Still Playing Bars When His First Hit Dropped (ft. Bontan) | EF EP 155

About this episode

Olivia Mancuso interviews Bontan about his journey in the dance music industry and the challenges of building a sustainable career.

At 38, Bontan still looks 23. He quit school at 17 to DJ pubs five nights a week, took a 6-month pay cut to chase the Bontan project from his parents' house, and just launched his own label North Drum at Fabrik London. He's signed to Hot Creations, releases on No Art, and his latest track just went viral overnight after a major pop star used it on a reel. In this episode, Olivia sits down with Bontan to talk about what it actually takes to build a sustainable career in dance music, from surviving 6 months without income to defending a tour schedule that runs on 3 hours of sleep. Chicago Music Nexus is back for 2026, and this year, we are doing it across two full days. November 20 is Field Day at Concord Music Hall, where you will get hands-on time with the tools, people, and sessions that actually move careers. November 21 is Conference Day at The Joinery, panels and workshops with the agents, A&Rs, and artists actively shaping the industry. Presale opens June 25th. Sign up for texts to get access one day early: https://laylo.com/oliviamancuso/wxgwS3 Two-day passes are extremely limited. Do not sleep on this. 👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a…

People in this episode

Host: Olivia Mancuso

Guest: Bontan

Topics covered

• dance music
• career building
• DJing
• music industry
• entrepreneurship

Keywords

• Bontan
• dance music
• DJ
• music career
• North Drum
• Hot Creations
• Chicago Music Nexus

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hot Creations, No Art

Places: Fabrik London

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