Two weeks ago I thought all that Ireland had going for it was offshore tax shelters and Guinness, but man was I wrong. We received a submission from Gilly, a 21 year old trance artist hailing from Dublin. Hopefully his life story will shock and inspire you as much as it did us. Here we talk about his path, what's next, and the Irish EDM scene.
Elle: So… let's start with the elephant in the room. When did you start making music?
Gilly: I started in October, then I basically finished those tracks in November and December.
Elle: Of 2012.
Gilly: Right.
Elle: So you're very new to the music scene.
Elle: How did your family and friends react when you told them you wanted to change your path and make music?
Gilly: They laughed.
Elle: And how many tracks have you had signed to labels?
Gilly: Four.
Elle: Well that's fucking impressive. Why do you think you've been so lucky?
Gilly: I have put so much effort into making music the last few months, basically dedicated my life to it.
Elle: So, 24/7 focus. And before you started making EDM, did you have any other musical training?
Gilly: I played piano when about 6 years old but I haven't played an instrument since. I just spent all my time listening to the EDM music so I had a rough idea on how to structure a track from that.
Elle: Bass, drop, progression, harmony, tones… I listen to EDM everyday and uh, anything I might make would sound like total crap.
Gilly: I literally watched a million ‘how-to' Youtube videos.
Elle: What equipment do you use?
Gilly: I use FL Studio and I have a Midi keyboard which I mess around with for finding melodies.
Elle: Besides the youtube videos, tell us about yourself. Do you have a Job? Life?
Gilly: (Laughs) I'm a college student studying business. I work in a local retail store part time on the weekend to fund my equipment. Hopefully I can study music next year, but those classes are expensive and I have to save up.
His set up
Elle: Talk to me about Ireland and the music scene there. How is it?
Gilly: Only in the last year has it really started to boom. Me and my friends had always traveled to see the big DJs but in the last year a new company called Residence has set an EDM scene in Ireland. They have brought Hardwell, Nicky Romero, Sander Van Doorn and many more which has introduced the Irish public to the EDM scene. This I think is inspiring a lot of people, even myself.
Gilly: My hope is to put Ireland on the EDM map. The Irish crowd are known for bringing such an atmosphere when supporting one of their own.
Elle: Yea I hear you guys are pretty rowdy.
Gilly: The atmosphere at a concert in Ireland is a lot different to a concert anywhere else in the world, it really is something special.
Elle: So what is next for you?
Gilly: I have a track finished which I am really excited about, I have wrote lyrics for it and have a singer preparing vocals for me. I have around 10 projects I am working on at the moment but there are 2 or 3 main ones I'm concentrating on. Really my main goal is to get my name out there.
Elle: Well I hope the interview will help accomplish that!
Thanks so much to Gilly for interviewing us. You can find out more about this incredibly talented Irishman on his soundcloud or facebook.
Tracks Line-Up:
Luminous – Miami label Sheeva Records, released on Beatport on 21st February.
Dragunov – Italian label Stranamente Music, released on Beatport on 28th February.
Nocturnal – French label Elettrika Records, released on Beatport on 1st March.
Spider Hill – MyCore Records, no release date set.
Thunder – MyCore Records, no release date set.
