Q&A With Freshcobar, DJ, Producer and Mastering Engineer, About His Career and New Release “Gemini”

Freshcobar Unveils Captivating “Gemini EP” – A Deep Dive into the world of House and Deep House Music.

Freshcobar, artist and founder of NOS Recordings, is releasing his highly anticipated EP “The Gemini EP.” The EP includes five meticulously crafted tracks and marks a profound departure from Freshcobar’s previous releases, delving deep into the realms of house and deep house music.

To make this release even more special, NOS Recordings will be implementing a unique “waterfall
release” strategy. Starting on the release date of November 10th and for the following four weeks,
one track from “The Gemini EP” will be unveiled each week. Fans can look forward to both radio and
extended versions of each song, ensuring a diverse listening experience.

Let’s dive into all of the details with the artist himself.

Can you please tell our readers who is Freshcobar?

I am a DJ/producer who performed under the name DJ Fresh One (https://djfreshone.com) as an open format DJ for many years starting in 2001 right after I started DJ’ing in 2000. Back then we were on vinyl and turntables. I was always a producer, at that time focusing more on hip-hop beats and R&B tracks.

I also was one of the original co-founders of Sleeping Giant Music (https://sleepinggiantmusic.com) and still oversee that operation. Around 2017 I started putting house music out under the alias Freshcobar, it did not have my face on it but over time people started eventually realizing it was me or seeing me play shows out so I put my face on the brand and have been focusing on this alias ever since.

How have you been musically influenced by growing up in the US?

All kinds of music, I’m an old underground hip-hop head in my younger years, and I was a scratch DJ when I started, turned nightclub DJ. I love collecting and finding rare samples from tracks. One of my favourite producers is J Dilla, I love Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Hi-Tek and all the greats. I also love tons of dance music producers… too many to mention. My first introduction to house music was DJ Enrie and Bad Boy Bill, someone in my school gave me their mixes.

You are a DJ, producer, mastering engineer. What is your musical background?

I play piano but I’ve been more of a studio nerd. I learned how to record bands at a young age, I lived with a ton of guys in bands when I had roommates out of high school. I spent time recording them at a young age and honing my recording and engineering skills with cheap gear. Everything from mic placements to compression and EQ I played with I had an old DBX hardware compressor too that I learned on. When I was 19 I also bought my first Akai MPC2000XL so I was starting to make beats with samples. Eventually, I took some piano lessons and incorporated a Yamaha Motif into my setup and keys were a part of my music.

You have a new release coming out and you state: “The Gemini EP represents a significant chapter in my musical journey.” Could you please elaborate further on that?

All of these songs were made around Oct/Nov of last year. It’s a bit more deep and melodic than the stuff I’ve been putting out. I love Deep House, but don’t make much of it. These tunes are great for listening, driving or if you’re in say an ultra lounge. They so much the normal dance floor tune but some of them work. I give a variety of tracks on there for listeners to enjoy. Plus I have too much music so I decided to do a waterfall strategy of 1 song a week for 5 weeks.

What was the most challenging part of releasing this new EP?

Learning to let go. I could have probably kept working on these forever.

Please tell us more about your label NOS Recordings and the name selection behind it.

NOS Recordings stands for No Ones Safe. I had been wanting to do a label for a few years but had a hard time coming up with the name. I was actually in San Francisco with Lavelle and we were driving around the city with our friend Gina the owner of Halcyon. She got on a rant about DJs and events and various things and out of nowhere she goes “No Ones Safe.” Just like the Freshcobar name happened in Miami (another funny story) I heard that and immediately a light bulb went off and I looked and the website and socials were available. Lavelle and I loved it and I took the idea to Erick Diaz and he ran with it for the logos and design and that’s what you see now. It has a great ring to it and can be used for events and much more.

What are your current top 5 favourite tracks to play at a gig?

I go through so much music it’s hard to pin down 5 but 5 tracks off the top that I’m really feeling:

Westend ft. Notelle – Dive In
Freddy Be, Savi Leon – Say What You Wanna Say (Gorge Remix)
Dubzy – So Fine (Edit)
A.K.M. – Habibi Groove
All the tracks from the Gemini EP (If I’m in the right setting) and all of the upcoming NOS Recordings 2024 releases

What is next for Freshcobar? Any gigs, or other releases to look out for?

Working on a ton of new music. Laying low in the studio, just got done with a ton of summer shows. I do have some local hometown San Diego shows and touring Cabo San Lucas has a few shows there in December one weekend. I have the Gemini || EP already completed (HINT HINT) slated for release in April 2024. I have a big tune coming out with Erick Diaz called ‘Dance Now’ in Jan 2024, and two more with Lavelle next year, one in February and one in May so stay tuned!

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