A lot of people havent heard of you yet, so can you start with introducing yourself and briefly saying who you are and what you do?
Im Ze Gonzales a.K.A. DJ Zegon and I have been doing music for over 20 years. I played and produced with many bands in Brazil, from heavy metal acts like Sepultura to gangsta rap like Racionais MCs. Ive also lived in many cities to do this, such as Sao Paulo, L.A., and Rio de Janeiro.
Do you remember the moment when you first met?
Yeah, we were at a mutual friends (DVNO) party in the Hills, Sam was drunk throwing up all over the yard and I helped him.
What does your name actually mean? Does it refer to the intercontinental connection or does it have something to do with NASA, the space agency?
We both always loved all this idea of interspace travel, but the name just came to us suddenly when we were smoking in the back yard at a late night session, its an acronym that stands for North America South America, it is also a space travel reference because finishing this record was our mission to the moon.
How did you manage to get so many guests on the album? I suppose that your guests didnt collaborate with you only for the money…
It was real hard and it took almost 6 years, there were tracks that we started in 2004 and finished in 2008, I think most of our guests did it for no money and a few hugs.
Have you ever feared that the amount of different guest appearances and musical styles will make your album incompact? Was your target to attract as many different kinds of listeners as possible? I guess that many fans of M.I.A. probably wont be interested in hearing Method Man at the same time…
I think nowadays most people like many different styles of music, its pretty boring to go to a club and listen to straight Hip Hop all night long, or listen to Techno or Electro for the whole night, I think it is possible for some open-minded MIA fans to like Method Man, or vice verse. I see the potential for a bunch of Wu Tang fans to listen to the album and start feeling stuff that they have never heard before. We had no fear when we made this album, we brought our influences together with no pre-established rules or formulas.
What kind of music are you personally listening to? What albums of 2008 did you like the most?
I am always pretty eclectic when it comes to DJ sets and personal music listening, I have always loved old soundtracks, from different countries, like brazilian films from the 70s and older Italian movies. I also love old jazz, which is really nice when i need to clear my ears from the usual sounds. A few albums from 2008 that I am really enjoying:
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Crystal Castles
Santogold
Hot Chips – Made in the Dark
Hercules & Love Affair.
What do you prefer more – working together in the studio on new tracks or being on stage and performing together?
I like both, when I am on the road I feel like going back to studio and while I am producing in the studio, I cant wait to hit the road.
Sam, apart from producing for N.A.S.A., you also make music for advertisments, for your brothers movies, for computer companies etc. Do you ever have a day off and make time for other hobbies than music?
Ha, I love to surf and I am a huge fan of contemporary art, but right now, music is pretty much my life.
Whats the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear these names:
Spank Rock – illest rapper out there
Tony Hawk – the one and only
Fernando Meirelles – genious
Dj Marlboro – pimp
Eddie Murphy – god
