor energy with classic, soul-filled house grooves as a signature balance?
There was definitely a lot of trial and error and I went through periods of trying to identify my
influences and how to mesh those together as well. I think it’s important to mention just after
COVID there was a wave of fresh House Music coming from Indonesia by artists like Bleu Clair,
OOTORO and others that played a big influence on my sound today. One of my tracks called
‘Tell You Something‘ was the one that landed as that ‘AHA!’ moment, where I felt like I had
unlocked a certain part of my brain production wise, and kind of set the pathway towards what
I’m still developing as my signature sound.
Walk us through your process in the DAW. Do you usually start a track by designing the
bassline groove, chopping vocals, or building out the drum architecture first?
I’d say it can be a few things! Either drums, or looking at older Disco and Soul samples but
honestly almost all of my tracks, 9 times out of 10, are built around vocals. I always try to dig
deep into vocal samples, pretty much anything that really resonates with me. They’re usually
hidden in old RnB or Soul sample packs. After a lot of time in the studio, I already know what
kind of track I want to make depending on the vocal, whether it’s a more bass heavy club track
or something more groovy, like those older house records I always look back to.
When you’re out live testing out unreleased IDs, what’s the crowd reaction that lets you
know a track is 100% finished and ready for release?
As of late I haven’t been playing too many shows, so I truly trust my gut to know when
something’s ready for release. My process is usually: finish a track that I know 100% I want to
release, then start sending it out to DJ friends and other artists I think would play the record, and
then pray I get a video back from them playing it live, or catch it myself at a show!
Recently I caught Jengi, who I had sent some tracks to, and it so happened that only 3 days
later he was playing in Vancouver opening for Duke Dumont. He played two IDs that I caught
while being with the crowd, and their reaction to it was more than enough to know I was right in
finishing them and sending them out.
I also look up to my wife’s taste, and I’d say she’s always played a big role in the music I
release. ‘Eyes On Me’ had a completely different first version, and after I showed it to her she
gave me some honest feedback on it, as she felt it didn’t quite sound like ‘me.’ And rightly so I
ended up going back to the drawing board, started again from scratch, and now it’s one of my
most successful releases!
Have you found Vancouver to be open and receptive of new music? In some scenes
abroad audiences tend to not enjoy music they’ve never heard before being played live
for them.
For sure! I think Vancouver is filled with so many talented artists and people who are so
passionate about music in general, and I’ve been lucky to have people from the city support my
music one way or another. I remember one of my earlier shows, I played a very Disco influenced
record that did so well, and the next artist playing after me said ‘This is sooo good! You’ve got
guts playing something like this in Van!’ Probably one of the nicest compliments I’ve gotten
when playing a show here. It was that ‘give the people something they don’t know they want’
moment us DJs always love!
Vancouver as home. What do you see as the city’s strengths in terms of supporting
artists, and just as an electronic scene as a whole?
I think one of the biggest strengths of Vancouver is its diversity! There’s so many talented artists
in the city and with the number of artists coming through and shows on a weekly basis it feels
like there’s always opportunities for everyone.
You’ve stayed fully independent and still managed to get support from artists like Tiësto,
AC Slater, Louis the Child, and placements on Spotify editorial playlists and even an
Adidas playlist. What’s that journey been like?
It definitely hasn’t been easy. I think being an artist and producer in the scene is more of a
mental game than anything else. I went through a period just after COVID where my mentality was so narrow, and I believed that
a record’s success was determined by the label it was released on. And while sometimes that
can be true, I realized that there is no way to know whether a track will be successful or not. I
spent a full year chasing labels and trying to get my music signed, and would always end up
coming short, even while getting support from big artists. It was scary to then realize I hadn’t
released any music for about a year, so with some encouragement from my now wife and mom,
I decided to start releasing music independently. I can truly say there is no better feeling than
seeing a release you did everything for get the traction you feel it deserves.
Since my first independent release in 2023, I feel lucky that I’ve learned so much since then,
and I know that there is more weight to building a catalog with your own sound and vision,
rather than getting caught up in how one single does in the first month.
As an independent self promoter.
Where do you find the balance of being your own promoter, and developing social media content?
I think nowadays it’s hard as an artist to not do almost everything yourself. I’d say I’m not the
most organized person, I usually thrive in organized chaos if you will, but I do have certain
things within my schedule that keep me grounded and sane haha! I have a Notion template
where I organize the tracks I need to finish, release dates, and a little calendar schedule to
remind me which days I need to focus on filming content.
I don’t think of myself as a social media expert by any means, but after so much trial and error I
found a format that works well for me, and also a routine I can follow. I typically batch film on
Sunday afternoons or mid week, and post on my way to work. That way I know when I get home
I can focus on either relaxing or making more music
You’ve been dropping a lot of music lately — “Pressure,” “Get Me,” “Mad,” plus the Not
So Chill Radio sets. What’s the current focus for you?
My current focus is getting some bookings going and more live shows! I started DJing before I
started producing, so I still crave that feeling of playing in front of people every day. Now that
people from different corners of the world, like the US, the UK, Australia, and smaller segments
in Europe, keep asking for more shows in their cities, I’ve noticed the demand growing, so that’s
definitely my priority.
The Not So Chill Radio sets will stay as a way for me to showcase my DJing skills and keep
putting out a longer format of content that people have also been asking for.
Last one — if someone could only listen to one of your tracks to understand who you are
as an artist, which would you pick?
That is a tough one! I think I have a soft spot for ‘Tell You Something’ because, like we talked
about earlier, it was the track that I felt started to move the needle for me. Although ‘Deeper In
Love’ also has a similar vibe, so I’d combo both of those together.
