I first met Domingo about 4 years ago at a Hidden Recordings party and was immediately drawn to his music sensibility and his genuine warmth and enthusiasm on the decks. This Dominican- born dj has a strong and broad background in music and he's a part of the Hidden Recordings family and plays their parties regularly. We're delighted to finally get to feature him here and to have his guest mix on the site. Check him out along with Chris Finke and Deepak on May 17th at National Underground.

CGNY: How did you come to work with Hidden Recordings?

Domingo: I met Deepak at a Save the Cannibals party he was djing, I remember not knowing much about him and much more about Paco Osuna which was the headliner.  As always, we sometimes underestimate openers, when he started playing he turned into a headliner (at the end of the night I liked his music more than Paco’s).  After his set I went to meet him and we hit it off right away (actually, it was through my friends and his friends that we met, pretty cool situation).  We stayed in contact. I sent him my music (dj mixes and tracks) and I started collaborating at Hidden Recordings parties ever since.

CGNY: Who are the artists/producers you admire yourself - the type of music you're drawn to?

Domingo: There are so many and the range is limitless but to name a few: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Gustav Mahler, Wynton Marsalis, Pink Floyd, Led Zepellin, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Carcass, Death, Basic Channel, Monolake, Gez Varley (G-Man), Chrstian Vogel, Surgeon, Richie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Markus Rhoten, Deepak Sharma, Fusky, Alert, Gaiser, Maetrik, MRI, Stephan Z, the list goes on and on and on haha!

CGNY: Are you working on any productions at present?

Domingo: I am working on a series of tracks, more like an LP than an EP, very ambitious for a debut, mainly techno tracks but a few electronica tunes, not everything will be released together.  I think I said too much haha.  Sshh!

CGNY: What excites you about the techno scene at the moment and in particular about working with HR?

Domingo: Techno is always evolving and so is the scene, it gets stranger and innovative, more and more, as time goes by. The scene is huge now, more than ever, with massive parties around the world both legitimate and illegitimate.

What I love about HR is that it is based in both the US and Europe. Particularly, it captures the vibe of the city and the countryside, the people and their cultures, the wild and sophisticated mind; super wide range in sound, also for featuring artists from all over the world, techno has always been bigger in Europe but now the US is making a statement and HR is all over it.  New York City talent from around the world ha!

CGNY: Tell us a bit about the gig on May 17th with Chris Finke - are you excited about that? The HR parties are always fun and always great techno.

Domingo: On the 17th we celebrate Deepak’s birthday so that will take things up a notch and of course we have Chris to put things into proper place, the National Underground is always great to play and party so very excited!

CGNY: When you think about putting a mix together - what gets you started? Ideas, thoughts, imagery and or mood?

Domingo: It all start with the tracks and their mood. Every mix I do starts deep and/or dark and it ends hard and/or heavy, tracks are connecting ways to build a story or a pastime, more mental than party but I balance both.  I always start slow and then go fast, Progressive Techno!

CGNY: If you had to pick a desert island track what would it be and why?

Domingo: It is a track by Monolake called Tangent II, it is dramatic and uplifting, the kind of sound you will hear in your head when you are desolated and hopeful, ha.

CGNY: What else have you planned for 2013? Any special parties coming up?

Domingo: The latest plans is to finish my productions before the summer, upgrade the studio and find new venues here in NY.  We are debuting at TBA in June, more details to come!

Download CGNY's exclusive guest mix from Domingo here - http://domingocava.com/fr_home.cfm -Scroll to Episode 8 - Solstice!

Check out Domingo, Deepak and Chris Finke on May 17th at National Underground