You just extended your residency at Marquee at the Cosmopolitan. That’s right. I love that club, and it’s one of the best when it comes to electronic music. It’s really one of those clubs that was designed properly for the DJ and for crowds. This is my third year but in between I played at XS and went back to Marquee. I just feel very close to (Tao Group partners) Noah (Tepperberg) and Jason (Strauss), they’re very good friends of mine and they understand the business very well. And Vegas is very difficult now because it’s like every night you have DJs playing against each other. But I’m having a lot of fun.
You also just launched your new label, Delecta Records. How will that impact your Vegas residency? We’re going to do Delecta nights once a month and the first one is Friday (April 8). We’ll be showcasing different artists as openers, and we’ve also been working on new visuals. Every track will be synced to the screen, so if I play Lana Del Rey, you’ll see her singing on the screen. The visual cues will provide the kind of show I do for festivals, I’m just bringing it to Vegas, and Marquee has such great (technology) so it’s perfect.
What inspired you to start the label? I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. I’ve been able to sign new artists I’ve met out on the road, traveling to Argentina and Venezuela and Asia, meeting these great producers, just kids. I really do listen to what people give me out on the road. I found this great 19-year-old producer in Colombia by him sending me a Snapchat of his music. But of course I also want to get my music out there, and it’s been an exciting process, another side of the business.
How does having Delecta influence your new music? Well I’m also signed with a major label, so with that, there’s a certain level of expectation for the music, I guess more radio friendly. For me, the club music is very important. No one should lose that. The clubs are where it all comes from and that’s very important to me. So really it’s about having another platform, something to believe in.
You mentioned Lana Del Rey and I’m sure people ask you all the time about your 2012 “Summertime Sadness” remix. When you have a hit that big, a track that just becomes classic and constantly played in clubs for years and years, are there pros and cons with that? Or is it all good stuff? There is a huge downside because the expectation is then every record is going to do the same. It’s very hard to do that. And then with that comes the idea that you have to create a format, okay, we have to duplicate this. Then you get stuck in something and don’t produce good music. You have to step outside of that and go back to the beginning again. I got stuck for a year, wanting every record to be a success. But overall, it’s beautiful, because so many people make music and only so many songs really turn into classics. I think that’s what makes it a classic, that it’s staying around for so many years.
Cedric Gervais April 8, doors at 10 p.m., $41+ men, $23+ women. Marquee Nightclub, 702-333-9000.
