Artist Highlight: Bruns Lay

Well, It's not every day that you get the opportunity to showcase a revival of a genuinely famous disco tune by an incredible musician like Arian. That became a reality for us thanks to Bruns Lay, who combined his own creative sound and writing with some incredible vocals and lyrics by Arian Kerliu (which, btw, are in Croatian).

Who are you, and what do you do?
I am Bruno Ravlic aka Bruns Lay and I push buttons, listen to the noises, and organize rave gatherings for most of my days during the week... or to sum it up; engineer, artist & organizer.

How did your latest release on Dobar House come to be? Tell us about how you started the track, what inspired you etc.
It was a spontaneous decision. I heard the original version from Arian a year ago and I downloaded it and started messing around with the song idea. I have never really fully finished it as I thought it would never get released as of all the copyright problems. The original idea that I had was much simpler, and kind of a LO-Fi mix. I enjoyed that version but I felt that it needed more sounds and better arrangement. At the beginning of this year, I finished the song and started playing it on my shows. The crowd loved it and It gave me some boost to find a way to release the music. I have contacted Tom Bug with idea that I have, and he suggested a couple of ways that I could get in touch with Arian. I dropped him a message on Facebook and from there we managed to arrange everything. Unfortunately, we have never managed to get the official acapella as it was lost thought all of these years, therefore you can notice how the song sounds a little "broken and lower quality" as the instrumental was meant to adapt to lower quality vocals. But still, I found it cool! My friend Pavle Kaplanec that is responsible for directing and filming a video for the song, has written the script with me in just a couple of hours. The whole filming process was done in 2 days and editing in just a day! We were in a rush to catch up with the song's release date. Also, all the cast members had their schedules so it was only those 2 days right before release that we were able to make something up! I want to thank all of them for contributing to this release.

Where was your favorite gig so far and why was it special for you?
It is hard to tell what gig was my favorite, as sometimes I approach them from an organizer's point or as a DJ, so I will mention two.
First, from my organization, Press Play, I would mention Masquerade Open Air 2022. We made a huge open-air event in the city center where around 2000 ravers joined us. It was mad! One for the books! Another one that I truly enjoyed was Escape Sessions 2021 at the Astronomski Centar Rijeka. I was supposed to play with Full Ferry on this show, but unfortunately, he needed to cancel. Therefore I did a 6-hour show on my own, but let me tell you that even after those hours I felt I could go on more. The crowd connection and intimacy at that gig were unreal. The only problem that you have during all of those hours playing is trying to find a song long enough to go 3 floors down to the nearest toilet, haha.

If you had to choose: DJ-ing or producing?
Hmmm.... 1. Mixing & Mastering, 2. Producing, 3. DJ-ing. Around 2 years ago I have opened my mixing and mastering service, Discrete Audio Lab. Things were going slow at the beginning, but over the last year and a half, my work has found its recognition.
I am heavily working for others artist music, helping them with their mixing or mastering, so much so that I can not find the time for producing music for myself anymore. I am limited with the time to make music and only make it when I feel inspired atm. It used to be another way around, forcing myself on working on creating ideas. But now, I do not have that "privilege" anymore. Still, I would not change what I do as I do love it. As for DJing, I do enjoy it but it can be a tuff industry sometimes, especially in Croatia which has a really small dance scene. A good gig can be fuel for my soul and I could live on its memory for many months!

What's next for you in the coming months?
Well, when it comes to organizing, my partner Recep and I have already planned Press Play shows for 2022. Our next one is in Pogon Kulture on the 15th of October. It is our club season opening night so it will be nice to dance in a club after summer has ended. Another thing is I am planning on expanding my business in mixing and mastering to another level as the things are going well now so that is my focus atm. As for the music release,  nothing is planned. I have many songs laying around on my hard drive, fully finished but need some push from me to be pitched for a release.

Why is Dobar House the best label on the planet earth?
Because they have the coolest team to run it! 😊