RB Exclusive Interview: Dabin’s Arizona Debut

This past weekend we were lucky enough to host up and coming producer Dabin, at his first show in Arizona. All those who attended Global Dance Festival were deeply moved with every strum of his guitar and his ethereal melodies. His set was truly a unique and angelic experience. For those who were first introduced to Dabin at global, you received a perfect glimpse into his style and practices as a producer. He does not restrain himself with one subgenre, rather he plays what he feels at that specific time, which develops the purest and most raw tracks- Global attendees, you know what I’m talking about. Through his representation with Kannibalen Records, Dabin has worked with fellow members BTSM, Kai Wachi, and Apashe. He’s played Electric Forest, 515 Alive Music Fest, and with a new huge adventure on the way, it’s safe to say Dabin is just scratching the surface of his music career. He’s a cool creative and I had the pleasure of sitting down with him last weekend.

Arizona sunsets 🌄 My first time here and it was so special. Closed my @AZGlobalDance set with a new remix for @SevenLionsMusic 🎸 pic.twitter.com/hthsM4j9Z4

— DABIN (@iamdabinlee) September 24, 2017

With you being a multi-instrumentalist since a young age, what caused the leap to electronic? Was there a specific moment of inspiration?

Before university, I was a session guitarist for EMI Canada and I would do session guitar stuff for pop music. Dudes like Santana and John Mayer. It was really cool but I had this feeling that I wanted to fulfill my own potential and self-artistic need-you’re doing other people’s shit. It was when I went off to Queens University where I knew I really wanted to make music. I didn’t really know how, so my friends that I made there got me into electronic music…like when Skrillex was blowing up and the whole idea was keeping the sound in the box(laptop) and headphones. It was that combination of things that made me think,”I can do this”. It took a long time and a lot of terrible, terrible music but that’s how I got where I am today.

You’ve worked with so many great artists and the outcomes have been really amazing successful tracks. At this point in your career do you have a fellow producer who you yearn to work with?

A dream collab of mine would either be with Lana Del Ray or Florence Welch from Florence and The Machine. They just both have the most unique vocal styles and stage presence I’ve ever seen. Those two are definitely goals, I’ll work hard for that.

 I noticed you’re joining Illenium on his “Awake” tour in the fall. How did this opportunity arise? What show are you most excited to play in any?

I met Nick (Illenium) through BTSM…we were all under the Madison House crew. BTSM talked to me about him and how he’s blowing up the melodic scene and that we needed to meet. He is a super chill guy, he brought me to a few of his shows last year in Denver and LA. We just really flux with each other well and he asked me to do a remix for him and he loved it (Afterlife). Since that was also my favorite song from him so it was kind perfect. We’ve always been talking about doing a big tour and suddenly he was like “It’s happening, you’re coming with me in the fall”.  I’m super grateful for that and it’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be great because when I’m touring with other people I feel like I’m catering to a certain crowd, sometimes it’s just outside my realm. But with the Awake Tour, I feel like I can really showcase my live show and work.

Congratulations on your ‘Two Hearts’ album! What was the inspiration for this collection as well as the title of the album?

The concept is basically when you’re in a relationship with someone and building this whole entire universe with someone, the whole album is depicting the rise and fall of the journey.

And are you speaking from a current muse or personal experience?

Yeah, yeah. Things are great and music is always emotional catharsis for me. Whatever I’m feeling I just throw it out and use it.  

Any other newsworthy nuggets you want to leave AZ and the RB readers with?

First of all, I’m super grateful for you all to bring me out, it was a great first experience here. The sunset during my set was amazing. Also, I’ve got a lot of new music on the way so stay tuned.

Connect with Dabin: Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud