Exclusive Sydney Blu Interview and Premiere of ‘Being Sydney Blu’ Episode 1

Sydney Blu has come a long way since her beginnings as a prominent DJ in Toronto. With multiple monumental releases under her belt on some of the music industry’s most respected labels, the former Mau5trap protégé is also the first woman to ever put out a Top 10 release on Beatport. Simultaneously managing her label, Blu Music, while pushing forward in her own career as an artist, Sydney now invites us to take a peak into her life through a new documentary by Black Hole Recordings, the much anticipated series “Being Sydney Blu.” Follow all the magic behind the woman and the music exclusively on Elektrodaily.com.

Blu Records, how did that come about?

Sydney: Basically I started Blu in 2009 when I had just stopped working with Deadmau5. I came from Mau5trap and I wanted to start something really big on my own. I was already so known for being a Mau5trap artist, so I wanted to play off that and use that as a launch pad to do Blu Music. We immediately started releasing records that were ranged from tech-house, electro, progressive—all genres. We’ve had some really big hits on the label and it’s been really successful for showcasing all the different genres. It’s been a really good run.

Is it difficult to maintain a strong fan base while representing so many genres?

Sydney: I’ve been DJing for so long now that my fans know my versatility so well, because that’s kind of my thing. I play everything. It’s cool that people have been so receptive to it. I DJed in Toronto for a really long time and during that time, when I was doing all these after-hours gigs, I was really known for playing everything. What it used to be like was you could play three or four dirty tech-y records, and then you’d play a progressive record in between just to keep it fresh. That’s how it used to be, and in the past couple of years I feel like it got so segregated. You either play progressive or you play underground. But I think now its kind of turned a curve and its coming back together.

How is the workload managing a label as well as keeping on top of your career as an artist?

Sydney: Its so much work. It got to the point where I had to hire somebody to run my label because I just couldn’t do it anymore. I still do the A&R, I make the final say on what records get released, but I just don’t have the time to be doing all the work. So Christian Falero is running my label now; he’s been doing an amazing job. We have stacked releases coming out until the summer, and once again, all the different genres; we have tech house, underground, progressive, electro, we’re covering all the bases. We signed with Black Hole and they’re our main distributor, so now we’ll have a bigger presence on iTunes as well. On top of that, I do so many other things—I tour, I have to write music, and then the marketing…it’s a lot of work.

How do you go about finding new talent for the label?

Sydney: People send me promos and I try to listen to them as much as possible, but now that I have Christian on board, I have him listening to all the records and then sending them to me once he’s gone through them.

Who are your favorite artists right now?

Sydney: Eric Prydz; he is literally my favorite DJ, his new essential mix is so incredible. When EDM exploded he refused to go into that sound and I have so much respect for that; he kept his own sound and now look at him. He’s one of the biggest DJs in the world and probably one of the most respected because he didn’t sell out. Reboot is also one of my favorite DJs; he blows the place up. Every time I see him he blows me away.

Can you share with us one of your greatest achievements?

Sydney: I was the first woman to have a top 10 on Beatport, and that was a big thing for me because I always wanted to break through the producer world as a female producer and not a DJ. To me, the one thing really lacking with female artists at the time was that they just weren’t writing music. It was really good to be able to become that first girl that was known as a producer.

Favorite clubs in Miami?

Sydney: My favorite places to go have always been the Electric Pickle, as well as Space (because it always has the best music). I used to love playing at Mansion—that was where I got my first residency here, it was incredible.