CELAFET
Picture this: it’s a lazy Saturday morning in Poblenou, and we’re tucked into a cozy corner of Mono Café, the smell of fresh espresso in the air... Outside, the sky is a little moody, but inside, there’s a laid-back and welcoming energy–enough buzz to keep things lively but not too much to drown out a good conversation.
This time, it’s with CELAFET, a French DJ based in Barcelona, who sat down with me and spilled some cool facts about his inspirations and music journey, and touched upon the magic and beauty of the music community in the vibrant city of Barcelona.
So nice to meet you! We would like to know a bit more about you, your work, the journey that led you to where you are now…
Hi Heavy Cargo! My artist name is CELAFET, my journey has begun back when I was 11 as a guitarist. And then at 18, I went to a club for the first time and discovered Electronic music, and honestly, I fell in love instantly… A few months later, I bought my first controller, and yeah everything started from there…
5 years ago I came to Barcelona to progress in my artistic life if I could say… And yeah I’ve been playing music every month since then and I’m very happy about that!
Oh, nice! So, are you a resident in any of the clubs here?
I actually organized an event called “Create”, and we do it every once in a while. But apart from that, it’s not very easy to get gigs, when it happens it happens, and I just wait for it. In this industry, talent is important but what’s more important is to have contacts… And I’m not really the kind of person who is always trying to stick with promoters, I just try to show my best when I have the opportunity and then hope that it’s gonna come back.
Yeah I get it! You’re open to things happening naturally and at the right time… So, how would you describe your musical identity? In other words, what would be a common thread you feel is present in all your tracks?
My musical identity is all about groove, happiness… I love when people are smiling and vibing on the dance floor. It can be house, electro… but the most important thing for me is happiness and groove!
I think that’s a great thing to tap into, especially when people are hanging out with their friends at a party and the music makes them feel even closer. Did you used to play with your friends around back in Paris?
Yes yes, back in France I used to play for my friends, but also in my room a lot hahah… And I think that’s why I came to Barcelona because I felt like I didn’t have the opportunity to have gigs in France since I was living in a small city. And then I came here and never expected that all these things would happen very quickly. I think Barcelona is a very good city to start doing music or art because it’s really open minded and people love to discover.
That’s very true, you can really feel that your creativity and art are welcomed and appreciated… Speaking of Barcelona, how did the city’s music scene–the festivals, the genres played mostly, the other artists… affect your musical style and journey?
Mmmm I think Barcelona affected me a lot, because in this kind of music and scene, there are many many artists and creators, and this pushes you to be better than before. I actually met a lot of artists who are now friends, and whom I learn from as well. It’s always growing, it’s always changing…
Do you have any favorite festival here that’s your “go-to”?
Here I like to go to underground parties, not the biggest festivals. For example les Enfants Brillants, the party we do with “Create”, I really like Mirador, Studio Stereo… these kinds of parties.
Yes! At the end when you go to these parties, everyone knows each other because it’s like a little community, and I think I prefer this over big parties.
Yeah… more niche I would say.
Cool! So, as someone who's constantly creating, how do you handle creative blocks or moments when you just can’t find your flow?
Obviously as an artist, you will have a lot of times where you’re struggling to find creativity or have new ideas. So, my way to find this creativity again is to listen to other genres because it’s super important to be open and expose yourself to different kinds of music. Like I don’t just listen to House, I start exploring with Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk… I try to take a bit of everything and this inspires me a lot as an artist. So yeah, I really think it’s very important to be curious.
Some weeks everything is going super smoothly and other weeks you’re struggling a bit hahah. You just have to wait for the moment where it comes back, I never really force it… If I don’t have the creativity, maybe I stop doing music that day and I wait for tomorrow to see what happens.
Yes that’s true, the more you force creativity, the more pressure you feel and honestly it doesn't even help, it just makes the process less enjoyable.
Exactly exactly. And it depends, a producer’s process is different from a DJ, and I think these blocks affect a producer much more because they would be starting from 0. For me, as a DJ, listening to tracks makes it easier to find what I like, checking what’s working in Barcelona at the moment, etc…
Yeah maybe as a DJ you have more content to work with while creating. Actually we wanted to ask you, do you have a track or set you’ve made that has deeply affected you on a personal level?
