Having kickstarted his career by consistently delivering stand-out hits, MR.BLACK's releases have frequently been picked up by leading labels including Tiësto's Musical Freedom, Hardwell's Revealed Recordings and -in a dew days- KSHMR‘s Dharma Worldwide. Hot off the heels of his first release of 2019 along with MTV EMA-winning power duo TripL, mr.black's discography follows an incredible 2018.
Rapidly expanding his empire, Israeli talent Yaniv Biton, has quickly become one of the go-to names in the dance music industry thanks to his unique production style and vibrant, high-energy performances. His instantly recognisable signature sound has enabled him to garner support from some of the industry's leading artists, such as david guetta, afrojack, Armin van Buuren and many more.
Viralbpm sat down with the Tel Aviv based producer for an exclusive MR.BLACK interview to talk about his latest tracks, upcoming releases, influences, future plans and of course new music.
V1. You released your new single called “Turning Back” together with Tripl. How did this collaboration between the two of you happen?
MR.BLACK: The guys live in the same area as me. They've sent me a rough idea and we wanted to work on the instrumental more, and that's how ‘Turning Back' was formed, we've replaced the vocals aswell a few times till we found the perfect match for the instrumental.
V2. What were your initial artistic intentions for the track Turning Back? Are you happy with the final output?
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MR.BLACK: I wanted to provide something melodic but not with the regular mainstage progressive sounds. As you can hear in the drop there's the lead part which has my vocals on top of it, and it gives the feeling of something more authentic and real. I'm super happy with the results, really give warm sunny feeling in this cold winter!
V3. Obviously, having dropped so many singles for Hardwell's Revealed Recordings, you're working towards being one of the label's lead artists. How do you feel about this outcome? What makes Revealed Recordings stand out as a label and brand in general?
MR.BLACK: Revealed has always been one of the places I've wanted to release my music before even my first single there ‘Hu Ha'. I'm super grateful and lucky that the guys there support my music and chose me to become a key-artist on the label. Me and my management have great chemistry with Revealed crew and we're happy that they also give us the creative space to release things of our vision. Regarding the second question – I think that the Revealed stays true to the roots, festival and big-room sounds and no matter what's the current trend they always stick to what they believe in and I respect that. They are also doing an amazing job in the marketing and promotion of the music.
V4. You have of course released a variety of songs through huge labels like Spinnin' Records and in 2018 you've collaborated with artists like KSHMR and Kura. Are these achievements, accomplishments, make you stronger towards working even harder as an artist?
MR.BLACK: Yes, I think that every single milestone fuels my motivation to push my career to greater heights, and the more achievements flow the more hungry to succeed and to spread my music around the world.
V5. Are there any artists or person you've met in the past, that played a major role in shaping you as an artist? Or maybe simply influencing you with their songs, the way they worked in the studio or the way they performed on stage?
MR.BLACK: Artists like Tiesto, David Guetta, Hardwell and ofcourse KSHMR, which visited my studios here in Israel and we worked on our collaboration, all of these guys have inspired me and the way they keep being innovative and pioneers in their game is something that's truly inspiring in my opinion.
V6. Any live events or special live sessions you're eagerly anticipating?
MR.BLACK: There are few festivals that need to be confirmed on February and March and I can't wait to announce them, some of them will be my very first time performing there so I'm excited. I'll be returning to Asia very soon and I'm also headlining shows in Cyprus and Hungry this month so I'm really looking forward to be there! Hungary will be my debut show so I'm happy!
V7. Any future plans regarding releases, records or collaborations in 2019 you can already reveal to us?
MR.BLACK: I've actually got a collaboration coming with a few major artists, can't reveal too much right now, but with that being said – I have a release coming on February 15 on KSHMR's label Dharma and I'll be returning to Revealed again in March with one of my favorite releases from my sets.
V8. Is there a particular artists you've always wanted to collaborate with?
MR.BLACK: Tiesto, Hardwell and David Guetta are definitely topping my list.
V9. What tools and programs are you using for creating your own music?
MR.BLACK: Definitely Cubase. I have a great workflow with this program and I've been creating my own shortcuts which makes my time in the studio more efficient.
V10. Any tips for upcoming artists you would like to share with us and your fans via this interview?
MR.BLACK: Keep your eyes on the prize. Always dream big and have the vision of where you want to be, if you're dedicated enough and you aspire to become something in the dance music industry or generally in life – you have to work hard for it and always be creative, there's no one way to success. I truly believe if you follow this process you'll get there.
V11. Thank you for your time and we hope you will keep doing your thing in the future. Any final words you want to share with the Viralbpm readership?
MR.BLACK: Yes, I wanted to say thanks for all the support I receive from everyone, from listening to my music, coming to my shows and purchasing my tracks. I don't take anything for granted, this is truly a privilege.
