Performing

dB Boat Party 1 [SOLD OUT] Boat Party

Saturday, September 26 2015

About

You might not be familiar with the name Doza, but if you’re any fan of deep House music you’ve likely heard his work. Carlos has been contributing to the American underground House sound since 2001 as half of LawnChair Generals, one of the most respected House music duos in the U.S. Although LCG is known for a decade’s worth of funky dancefloor fillers, Doza has been remixing for the same length.

Doza a.k.a. Carlos Mendoza is very aware of the effect the gloomy Seattle climate has on his music. It’s even a point of pride. “We all struggle with it, but I think it drives us indoors, closer together. We help each other out around here.” By “we” he means the music makers in the city that cooperate on technique, equipment and events, artists like Pezzner, Lusine, and Hanssen. The camaraderie influences the music as does the low light. “I think it makes for moodier, more emotional music. My remixes have always been that way even while LCG were making more happy, dance-floor oriented tracks.”
You might not be familiar with the name Doza, but if you’re any fan of deep House music you’ve likely heard his work. Carlos has been contributing to the American underground House sound since 2001 as half of LawnChair Generals, one of the most respected House music duos in the U.S. Although LCG is known for a decade’s worth of funky dancefloor fillers, Doza has been remixing for the same length of time, and that style has been darker, more textured, content in after-hours sets which diverges somewhat from what an audience may expect from LawChair Generals. The first Doza remix was of Hanna’s “Time” on Viva Recordings in 2002, notably more spacey and brooding than the dubby funk of LCG’s first hit “Sweet Nothing” on the same label. “LCG was always very 50/50, which is great. But my tracks are 100% me, so they come with my baggage and obsessions. It’s all I have so I’m OK with that difference.”
Still, rhythm seems to always be in the forefront. Having been born to Venezuelan parents and being a percussionist and keyboardist from childhood his sets and tracks remain supremely danceable, and are now falling on a new set of ears. Doza’s heart-swelling remix of Alexander East’s “Believe En Me” is still making the rounds, surprising young club-goers by inciting motion and emotion in equal parts. “I’m not the same as I was ten years ago, neither is my audience. It’s liberating to have a break and to be heard like a new artist. It means freedom from expectation. Sometimes working under an expectation can be worse than starting over. I can take more risks”.