Seven Villas is a label and personal project ran by Pablo Bolivar. It is a platform specially created to publish music that matches his definition of “Musica para Estar”, introducing new talented artists, and combining their original works with remixes from his favourites underground artists. Some of the artists to grace the label include Sensual Physics, MUUI, Basic Need, Vincenzo, and of course, Pablo Bolivar himself.
I grabbed a few moments with Pablo to talk about the label and what plans he has for his labour of love over the coming months. I began by asking Pablo to tell me a little more about the label and its concept… “Seven Villas Music is a small and underground label that gathers two labels: Seven Villas, focused on deep electronica for the club, from deep house to dub techno; music that could fit well in a warm-up or sunset DJ sets, but sometimes we also release dance floor burners. There is also Seven Villas Voyage, the sub-label specialised in Downtempo and Ambient, focused on long play releases, we like to build “voyages” with each release.”
“I’ve been working with friends in other labels for years but never had a label with 100% my style, this is why I’ve created Seven Villas Music.”
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Mix of the Week - MoritzI asked Pablo where the name Seven Villas came from, as I had heard there was a little story behind the name… “I was thinking of a very personal name, and suddenly my hometown came to my mind. I miss a lot my roots, I try to visit it as much as I can. Seven Villas means “Las Siete Villas”, seven towns from my hometown area. I think that’s the source of my sound, landscapes, rivers, beaches, lots of good memories.” When speaking with Pablo it is very clear that this label is more than just record label and more a deep-set history of Pablo and his musical and emotional past which is probably why many of the tracks fill that very requirement.
I went on to speak with Pablo about the third in his ‘Soft, Deep & Dark’ series which was released in late August… “This is the title of my first “homemade” album when I was 17 years old, now I use it to name the compilations that gather this specific “Soft, Deep & Dark” sound in Seven Villas. From time to time I like to collect my favourite tracks from the back catalogue and feel that “timeless” magic, it is beautiful.” We moved on to chat about the next release due out on the label… “The next is the beautiful EP of Gadi Mitrani from Turkey with a remix from Stimmhalt, then the strong EP of Blot! from India, also we continue with the Contact releases”. All sounding very good and if you are a fan of the label, lots to look out for over the coming weeks.
On the Seven Villas Facebook page, Pablo describes the ethos of the label as “introducing new talented artists and combining their original works with remixes from his favourites underground artists” which is something that drew me and many devoted fans to the label I am sure. I asked him about some of his favourite up and coming artists… “I am super happy with the newcomer releases we have! Last year we have created a series called “Link” and this year it’s called “Contact”. The concept is to release and connect music from newcomers around the world. I have a lot of favourites, Francisco Aguado, Ercos Blanka, Thimble, Draso, and Ethan Poe… But we also do solo releases with newcomers adding solid remixes of our favourites as Dub Taylor, Terry Lee Brown, Powel, Iron Curtis, and Luca Bacchetti…” All of which I am sure you will agree are masters at their craft when it comes to that deep emotional sound. Whilst on the topic of new and upcoming artists, I asked Pablo how does he scout for new talent? Does he curate the releases or listen to demos?
“We listen to all the demos we receive; if we like it and see the potential we prepare it and release it. Slowly we are creating a core of artists that believe in us.”
Running a record label can often be a very stressful business. I asked Pablo about some of his biggest challenges since the label’s inception and I loved his response… “I think the biggest challenge is to love and feel what you do every day.” Simple but very true if you are fortunate to do what you love.
Social media plays a huge part these days in the lives of artists and record labels. I asked Pablo what he thought were some of the positives and negatives of social media? Well, you need to play the game. Your followers want to know about you, what you are doing, the forthcoming projects etc… I think it’s funny to be connected, but always with balance, today the fame is heavier than the artistic part, some “artists” spend more time taking photos of their new shopping than working in good music”. I did laugh when Pablo made this comment and have to agree. I went on to ask Pablo what his favourite social media platform is and which he gets the most engagement from… “I like Soundcloud and Facebook for music, but I don’t like the algorithm that blocks your posts on Facebook, that’s a big piece of shit. In Instagram I have real engagement, I like to upload nature photos, landscapes, etc…”
Moving back to the electronic music scene as a whole, I asked Pablo what he would change if he could in the scene… “ooff, lot of things… I would like to keep it more underground, not as a millionaire business. I would love that it will be impossible to make music with computers, just with machines, it will be a great filter to access to the electronic music world”. I know many producers that would definitely agree with this statement!
We spoke about what Pablo has planned in terms of parties over the coming months… “I will be doing a Seven Villas showcase in September in Norway with Pedro Sanmartin and we are working on the next showcase in San Francisco in November, also with an artist from the label”. I asked Pablo when running parties what does he aim to bring to the party… “We don’t do events very often, but when we do it we like to show our real style and sound, and always inviting our artists”.
Before I left Pablo to enjoy his day, I asked if he would like to mention anything else, and this is one for the new producers out there… “We wait for your demos guys, don’t be afraid, we are a friendly team.” If you think you are up to the level of the label get them submitted guys!
I would like to thank Pablo for his time, he really is a friendly guy and one of the most consistent underground artists out there. Thank you, Pablo. Also, thank you to you for reading this interview.
