When we decided to attend Dreamstate SoCal, I looked at the lineup to coordinate a few interviews. I wanted to work with some names I was familiar with and a few that I hadn’t heard of. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much access backstage, so I did a few of these interviews after the show. But they turned out great, and I found a few diamonds in the rough. Like this duo.
I reached out to these guys on Facebook which led me to Miguel Fernández, their manager. We traded a few emails and arranged for an interview. At first I didn’t realize they were brothers… Let alone twins! Their style is uplifting trance and has a cinematic appeal to it. The more I listen, the more I like their sound and am grateful I got the chance to spend time with them. Sheryl and I will be in Europe next summer and plan to spend a few days on the White Isle. Since these guys hail from Madrid, there is a good chance we may see them perform again. Perhaps poolside this time… In the meantime, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Yoshi & Razner.
Sorry we didn’t connect at Dreamstate SoCal. It was a fun weekend, though. Did you guys have a good time in San Bernardino?
We had an incredible time, I could say that is where we have enjoyed the most, not only at the level of the festival which is the biggest we have been to but also because of the energy that people had on the dance floor.
There were a lot of big names there… Some I hadn’t heard of, too. Who all did you see?
We saw and some of them we had the opportunity to see or greet, Rinaly, Factor B, Talla2XLC, Paul Dentron, Metta & Glyde, Bryan Kearney, Dustin Hussain… Plus a few headliners ofc.
Where did the name come from? I love it… It really rolls off the tongue!
There’s not much history behind those names! They were our nicknames when we were gamers.
How would you describe your sound? I mean, I’m guessing trance!
In our tracks, we try to give a bit of variety within the trance genre. There are tracks that are more hard, and others that are more emotional. If we had to say what our music is like, we would dare to say that it has a very cinematic concept, we always try to tell a story.
Speaking of trance, did you get a chance to see Audien at Dreamstate SoCal? He did a trance set. Oh, and Ben Nicky. SO good!
We had the opportunity to see and listen to Ben Nicky on the main stage, and it was amazing. We loved his set and the audience too. For us, it was one of the best of the festival.
You guys are twins… Glad you both like dance music! When did you realize you wanted to take a run at producing dance music? Also, who is older? LOL!
The older one is Razner but only for 5 minutes. (Laughs.) In our case we didn’t know from the beginning that we wanted to dedicate ourselves to it, we started DJing many years ago, when we were 16, and producing only a few years ago. Although we spent many hours in front of the computer, it was still just a hobby, but little by little good results and opportunities have been coming our way.
I’ve not been to Spain yet. We are headed to Ibiza next summer, though. Besides Ibiza, if we had three days to spend in Spain, where would you recommend?
In Spain we have almost everything, big cities that do not sleep like Madrid, places where nature is incredible with spectacular mountain landscapes like Cantabria or Asturias, paradisiacal islands like Ibiza or Menorca, incredible places in Andalusia… Nobody should die without coming to Spain!
What headphones are around your neck?
We used to use Audio-Technica but we had some quality problems with the headband and decided to change, now we are using V-MODA and we are happy with them. We also have a Sennheiser HD 25 but we only use them in case of emergency.
What are you listening to when you’re not working on a new single? I am curious who has inspired you over the years.
We have always liked trance music. It was a very popular music when we were kids. We also liked Italo dance from the 90s. In fact, we have a very good vinyl collection at home, more than 3k I think. (Laughs.)
But the truth is that we listen to very little music now, even if it may be a bit shocking! We spend so many hours in the studio producing that when we get out of the studio we try to switch off by watching some stupid show on TV. When we’re driving lately we prefer to listen to current affairs talk shows!
However, our studio hours are not just about production, we also spend a lot of time on our training. We are self-taught and spend many (many) hours watching tutorials on music production, and this includes any style of electronic music, rock, pop… We find a lot of inspiration there too!
What is your process for producing a new track and how long does it take from start to finish?
I would say that the normal for us is one month, but nowadays we start projects, we put them on hold, we start others. We jump around depending on the ideas we have. There are projects that we have never finished and are forgotten, but you never know if we will take them up again.
June 2023 will be here before you know it. Are you getting excited for the Luminosity Beach Festival? SEE YOU AT THE BEACH!
We are very excited. Last year we were able to attend as an audience, and it is an incredible festival with a lineup that has many top artists on the scene. For us it’s a dream come true. We are looking forward to the date!
You’ve released a lot of singles over the years. Is it possible to pick a favorite?
It is not impossible but it is very complicated. But if we had to get down to it we would say three (talking about originals). “Magical Dreams”, “Retaliation” and “The Weapon”.
You’ve worked with several different labels including Armada Music, Future Sound of Egypt, Nocturnal Knights Music… Are you out there looking to work with these labels or do they come to you? I am always curious how that works for a DJ.
Some of them are currently looking for us and there are others with whom we have to continue to fight to fit in with their objectives. Years ago they didn’t take us into account, as is logical… Everything takes a process, like everything in life.
I’m seeing a lot of singles. Any plans to release an EP or an LP in the New Year?
We have discussed it a lot with our manager and decided that it is not the right time, but it will come soon!
You remixed “More & More” by Kym Ayres and Technikal. How does that work? Do you just produce the remix? Or do they come to you asking for you to remix it? The track is fire, by the way!
Thank you very much!!! We are very happy about that track. In this case, Tidy wanted to collaborate with us, and we couldn’t find a better way than asking them to remix “More & More”, as it’s a track that was played a lot in Spain when we were young.
Where can folks at home learn more about Yoshi & Razner?
We try to take care of our social networks, and they are always updated, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are our main ones, although we are starting to bet on TikTok too. It is obvious that we had to be in this social network too, although it has cost us a bit to take this step due to lack of time!
Another good way to get to know us on our musical side is Twitch, we have a show called “The Essence” that we do one or two times a week and that has helped us to get a lot of visibility. We owe a lot to Twitch!
We’ve talked about a lot today. What else can you tell me about Yoshi & Razner?
We will continue to exploit our taste for trance music by releasing new tracks and that we are working on a new side closer to techno as it seems that the industry is moving, and we don’t want to be tied to one style.
Thank you guys for doing this. That was fun! In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
It was our pleasure, and we would like to thank you for wanting to know a little bit more about us. We hope to be able to come back as soon as possible to your country where the people have an energy for trance that is incredible to see and feel!
For more information about Yoshi & Razner, go to:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | SoundCloud
