In Session: Ms. Mada

Your productions are few and far in between. Can we expect any new Ms. Mada tracks on the horizon?

I have a couple under my belt right now that I said that I was going to release at some point. My excuse was that I needed to get it mastered, which is true. However, I’ve played a couple of them out and you can’t really tell the difference if they are mastered or need to be mastered—maybe there are bits and pieces that need to be fixed, equalized, or whatever, but for the most part, they’re finished products. I think part of my excuse back in the day was that I considered myself a DJ and not a producer. There’s a lot of fear going into it, but I think after my Boiler Room set, I ran out of excuses and said I need to at least do something. I know my way around Ableton, and slowly but surely, I’ve made a few things. Not necessarily things that I’m ready to shop around for a label, because they’re tracks for me. I play them out and give them to people.

I told Daniella Caballero, who is Club Space’s booking coordinator and my manager, that I want to release one of my edits for free and also give them out to the biggest DJs that I’m in contact with and see if they want to play it out. I think the beautiful thing about Bandcamp is that I don’t have to succumb to label schedules or hope that they’re going to sign it or wait for it to clear samples or whatever. One track uses a sample that’s very prominent and I don’t feel right making money off of it.

You have a genuine friendship with Loco Dice, who has also taken you on the road to play with him. How did that relationship happen?

I think it was my Boiler Room set from 2018. Dice wanted me to play for him shortly after, and then I kept getting offers from his manager, Grace Russo, to play in Argentina and all over. I developed this rapport, but I have such an imposter syndrome we’re I’m like, ‘why me?’ I’m very thankful and grateful and I don’t take it for granted.

But I don’t know what attracted him to me. I think it’s my style, but you would have to ask him what that is exactly. Dice is one of those people who take an interest in the younger people and building them up. He’s like the brother I never wanted and I’m thankful for him and the avenue he gave me musically and play places that would have never even considered booking me.

This summer wasn’t the first time you played Ibiza, but you did play Solid Grooves at DC-10 for the first time. What did that set mean to you? I think it was one of the first times you said you were nervous.

I feel like I say that a lot. Going into a gig, I’m nervous maybe 99% of the time, and this time especially. My first time being exposed to real underground Ibiza was when I was 21 years old. I went to Circoloco on a Monday, before they built in the AC units. It was just hot, sweltering heat. People were on top of each other, fans everywhere. It was noisy, messy, chaotic. I can’t describe it. It was another dancefloor epiphany moment for me.

This summer I played Solid Grooves. I opened up the room and pretended like I was just clocking in for work at Space. As soon as I finished, I wish I could have started it over again. It flew by.

Read this next: 8 DJs tell us about their very first trip to Ibiza

Why still be an opener/closer when you can be playing Ibiza?

Because Space is home. I don’t think I could ever break away from Space. If I relied on playing out only, I don’t think I would grow as a DJ. I think having a home base and being able to play for different types of artists has been a catalyst for who I am today and I don’t think I could let that go to do an international career. Maybe I could, but I don’t want to.

What does it mean to be a part of the few Club Space residents? I suppose to a larger extent, to also to play in Miami.

I first played at Club Space when it was ran by Louis Puig back in 2010/2011 for a locals’ night. I became a resident in 2016 after LinkMiamiRebels bought the property. Being a resident at Club Space is a dream. Going to parties at Space and staying there until sunrise like everyone else. And then to finally be the one that’s in the booth was a monumental moment for me. And now I do it every week. It’s just me clocking into work. I don’t take being a Club Space resident for granted. I know how much weight the club holds around the world. The club is a badge of honor.

I think it’s more than fair to use the term “rising star” to describe your career. Does that conflict with your resident duties—to not outplay the headliner while also keeping up with this title?

I don’t think so because people know I am first and foremost a resident DJ. Outside of it, maybe, but I don’t feel that.

What’s next for Ms. Mada?

I checked off a lot of boxes this year, and it’s hard to tell you what is next. I am amazed about what I achieved—things I didn’t think I could achieve before 40 and it’s all happening so quickly that I’m not having any expectations. I am just letting the chips fall where they may. Hopefully, I’ll have more releases in the works with prominent labels when I become more disciplined. I’m still working with Club Space and growing with them. I think my growth is a parallel with how the company grows.

When I looked up your listings, your first Miami show was at the late Electric Pickle for Filter presents Yaya in 2010. Where has the time gone?

That feels like such a distant memory and 2020 feels like it was five years ago and it feels like it’s 2024. I think because we’re focusing so much on the future—next week, the weekend after, Art Basel, Miami Music Week, Formula One weekend—we don’t realize that as the world is turning, we’re also getting older. I’m just trying to enjoy the time.

And finally, tell us about your In Session mix.

This mix epitomizes what I’ve been feeling lately: Playful, cheeky, nostalgic, yet contemporary. It’s basically what I’ve been trying to evoke in my shows as of late. Not the freshest records, but definitely the most fun set I’ve put together recently. I think a lot of times, and I get into my own head trying to impress others by having the freshest tracks that I lose sight of what I really should be doing with my DJ sets: have fun. It’s not always about having the most up-to-date or underground records that nobody has ever heard of all the time. I end up overthinking it so much that, by the end of the set, I’m deeply unhappy with it, but I can say without a doubt that I had a lot of fun putting this mix together.

Grant Albert is a freelance writer, follow him on Twitter

Tracklist:
1. Pharcyde – Passing Me By (Artmann Remix)
2. Kepler – Delta Dawn
3. MADVILLA – Pleasure
4. Us Two – Don’t Give A
5. FIRZA – Feel It
6. Dimmish – Antidote
7. Francis De Simone – House In Your Ass
8. Late Replies – What The Funk
9. Armando (PT) – No Me Tocas
10. Antss – Feeling It Now
11. Danny Snowden – The Return
12. Unknown Artist – A1) Giralda 01