CHKLTE is Texan DJ & producer with regular guest shows in North American's parties and also some major European venues like ADE Festival in Amsterdam, the well respected Club der Visionaere in Berlin, Germany but also Mexico, Canada, London, Romania, Czech Republic, UK & Bulgaria. His productions have been signed to Hector's Vatos Locos, Moonfruit Records, Solid Grooves & many more respected labels with support from the likes of PAWSA, Wheats, tINI, SIT (Cristi Cons + Vlad Caia), Cosmjn, Nu Zau, Cabanne, Herodot, Cesar Merveille and many more.
In this interview we covered his new track "Fleeka" on Solid Grooves, music production and future plans
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Hey CHKLTE, can you give us a brief introduction of yourself?
How did you get into music production? And who inspired you?
Your track “Fleeka” was released a couple of weeks ago on Solid Grooves, how did it come about?
What advice would you give to upcoming producers who are just starting out?
Can you walk us through your workflow in the studio? How do you start a new song and how long does it take to finish it?
What is your favorite music production gear (vst or analog)?
Who are your dream collabs now?
How is next year looking for you, upcoming shows and new releases?
I’m both a DJ & producer, born & raised in South Texas; Brownsville Texas to be exact. Currently I’m based between both the US and Europe. Haven’t found my permanent home just yet.
I started out as a DJ first, been doing it now for 16 years and producing for 8 of those years. I think many djs at one point want to make their sound and have their own ideas flowing through their head.
I had many inspirations ranging from sounds of the different spectrums of the underground. I liked anything from Dubfire, Luciano to the more minimal old trippy tracks that came from Cobblestone Jazz, The Perlon crew & definitely some nice house from the likes of Derrick Carter, Mr G & the list never ends.
A track I started in the first 2 months of the pandemic. Something I knocked out one late night at my old place in Austin. Groovy dance-floor number that I had held onto for awhile. It was something I was sharing between some friends.
There are many things that one can list. Everyone paints their own path at their own pace. So with that being said always be patient & stay creating. Don’t be too hard on yourself because sometimes we can be our own worst critics. Never forget we do it for the music at the end of the day.
Honestly I struggle with having a good workflow because I like to try different things at times. Especially when on the road lately it’s hard for me to catch a nice flow. There are times where I can knock out a track in a couple hours & some where I come back to a day or two. Then of course there’s those tracks all producers just tuck away until an idea comes.
The last tracks I produced I used my Korg EMX 1 & Yamaha RM1X. As far VSTs go, anything by Rob Papen & the Arturia Collection is always nice. Sound toys for the processing.
So many to name. There are so many producers out there who I’m such a fan of. Can be anyone from Dyed Soundorom, Gene on Earth, Ricardo Villalobos & Fumiya Tanaka to name a few.
I have some nice upcoming things in around the globe, including Europe, UK & making my debut in Bali, New Zealand, Australia & some new places in South America. As far as releases go I have a couple vinyl releases coming out end of this year and 2023 on some labels like Curtea Veche, OGE, Visionquest, Pragmatik.
If you want to make tech house like CHKLTE check out our Collection of samples, loops, serum presets, projects and much more!
