Groove Society with DJ Coqui Selection

At 17, DJ Coqui Selection was playing at a discotheque in his hometown of Valencia, Spain. 23 years later, he still has some of the first records he ever bought.

“It literally seems like yesterday that I started,” he says. “Valencia in those years was the European capital of music. I have very fond memories. Every weekend, many people came from miles around to hear the music that was played there.”

On April 10, he’ll bring the early lessons he learned, and his decades of experience since, to Embassy Dubai at Grosvenor House for their Groove Society night. He told tabloid! all about the golden era of DJing, his hottest tracks and why Dubai is a special place to be.

For those stopping by Embassy Dubai this Thursday, what music can they expect to hear?

A fantastic mix of house, tech-house, lots of groove and some all-time classics.

What are the three hottest tracks on your set right now?

There are many I could name but some of my favourites at the moment include: Ministers de la Funk ft. Jocelyn Brown — Believe (Coqui Selection Rework 2014 — Private Mix), Jorge Montia Shake It Up (The Groove Phenomena) and Oscar L — Drums (Transmit Recordings).

You’ve been doing this for over twenty years. Do you miss anything about when you were first starting out?

I miss the innocence of those years, everything was still very much undiscovered. Back then, people in the industry were extremely professional and if you wanted to get into DJing, you needed to really invest time, energy and money on records and materials, which meant that only the talented succeeded. Nowadays, anyone can be a DJ — it’s much easier to get started, and this can damage our overall image.

What’s been your most memorable experience behind the decks throughout your career and why?

I would be lying if I said there was one particular single moment. Over the years, I’ve had many magical evenings and love nothing more that talking about the time gone by. Having said that, playing at an outdoor festival in Mexico (Selenic Soul Festival) in such a wonderfully natural setting, with thousands of people watching so intently until sunrise, was a truly magic moment for me, and one that I’ll never forget.

If you could play a set with any other DJ in the world, who would it be?

Do you know what? I really do enjoy playing with DJs of all levels from across the world. I always learn something from my peers, so no matter whether they are stars or unknown, I just love playing.

You’ve played all over the North and South. What makes Dubai a good place to play?

I think it’s a place that is growing all the time, in terms of the club culture, and the public wants to hear new DJs and new sounds. There is such an eclectic mix of people in Dubai and it is a new place for me and I’m excited to play there.