Lohrasp Kansara – Follow Me

By starrymag | November 28, 2023

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) My sound is always cinematic and groovy. All of my records need to make people dance and move or/and feel cinematic like they could belong in a movie or a series or a scene, and they’re all somewhat emotional. Emotions are very important in all of my records. Also, all of my records have substance and deep meanings that are usually very touching, and inspiring and come from a very deep place in my heart that is inspired by my life experiences or experiences of my close friends and family experiences that I can relate to. I love to use sounds that are very captivating and intense and at the same time musical.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) My greatest inspiration musically is, of course, Michael Jackson. But, if we’re talking about multiple genres of music, I look up to Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and Queen. And if we’re talking about electronic music specifically, my greatest inspiration is the Swedish House Mafia. I’m also a huge David Guetta, Alesso, Black Coffee and Mark Knight fan. I’m inspired by so many other names as well. I don’t want to put too many names. Those are my biggest inspirations. I can’t forget to mention that I have some hip-hop influences from Tupac to Biggie to Jay-Z to Nas to DMX. Last, but not least, I have to put U2 and Coldplay in my influences, along with my mother who’s a professional classical pianist; she is actually my #1.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Follow Me.”

A) Well, I grew up on the original. When I moved from Switzerland to New York and lived with an African American family where the man of the house became like my father and was my basketball coach. I always played the original in my hip hop sets when I would do hip hop sets at urban clubs. Because I started as a hip hop DJ, I would always do an old school set during my set where I played ’80s and new jack swing, and records like Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe and It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock and the Big Daddy Kane records and so on and so forth. And I would always play “Follow Me.” I learned that from some of the huge hip-hop DJs, such as my good friend DJ Suss One, and other legendary DJs like Mr. C and Funkmaster Flex. And then when I turned to house music as my career, and I knew that that was the genre that I related the most in terms of being a DJ, I knew that I wanted to remake this song because not only is it groovy and iconic, but the words and the lyrics are so important and so inspiring and touching, and they really have meaning when it comes to the world today. I always believed in making anthems and songs that people can sing and dance to, but also that are inspiring and touching, similar to Bob Sinclar’s “World Hold On” and some other huge electronic music anthems like “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia and so on and so forth.

 

Q) You’ve rebooted this classic single from Aly-Us. What was it about the song that drew you to make it your own?

A) As I mentioned, “Follow Me” has always been a classic and timeless record that I’ve been playing in all of my sets for the last, at least fifteen years out of the twenty years I’ve been DJing. And I loved the original, it’s iconic, it’s an anthem. The baseline melody is just so captivating and so iconic, and the words, the lyrics and the groove. So, I wanted to remake it with 2023 sounds and make it contemporary for new generations to enjoy this record and hopefully get introduced to the original version which is an absolute classic.

 

Q) In what ways did you put your own spin on “Follow Me?”

A) Everything is my style and my sound when it comes to my version. It’s bigger drums, more intense bass sound, but the same melody, lots of groove with the percussion and it’s heavy, it’s intense, it’s cinematic, it’s emotional. It has an incredible vocal from the incredible singer Norman Alexander. And it’s a lot more, like I said, heavy and big than the original from all the sounds used in it. And that’s exactly the type of music that I’ve made when it comes to my records, especially when it comes to house and tech house. And it can easily be played iStan a big room nightclub or even on a side stage of a festival, maybe not a main stage, but definitely on a side stage and entertain four or five thousand people. Whereas the original version is a little bit less energetic and the sounds a little bit smaller. And I pride in making records that can fill big, big rooms and big dance floors.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

A) Well, depends which fans we’re talking about. If we’re talking about anyone that’s thirty and older or maybe thirty-five and older, well, they probably know the original and it’s so iconic that they recognize immediately the baseline melody and the vocals. And, so far, I’ve been getting incredible feedback. People saying I made a classic out of another classic, which doesn’t get better. And I’m talking about huge DJs and artists, especially some that are African American/ people of color from America, where the record comes from, especially from New York. And it’s been the greatest reward ever. When it comes to the newer generations. I think it’s the fact that the vocal is so powerful and captivating and that it’s touching and inspiring and is there to try to inspire people to make the world a better place, and speaks about freedom, and speaks about racism. And I think a lot of the new generation is very, very aware of these deep subject matters, and many want the world to be a better place. And that goes for people, these new generations also. I think when they are turning to beautiful ways of life, including veganism and trying to have equal rights for men and women and so on and so forth. So, I think it connects to the younger generation with that. And plus, like I said, the instrumental is so groovy and so musical and emotional that I think it makes anyone instantly fall in love with the record.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

