Getting to know Toske, the DJ/Producer and the founder of ‘RaveCultur’ from Kosovo 🇽🇰
Great to have you Toske, how are you?
Thanks for having me guys. All is good on my end, been working a lot lately, making a lot of music, mostly just experimenting with new sounds and seeing where it all takes me :).
How did you get to where you are in music? What has been your journey so far?
-So far, so good.
I started making music and DJing back in 2016. At the time I was only 17, and I absolutely sucked at both haha. I downloaded Logic Pro X, just messing around with it, but something about it made me come back to it daily. It was a place where I could express myself in a different manner, as everyone who knows me personally, knows that I am not a big talker.
My first gig was in an underground club in my hometown Prishtina called ‘Bahnhof’. I was just a kid with my small controller, and I was very very anxious. I played for about an hour, and it was actually a really good feeling. Since then, I got hooked on that feeling, the same one that I still get now when I play. From there I started getting some local recognition, building my way up, and nowadays all that hard work seems to be worth it after all :).
Last year you had a big release ‘Magnetic’ at Mellowdy Records. What would you say was the most important piece of equipment/hardware/software used in making this track?
‘Magnetic’ was definitely my best release so far. It outperformed all my other productions by miles. I actually deleted all of the other tracks I had published up until that point, as I wanted to start with a clean sheet with this track. I also changed my DJ alias before that release, so it was kind of a turning point for my production career for sure. The fact that it got premiered by my all-time favorite YouTube channel ‘Houseum’ was really heartwarming for me. The feedback on it has also been amazing, so that has given me some confidence in my work. The track now has more than 100k streams on all platforms.
As for the process of creating it, it is all software made. I used ‘Yooz BL 303’ which is a replica Plug-In of the famous Roland 303 for the lead synth, ‘Diva’ for the pads, while the drums and the bass are all sampled and processed through Ableton.
Besides playing & producing music you are also the Founder of ‘RaveCultur’, can you tell us more about this platform?
I started RaveCultur back in March 2020, when the first lockdowns started. We were just all staying inside the house, mostly just wasting time, so I wanted to do something productive. I was always into marketing and the psychology behind it, and I also love music, so a combination of these two seemed like something that would succeed. And it did.
It started off small, just me posting videos of parties that I liked. Then it started getting bigger every day, and I was spending most of my days creating and curating content for it, or thinking about ways to grow. Fast forward to this day, RaveCultur has more than 200k followers (all organic, not a cent spent on ads). I have a team that helps me out with maintaining it, we’re working with massive artists and some of the favorites that I used to listen to from back in the day. It truly has been a great opportunity for me.
I’ve poured more than 3000 hours into it, so it just goes to show you that if you find something that you enjoy doing, and you stick with it, results will come, you just have to be a little patient.
What is the future vision for your music platform ‘RaveCultur’?
As for the future of it, we have big plans for it really, as we’re just getting started here. The team is growing, the support is growing. We have a Discord group now as well with more than 250 dedicated ravers. We’re expanding on other channels like Twitter, TikTok, and soon YouTube as well. A rebrand and our website is also coming really soon.
Aaand, the biggest thing that’s coming, it’s our own first RaveCultur event! It’s happening sooner than you think, so keep your eyes peeled for that one :).
Besides making your own music, what music are you currently listening to?
Kind of everything really. I used to be into harder techno back when I started playing, then I did a full 180 turn into Deep / Lo-Fi House, then back up again to Deep Tech and Tech House. Nowadays tho, I am kind of getting back to some more Techno stuff, as the local sound here in Cyprus is influencing me for sure! I am really all over the place when it comes to what I listen haha. I try to take everything in so that my own personal sound is unique and stands out.
What else have you got coming up/are you excited about this year?
I’ve been living in Cyprus now for the past 7 months, finishing my Master’s Degree in Marketing. I’m just getting to know the local scene, and I was positively surprised by the underground community here. During the summer, I’ll be going back to Albania to play in an amazing festival, then to my home country in Kosovo for a few more. In September, I’ll be playing at a festival with some massive headliners whose names I can’t mention just yet :). I am also just finishing up some brand new tracks, hopefully, they see the light of day by the end of this year :). But generally, the future is looking really good for me, and I am excited for what’s to come. This is just the beginning :).
