Michelle & Her Crystal Synth

Michelle Vagi – she made an entrance as evocative as her music: riotous and punchy, acid basslines struck against gospel chords, anti-establishment narrations from a godlike together with a certain grace and groove… inducing a dark yet heavenly trance. You could call it hardcoredancing.

Determination, hard work, guidance from a good coach and you could say, an innate skill, are just some motivations for the 24-year old. Her sound first debuted last year on El Milagro and My Own Jupiter. No messing about for Michelle as she furthers the grasp on her art form with upcoming releases on OPIA Records, Phonotheque, Marginal Returns (and once more on My Own Jupiter). Having joined the Crisalida roster just last year, and with an upcoming tour in Europe as well as a slot at Houghton Festival 2019, we took a moment to gather an insight into the artist for whom such a vivid manifestation of passion is actually just a hobby…

Hi Michelle, how are you?

I’m good! Right now in my studio in Montevideo.

How's the view?

There aren't any windows here ha, I’m sitting in front of a cheap picture of Australian mountains... but very happy with how things are going!

Your productions are what drew you to us. I remember first listening to your EP on El Milagro, I was blown away…

You know, I haven’t been producing music for very long. It all started because I was bored with the architecture school. I wanted something different – I didn’t want to just go to class and come back home to study so I started to research what would be fun for me but there were too many options, if you consider everything that you can do in your spare time...

Then I went to a party that really blew my mind. And I realized that I wanted to do just that. I didn’t know the difference between DJ or producer so I asked the DJs who played that night if they would teach me. They told me that if I wanted to be a DJ I should speak to DJ Koolt and that if I wanted to be a producer I should speak to Muten. A few days later I wrote to Muten (and the rest is history).

As an architect who delves into music as a hobby, if you had to assimilate tracks to three of your favourite buildings? 

Moller House by Adolf Loos // People are strange - The Doors

Rietveld Schröder  // Matilda - Alt - J

Walden 7 by Ricardo Bofill // I'm set free - The Velvet Underground

Acid, techno, trance and electro are a few words used to describe your productions. Are these ‘buzzwords’ for you too?

To be honest with you - the only true influence that I feel in my music is the one that comes from the dancefloor. I try to make a sound that I want to hear being played out. Also, each time that I buy a new synth it changes my point of view - it’s an addiction - I’m always looking for new synths.

Glyptotheca in English is a word used to describe a space preserving sculptures. What track/album would you put in a glyptotheca of music?

Passion Flower, Urban Bells. It’s so harmonic, such good transitions - it really inspired my way to make music.

Are you working on something right now?

I have the discipline to make a track a week so I’m always working on new tracks.

And you also play live right?

I only play live sets. It was a natural progression from producing because I wanted to play my music out. What I enjoy the most is where I create different moments – a live should always be dynamic, if not it becomes one-dimensional. The first time I played live I had 2 gigs in one night. The first was a live streaming in a hotel that only 4 friends could come to, and then hours later I played at an illegal rave – that was fun, but I was very nervous. Actually, each time that I play I’m nervous - that's something that doesn’t change. Although I think that now I found my own sound, which makes me happy. It look me a lot of time, and a lot of hard work.

Would you say that there have been particular moments in your journey that have liberated you?

I always feel free - I'm just enjoying this moment.

I remember my first party... it was a secret event in Punta del Este. At the time my friends from Montevideo weren’t into these parties so the first year I drove alone to Punta del Este just to go out. Everything was new for me, the music, the people...

Is there one crowd that really inspired you?

The first time I played in Phonotheque! I was even shaking when I started to play… but then when I heard the audience's reaction, the feeling I got was just amazing, all my fears disappeared.

Michelle recently joined the Crisalida agency (having bought a ticket to Europe as a graduation present for herself) and will be back over in Europe in May stopping in London as she plays a newly-prepared live set on NTS radio with Moxie (May 22nd) and then B2B with Muten in East London for Opia (May 24th). Before then, check out her podcast for the mag “it’s a cut of what I play on the dancefloor”.

Michelle & Her Crystal Synth

Edited by Kaajal Shah