Neon Owl Interview with DJ Producer Chris Ramos

We got a chance to chit chat with the exciting Chris Ramos, who made a recent comeback with his fresh new sound and EP titled “Emotions”. Those new to Chris may know him for his recent massive collab with Tritonal and Shanahan called “This Is Love” earlier this year. Having had a busy 2016 so far, another EP has already been long in the works! Stay tuned for more with this guy, and don’t forget to check out his latest guestmix on Neon Owl Radio!
www.soundcloud.com/neonowlco/episode42

Your remix of Vandalism VS Tommie Sunshine & Disco Fries’ “Forever” just came out! The track is amazing! How did this project come about?

Thank you! It’s pretty cool how this remix came about. After hearing my Emotions EP, Tommie hit me up to let me know he thought it was great and asked if I’d be interested to remix his new track. Once I heard those piano chords I was immediately down. Only issue was they needed it by the end of the month and I was about to fly out of town in a couple days. So there I was for two days in the studio working non stop to get everything done. I pushed through with almost no sleep, sent over the final master and they loved what I came up with. Phew! Probably the quickest remix I’ve ever done, but easily one of my best. Definitely learned some new things about myself through that experience!

How was it working with Tritonal and Shanahan on “This is Love”?

It was a fun experience! I had the original idea sitting in the studio for a while and needed to take things up a notch. Shanahan pulled through with his amazing sound design and Tritonal with their solid mixing and arrangement skills.

Give us a brief overview on how you got started with your music career.

In a nutshell, I was always around the family keyboard/piano as a baby which encouraged my parents to enroll me in piano lessons. At age 13 I was given my first real keayboard which could also record simple loops. I was soon recording songs, writing lyrics, and had my first single signed to a label at age 16. It was interesting learning about music law, copyright and the business at such an early age but I loved every bit of it. I soon went to college for music production and sound engineering, graduated with honours and later that year had my first single on radio rotation here in Toronto. I started to play the local DJ scene, holding a couple residencies at some great venues, where I met Mike Darlington of Monstercat. The rest is history!

You took a little bit of a break there. What was the thought process behind that and what inspired you to come back to take charge at full speed?

I took a look at where things were going, where I wanted to be, and things weren’t lining up. I also had a number of people in my circle holding me back creatively and emotionally. For someone that deals with anxiety, this felt quite destructive.

I decided to part ways with my manager of 3+ years, leave the live scene, and develop my craft as an artist and grow as a person. It was a tough but necessary decision and i’m beyond happy I did that. I’ve found myself as an artist and stopped limiting myself creatively. I’m reaching for the top and truly believe making music is my purpose.

Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and what do you listen to outside of dance music?

My biggest musical influence has to be Tiesto first and foremost. He is the first Trance/EDM artist I heard as a child, and his music and story encouraged me to make EDM. I’d also include Nicky Romero for both his talent and to have the guts on speaking publicly about his anxiety, Eric Prydz for his ageless sound and epic visuals, Don Diablo for being fresh and super humble … I can go on! I grew up listening to Classic Rock, R&B and Trance so those will always be my roots. To be honest though, right now I mostly listen to EDM and all genres that fit under that umbrella. It’s amazing how versatile the electronic music world can really be and I love the fact that it has become more mainstream.

Chris Ramos Neon Owl

What inspires you to do what you do, and where do you get your ideas from?

Everything I hear, see, feel, experience… Everything!

In your opinion, who is the hottest undiscovered artist right now?

There’s too many names to list! I wish every talented artist could get a shot!

Tell us a little bit more about your EMOTIONS EP and what made you decide to sing on all of them!

Well each song is a little piece of me and my story, and it felt natural to title the whole project Emotions. I wanted to develop a musical experience between an EP and Podcast series for a long time, and something that was beyond the typical project out there. Something that could provoke a feeling through both visuals and music beyond the usual party attitude. I also had these epic chords I really wanted to play with but could never figure out how exactly to execute the rest of the production. Switching from minor to major progressions isn’t always the smoothest so I slowly worked on it for months. I additionally taught myself 3D animation to start developing the whole visual experience. Then one day in the studio it all came to me and I ran with it. The chords, visuals, lyrics, everything. I knew I had something great, and decided Emotions would be the title of my EP and Podcast. Here It Goes is actually quite a personal track and is essentially my high school experience mashed with imogen heap vibes. Finally 4U was the culmination of good vibes and fun melodies.

As far as my singing goes, I’ve been recording demos for years with my voice to get ideas down but never really thought I’d sing on anything released publicly. After hearing for years from vocalists I worked with that I should sing on my music, and through my experiences of growing as an artist, I decided to take the plunge and put myself out there. It’s been quite liberating and I’m happy to stand out from the norm of the typical DJ/Producer.

We hear that you are working on a new EP. How is this one going to differ from EMOTIONS, and are there any juicy details you can release?

My next EP is going to take things down a notch as far as energy goes. It’s really musical, progressive and deep. Haha juicy details? Hmm…. OK one thing I can mention is that it’s even more personal than Emotions and follows the cycle, or stages, of a relationship.

At Neon Owl, we are all about creating content to inspire while connecting artists and fans to help charities around the world. Is there a cause that is close to your heart that you would like to see us support?

Something that is close to my heart would be supporting mental health. I myself deal with anxiety on a daily basis, and I know there are so many other conditions that many of us go through. I just want people to be informed and know that it’s OK to go through these things.

What are you most grateful for in this moment?

Being able to make music for a living is already more than I can wish for, and being healthy of course is a blessing…but one thing I’m most grateful for would have to be my family. They are my rock, and I couldn’t be where I am today without them.