A) I am not necessarily a songwriter. I’ll have ideas for a song in terms of what I want the song to be about. I might even have a title of the song. Sometimes I have that before I have made the instrumental and I make the instrumental with that in mind. Or sometimes I have that after I make the instrumental. And I just make an instrumental just based off sounds that I’m connecting to in the studio when I’m making a beat. But I don’t necessarily write lyrics. I co-write. So, sometimes I’ll get lyrics from a singer and then I’ll change certain words, or I’ll influence certain melodies and stuff like that. But I don’t necessarily just write verses. I’ve done it before and I’m pretty okay at it. I’m not bad, but it’s not my passion. I like to let singers and writers do what they do best, and then I might have my own opinions when it comes to certain words or certain melodies or certain sentences, and then we go back and forth. But, yeah, I’m not necessarily a songwriter, if you will, when it comes to lyrics.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) I have a huge hand. All of the records that I’ve ever made, they’re my ideas and they’re my visions. And, yes, sometimes I’ll collaborate with other producers if I’m stuck with something, whether it’s a melody or chord progression or a drum pattern or certain sounds or whatever, or even with vocals, sometimes I collaborate. But the nucleus of the song, the idea of the song, the vision of it is all mine and I am very, very involved in the entire process. So, I know every track of mine, like the back of my hand, and I’m involved from the beginning to the end. And sometimes I’ll come as a collaborator, but even so, I’m very involved.

 

Q) With this song out now, I have to ask, will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future – maybe even something that covers additional famed house singles?

A) I don’t think I’m at the point yet career wise to make an album. I still need to build my name and my fan base. I think I’m getting a lot more known now and my fan base is growing rapidly. But I still don’t think that an album would be wise for me. Although, I have so many song ideas and I think I could fill an album beautifully from beginning to end with a huge story to tell. I just think it would be too intense for my fan base. I need to grow my fan base and my career and my name and my brand with more and more singles, and maybe in a couple of years there’ll be an album. A hundred percent I’m going to do an album, I already know the name of the album actually, I have several names. But not now. But, yes, I definitely want to do an album one day.

Yes, we have a song called “Carnaval” where we remade the iconic track by Celia Cruz “La Vida,” as in Carnaval. It’s my favorite Latin song of all time and it’s, again, similar to “Follow Me,” as it is very inspirational, very musical, very iconic. It’s a huge anthem. And we covered it in an Afro melodic textile very uniquely. The response so far has been huge. I’ve been playing it in my sets for the last six months and it’s probably been the song that people have asked me the most about, from DJs to just people at the parties. And we have a Latin Grammy Award-winning trumpeter playing the trumpet, where we recreated the iconic trumpet melody. So very excited about this one.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

A) I get asked this question all the time, actually. Listen, there are many places in the world that are special. All are unique in their own ways because every culture is beautiful, every country is beautiful. But, of course, my favorite place to play in the world is New York where I’m from, where I live. But other than that, I’m a huge fan of performing in Morocco, in Canada and in Toronto especially. I absolutely love performing in Israel and also in Thailand. I’m constantly touring. And, of course, I absolutely adore South Africa, one of my favorite places in the entire world. And absolutely I love also Columbia. Sorry. Yeah, there are a lot of places that I love playing. I also love playing in Tulum.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Wow. I have many, many dream collabs, but the biggest one of them all would be Swedish House Mafia. I would love to collab with David Guetta one day, Alesso, Black Coffee or Mark Knight. If we’re talking about outside of the electronic music world, my dream collab would be with Coldplay, Florence and the Machine or Temper Traps. I love the singer from Sweet Disposition or even Adele. I think those would be my dream collabs. And if we’re talking about hip-hop, I think both artists have passed away. I mean, I know they have passed away, DMX and Tupac. I think their voices would have been insane on a house music track. But would love to collaborate with Dr. Dre, or even Busta Rhymes.

