MINUI – Urban Rebel PR Interview

Bedroom artist to DJ and five-times platinum, Billboard chart-topping producer is the trajectory most starry-eyed music lovers can only dream of. For Canadian producer MINUI, this has been his epic trajectory into the EDM world so far. Channelling his outpour of creativity in dance music into his work as a producer at one of the industry’s top sample pack companies, the MINUI alias now represents a solo chapter.

So, how did MINUI come onto the URPR radar? It’s day three of Amsterdam Dance Event 2024 and whilst hitting up the Revealed Recordings mixer we’re kindly introduced to MINUI through a mutual friend. Before you know it, a tray of tequila shots appears and the rest is history!

Get to know MINUI more as he answers UR 10 questions.

1. What inspired the launch of the MINUI project and what do you hope to achieve?

I was inspired to launch the MINUI project last year when I realized I was so busy producing for other people, that I had put my own music on the back burner and rarely worked on my own material, stopped playing shows etc. Also, I was such a perfectionist that I never put out the very few songs I used to make for my previous project. I got sick of both those things and decided to completely turn them around.

MINUI is basically my own Slim Shady, my alter ego. Where I used to procrastinate on my own projects, now I put them first. Where I used to make sure everything was perfectly polished, now I like keeping it rough around the edges. Where I used to care about what people thought, now I simply dgaf and do what feels right. That’s the spirit behind MINUI.

2.You produce a LOT of material and are behind immense releases which count up to 1.1billion streams. Tell us, do you collaborate often with other artists? How do your collaborations typically come about?

It just so happens that I don’t collaborate with other artists that often. I’ve organized and participated in multiple writing camps and have worked with other artists, but most of my work is done on my own. It’s not that I prefer working alone, quite the opposite actually, I guess it’s just that I don’t necessarily need it to keep creating on a daily basis.

When I collaborate with other artists, it’s mostly through writing camps or contacting/getting contacted by people on IG and hitting the studio (or video call lol) if we’re vibing.

3.Can you let us in on your creative involvement on one of your biggest associated tracks, ‘Miss The Rage’ by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti which is now five-times platinum?

Miss The Rage was built around this synth sample that I made back in April 2020 and sold to Cymatics. They put it out in this free demo pack and Loesoe took the sample, reversed it, added drums and 808s to it and that’s pretty much the whole thing. Shout out to him, he’s a dope producer.

I remember getting this call from Cymatics’ manager back in December 2020 being like “isn’t that your sample??” then sending me a video of Trippie Redd in the studio raging to an instrumental version of Miss The Rage. The song went viral basically overnight even though it wasn’t even out yet, and the rest is history.

4. Now going solo on your own artist project, what are you most excited for? And are there any aspects of your new ventures that you’re nervous about?

I’ve been dying to release all the music I worked on for the past year and a half. I’m also really excited about playing shows again. I just played my first pop-up rave and I had an absolute blast. It was the first time I could test out my new tracks and the reactions were amazing. It feels amazing getting back into it.

5.Outside of music, what other passions do you have/ how do you enjoy spending your time?

If I’m not in the studio or in the gym, I’m a surprisingly nerdy guy lol. I love playing chess and The Legend of Zelda, especially the NES and N64 ones, like Zelda II, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask etc.

6.Who would be a dream artist (s) to collaborate with? And why?

I’ve always wanted to go in studio with Zedd. He’s one of the artists who got me into electronic music in the first place and coming from a classical piano background, I’ve always appreciated how stellar his arrangements and compositions are. Everything about what he does is immaculate.

Skrillex and Tiësto are also some of my top picks. Both their legacies and impact on the electronic music scene are undeniable.

7.What is the best DJ set you’ve seen this year/ever and why was it so memorable?

Sammy Virji at Piknic Electronik this summer was one of the best DJ sets I’ve seen in a long time. Not only was the energy through the roof, but his set was also rock solid from a technical standpoint, which I quite enjoyed.

8.We first met at Amsterdam Dance Event 2024. How was your trip? And what advice would you give to fellow DJ/producer to get the most out of these types of networking and conference events?

It was a great trip! Amsterdam is always such an amazing place to visit.

My advice would be to get comfortable approaching people you don’t know. Your trip will be much more enjoyable if you’re comfortable going up to people you don’t know instead of waiting for people to come to you. Also watch out for the bikes!!

9.Tell us more about Canada’s electronic music scene. Is club culture celebrated? Can you recommend any local DJ/producers from Canada?

I won’t talk for the other provinces, but in Quebec I definitely feel like most of the dance music culture is happening in festivals now rather than clubs. We still have some good clubs in Montreal, but the clubbing scene is nowhere near what it is in the Netherlands or even in Europe in general. Let’s bring the raves back!

When it comes to local DJ/producers from Canada, Dave Summer and Suray Sertin are both doing an amazing job right now imo.

10.Finally, what are your goals heading into 2025?

Putting out new music, playing shows in clubs and festivals but most importantly enjoying the process and having fun, not taking myself too seriously. It’s not that deep really.

Follow MINUI on Instagram, TikTok and Soundcloud.

Previous UR 10 Questions: Walo Wereka