ANDRE ACOSTA: AHORA SÍ!

Andy “Andre” Acosta (purveyor of fine things and groovy tunes) joins the Madre family this month and brings with him a dynamic collection of legendary tracks for Madre Radio. Andre is the resident DJ at our monthly Super Ok Fridays cocktail party at The Deus Emporium of Postmodern Activities in Venice, California. You can find him at night spinning vinyl at some of LA’s finest watering holes, but during the day he runs the show at Deus, curating one of LA’s finest men’s retail spaces. Between his Cuban heritage, time spent in hardcore bands, and a bi-coastal DJ career, Andy has acquired a truly unique ear for deep, and often obscure jams. We recently sat down with the selector and asked him a few questions about his inspiration and the playlist he gifted us. Enjoy!

I ask myself this question all the time- but ultimately I think it’s just that feeling you get deep in your gut when you hear a song and it makes you feel some sort of way.. It’s a mix off emotions but ultimately, maybe the word is “soul."

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR MADRE RADIO PLAYLIST?

Honestly, I didn’t want to dive into just one genre but I knew that I did want a selection of songs that had a little latin flavor and a lot of soul. Opposite of when I play records for people, I tend to over think playlists as I hope it is going to be listened to a few times over. But just drinking a (couple) glass of Madre while listening to music was enough inspiration to get the chunes flowing.

IF YOU WERE TO DRINK A GLASS OF MEZCAL WITH ANYONE LIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE?

I would love to drink a glass with my uncle, Eddy who passed away when I was younger. I’ve always been told that I have grown up to be so much like him. All my interests are so aligned with what he was into. He was also a record collector and deejayed from time to time but this is just one of the similarities that him and I share.

WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Andre Acosta though a lot of people know me as “Andie”. It gets kind of confusing at times but I have no preference.. haha

I’m an East coaster who now resides in LA. Born in Miami (12yrs), grew up in North Carolina (10 years), moved to NYC (10 years), LA (4 years).

WHAT GOT YOU INTO PLAYING MUSIC?

Ahhh music has always been a massive aspect of my life. My family introduced me to all sorts of music and have continued to expand my taste. Being Cuban and living in Miami, I was exposed to the beautiful sounds latin music. But my father was super into classic rock while my mom was into soul, jazz, disco. But living in Miami in the late 80’s/ early 90’s, I always had that Miami r&b/boogie sound around me that holds a special place in my heart.

My family moved to us to NC and I started playing in bands starting in middle school. I played in mostly hardcore bands til I was 22- so I was very immersed into that scene. However, I had always been an advocate of listening to jazz, hip-hop and other obscure stuff.

When I moved to NY I became friends with my buddy, Oskar who introduced me to the world of record collecting. He had a show on East Village Radio (RIP) and I would fan out in the booth with all the amazing guest deejays he would have every week. Being introduced to this whole new world of rare soul/funk/boogie/disco and everything in between. The rest is history!

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS IN MUSIC?