Studio Interviews: Daflame Records

We join Jose at Paraguay’s Daflame Records for a chat about the local scene, top tips and the music’s ability to help forge new connections…

Interviewee Jose Felix Vallejos
Contact vallejosjosef@gmail.com, Facebook

Tell us a little about your studio Jose…

Daflame Records is a small studio in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. We have been around for five years and try to nurture new talent and help the artists develop and fulfil their vision.

What gear do you have?

An AMD 8-core Windows PC; Presonus StudioLive 1602 mixer; Presonus FireStudio Project interface; Akai APC40, M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro, M-Audio Oxygen 61; Samson Carbon 49 and Novation Impulse 61 controllers; KRK Rokit 8 G3 monitors; Casio CZ-3000 vintage synth, Behringer Powerplay Pro 8 headphone amp; drums, guitars and basses; Latin percussion (various); and a lot of mics.

Which DAW do you use and why?

Ableton Live 9 Suite is just the best DAW for me and is very easy to produce tracks with.

What is your favourite piece of gear and why?

My AKG C214 mic as it sounds sooooo good, that I’d buy two of them if I could.

How often would you say do you spend in your studio per week?

Every day as it’s my day job and I love it.

How do you mainly use the studio?

I record bands, solo artists and produce tracks too. Sometimes I do some video music too. It’s amazing how music can help you get to know so many people!

What is next on your studio shopping list?

I want the Slate microphone. I like technology and I think that mic is the future.

Anything annoy you about your set-up?

I think I need more acoustic panels – that’s all for now.

What is your dream piece of gear?

I want a Telefunken ELA 251 mic. I mean everyone wants that gorgeous tone. It’s a classic.

What is your top piece of production advice?

Learn, learn, learn from everybody! Youtubers, music magazines, music school… Never ever stop learning as everyday we learn something new.

What is the one piece of advice you would give someone starting out building a studio?

Never give up! Man, it’s that simple. If you can dream it, you can do it! I started with 10 US dollars and now I have $10k of gear. Music is for warriors!