 

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

A) I listen to all sorts of music constantly. My favorite artist in the world is my mother, who’s a professional classical pianist, but I’m always listening to everything. Everything inspires me. I love Afrobeats. Of course, I love Afro House. I love Tech House. I love melodic techno. I love even techno. I love the dance electro world. My musical taste is really all over the place. I love artists such as Coldplay, U2, Adele and Florence and the Machine. I love artists also like older guys, older bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, and obviously Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and Madonna. Yeah, I love all sorts of music as long as it’s musical, creative, has beautiful melodies and lyrics and it’s touching. Yeah, I love all sorts of music. I love the nineties hip hop and R&B era too, probably. That is the era that got me into DJing.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) Social media to me is a gift and a curse. We’ll start with the positive. The gift is that it allows you to connect to your fans and to other artists that you’re a huge fan of and clients rather easily or easier than it would if we didn’t have social media. And it allows you to promote yourself and your brand and who you are as a person really without having to depend on huge companies. And you can do it at any given moment whenever you want, so you can share your thoughts, your emotions, your work, your art. Now the negative aspect is that everyone can share their opinions and be mean and rude and disrespectful at any given moment and very judgmental. Sometimes, also, people take advantage of these platforms and the fact that you’re so available to everyone. They abuse the DMs and the comments, and the likes and it requires you also to be on it all the time because if you don’t answer some fans, they might take it personally sometimes. And I find that to be quite aggravating and disappointing because everyone has a life, and especially with my life, I’m super busy, but I really try to answer everyone to make everyone feel appreciated for being a fan of mine and a supporter of mine. But, like I said, social media is a gift and it is a curse, but it is what it is. You have to accept the world the way it is today and use it to your advantage and understand that nothing in life is completely positive. There’s always going to be some negative and you just have to accept and deal with it.

 

Q)) As an actor, will we be seeing you on screen in the near future? Or are you working on any behind-the-scenes acting work lately?

A) Unfortunately, as an actor, I’m not doing anything currently because the acting business and the film/TV business has been on pause due to the strikes, the SAG-AFTRA strikes and the WGA strike, Writers Guild Association strikes. So, I have not gotten any auditions from my team or anything, so unfortunately you won’t be seeing me on screen anytime soon. I hope that these strikes will end and that every party will benefit from the new negotiations, and that we can all get back to this beautiful industry and art that we love so much. Acting is so important to me, and I can’t wait to have another role in the future.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) First and foremost, I want everyone that supports me to know that I’m immensely grateful. An artist can only go so far that his or her fan base takes them. If nobody likes what you’re doing as far as art, whether it’s music or painting or acting, well, you’re not going to go too far. So, I’m so grateful. I want them to know that I’m really doing this from the deepest part of my heart. I’m using my positive and negative experiences and my most joyous moments, and also my saddest and most painful moments to create art that comes from me. And I’m sharing my soul with the world in order to inspire and touch people, but also entertain people. So, it’s extremely personal to me, every song that I’ve ever done, every role that I’ve ever done, because it truly comes from me. I’m not doing it for the money. I’m not doing it for the fame. I’m doing it because I want to leave a legacy of beautiful art that will constantly, for a long period of time, make people feel deep emotions and inspire and touch them, and hopefully at the same time entertain them, because a real artist wants to really entertain his audience as well. The goal is not only to make them feel sad or happy but is to make them entertained. And, yeah, I hope they will continue to support me, whether I keep doing the same type of stuff or whether I decide to try new things. I’m very well known for doing different genres of electronic music and that’s because I love so many different genres of electronic music, and I don’t want to just be boxed in. So, I hope they’ll stick with me as I continue to experiment. And I love my supporters and my fans so much. And, yeah, I also want them to know that if I can do what I’m doing, that anyone can achieve their dreams. Nothing is impossible. And that’s it.