Dec 21, 2020
PAUZA's Exclusive Mix
Today, we’re joined by PAUZA, the first female electronic duo from Cuba, and one of our top artists to watch in 2021! Zahira Sánchez and Paula Fernández, have impressed this year with releases on Terms & Conditions, Stereo, and Get Physical with an infectious house sound blending Latin rhythms, Cuban Folklore, and house music. Enjoy a listen to their fantastic blend of house, tech house, and afro house with their Exclusive Mix and a closer look at the duo in their interview!
Hey Paula, Zahira, thanks so much for joining us! While it's been a difficult and strange year, what have been some of your highlights?
This year has been filled with many good things for PAUZA since we have released a lot of music and we have been producing a lot! For next year, expect loads of new music from PAUZA!
Taking things all the way back, how did you each get started with a career in music? What led you to form as a duo?
Neither of us studied music in any sort of academy. Pau received a little guitar when she was a child and had some lessons, and we took a DJ course that was only for girls. As we have the same musical taste, when we finished we wanted to form PAUZA since we knew we could be different.
You’re the first female DJ duo on the island in Cuba. What does that mean to you?
It means a lot to us. Just the fact of being the first female duo, it’s something big.
Can you talk to us some more about the state of dance music in the country currently and where you hope to see things head?
Music is still active, though of course because of this global pandemic we can’t go to parties and to gigs like we used to. But almost all Cuban people need music for their daily activities so the music on the island will always be alive. We hope that soon the festivals and parties can be reopened and with respect to Cuban music, we hope that it can reach all the corners of the world.
Can you talk some more about the influences that the Cuban culture and folklore has on your music and productions?
Our influences generally come from Afro-Cuban folk music. Our culture starts there, from the mixture of African and Spanish.
Looking closer at your Exclusive Mix, can you talk to us about how you approached creating a flow? How does the track selection compare and contrast to what you would play out live right now?
Starting with house, going to tech house and afro house… it really depends a lot on the crowd, the environment and the place where we play.
If you could work with any two artists on a track in the future, who would they be and why?
We’d pick Pharrel Williams and Lorde.
What’s on the horizon ahead for releases in 2021? We hear that you’ve got some exciting releases lined up!
We have many plans for next year, and as we mentioned undoubtedly a lot of new music is coming!
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