Sergi Elias
My passion with music I guess is an inheritance from my father. He was not really into dance music but he liked recording compilations tapes. He was what a premature ‘home DJ’ I guess. He also was passionate with filming in SUPER8 format. Not only filming but also adding music to the family films.
We had a nice audio system at home, and one day he shown up with a mixer (battery Grundig mixer). Then he started mixing song using a tape player, the deck we had (a Garrard) and recording to another tape. I was completely amazed and the only thing I had in mind was find another turntable to mix two records. That happened a few weeks later and I started to spent hours and hours mixing records (the one my father had). That was back in 1982. I was 10 years old. In 1983 I bought my first record FREEEZ ‘I.O.U’. It was a 7” so I had no budget for 12”. The first 12” I bought was INDEEP ‘Last Night A DJ Saved my Life’. I remember it cost me 350 pesetas (2€)
In those days I make hundreds of tapes for school mates, teachers, bus drivers…Then in 1985 a new radio station started in Castelldefels (my own town): Radio Aquí. They were looking for young people to join the station and give a chance to dance music. Inmediately I said I am in…then I had the chance to work with Technics and meet one of my best friend ever: the reel to reel tape. Started making edits of every record I had, especially the ones I love the most, the releases of Blanco y Negro Music and Max Music, mainly italo disco. I became also a fan of all the compilations released in those days by these two companies: Blanco y Negro Mix, Studio 54, Max Mix, Mas Mix Que Nunca….
Starting making my first mixes: Sabado Rosa. It was a radio show I assist as a technician behind the glass, hosted by a girl names Rosa. It was broadcast every Saturday from 16:00 to 18:00 and from 22:00 to 23:00 (before clubs open) All work in several clubs in my area, very touristic place, so had the chance to meet a lot of people from France, Belgium and Holland. They got me into the dutch mixers (Liebrand, Slaghuis, Vriends…). Used to spent all the money I earned in equipment and records. At first only domestic releases, but as soon as I could went to import stores in Barcelona like Record Sound (more into american stuff), RAF import, Blanco y Negro, Max Music, Ginger Music… That was my life since 1996, when I joint Blanco y Negro as a record seller (selling records on the phone to stores in Spain).