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Uniting Souls Music is on a roll, with a string of several consecutive Top 10 charting releases on Beatport. Their latest offering is a new 4-track EP by Seattle rising star Gorio Tala, who draws inspiration from the city’s vibrant house scene. First off is a deep and funky number titled “Authentic You,” with a jazzed-up remix by Jaemus. Next up is “Nu Life,” a driving organic/melodic stomper, with an energetic Afro-house remix by West Coast veteran Terry Jasinto. We caught up with Terry at his home in San Diego, and here’s what he had to share.
Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from/how did you get into music?
Thank you for having me and it’s great to have an opportunity to share some insights and experiences with you all.
I’m based out of San Diego but I’m originally from Seattle. My dad was really into music. As a child he begrudgingly bought toys for me when I asked but when it came to music, if I wanted something related to it (like a cassette tape, album, instrument, etc) he was really open to getting these things for me.
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a large group of kids around the same age in my neighborhood. The big thing for us was making mixed tapes and who between us could make the best mixes from songs we recorded from the radio. We made our mixes on dual cassette tape players. We were really competitive with each other so I became obsessed with finding the latest music and making the best mixes. That’s why as an adult being a DJ and music producer brings me back to this part of my childhood so I’m really comfortable doing these things. When I saw my first DJs perform at places like ‘The Underground’ in the U-District and ‘Ballard Firehouse’ in Seattle I was hooked on the music and community.
How would you present your work to somebody who doesn’t know you? How do you hope your music is experienced by others?
I’m a multi-genre producer so I make music in genres from deep house, tech house, afro house, techno and indie dance (along with others as well).
As far as how ‘I hope’ other people experience my music, you may know of that old CD mix series Global Underground. Back in the day this was (and in some ways still is) the holy-grail for producers of our music. Having work on one of these mixes made by the most world renowned DJs of our time is for some artists a capstone to their production career. Nowadays the place where I would love to have my music played is on a Cercle video where millions of people around the world can hear your work. I think Cercle videos on YouTube is today’s Global Underground so that’s where I hope people experience my music as this platform has such a wide reach and is accessible around the world.
What was the inspiration behind your remix of Nu Life? And how did it come to be released on Uniting Souls Music?
What inspired me to do the remix of Nu LIfe is simple. Gregory (Gorio Tala) reached out to me and said he has a track that Uniting Souls Music likes and he asked me for a remix. Greg is a great person and rising star in Seattle. I also have several releases on Uniting Souls Music so this is my 4th one on the label. I really respect what they have done for the music community over the years so doing this remix was a no brainer. I’ve been producing more afro house these past couple of years so it was easy to take the melodic/progressive elements of Nu Life and create an afro-progressive rendition of it.
As for your studio, what is your setup currently made of? And what’s the one item you’ll never get rid of, no matter what?
Over time I have scaled down the hardware in my studio and I work almost completely ‘inside the box’ (my laptop). I work in Ableton Live and I have a Solid State Logic SSL2+ audio interface (that’s the one thing I would never get rid of I guess). I use a number of VSTs for synths and other plugins for effects and mixing. I leave the mastering to someone else (such as Seattle’s Sang-Do Lee at Seattle House Mafia for individual projects – he’s been mastering some things for me for many years) or to the label who signs my music.
Can you tell us about any future projects you’re currently working on?
I have several projects coming out in the next few months including a multi-track afro house release on Open Bar Music (February 2025), a remix I did for Moulton Music (December/January) and an EP with remixes on Seattle’s Tilted Records. I recently completed another remix for Uniting Souls Music slated to be released in early 2025 as well. Besides these things I have a couple of projects where I’m waiting on remixes from other artists before I start shopping these projects out to labels. I also have some individual tracks I’m shopping out to labels outside of the United States in an effort to expand my audience and reach.
Furthermore, in an effort to be able to make more music I’ve been throwing less events outside of my weekly event that I’m a resident DJ at called Dance Klassique in San Diego which is that city’s (and one of the country’s) longest running weekly events for house music. It’s been going on every Wednesday (even through the pandemic via live streams) for 25 years.
My goal in 2025 is to speed up my process for making music. Currently it takes me about 3 weeks to complete a track and I would like to reduce that down to two weeks to maintain a consistent release schedule. Playing gigs is great but it’s very ‘in the moment’ and easily forgotten these days whereas making music has more permanence. The music you make and publish can be enjoyed over and over again for many years to come. Releasing music and playing less, but quality gigs is where I want to be at this point in my career.
