Deorro: From Obscurity to the Main Stage

One of the greatest feelings in the world is finding an incredible artist before anyone else does. Genres are obsolete in this case. It doesn’t matter if you find the next Taylor Swift or the next Hardwell. The satisfaction of feeling like a “hipster” is just so gratifying whether you embrace the term or not. Many fans of Deorro, previously known as Ton!c, felt that way when they witnessed his rise to the spotlight not too long ago.

A fact many people do not know is that the smash hit that brought Deorro to center stage, “Yee,” was released as a free download just two years ago. Long-time fans knew the track would be big when it blew up amongst blogs. When it was signed to Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings, PandaFunk fans were absolutely thrilled. One of their favorite undiscovered artists was finally being recognized for his gift for music.

Fast forward two years and the LA-based producer is one of the hottest DJs/producers in the festival circuit, infecting the world with his signature bounce flair. It was hard for some fans to see him hit the mainstream, as their beloved artist began to be consumed by the business. Despite this, most fans were happy to see him gain the recognition he deserved.

Since day one, Deorro stressed his dedication to his craft and that his true passion aligned with producing genuine music. As touring began to take a physical and mental toll on him, Deorro decided a change needed to be made. Earlier this year, the LA-based artist took to Twitter to announce that he would be “quitting DJing.” Most fans were shocked that he would stop performing his high-energy, bounce-saturated sets. But, Deorro gave 7 reasons for his planned hiatus.

As always, first was family. Erick Orrosquiesta (Deorro’s real name) explained that it killed him being away from his family. He also could not pursue his first love of producing. Second, Deorro’s humble nature came out as he noted that he did not like being the center of attention. Third, he claimed that originally certain music executives said he was not brand material. He had proved them wrong just through the power of music. Fourth, he felt he had “ditched” his PandaFunk family and now had the money to provide for his family and help them tour. Next, he noted, “I’ve missed out on my two boys way too much.” In addition, the physical burden of touring led to minimal time for him to help aspiring producers. Finally, he let fans know that quitting would allow him to produce much more music. But, he would be finishing up the dates he had already committed to.

With an explanation like that, it’s hard for anyone to call Deorro a sellout. All of his reasons lead back to three main things: 1) family, 2) producing more music, and 3) helping out aspiring producers. Was it a bold move to choose to stop making the thousands of dollars he was during live performances? Absolutely. Was it the right move? That’s for fans to decide for themselves. All that can be said is that Deorro decided to take the road towards what is most meaningful to him. I think everyone can respect that, but he has made a little exception for a local festival, Coachella, so that’s a positive sign for his eager fans.

Check out Deorro’s Boombox EP to hold you over until his first release of the year and/or the Southern California desert awaiting in April.

Image Source: New City Gas