DJ Awards Breakthrough Nominee Eagles & Butterflies

DJ Awards Breakthrough category this year features a series of talented artists that span numerous electronic dance genres. Eagles & Butterflies, UK born, LA based Chris Barratt, represent many of the electronic genres on his own. His ability to produce everything from downtempo to techno and beyond has made him one of the most exciting artists in recent years.

Eagles & Butterflies has found himself on many of the world’s respected labels, meaning, not only does he have the ability to cross genres he maintains a high quality across all when he does so. His innovative approach to making music has captured the imagination of peers and fans alike and seen him play in many if the world’s best venues and parties, including Circoloco, Coachella and Mosaic By Maceo, to name only a few. We caught up with Chris ahead of the 20th anniversary DJ Awards, taking place on September 26 at Hï Ibiza…

You have been nominated in the DJ Awards breakthrough category, how satisfying is it to be recognised by your peers?
It’s always nice to be nominated for these kind of things, because it means that you are making good music or doing something that people are digging, which makes me happy and gives me confidence to keep on doing what I’m doing.

What would it mean to you to win the award, or is the recognition for your effort already a win?
Yes, of course it would be nice to win and it would mean a lot to me, but it’s already lovely to be nominated amongst so many great artists to be honest. I really like that it’s across the board, and that there are so many different types of artists in my category.

What do you need to do to reach the next level?
Not sure what the next level is. I just want to make good music that I’m happy with, keep on playing great shows, meet nice people and enjoy life!

Which current artists inspire you musically?
Lately, I really like more live/ band stuff to be honest, when i comes to being inspired. Of course, there are so many talented people in the electronic scene, too.

Do you believe you can still make your mark on your DJ talent alone, or do you also have to be a producer and have an ability to market yourself?
It’s super hard now I think, but I’m sure it’s still possible. It all depends on yourself and your own strengths and goals. I was always more interested in producing music and started DJing later on, but then there are people who are amazing DJs and have a special talent of communicating with the crowd and are great selectors. If you look at successful artists these days, you can see that each of their careers has started totally different, but in the end, we’re all here and that’s what counts. 

How big an impact has social media had on how you go about presenting yourself as a DJ to the outside world?
Of course, social media these days is the most important marketing tool we have, but still the music will always be superior by a mile, and it’s what I am focusing on. 

Eagles & Butterflies Online:
f: www.facebook.com/eaglesandbutterflies/
s: www.soundcloud.com/mrbutterflies
DJ Awards: www.djawards.com