Yes, it was for New Years 2024, it’s also my birthday on that date…
Oh you were born on the 31st! My birthday is on the 30st so I get it when your birthday is all scrambled with New Years hahaha
Hahaha exactly! Yeah… so we did an event as part of our collective “Create” and all my friends from France made it that night and it was the first time they saw me play in Barcelona. It was more for the emotion rather than the music, it was really crazy! Plus it was New Years so the crowd was also crazy hahaha… Yeah I think that was one of the gigs that I enjoyed the most.
Big night, I can imagine! That’s awesome! Okay so next question–what’s your connection with vinyls and what are your thoughts regarding the returning trend of vinyl record stores and the vintage/retro movement?
When I started DJing, I obviously had the controller but very quickly, 2 or 3 years after, I bought my turntable because I love the object. I love the idea of collecting music, but also I like the touch of playing with vinyl, it’s more for DJing for real. I view it as playing an instrument. And yeah… I just feel very focused when using it, very different from playing with a digital deck. What I also enjoy about it is going into the store and trying to find what I need, doing a bit of digging around. I only play with vinyl now, it’s been around 7 years. I view it as a friend of mine hahaha…
Yeah yeah, there was a link for sure. I used to play the guitar and then touched the controller… that’s when I was like mmmm… It’s nice, but it’s not really instinctive. Vinyls are all about instinct, you have to know your track and you don’t have time to lose, the next record is gonna come, so you always have to be focused. That’s what I love, to connect with the vinyl.
Yeah very close relationship with it hahaha, nice! By the way, you were saying you played guitar and then stopped at some point, and compared the turntable to an instrument–do you think there’s a certain connection there?
Yes, there’s Perros Mediterraneos, Tivinyl, Small Black Dots… But to be honest I do my research more on Discogs on the internet, because I have the time and I get directly to the point, I know the tracks that I wanna buy. That’s not super nice for the record stores, I know hahaha… But for me, that’s the best way to find your music. Maybe what I like the most about record stores is that you get to discover something you were not really searching for.
Do you have any favorite record store here in Barcelona?
Yeah more of an exploration practice, especially in Tivinyl, it’s really lovely how you can just sit there and listen to whatever you want, get to discover…
Exactly! The DJ in Tivinyl is a good friend of mine, I really enjoy my time there.
Oh really? Yeah he’s very cool! Okay hopping onto the next one–do you usually draw inspiration from local artists, international DJs/producers, or have a different inspiration process altogether?
Obviously, I get a lot of inspiration from other artists. In the end, in music, I feel like we all copy each other hahaha. Nobody is creating something super new. Also, when I go out, I always listen carefully to the artist playing, but I also get a lot of inspiration from the 90s artists/early 2000s–my favorite period for music. A lot of music from Inland Knights, Nathan Coles, Jake Childs, these guys are the best.
Yeah yeah, my friends for sure, we all inspire each other. My friend Lve Lfe, Toltec, varan, Jason, dj service... We have a big group, a big community here and we all know each other, we’re all friends. When we play together, we always push each other to do the best, we’re not in concurrence. It’s really nice for everyone.
Nice! Any local artist from Barcelona?
Yes I totally agree, this sense of encouragement and creating a community of creatives that support each other to uplift the music industry in the city.
True… What I also think is that between artists there’s no competition, but between promoters it’s definitely very different. When they organise events on the same day, at the same time, the message is very obvious hahaha. That’s why I don’t really like to be part of this thing, I’m more about connecting and staying positive.
And that is very authentic I think–to stick to the true meaning of what music is to you, connection and happiness as you said previously.
Yes…
How would you describe the connection between your fashion style, music taste (the music you listen to on a daily basis), lifestyle, and the music you produce?
When it comes to fashion, I guess I only try to look good hahaha. But in my lifestyle, I’m thinking about music the whole time. My day is always revolving around music, it’s really a big part of my routine.