Borgeous aka John Borger doesn’t need any introduction after the massive hit ‘Tsunami’ with Canadian duo DVBBS reached the top of the charts in many countries in 2013. The producer who was born in Miami, has kept on making big tracks & has performed at some major festivals in the USA. In December 2015 we had the opportunity to catch up with him & review 2015 and discuss his upcoming artist album! Check it out!
Hi John, glad to meet you. We’re happy that we could catch up here in Amsterdam. Do you come here often?
No problem! Yeah Amsterdam is actually one of my favorite cities in Europe, I enjoy coming here for performances but also besides that I come here as often as I can.
Alright! So you’re from the USA, born in Miami to be precise, which is obviously famous for Miami Music Week & Ultra. Since you’re performing both in the USA and Europe we were wondering which differences you notice in the scene?
Well yeah things are still a lot newer in the USA, more upcoming basically. Further I think that describing more differences is hard because like Europe the USA is really big and what’s popular and what the crowd is like really variates per region.
Ok we understand that, let’s go back to the very beginning of Borgeous. What inspired you to start producing electronic music?
Well I actually started with producing hip-hop in 2005/2006. The guys that I loved watching and really influenced me to start making electronic music are Laidback Luke, Dada Life and Tiësto. I remember seeing them play at EDC and I loved it.
Interesting that you started with hip-hop. So, 2015 has been a massive year for you, could you mention some highlights?
Sure, obviously I’m really happy about the support that my tracks have received in the past year. ‘They don’t know’, ‘Zero Gravity’ and ‘Souls’ were really loved by the crowd & other DJ’s. It was very cool that I got the honor to create the Life In Color anthem as well. As for gigs my highlights would be Electric Forest, Electric Zoo in the USA and Airbeat One festival in Europe. I’ve been a part of really amazing line-ups and I’m very grateful about that.
We can imagine! Must be amazing to be a part of such massive events! What are in general your inspiration moments that trigger you to write a new track or a melody?
That highly fluctuates but I think mostly it’s when I’m hearing other songs. I like several genres of music.
Alright, since ‘Tsunami’ your life has no doubt gotten even busier than it already was. One moment you’re travelling, the second you’re doing a gig and you’re also spending a lot of time in the studio. What do you do to relax in between those things?
A nice dinner can always be relaxing. Besides that I like to watch movies and play Xbox. For me massages are a must in order to not get too stressed.
Cool, obviously a massage is indeed very relaxing! Something we’re looking forward to for 2016 is obviously your debut album! What can you tell us about that?
It’s called 13 because there will be 13 tracks on it. The album will feature many big collaborations with for instance Lil Jon, Fatman Scoop, Ashleigh Wallbridge and Waka Flocka, Lauren Dyson and more!
That’s exciting! Looking forward to hear those tracks! Those artists are already really huge but what would be your absolute dream collaboration?
Teaming up with Chris Cornell, one of the Audioslaves would be dope. Additionally working with Alesso would be amazing, he’s a legend.
That would be interesting indeed! For the Dutch fans there’s of course the question: When can we expect you back in the Netherlands?
Not sure yet. I’ll be starting 2016 with a USA tour with Morgan Page in January & February. Most likely I’ll be back when the Festival season is in full swing so that could be August.
Alright thanks very much for this interview & good luck with everything in 2016!
Thanks!
© Festivalling.com
Interviewer: Alexander Bouten