On Redefining Latin Club Music and Playing Shangri La: Q&A with Papaoul
Meet Papaoul (pa-pa-ool), the young DJ and co-founder of Epoka bringing Latin American music to UK dance floors. Pilot met up with him at Glastonbury 2023 to talk about his festival set, being on radio, and what his club nights stand for. Lessons learnt from this conversation: it’s okay to be shit-scared, always write down random song lyrics, and Pitbull is a villain (kinda).
To jump in, do you want to tell us a little bit about how you got started?
My first name is Gabriel — I got started kind of by accident, to be honest. I just wanted to find a job working in music, with music, in music. I didn't really know exactly what I was looking for. And eventually I started working for this promoter - Movimientos - which was a Latin music promoter in London. And I also got an internship at Worldwide FM, Giles Peterson's online radio station, and Giles ended up coming to one of our nights and we got chatting in the smoking area and he said he needed more Latin music on the station. I said I would be very happy to do a show despite having never DJ’d before - just a bit of student radio. So I was well up for it. I started doing radio on Worldwide, and then from there, I started playing out, getting bookings and that sort of thing. But radio I guess what the first thing.
How did you get the confidence to first start out?
To be honest, I don't really know. I felt like I had an angle on a certain style of music that not necessarily everybody had, but it was an angle that could be interesting. And I felt that within myself. So then I was like, OK, let's say yes. But also, I think it's one of those things that, sometimes, when the opportunity is presented to you — you just have to take it even if you're shit scared. And then I learned how to DJ after saying yes to that. Then, I did a show on what was potentially my favourite online radio station at the time.
Sometimes when the opportunity is presented to you - you just have to take it even if you're shit scared
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Sometimes when the opportunity is presented to you - you just have to take it even if you're shit scared "
So for you it’s about knowing that you have a set of skills and a set of knowledge, and also just having the balls to get things going?
I think so, yeah, but I'm scared all the time. Like literally, all the time, but I think that's fine. Like, I'm at Glastonbury and this is terrifying. I guess it's about even faking the confidence and knowing you don't really need to be that confident. Just do it and see, and think, ‘what's the worst that could happen’. You're no further behind than you were before.
How did you prepare for your set today?
Luckily I was playing with DJs that are friends of mine, Cal Jada and Bush baby. We've done back to backs quite a few times - Bush Baby and I especially because we run a night together called Epoka. So to be honest, I didn't do much specific preparation. It's always nice when you're going back to back with someone because you have to bounce off their energy. You don't know what they're going to do, and, yeah, that's nice.
Can you tell me a bit more about Epoka?
Epoca in Spanish means time. It can mean any sort of time, but mostly time in the sense of an era or a time in history sort of thing. We spell it Epoka rather than Epoca because that’s cool. What we wanted to do was create a space for Latin DJs in London, or British Latin DJs - Latin DJ s that are based in London (or in the UK more generally; we've had some people down from Leeds recently to play) - and create a space for people to play and be free and like whatever kind of music they want to play. And also, I guess, sort of breakdown some of the stereotypes around what Latin music is or what Latin club music is. We play a lot of reggaeton but not all reggaeton. There's a lot of cumbia, dance hall, or even other sorts of things. I like piano with a bit of a Latin twist or, if it's a Latin DJ that wants to play UK funk, like, great, go for it. That's sort of the space that we want to make.
You have previously talked about creating a space for people who don’t normally have the platform to have their music playing in clubs, and you’re trying to put those people out there.
Yeah, I mean, for sure. For us, it’s not about booking the big names, it's about booking local talent that we think are sick and deserve to have a platform. If we can help them have a platform, then great. And that's also how I started out. My radio show started because I was listening to all this music from artists in Latin America who were making contemporary electronic music, but I wasn't hearing any of it in the UK and I was like, this is a kind of music that I think would resonate with an audience here.
It's about booking local talent that we think are sick and deserve to have a platform
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It's about booking local talent that we think are sick and deserve to have a platform "
Sure, I feel like the music you’ve been playing never really gets played on nights out in the UK.
And that's sort of what it's all been about. It's been about creating space mostly online and through radio for actual artists and DJs from Latin America. But then also, for Latin DJs based in the UK, to give them nights to play at and exposure to people that will book them.
Is it different for you, performing live versus doing radio shows, versus doing recorded tracks? Do you have different approaches, or do you feel like you show up in the same way?
I think I'm a lot more comfortable in a radio studio. You can be talking to a lot more people, but it never feels like it. And one of the things that I love about radio is that it should feel one on one. Like, if you're listening to the radio, you should feel like it's you and the presenter in the room and the music. So that's what I love. I feel more comfortable in that situation. I don't necessarily like loads and loads of eyes on me, which feels like a weird thing, to be pursuing a career as a DJ. In terms of preparation, I think about the flow very differently. DJing for a crowd where you want to keep people dancing is very different to playing, or DJing, on radio where you can have peaks and troughs, ebb and flow, and all of that sort of thing. And I often feel a lot more free to really explore my music taste in that sense. But I love both. You don't get the same immediate sense of gratification in radio that you get from playing for a crowd where you know you're giving them energy and they give you energy back. It's just a different kind of thing.
Do you have advice for any of our readers who are trying to get into the industry?
Well, the first thing I would say is to figure out what you like and then immerse yourself in it. The more that you know, and the more that you enjoy what you're doing, the more that will come across and transfer to other people. I think that's one thing I would say. And then I think it’s about just taking opportunities. A lot of my career, to be honest, has been down to being in the right place at the right time. Or at least that's how it feels to me. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of work as well.
The more that you enjoy what you're doing, the more that will come across and transfer to other people
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The more that you enjoy what you're doing, the more that will come across and transfer to other people " 〰️
But you have to show up to have those opportunities.
Yeah 100%. And if you want to do radio, get involved with your local community radio station or online radio station. Email them and ask if they want assistance; ask if they need interns; ask if you can do a guest show or send a demo. If you want to be playing out, then I guess the same sort of vibe applies. Find the parties that you like, go to them, see what the vibe is. Talk to the people that run them and you're way more likely to get a set by emailing someone and asking for it then by waiting for them to magically come across your Instagram.
🧨 QUICK FIRE 🧨
Who's your musical hero and villain?
My musical hero, at the moment: I have so much admiration for Jam Supernova. It feels weird to call her my musical hero because she, I think, still has so much more to achieve and do, but her career and what she does - what she stands for as a radio host and a DJ - that's a model to me. I think she's brilliant. My musical villain is gonna be, I love him but, my musical villain is Pitbull. People have an idea of what Latin music can be and often it stems around Pitbull. I love Pitbull, but he is my musical villain today.
How would you describe your job and music style to your grandma?
I play music that I like from all over the world, especially Latin America, and sometimes I talk about it too on the radio.
Now, I am going to ask you to go into your notes app. Can you pick something from there that you would be willing to talk about?
I will find something not that embarrassing! Well, the first thing is my festival packing list. I'm a little bit neurotic when it comes to packing for festivals so I have a checklist which, now, every year, I go into it and I check off if I've got all those things. I am very much an over-preparer and an over-thinker. That is one note very relevant to today.
What are you excited for at Glasto?
Well, the three people that I was most excited to see - Wiz Kid, Kelis, and Arctic Monkeys - I am clashing with all of them. They're all clashing with each other and I'm clashing with them. So, at least I don't have to choose between the three. Otherwise I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of my friends play like Village Cuts. They are doing a takeover right now. Maria is doing one later and I am just popping about. This is the first year, the first festival in actually like five years, that I've come with a group of mates that have nothing to do with DJing or music. So I'm just excited to hang out with them and bop around.