Who is Manuel Serpa? I’m just a shepherd, son of Colombian parents who came here to Venezuela in the 60’s passing through, fell in love with Caracas and its people and stayed here forever.
“In those skulls you could find everything from FANIA salsa, erotic salsa, Dominican merengue to disco music”.
I remember from a very young age my older brother’s acetate discs, and seeing how he took care of them, organized them and played them in the living room of the house, that marked me since I was a child. In those skulls you could find everything from FANIA’s salsa, erotic salsa, Dominican merengue to disco music. When I already had manual dexterity I could play an acetate record and that sensation stayed with me forever, I had the idea of selecting something for an audience at home or in my solitude to enjoy a record.
What pushed you to the world of music selectors?
Well, I asked myself that question a few years ago and the answer was that I was always the guy on the block who recorded mixtapes on cassettes and went around with my radio to the get-togethers with friends and entertained the evening, I was always that guy and from there I realized that I was a dj selector without being aware of it.
Then I migrated naturally to the cd and when I had a computer with a burner I spent time on that too, the playlist was a form of innate expression.
Then the same dynamic of life and so much looking for something that I liked, I worked in many things, I ended up working in a Discotienda called Esperanto and it was there where I met more music and people of the medium that convinced me that I could make a living from it.
And it was after a while, I was stumbling around doing a little bit of everything and I thought that playing music in some cafe or local was not a bad idea and that’s how it all started, in the roof of the whale in downtown Caracas that gave me the chance without any experience and I was 3 years uninterrupted Fridays there alone until the pandemic did what we all know.
“It’s just a matter of listening and listening to a lot of music and creating a musical profile or personality, that’s what it’s all about”.
I’ve always had the desire to go back to the origin, to the turntables and the record skins, the diggin is something I’ve always respected and I hope someday to have the economic and logistical means to work that way, hunting a record for your dj set, is an adventure that only those who live it know what I’m talking about, for now only music in digital format: laptop + controller + musical criteria, by the way the latter is not bought in any store, just listen and listen to a lot of music and create a profile or musical personality, that’s what it’s all about.
Do you belong to a crew?
I have only done it (back to back) with the dj piña negra and the result was quite optimal, he played 2 songs and I played two and so we went, the funny thing was that we did not plan anything, it was pure improvisation, it was just trying to give musical logic continuity and good to give interesting twists to the dj session, We did that at RAJATABLA (Caracas nightclub) on Thursdays and it revolved around Ibero-American rock, of course in the end we always ended up giving salsa brava to the people hahaha, hopefully I can soon share space and work with the guild, but it is not easy to fit in, I am if you want a new generation and that always weighs.
At some point I wanted to promote one that is called the Sound Union but no further progress and remained in the memory, hopefully I can resume it.
“We ended up in the RAJATABLA until dawn playing music and dancing”.
So far I have not participated in a big musical event that brings together djs, bands and so on, only once we had the invitation dj piña negra and I for the CONVITE de los caobos and do this performance which I told you before, but a mistake in the production prevented us from being on stage because the beginning of the show was delayed and it was done at dawn when it was our turn and there was no one there hahaha, but I still enjoyed a lot being scheduled and backstage and all that adrenaline before the dj set, we ended up in the RAJATABLA until dawn playing music and dancing.
Otherwise only private events in which I have alternated with cover bands of Maracay where by the way the musical level is very high due to the high incidence of the National Orchestra System and the experience has been super nice to play music before and after them. I have also shared the stage with Horacio Blanco and his project in intimate where the experience has been enriching to be next to this great singer, a pleasure without a doubt.
Have you had collaborations with artists outside your project?
I have never had that taste but there is something cooking over there with some guys who want to put together some roots reggae with electronic bases, let’s see what happens in this 2023.
What would be the main objective of your work?
Well first of all always but always share organic music, cult bands, generate that musical nostalgia that we all have always active and well what we all or some djs pursue which is to give songs that people do not expect but that they value in the end and say this has work behind, you know structuring a playlist is not an easy thing, everything has its science and effort.
What artists or musical genres influence you?
It is difficult to frame, as I told you since I was a child I consumed at home a lot of salsa and tropical music in general, in my adolescence a lot of rock in English, rock in Spanish, ska, a lot of grunge, but there was also a time where I went to a lot of parties/matine where you could hear a lot of changa and techno merengue, reggae among other things, what was the gang war of the Mercedes in the 90s and its graduations that I lived in the front row.
Any upcoming projects you want to share with us?
I have many things in mind and the first thing is to activate my Spotify and start generating a community around the playlists I plan to post, it is a debt I’ve always had and this year I think it is important to work on that.
I also want to keep improving and looking for new places to reach more people, I value that a lot and I love to have friends around music, I value those bonds very much.
Thirdly, to be able to grow as an enterprise and to be able to have my own sound and to be able to provide my family with a better standard of living and above all to provide music to as many people as possible.
Thank you very much to Manuel for sharing this interview with us today, it is always an honor to learn more about these great artists, I invite you to follow him on his social networks and digital platforms.
https://m.mixcloud.com/zaperocosonoro/