JH: Hey David, it is truly a pleasure to sit down with you. We haven’t talked to much since ADE, but I wanted to tell you I’m loving the new EP “The Light.” How are you feeling about it and what inspired it?

DOA: DJ Susan Morabito and I got together to work on “The Light” as a follow up to our previous collaboration ‘Who You Are.” Both released on my co-owned label Aviance Records. We began with an idea from a classic track, to the lyric “for those who didn’t hear the first time” and took it to the sound of today.

JH: So where are you from? What is the house scene like in NYC these days for those who don’t know?

DOA: I grew up in Jerusalem and my parents are from Morocco. So I got that North African beat in my veins. Back then, the streets of Jerusalem were alive with a dynamic art scene coming from the presence of so many cultures. We had people from all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It still amazes, the quality of the music me and my friends were doing. Many of us went on to various music careers.

You can always find great house music in NYC. In the past, the scene was dominated by mega clubs. Nowadays you have to be in the know about who’s playing, where and when. It’s all about the parties that can pop up anywhere. That’s why blogs like “My House Radio FM” are so important in getting the word out. Keeping the house parties going.

JH: When did you first start producing?  What drew you to the music industry?

DOA: I’ve been in the music industry since I was a teenager playing guitar in a pro studio recording band and touring the country with signed artists. The music has just always been in me. Later, I studied jazz composition at the Rubin Music Academy before coming to New York.

NYC club parties were simply mind blowing. The soulful, tribal, and hypnotic house & techno music at the weekly parties got me hooked. I started by collecting vinyl records from the Paradise Garage era and the early Sound Factory. Being a musician already, it was only natural for me to start producing.

JH: Who are you inspired and influenced by?

DOA: My influences come from across multiple genres. Funk, R&B and Jazz fusion were big in my earlier days playing in bands. For house & club music, it really took off from going to the Sound Factory in NYC. It where I met up with the “House Of Aviance” and my later to be Aviance Records label partner Mother Juan Aviance.

JH: Please explain your creative process. How does David get inspired to make such a dope track like “The Light?”

DOA: Ideas for a track come to me in different ways. It can be a sample, a vocal line, or riff that leads me to use a certain rhythmic pattern, a percussion or a bass loop layer… or it can start from hypnotic arpeggio or bass line that will take me to a whole layering process. It changes from project to project.

JH: If you could work with anyone, who would it be?

DOA: Amazing artists vocalist like Youssou N’Dour from Senegal will be a dream come true

JH: Do you have any future collaborations coming up or solo projects in the works??

DOA: A 2023 rerelease of “Power Play” with new mixes which we released in 2022 and was also at the top 10 techno chart is now in the works. Susan Morabito and I will probably continue for a third release together. “The Light” was released only few weeks ago. Already it got good air play in clubs, hit #1 at the Traxsource Top 100 techno chart, and stayed there for days. Have some other surprises I’m working on for this year as well.

JH: So I ask every artist on the scene about staying power: where do you see yourself in the future?

DOA: I’ve been making music my whole life and will continue to the end. It’s a continual learning and creative process. My studio production is evolving rapidly. I find myself more and more producing tracks that I’m happy to play in my set. Feedback I get from industry musicians, DJ’s and clubgoers on the dance floor is very exciting and rewarding.

JH: Lastly I’d like to say thank you again for sitting down with us here at My House Radio. I see great things in your future. Is there anything you’d like to share about upcoming events that we should be looking out for?

DOA: You can find me playing monthly at Hohm after hours and often at other venues like Paragon Broadway and TBA. The annual Secret Oasis party on Randall’s Island is coming up. Then of course we’ll meet up again when I play at the annual ADE/GDE festival in Amsterdam this October.

Thank you for having me. This has been great.