Max HeyraudUnless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Black Traffic, the young Irish hard dance phenomenon who has been tearing up Ireland’s club scene, selling out clubs left, right, and centre and taking no prisoners while doing so. We spoke with the ascending artist about all things Ibiza, his relationship with Reboot, managing his touring schedule, mental health, and more.
In the increasingly fast-paced world of Ireland’s dance music sphere, both in terms of music speed and the rate at which artists come and go, it can be difficult to stand out, but the true mark of a DJ or producer who means business is their consistent and often relentless output in terms of music – it’s a sink or swim mentality, and Black Traffic is most definitely swimming.
While Black Traffic is still relatively new to the industry, he has already left his impact. With a staggering back-catalogue of releases, many of which have surpassed the million-stream mark. Running off the back of his work in the studio, he has earned slots at Scotland’s Terminal V, Belfast’s Emerge Festival, Life Festival, The Telegraph Building, a watershed headline show at Dublin’s Index, and a forthcoming appearance at Ireland’s premier music festival, Electric Picnic.
As the youngster climbs the ranks, the future appears to be increasingly promising for a continuously persistent artist. With a hectic tour schedule on the horizon, including shows all across Ireland and further afield, we suspect this is only the beginning of the Black Traffic story, and what a start it’s been.
Life seems pretty busy lately, how are you keeping?
I’m doing good, I’m having a small break now before I continue a busy end-of-summer schedule which begins this weekend. I’ve learned to stay fit and active when I’m away from DJing, getting in a gym session or playing some football while I’m home is so important to me.
You’ve never particularly stuck to one sound, but you seem to gravitate to the tougher realms of dance music, what has attracted you to this hard-edged approach?
Yes, I’ve always enjoyed a variety of different genres of music, I feel like I gravitate to the tougher realms because of a Showtek song called “Black 2008”. I remember hearing that for the first time (as an 8-year-old) and just being blown away by the dark vocals that were combined with booming kicks and euphoric synth sounds, something about hardstyle always resonated with me. Clubbing in my late teens also helped influence me, I used to try and attend the original District 8 parties in the Tivoli as much as I could.
You’ve become super well-known for your edits and remixes, with numerous reworks soaring over a million listens on Soundcloud. What’s the key to a good refix?
I think it can depend on the edit, sometimes less is more, I’ve made some really simple edits and some more complicated ones but I think sometimes if you can get your edit/remix to sound as far away from the original track as you can you will probably have a great track on your hands, I think my Judas remix is a good example of this.
What music were you listening to when you were younger and how has it influenced your sound now?
When I was really young I would listen to whatever my dad would play at home or in the car on the way to football, I absolutely loved Green Day growing up, bands also like Queen, The Killers & The Red Hot Chilli Peppers were big influences on my childhood. As I got a bit older and was able to explore music on my own, I was drawn into the world of DJing and electronic music, my earliest memory of seeing a DJ for the first time would have been a video on YouTube of Tiesto playing adagio for strings live in Holland. I remember just thinking that was the coolest thing ever.
When did you first meet the Reboot crew?
We all live close enough to each other so I would have had mutual friends with Jamie from Reboot for a good few years, but my first time meeting the crew as it is today would have been in 2019 at a show in Carrickmacross, there’s an OG Reboot throwback for you. I was in room 2 on support for Ejeca, the nightclub was called Vanity and is sadly closed down now.
You’ve played in Ibiza a few times now, how are crowds reacting to the harder side of techno?
Outset Tuesdays in Eden have really made a big impact on bringing the harder side of techno to the island, it was amazing to be part of that experience last year so early on in my career, to see the crowds grow from my first Ibiza show to where it is now is just amazing. Our sound is relatively new to the island but I think now you definitely have more people travelling over to Ibiza to experience their favourite hard techno acts and that is something I’m really happy to see.
Do you have a dream B2B?
My Dream B2B would be with either Nico Moreno or I Hate Models.
You’ve played a lot of landmark gigs from an Index headline show, Teletech debut, playing for Hannah Laing’s doof party in Belfast and many more. Does any show stand out as a personal milestone to you?
I think all of the ones you have just mentioned were personal milestones for me. As an Irish DJ those venues are just where you dream of playing because you were once in the crowd yourself. Terminal V was a dream come true as well, it was an honour to be part of such an iconic festival. Announcing that I’m playing at Electric Picnic is probably the one I am most proud of to this day and I like to try and think of every show as a milestone too, I’m grateful for every gig. Also, watch this space for some more major milestone shows of mine dropping very soon
In an Instagram post in 2023, you highlighted the ‘mental and physical challenges’ associated with being a DJ, nearly a year on from that and even busier than before how are you feeling?
I think everybody sees what we do on social media and thinks it is amazing because it is! But that doesn’t mean that our entire life is a walk in the park, it can be very lonely on the road, and sleep is something that you will never take for granted again when you are travelling as much as we do. I’m feeling very grateful for the position I’m in and I am really lucky but it can get overwhelming, being away from home as much as I am is a tough one for me but at the end of the day it is all worth it, I wouldn’t change it for the world and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it, even when it doesn’t feel as easy, plus been surrounded by an amazing team who supports me every step of the way is something I am truly grateful for.
Summer 2024 continues to be pretty busy for you with dates in Mallorca, Ibiza, EMERGE and more, what can audiences expect?
Audiences can expect lots of energy and a unique experience tailored for each of these big summer shows/festivals. I want to always try and make the experience unique to each audience so I do like to have a special intro track or exclusive bits to play at each one. In conclusion, audiences can expect to have a lot of fun and make special memories at my summer shows.
Can you share any advice for up-and-coming DJs and producers?
Don’t give up! I’m still pretty young but I started this DJ journey when I was 12 years old and 2 years ago I would have never thought I would be in the position I am today. I was working in a local warehouse driving a forklift and now I get to travel the world and play music. It doesn’t happen overnight and if you really want it to happen you should never be afraid to put yourself out there and express yourself through music. That goes for both DJ’s and producers alike. The best thing you can do is share your passion to the world, don’t hide it away, just go for it!
