Based out of Margao, Mack Vieira is a professional DJ and music producer whose beats are enough to get your feet on the dance floor.
He’s performed at practically every major music festival in Goa and abroad, proving his worth. His music examines the relative importance of truth against absolute truth.
It’s a sound that comes from the intersection of zeros and ones, black and white, popular and underground music. For more than five years, he has been performing.
Mack’s favorite music genres include Bollywood and EDM, and he’s performed at a variety of private and corporate events and clubs.
We spoke to him about his beginnings from the sandy coasts of Margao to headlining some huge gigs across India.
Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares inspirational stories from the lives of Goans. We speak to talented and contributing individuals from this wonderful tiny state.
Tell us about yourself…
People call me Mack but my actual name is Melito Vieira. I live in Margao and I am a Disc Jockey and a Music Producer. I am into music because it keeps me alive.
What was that one moment that changed everything?
Once I watched a DJ perform at a club and I was so excited yet thrilled to see the amazing way he expressed himself to the crowd through his music. That’s when I decided to one day become like him.
Why DJing? Why not something else? What is it about this that makes you swoon?
Music has always been my thing since childhood. I used to be a dancer performing in hotels and a few competitions as well. One day, I happened to visit a club for the first time (I was 12 or 13 years old I guess) and experienced the ‘DJ way’. What they do, how they do it.
The respect they command when on the turntable, and how the audience pours their love to them. The whole process from music creation to performance to delivery and the accolade. All this makes me swoon and makes me want more of it.
Also, I look up to myself. Not many role models to follow.
Any inspirational moment you remember in your life that changed everything…
Micheal Jackson!
I am a big fan. To be honest, becoming a DJ was never my goal. But my love for music and dancing grew by looking up to MJ. His fan following was something I have always been in awe of. My love for music grew eventually and by being a DJ I get a chance to show the respect I have for the music. That’s my love towards Music.
What was the biggest challenge when pursuing this as a fulltime career? And how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge was wanting to get onto the DJing scene. There was so much competition and such big names around.
But there was nobody to give me a push. It all started at home when I got myself a console and started performing for myself.
My loving mom showed me her support as being my audience, dancing and of course my dad too. My family stood by me and without their support I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What are some memories as a kid you’d like to share? Maybe when you saw a DJ do his thing or something from pop culture that influenced you?
Childhood was all about music and dancing. DJing happened after a very long time. But I remember running to the market to buy a DVD just to listen to that one new track release. Haha!!
Name your favorite DJ (or musician) or anyone in your industry that you want to be like. Any fanboy moment you experienced or precious advice someone gave you?
That’s my brother DJ Joyee the only person who stood by me and said “you are the best” even when I was at my worst 🙂
Who is the one person you’d like to meet from the past? And what would you ask him/her?
The ones who said I would do nothing in life but today I would like to ask them how are they doing today.
Can you write a couple of lines for us here on the topic of “Music is Life”?
Without music, life would be a mistake. Music is something which makes you fully present and helps you fall in love with the moment. Music is that one companion through all our times, be it the most happening or even the most dark times.
Life becomes simpler with having music around. Music gives us memories of special people, our achievements, places, feelings and so much more…
What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you recall that helped you overcome a hurdle or challenge in life with help from fam?
Its sounds too good to be true but there was no such thing where I had to go through any difficulty in life because of my family’s support and my only friend Joyee, who stood by me no matter what. I am eternally grateful for it and will always be.
How did the entrepreneurial journey start? What were the DJ learnings that shaped you to grow?
At the beginning, I used to think that being a DJ is easy and you just play some songs and can get famous just like that. But as I got into it, I understood that its more than just playing music. You have a responsibility to handle the crowd for the whole night, keep them on their toes, making sure they keep dancing all night.
A DJ has to read the crowd when they enter the venue and after playing for loads of gigs I gained this free thinking as to what will and what won’t work for me.
I was blessed enough to get an opportunity in Club Tito’s and my experience grew once I became a Resident DJ.
Understanding what actual music is, creating sets, producing a few of my own music after listening to different genres for close to 10 years, is what has got me here today.
Through my experience all I can say is to continue putting in the hard work, being patient, and staying humble, no matter what, will help you achieve your dreams.
What were people’s feedback (negative and positive), and who stood by you the most?
My family and my friend were the only ones. They were constantly supporting me and stood by me through the bad times and celebrated all my successes too.
What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?
It’s obviously going to be for my mom. I want to reach a level and create a name that everyone will remember forever.
You can catch a snippet of this conversation on ItsGoa‘s Instagram page. Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares stories from the lives of Goans. ‘Humans of Goa’ celebrates the spirit of every Goan.
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