Thanks so much for taking the time to chat. Right off, what made you fall in love with music to begin with?
Music has been a part of my life since I was really small. My mom still tells the story of how I used to always ‘spin records’ at her house parties when I was only 5 years old, and I couldn’t read the labels on the records but I always knew what songs to play. It’s been a great love of mine for many years now, and I can’t imagine my life without it by any means.
I know that right now you are quite busy, working on follow up singles to last year’s releases of both “In The Night” and “I Love Miami”. What can you tell me about them?
Both ‘In The Night’ and ‘I Love Miami’ were tracks I wanted to do as my part of the big progressive house movement that was taking place. The melodies for the two tracks literally came out of nowhere. For ‘In The Night’, I was in the studio working on my remixes for the Paulina Rubio single “Heat Of The Night”when the melody idea came to me, so I had to stop everything and run to another studio to lay it down before I forgot it, lol. Then for ‘I Love Miami’, I was coming back from a gig in Ottawa when the idea for the song popped into my head on the airplane, so I got out my iPad and recorded a bit of it. Both songs just had a unique sound in my head and I was really happy with how they turned out, as well I was pleased with how the public reacted to them.
You worked with Esthero on her latest track “Never Gonna Let You Go”. What was that experience like?
Esthero is a truly amazing artist, and I was VERY honored when Universal Music asked me to remix her. I’ve been a big fan of her’s from day one, and I waited years for her to actually release this particular song. It was kind of a double blessing, first she was finally releasing the song I loved, and I also got to remix it! Universal was looking for a dance version to push to all Top 40 Hot A/C radio stations for record support, just in case the original version wasn’t pumping enough for their personal tastes. After I sent in my mix I didn’t even hear back from the label with an okay, it was Esthero herself who reached out to me via Twitter to give me the “thumbs up” that she loved the mix, so I was blushing a lot to say the least…lol. The aftermath was fantastic, as my mix received massive radio support and helped push her new record up the charts so that was really nice.
Many remixers/producers I speak with have a “wish list” of artists that they would love to work with. Is there anyone out there that you are absolutely dying to work with?
There are always a bunch of people floating around in my head that I’d love to work with and/or remix. Sadly one of my favorites, Donna Summer passed away last year. She was someone who I always dreamed of working with from day one. She could deliver to the microphone so effortlessly and will forever be missed. Another who always pops up in my mind is of course Madonna. The woman truly defies time and any preemptive limitations with every single piece of work she puts out there. I really admire that, so to work with someone like that is higher up on my chain of dreams.
You also have a podcast series “Klub Tasty” on iTunes. So many DJ’s are turning to podcasting now to reach their current fans as well as new audiences. Do you think podcasts could be the wave of the future?
I was on the air at a Toronto radio station for three years hosting a nightly dance music talk show and it was so much fun! My listeners were quite sad to see me go, and many suggested I keep my voice alive by starting up a podcast series. Klub Tasty was the result of my fanbase’ connection. I listen to and love those who support what I do in this world, as I find it’s the least I can do considering how many years they have stuck by me. Podcasts are certainly going to maintain a presence in the future I think, since they give the artist the freedom to express themselves however they wish without any political interruptions.
Your notorious for releasing “unreleased” mixes as a surprise to your fans. Any sneak peeks you can give to any tracks that may see the light of day this summer?
There are two private remixes I did that I’m always asked about and that I’ve never released to my fans. They are: ‘Monster’ by Lady Gaga, and ‘Till The World Ends’ by Britney Spears. I am tinkering with the idea of finally letting the fans have what they have requested the most of this summer, lol.
What’s next for Cajjmere Wray?
Well I’m set to be going back out on tour hopefully soon, as it’s been wayyyy too long since I have done a club series (my assistant is taking bookings as we speak). My last tour was in 2007 when I played clubs in the USA, Mexico and Brazil. After that tour I purposely spent many years in studio lock-down mode fine tuning my production. Also this spring I’ll be releasing a new original single titled “Tribal K?nt”. I have not recorded a “true” tribal record since my remix of Kobbe & Leeds ‘Bodyshaker’ back in 2006, so I figured 7 years gone by is enough time to do another one, lol. The record relies heavily on the drums, but it also has a primal circuit house prescene that the cha~cha queens will CERTAINLY love! 🙂 I can’t wait to get it out there into the DJ’s hands to spin, and I really hope they (the DJ’s) as well as dance floor goers all like it.
///By Michael Cook
