Here at Daily Beat we take pride in our philosophy that good music comes from purely dedicated, passionate people. It's not uncommon that we meet up and coming artists who really blow us away with their talent. Today we will be introducing you to such a producer, who has made himself a household name among the Beach clubs of South Jersey with an impressive repertoire of shows, and recently moved to Brooklyn to pursue his career as a New York City based artist. Tolga Dogan, who goes by the alias BROGAN (rhyming's tight) started his musical journey at a young age, utilizing programs like Reason by Propellerhead Software before progressing to Ableton. During the formative years of his sound, he picked up a number of instruments such as the piano, guitar, bass, and drums. His melodic dexterity with sound manipulation and synthesizers can be traced back to his history with live instruments. Since first becoming interested in the electronic genre almost a decade ago, the bearded BROGAN (or sometimes unbearded... but we prefer bearded) has played an arsenal of shows on the East Coast with acts like Louisahhh!, Felix Da Housecat, and Nadus. His eclectic style allows him to mix a variety of genres including deep house, techno, funk, and soul. We sat down with Tolga this past weekend to learn a little more about the Brogan project.
Who are your biggest musical influences when it comes to producing, and when it comes to DJ-ing; who are your favorite artists?
I’m into so much stuff I’m not sure where to begin… I’m pretty much all over the place. I love what Claude has done with Dirtybird. Brodinski, Gesaffelstein, Louisahhh and the Bromance crew will always have a place in my heart as well. EnormousTunes (Nora En Pure, Croatia Squad, EDX) put out some really clean and sexy stuff. Always about the funky Joey Negro tunes as well. Big ups to the homie Devon James (Rvdiovctive, Dubspot) – so fun to work with him. Big shout to Alex English (GBH, Girls & Boys) – he’s a huge part of the reason I’m grinding so hard lately.
Holy ship 2012 is one of the craziest memories of my entire life. The friendships & connections made on that boat are irreplaceable. I’ve been to many events/parties/fests/clubs prior to that but at the time, there was nothing like it.
My favorite thing about NYC is that there’s something going on every night whether Netflix likes it or not --the best food in the world, the best parties, fresh threads and there’s something about those NYC & BK babes that get me every time.
Be creative and open minded. Keep Dancing.
What is the next big thing coming up for Brogan?
I'll be DJing at Elements Festival in Brooklyn alongside Alex English next weekend. Planning on throwing a bunch of open bar events all around NYC with some very cool and talented people and sponsors. Lastly, I'm also working on my first EP, to be released this fall. Very excited about that!