Kanon Organic Vodka: Toasting to Miguel Migs’ New Album “Outside The Skyline”
After our adventures this year checking out the occasional music festival like Coachella and Escape to New York, downloading playlists from friends and FOKs, and getting down to fantastic jams during Fashion Week, we’d venture to say we’re pretty much “in the know.” So when a music-oriented party comes around, we’re there and ready to get down, cocktails in hand. This week we’re toasting one of our favorite artists, Miguel Migs, on his new album “Outside The Skyline” in Los Angeles and wanted to sit down with the house music veteran on his influences, collaborations, and even his favorite spots around LA and the world. Cheers to Migs on his new release – we can’t wait to include more of his tracks on our party soundtracks!
Kanon Vodka: Congrats on the launch of your new album, Outside the Skyline. What’s your favorite track from it?
Miguel Migs: Thanks. It’s pretty tough to choose a favorite track as it really depends on my mood, but I do love “Tonight” and never get tired of that song for some reason. I guess that’s a good thing!
KV: Where are some of the places you get your musical inspiration from?
MM: I get inspiration everywhere and from all types and styles of music…everything from Steely Dan to Fleetwood Mac, Prince, The Stones, Erykah Badu, Steel Pulse, D’Angelo, Sade – the list goes on and on and on.
KV: We love the graphic on your album cover. How do you go about choosing your cover art?
MM: I actually approached the artist with the idea of having artwork/images inside the customized text, and she really brought it to life. I love the work she did and it flows well as the visual identity to the music.
KV: You’ve been DJing since you were a teenager…so you must be a pro at this by now. What song is guaranteed to get people on a dance floor?
MM: Well, I mix it up all the time and don’t really play the same songs every set. It’s all very spontaneous, but I guess one that I throw in every now and then when the time is right that always gets a great response would be a bootleg mix I did of Patrice Rushen’s classic “Haven’t You Heard.” As with any song, it really depends on the timing that you drop it.
KV: If there was a cocktail called Miguel Migs. What would be in it?
MM: Funny enough, there is a drink at a club I have played at in Jakarta, Indonesia called “The Miguel Migs” or something like that, but I can’t remember what they put in it. They did not ask me what I would prefer, they just made one up for me!
KV: You’ve worked on some mixes for major artists like Britney Spears and Lionel Richie. Has there been an ultimate highlight moment in your career thus far?
MM: I guess I’m still waiting for that “ultimate highlight” experience, but there have been so many amazing experiences so far. Playing with my full live band at a huge oracle gig just after Lenny Kravitz was pretty cool. Also playing some of those huge festivals can be great when the vibe really comes together; those special moments when the crowd feels completely connected to the music and everything is aligned. Those moments are pretty special and priceless.
KV: If you could remix a song for anyone right now, who would it be?
MM: That’s a tough choice, but pretty much anything by Sade. I’ve seen her live a few times and I just saw her concert last month and it blew me away as she always does. She is still the queen for me. Those songs are timeless.
KV: Tell us a bit about your label Salted Music and how that came about.
MM: I started Salted Music as a creative outlet to release mainly deep and soulful house music, more for the clubs and DJs. We just have fun with it, no stress. People send us demos all the time and we are always picking up new tracks and ep’s from various producers, established as well as new and upcoming artists, so there is always something in the works for the label. Even though it may not be the trendiest style of music out there these days, I still enjoy it and feel it’s still relevant and important to do.
KV: What are the top 3 clubs around the world (in your opinion) for dancing and listening to great music?
MM: Well, that’s a tough one because clubs are always changing. Through the years venues come and go all over the word and I’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a few amazing experiences around the world. At the moment though, I really enjoy the monthly events we do in SF at a club called Mighty. We have been doing events there since they opened and the sound, lighting and set-up is great in my humble opinion. Nothing flashy about it, just the right elements at work there.
KV: So what’s up next for you?
MM: Touring a bit in support of my new album, then I will probably start working on a whole new project… it never stops!
