For this week’s Artist Spotlight we have Derek ‘DJA’ Allen.  The man is a music producer, sound designer & DJ currently based in Los Angeles.  This past summer Derek put out his Daylight Curfew-approved debut EP titled DJA – EP

Derek Allen has been making music since a teenager, eventually relocating to Philadelphia to work with Diplo and Mad Decent as a producer and engineer.

Credits include co-writing and production on Lil Wayne’s “Two Shots”, from The Carter IV, Major Lazer’s “Lazer Theme” and “Come On” with Diplo and Tiesto; as well as engineering and production on the MIA LPs Kala and MAYA; Robyn’s Body Talk; Major Lazer’s Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do and Mates of State’s Mountaintops.

Where do you reside? How do your surroundings influence your work?
I moved to LA two years ago, from Philadelphia. My surroundings are not as important as my studio space, and so far I’ve been really lucky here – great spots and reasonable neighbors in regards to making noise.  However, the lack of rain and snow definitely affect my general mood. When I left Philly to drive out here there was 60″ of snow on the ground!

Would you rather be behind the decks DJing to a crowd or secluded in the studio producing?
The answer to this question has always been ‘in the studio’, but every time I DJ I have so much fun I feel like I’m missing out. However, all my friends who constantly DJ wish they had more time to sit and write music. Grass is always greener and all that.

These days I feel more like I should be putting on a live performance instead of DJing.

Give us a bit of behind the scenes on your latest debut EP? Can you lead us through from inspiration to execution?
My EP was the result of years of frustration trying to produce or write music for “other people”. Although I had several credits I was proud of, I wanted to make songs, not neccesarily for the dancefloor – and not have to rely on anyone else to get it done.

In a way it was to prove myself – although I’m not sure to whom – and in a way it was just a natural thing that started with a vocal over someone else’s beat. I thought of an idea really quickly for the song “suspiria”, which was a collaboration – and then 2 months later I had 5-6 songs finished in this weird ‘Phil Collins meets Lex Luger’ kind of style.

If you met yourself 5 years ago, what advice would you giveyourself to prepare for the future?
I would remind myself that seriously – you really can build relationships by just sending people beats on myspace (you did say 5 years ago)

How did you come to work with Diplo as a producer/engineer for Mad Decent?
I met Diplo right around the time the Hollertronix ‘never scared’ mixtape was released. I gave him demos, and stayed in touch with him from that point on. Later I moved to Vancouver and became great friends with Paul Devro, and we all 3 linked early on to talk about the label that was gonna be like a commune for weirdness.  I’ve scraped paint off the walls in our warehouse studio and Paul has been running the blog since 2006 – we’ve both definitely put in some work at Mad Decent.

What music are you listening to lately?
Lots of my favorite film scores, like Angelo Badalamenti, Yann Tierson, Jon Brion, Cliff Martinez – but also lots of the new no-genre artists, like Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, Purity Ring… Always listening to hiphop- ASAP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and Main Attrakionz, and I’m loving new Soulja Boi songs like “tear it up” and are firmly on team RiFF RAFF SODMG 4 Life now, I think.

What producers / DJs / musicians inspire you lately?
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of 80s music, but trying to pin down the little things about it that inspire me. Its harder than I thought it would be.

Favorite or inspirational visual artists?
D-128 out of Philly for sure – his videos for Diplo and Mad Decent turned on many people I knew through college to the whole scene, just because they were blown away by the DVDs. Wikipedia link to D-128

What are you currently working on and where can we find you?
Right now I’m working on a lot of new solo songs, with and without vocals. Additionally I’ve got some great songs with some of my favorite rappers, and I don’t want to speak about them for fear of them being released on hulkshare records. Find me at soundcloud.com/derekallen812 with a steady stream of new songs and remixes.
Derek Allen – It Gets Better by DerekAllen812