Paurro or Paulina Rodriguez is a CDMX house legend, having spent the majority of her career making a conscious effort to elevate and showcase music from Mexico City and beyond at community focused radio station, Aire Libre. On top of that, she has just released her first EP “Galavisión” on Comeme, after her successful ‘Only You Can Save Me’ house banger on Discos Sentimiento.
First and foremost, can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix, is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
This is my first mix of the year so i wanted it to be more chilled and downtempo to enjoy your home while you cook or have coffee in the morning. It’s a mix to slowly start your year and help you get in the groove for 2023.
The mix has old and new tracks that I love. Some highlghts are DJs Pareja and Lupe’s remix by Nikki Nair, Eliza Rose (she is my new obsession), a track by DC’s legend Martyn, and one of my fav tracks of all time, “Just Another Day” by John Secada.
You were the head of booking and programming at Aire Libre now, and have always been a staunch advocate for shining a light on music from Mexico city and beyond. Who are some of the biggest names you’re proud to have brought into the spotlight?
Aire Libre was definitely a platform that gave a space to a lot of artists and collectives. Being the booker made me learn a lot about what was happening in my own hometown that I didn’t even know about and that was so great!
I wouldn’t say that it was me that put artists in the spotlight but I can give you a list of music projects that I discovered and that I’m very proud to have worked with:
Por Detroit (Queer Party and Collective)
Valeriana (DJ and Radio Host)
Noche Negra (Latin Sounds party and Collective)
Disco Dust (Party and collective)
Womxn (Female DJ Collective)
Discos Movimiento (Party and Label)
Discos Sentimiento (Label)
Boyanza (Party and Label)
Galaxie Nites (Party and Collective)
Congratulations on the luscious “Galavisión” release on Cómeme! How would you describe the sound behind it and how has it evolved since '“Only You Can Save Me?”
Thanks!! For my first solo EP I wanted something that represented how I sound when I DJ so I was looking for an up beat and happy sound with fun layers.
I produced Only You Can Save me during the pandemic so I think it’s some kind of portrayal of me missing the dancefloors. On the other hand Galavisión is an EP that shows the new sounds I discovered when I went back to partying and DJ’ng. To me it has all the energy I saved during the pandemic and it screams how happy I am to be back.
“This is my first mix of the year so i wanted it to be more chilled and downtempo to enjoy your home while you cook or have coffee in the morning. It’s a mix to slowly start your year and help you get in the groove for 2023. ”
How did you find your transition from DJing into producing and what was the catalyst for this?
I took a music production course 6 years ago but felt very self conscious about putting stuff out until the pandemic started and making music literally saved my life.
The catalyst to put something out were two things:
A piece of advice from my friend Jitwam: Don’t be afraid to ask for help and try to finish all the tracks you start.
My dear and talented friend Amy Douglas asked me for a remix for her track Two Tribes and was she was definitely not going to take no for an answer.
Who are some inspirational artists/producers/collectives that have influenced your productions and/or mixing?
I would say I’m a bit nostalgic when it comes to my productions so I sample a lot of 90s music and try to imitate artists like Ralphi Rosario, Cajmere, Kerri Chandler and Orbital to name a few.
Its very hard to name the DJs of this generation that I admire the most because there are so many! However I would say that my top are Octo Octa, Eris Drew, X- Coast, Coco Bryce, James Bangura, Toribio, Ariel Zetina, Physical Therapy, Nikki Nair, Martyn and Livwutang.
In the last years I have also encountered some amazing mexican DJs and producers like Loris, El Irreal Veintiuno, Niño Arbol, Kodemul, Regal 86, 1OO1O, DJ Fucci, Eams, Arieshandmodel, Bluecommand, Lyo XS, Optoptic and Ranma Entero.
What’s next for Paurro? Where can we catch you spinning/are you working on any releases we can expect in the not too distant future/any other personal projects (related or unrelated to music) we should know about?
Next year I’ll be releasing a track in a Nervous Records compilation curated by Carry Nation. I also have some remixes coming out including one in Cómeme but what I am really focusing on is releasing my first album by the end of the year.
In terms of DJing I have plans to do my first US tour in march then go back to Europe in the summer, and by the end of the year have a tour in Central and South America.
Stay up to date with Paurro here!