In order to understand Tiga’s style, a Canadian producer, DJ and label-head, you must listen to two essential songs from his catalogue: Sunglasses at Night and Bugatti. They both define his style, although they are quite different. The first one is about what you need to do in order to be cool. To wear sunglasses at night and bang your head to electroclash, a combination of 80s synthesizers and techno from the following decade. This is the track that made him famous.
Bugatti is somewhat funnier. The vibe is similar, but it highlights the humorous side in a more direct way. Throughout the duration of the track, he keeps repeating his answer to a girl asking him what he drives: the most expensive car in the world. Tiga doesn’t take himself too seriously. He makes you dance and smile at the same time. He’s a special DJ in any festival line-up. You must also see him at Electric Castle. If these two tracks haven’t convinced you yet about the Canadian artist’s potential, there are other reasons too:
He founded the Montreal techno scene
Besides mixing and producing tracks, Tiga is strongly rooted in the electronic music culture. He made his debut as a DJ in a city where partying never really existed. He started organizing events, and he was responsible for the first ever Canadian raves. This was back in the 90s. It’s no easy task to promote an entire music genre and lifestyle in a new country and be successful.
His label is now 20 years old
After setting an entire movement in motion in Montreal, he decided to launch his own label. Okay, nothing spectacular so far, every producer or DJ sets up a record label for themselves eventually. Tiga sets himself apart from the crowd thanks to his success in this area. The Turbo Recordings label has an impressive range of releases. They celebrated 20 years of activity two years ago, and even though Tiga no longer believes in albums, he’s very skilled in releasing the good ones.
He has a podcast that you must listen to if you’re a DJ or you like electronic music
Tiga’s third major contribution to electronic music is his podcast named The Last Party on Earth, where he chats with industry influencers. So far, he had Carl Cox, Kolsch, Peter Tong and Seth Troxler as guests. Tiga said in an interview that he had decided to host a podcast because “there isn’t that much actual discussion of the craft and the psychology behind [DJ-ing].” Whenever he’s not involved in the development and support of electronic music, Tiga has an interesting and very popular hobby:
He’s a huge football fan
Tiga has a second passion, besides music. He’s a football fan. But not American football or other famous sports on that side of the Globe. He’s a European football fan, the one we all know. In an interview with Thump he confessed having an odd request in the technical rider. He doesn’t ask for candy or champagne bottles. The organizers have to provide him a local football team jersey. So we might see him in a CFR or Universitatea Cluj jersey. That is, if there is no FC Bonțida team or something.
