A staple of the Pacific Northwest’s EDM scene, Seattle’s Tony H is a well-established local DJ gaining national recognition with music releases on Space Yacht, Desert Hearts, Dirtybird Records and more!
We sat down with the Panamanian house and techno DJ for an interview to talk about his new single Pulse It, hear about his recent performance at Coachella, and dive into his journey through the Seattle EDM scene. Check out one of his latest releases, Suavecito, right here, and read our full interview with Tony H below!
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DMNW: What do you find most inspirational about DJing?
Tony H: For me it’s always been the energy and connection to the crowd that inspires and motivates me. I really REALLY enjoy those moments, especially in more intimate settings.
DMNW: What is your favorite memory since you have started DJing?
Tony H: There are definitely a bunch that come to mind. One of my favorite memories was coming out of the pandemic and getting to play in San Diego for the first time for a party that Marquessa and VLLN put together as like a Munchies Gang (my umbrella brand) Twitch meetup. Got to meet so many people that hung out on my Twitch channel during the pandemic and we had a surprise set from Mz Worthy that was so sick!
Check out Tony H’s Twitch channel here for upcoming live streams!
DMNW: Now that Coachella is under your belt, has anything changed about the way you prepare for a big show like Beyond Wonderland PNW?
Tony H: Honestly, no haha. I never pre plan my sets. Well, I did a bit when I first started DJing but not these days. At best I’ll just have an idea of the first track I want to start with and then go from there and feel out the crowd and vibe. I just like to vibe out and sometimes chaos strikes and you may hear some DnB or Breaks or Bass in the middle of my sets.
Check out Tony H’s full set from Coachella 2023 Heineken House right below:
DMNW: I’ve seen you a bunch of times throughout the city, opening for some huge name artists, like Mau P! Along with performing headline shows at clubs, for Space Yacht, and even some headline shows! How would you describe the Seattle EDM scene, and your adventure through it?
Tony H: The Seattle EDM scene is definitely pretty interesting these days. Sometimes it seems more of who you know or what you’ve done for them as opposed to talent or skill. I’ve created my own lanes with my label and music production and style to not have to play in those politics, but for others that are trying to making it in the scene, it’s not as easy. Something I definitely want to see more and hope to help push is more Minorities, LGBTQ+ and Women on line ups.
DMNW: Tell me more about your techno side, Munchies After Dark?
Tony H: Munchies After Dark is my second label that I started in 2019 that is geared more towards Melodic House & Techno. I’ve been fortunate to sign a bunch of artists especially locally like Sam Hipp, Madlon, novel natura, Drawbird, Chris Tower and more. It’s definitely something I’d like to play out more and showcase artists from the label more as well.
DMNW: And most importantly, I know that you recently dropped a new single! Pulse It! Tell me all about it! What inspired you? What are the vibes?
Tony H: The crazy thing about Pulse It was that it was made on my Twitch stream. I was randomly streaming and working on music and after a few hours I had viewers like DJ Matt G and Mz TzA give suggestions on what sounds we should download and make a track out of. We landed on hospital sounds haha.
So, I downloaded a bunch of hospital samples and we built a whole track around while viewers gave suggestions on where to put things within the track. Definitely a fun experience doing that on stream and I definitely plan on doing that again soon. Pulse It is just a fun tech house track with a pulsating bassline and viewer picked hospital samples.
DMNW: Any genres that you’re interested in producing music in more? Perhaps bass house or trance? Anything else in the works?
Tony H: I’ve really been into the neo-soul / electronica kind of sound that Kaytranada, Sango, Channel Tres and others have been putting out…so that is definitely a genre I would love to get into and produce in the near future which you may hear on my next album that I plan on jumping in January of 2024.
DMNW: What’s your favorite thing to do besides DJing/producing music?
Tony H: Besides DJing and producing some of my favorite things to do are roller blading, playing basketball and bowling. Fun fact, when I was 12 and 13 I joined a bowling league both years and won 1st place both years, got bored, so went back to playing basketball for my school and summer and winter leagues.
DMNW: Any messages you want to share with your fans?
Tony H: Lots of exciting things in the works including my upcoming shows with Disco Donnie’s Fourth At The Mural, Day Trip Seattle and a LNM Showcase with Shameless at Monkey loft. Also, working on my 2nd album after dropping “Big Whopper” back in 2020, in hopes of releasing this one in January of 2024 on my label, Late Night Munchies. Lastly, I have started a new project to help connect the community and uplift others including Minorities, LGBTQ and Women.
I’m starting a DJ Academy and eventual event space called “Bassline Beats Academy” that will be for DJ and Production workshops and music industry talks and tips within your local scene, amongst many other topics. As we get the project going, we will be crowdfunding most of it feel free to share it around and if you’d like to donate here is the link as well: https://gofund.me/aa646222
And if you ever see me out and about or at a gig, never be afraid to come say wutsup!
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DMNW: THANK YOU!
Tony H will be kicking things off at the upcoming Fourth At The Mural show in Seattle Center on the 4th of July, playing alongside Chris Lorenzo, Lee Foss, LP Giobbi, and more – get your tickets here! Unfortunately, we were not able to catch Tony H at Beyond Wonderland PNW this year as day 2 was cancelled due to the unfortunate events on day 1, claiming the lives of two innocent victims.
We’re pumped to hear about an album on the way for January 2024. To stay up to date with the latest from Tony H, head to his social media accounts!
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