GTA talk about supporting Rihanna on tour

Miami DJ duo GTA have been chosen by Rihanna as her official support act for her Diamonds World Tour. Matt Toth and Julio Mejia talk about being part of one of the year’s biggest concert tours.

You guys are arguably part of the biggest pop tour this year. How has the experience been supporting Rihanna?

MATT: It has been unbelievable! We've traveled most of the the world with her opening up to some of the biggest crowds we probably might ever see! It has truly been a once in a life time experience and we are so grateful to her and her team.

How did you GTA get involved in the tour?

MATT: We basically got on the tour through our management, who happen to work in the same offices as Rihanna's management (Roc Nation). While we were on our first tour in Europe by ourselves, we got a call from our manager saying that 10 days later, we'll be going on a two month tour through Europe with Rihanna! After we did that, Roc Nation asked us to do the rest of the world (Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East and Caribbean) with her and we agreed!

On the GTA website there is a statement saying Death to Genres? Is that the group's mission statement?

MATT:  Yes it is. We love to listen to and make all kinds of music, and we don't want to end up like some of those artists who get cornered into making one kind of sound. So we try making all kinds of different music, and we let our fans know to expect different stuff from us (DJ sets and productions alike).

How did you guys form?

JULIO:  We actually met through a mutual friend on Facebook! He showed us each other's music and we we're both really interested in learning from each other. We met up one day to try and work, and everything just clicked. That's pretty much how we formed.

What in your opinion makes a great remix track?

MATT: A great remix track to us is simply a cool groove. We also think less is more, so simplicity in a track really helps with that.

How would you describe the GTA live experience?

JULIO: We'd like to say we are very hype. We try to get the party started and make sure everyone is nice and buzzing.

Finally, what are the group's future plans? Is there an album on the horizon.

JULIO: Yes! We have a lot of original productions and collaborations with some bigger artists in the works that we're really excited about. Also we're working on an album that we're aiming to put out sometime next year.

GTA will perform before Rihanna at the du Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday. Tickets from Dh250 at www.ticketmaster.ae. Visit www.thinkflash.ae for ticket packages  sasaeed@thenational.ae