When it comes to tech house, few names have been as consistent in recent years as Iglesias. Known for his sharp drum programming and hybrid-live sets that balance technical detail with crowd connection, he’s built a reputation that stretches from London clubs to Ibiza’s biggest dancefloors. Now, he takes a major step in his career with the release of his first record on Solid Grooves.
‘Chula,’ is out now and arrived as a stripped, percussive driver that carries the hallmarks of Iglesias’ style—relentless groove, hypnotic textures, and a low-slung rhythm that’s already earned support across the scene. The release lands at the peak of the summer season, and with Solid Grooves backing it, the single is positioned to become a fixture in clubs worldwide.
To mark the release, Iglesias sat down with us to talk about his approach to DJing and production. From balancing accessibility and obscurity in his sets to the challenge of playing in front of other DJs, he pulls back the curtain on what it takes to stay connected on the floor. The conversation reveals the mindset behind ‘Chula’ and how his philosophy as a performer feeds directly into the records he makes.
Have you ever caught yourself overthinking your selection—playing to impress instead of connect?
Definitely, early on especially! It’s easy to fall into that mindset of wanting to impress other DJs in the room or drop some obscure edit just to flex. I actually often feel like that when I am playing at Now Here in ibiza and I have Paco Osuna standing behind me watching my every move haha. I have learnt over the years though to stay relaxed and do what I know I am capable of and what I think is going to resonate best on that night.
Also, because I play Hybrid Live there are always a million and one things I could do and often freeze up thinking, shall I do this or that! It actually happens more than people may think! But I’ve learned that when you’re playing for the dance floor, the connection matters more than the cleverness. If you’re in your head, the crowd can feel that. I always try to trust the energy and let the music do the talking though.
How do you decide when to go deep and weird vs. when to keep things more direct or familiar?
It’s all about reading the room. If the vibe’s already locked in, this is when I am most creative. I stop worrying about if people will leave if I play a certain track or try something new and just crack on with what I am doing. I wouldn’t say necessarily go weirder, I just get so creative.
A good example of this is a few weeks ago when I played in Fabric London – the crowd were actually insane and it meant I could really take them on me journey and treat the set as more educational instead of playing what I think will do well on TikTok. But if I feel like the crowd’s still warming up or needs a unifying moment, I’ll keep it more stripped, groove-heavy and chuck in some vocal hooks that I know they will latch onto.
That is the joy of playing Hybrid Live, I don’t need to play tracks – I can create those on the fly. However for me, it’s a balance: I can push boundaries, but need to match sure I never lose the crowd as ultimately I am there to make sure they are having a good time.
Is there a difference between playing for a room full of DJs and playing for a real cross-section crowd?
Yeah, 100%. When it’s DJs, the energy’s different—they’re tuned into the details, the production, the transitions.
There are sooooo many DJs and producers now, though, so often a large proportion of the crowd can DJ or have done so before. So if you fuck up, trust me they will notice. I myself struggle to be in a crowd for that exact reason as I can’t switch off – I am always curious what the DJ is going to do next.
Playing Hybrid Live has eliminated that, though, as most people have no idea what I am doing in those special moments (sometimes neither do I, haha), which means that whether you are a touring DJ or just a bedroom DJ, you shouldn’t really know what I am doing. This makes things far more relaxing though as I cannot be judged and it forces people to just listen instead of analyse. But a real cross-section crowd?
They don’t care if the snare is a rare 909 sample or a digital one crafted in Massive X- they care if it hits and sounds nice. I try not to change too much in terms of selection, but I might shift how I build tension or release, depending on who’s out there.
Do you think there’s value in “easy” tracks—songs that land immediately and bring people together?
Absolutely. Not everything has to be some left-field edit or a track no one’s heard before.
There’s real power in a track that just works, even if it’s a simple edit of something else doing well on TikTok. Those tracks often create the most unified, emotional moments on the floor. It can be slightly annoying though as it has taken away from the originality of music production, but that’s 2025 for ya!
What’s a moment where you ditched a cool or rare track because the room needed something different?
I’d honestly say that happens almost every show I play.
I couldn’t give you a single date or moment, because when I’m up there my main goal is always to make sure the crowd’s having a good time. My secondary role as a DJ now is to educate a bit too, but times have changed. Even during my career, it’s shifted from being about constant musical education throughout a set to finding that sweet balance between teaching and just letting people enjoy hearing tracks they already know and love.
These days, I usually save the more experimental or rare tracks for after parties or those late-night sets where I know the people left are the real music heads. They’re the ones who will happily stay on past normal club hours, purely for the love of hearing something unique or obscure. But yeah, it happens multiple times a night – I’ll be mid set thinking “I reckon this might work”, and then straight after, “yeah, but how are you gonna fix it if it doesn’t?” hahaha.
Do you think DJs sometimes overvalue obscurity – and undervalue emotional accessibility?
Yeah, I think that definitely happens. I’ve been guilty of it myself – digging so deep for the rarest, most obscure stuff that I forget not everyone in the room shares that same obsession. As DJs, we can sometimes get caught up in trying to impress ourselves or other DJs in the crowd, rather than focusing on the people who just want to feel something in the moment.
For me, the best sets strike that balance. You want those “what is this?!” moments where someone runs up to ask about a track, but you also want the singalongs shit, the hands in the air stuff and the instant smiles when a familiar tune drops. If it’s too obscure all the way through, you risk losing that emotional connection. I guess that’s why I’ve started saving the super deep cuts for the afters or the late night heads because then you can go fully down the rabbit hole without sacrificing the vibe in the main room.
Have you ever had a moment where a simple track landed harder than your most technically layered one?
Oh god yeah! But the thing is I actually enjoy making music, so I really don’t care if a track was easy to make or hard. There are a lot of simple tracks out there at the moment, but that is also because there’s a shit load of surface-level tutorials out there.
Go back 10 years and there were hardly any simple tracks put together. They might sound simple, but if you really break them down, they are incredibly well-made with barely any samples in. Nowadays, I listen to music and can even identify which sample pack has been used.
But yeah, there are a few tracks I have made in a couple of hours and some that have taken months to master. I don’t really mind which does better than the other though because as I said, I enjoy the whole process!
The post Iglesias Makes His Solid Grooves Debut With ‘Chula’ and Opens Up About His Approach appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.