There’s something full-circle about Deorro’s ongoing residency at the OMNIA, one of the most popular club destinations on the Las Vegas strip, where the globally famous EDM DJ regularly gets party-goers dancing beneath a pulsing, kinetic chandelier that’s been described as a biblically accurate angel, replete with countless eyeballs and fluttering wings. If the club was a church, he would be the charismatic preacher, bringing together the crowd under the banner of music and that old-school raver adage “P.L.U.R”— peace, love, unity, and respect.
As it was, long before Deorro—real name Erick Orrosquieta—was mixing beats and spinning records for crowds of thousands, he was simply a Los Angeles kid accompanying his parents to choir practice at their local Catholic church. While the adults were distracted with rehearsals, he was busy exploring the church music room, picking up and experimenting with different instruments, and unwittingly laying the foundation not only for his lifelong love of music, but also his career. Against the backdrop of 1990s L.A., with its booming hip hop and electronic scenes, Deorro would rip his favorite songs off the radio using a cassette player and his developing sense of timing.
Throughout high school, Deorro played guitar and drums in a band, but it was his first rave experience that opened his eyes to the vast world of electronic music. “It was inspiring to hear music that loud…I had never really been to an electronic music festival like that, with those kinds of speakers, those kinds of sounds coming through the speakers,” Deorro reflects now. “It was a whole different world for me.”
After that first rave, he visited the Guitar Center and asked the employee if they had guitars that “made techno”: “I had no idea how to make that kind of music.”
The Guitar Center employee was kind enough to explain the basics of electronic music and gave young Deorro some software samples. Then, using a computer that his father won in a singing contest, he began creating his first mixes, in 15-minute increments because that’s all the free Guitar Center demos would allow.
“I would have to uninstall the program, and I couldn’t save anything,” he laughs. “I remember uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling, reinstalling. That’s how it was for weeks and months. And I just jammed out like that.”
While his passions were driving him towards electronic music, circumstances nearly drove Deorro into a life very different from the jet-setting one he has now. As a teenager, he became a father for the first time and began to work fulltime while also earning his high school degree. He began training to become a nurse and music became a side hobby—albeit one with a steadily increasing following as he posted tracks online (he did eventually upgrade his software to develop beats). As an overwhelmed young dad, he was soon being challenged with one of the biggest decisions of his life: Keep on the steady path towards nursing or risk it all and pursue his dream of becoming a professional DJ.
For most, the second option is likely to end in disaster. For a singular and driven talent like Deorro, it was destiny, though it wasn’t until his break-through set at 2012 Good Life Festival in Melbourne that he fully realized it. Back in the United States, he was used to playing for crowds that maxed out around 200 people. In Australia, where he went on following Skrillex and Steve Angello, the audience was closer to 40,000. Somewhat unbeknownst to him, his song “Big Fat” had sneakily gone viral internationally, though not so much in the U.S., and he was shocked by the energy and excitement that greeted him.
“I played the song and to hear everybody scream the vocal part back at me,” he pauses, still in awe. “It was such an incredible experience.”
Immediately after the burst of success at Good Life, Deorro returned to playing smaller crowds in the U.S., but with renewed ferocity. His first show back state-side was for only 150 people. He says, “Not only that, but that show I was opening up for a headliner and while I was playing, people were chanting his name and I didn’t care. It didn’t bother me. I was like, ‘I know what I got to do. I just have to keep working hard and I’m going to do this.’ I feel like that was really special. The universe just gave me that experience and it was such a blessing. I don’t even know how to explain it because that completely changed my life.”
Deorro continued turning out singles and collaborating with increasingly famous names like Diplo and Steve Aoki. Then, in 2015, his label Ultra presented the opportunity to remix his song “Five Hours” with the addition of Chris Brown. The new version, aptly titled “Five More Hours,” was a huge hit. “[The label] ended up getting Chris Brown to basically flip the song and make it pop, which absolutely changed my life,” he says. “This is the reason why I’m sitting in this house. That song basically gave me everything I have.”
Since then, things have been trending decidedly up for Deorro. He’s released two EPs, Good Evening in 2017 and ORRO in 2022, and is currently working on his third. His increased profile has made him a peer of his musical heroes; among his most recent favorite studio partnerships was with Los Tucanes de Tijuana, the famous Norteña group he grew up listening to with his father. He calls his time with them a “masterclass,” adding, “They’re musical geniuses. It’s definitely one of my favorite collaborations I’ve ever done because I’ve learned so much from them. I took my dad down to their studio and when we were leaving, we were just like, ‘No way, dude. That was crazy!” My dad introduced me to their music and here I am making music with them.”
As a Mexican-American, Deorro remains committed to creating music that reflects his background by blending Spanish and English lyrics and coming together with international musicians.
“I definitely do know that music can be enjoyed even if you’re not understanding what’s being said,” he insists, passionately. “Music is definitely a universal language. It breaks barriers. You can portray an emotion in a sound and then someone on the other end can receive it. That’s communication. That’s the beauty of music. You can actually communicate with the audience, with the world, you can connect with people on that spectrum.”
Deorro continues to explore that spectrum of communication with his Las Vegas performances. Despite his two decades in the electronic music scene, the capacity for him to keep learning and expanding is seemingly never ending, especially when playing for crowds as diverse and eclectic as the Vegas club scene.
He explains, “Vegas brings me back to how it used to be at house parties, because every house party was different. Every Vegas show is different. It’s always a different crowd. [Elsewhere,] when you come to a Deorro show, you’ll find Deorro fans. In Vegas, I’m sure there’ll be some fans out there, but for the most part, there’s a lot of people that are on vacation. There’s a lot of people there for bachelorette parties or to celebrate something.”
But playing for strangers and winning over a new crowd remains an exciting challenge: “I get to step outside my normal routine and kind of just put on a party, the celebration where it’s not really about showcasing my music, but it’s more about just celebrating.”
During his own time off, Deorro takes things more slowly these days, spending time with his wife Michelle (“She’s the best. I won the lottery. I’m so lucky,” he gushes) and two sons.
“People always ask me, ‘Where do you like to go on vacation?’ I tell them, ‘My vacation is at home,’’ he patiently explains. “When everybody [else is] on vacation, I’m at work. When everyone’s on spring break, guess where I am? I’m out there playing those parties. So it’s kind of funny when people invite me to go out…I’d rather go to the park.”
When Deorro does hit the Vegas strip, he heads to local hotspots to fuel up before taking the stage. Check out his Vegas favorites here. To check out more from Deorro and the lively spirit of Las Vegas, visit KOOL online (age restrictions apply).
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