1. Tell us about your start as an artist/band…
I started in a psychedelic krautrock band when I was living in LA.
2. Take us back to the very beginning…
For my first DJ gig I put on a Krautrock themed night which went down really well so they gave me a residency and slowly I taught myself to mix. It became impossible to keep our band together as everyone was always off touring so I decided to learn to produce my own music and do it solo so I didn’t have to rely on anyone else.
3. What’s Your Songwriting Process?
It’s always different. Sometimes I start with some chords or a part that didn’t work in another song but I think has potential, sometimes with a drum loop I’ve made or sampled but every song I put out usually goes through a multitude of incarnations before it’s finished. Probably why I don’t end up putting out a lot of music as it’s quite a time consuming process for me to be happy with the finished product.
4. How has COVID impacted this?
I’ve had a lot more time in the studio to be more experimental and think more broadly about a bigger body of work instead of sporadically finding a few days here and there to get a release out. Before Covid I was always thinking in terms of how it would work on the dancefloor but now I’m thinking of how my music best expresses me, not being dictated by any genre or label or how people respond to it. If I ever finish it, my album is probably going to end up being completely schizophrenic in terms of music styles as over the years I’ve had so many different influences I wanted to incorporate. I find it incredibly boring being restricted by one music genre when I’m producing and DJing. It probably makes it challenging for promoters to book me but I’d choose that over being generic any day.
5. What does being Independent mean to you?
Putting out whatever music I like on my terms. Being able to choose the direction of the artwork that gets used, how and when the track gets released, and who I collaborate with. It’s liberating and rewarding being in control of your music from inception to release, and then when it’s out there, seeing people listen and respond positively to it. On the other hand you have no one to blame if they don’t.
6. What can we expect from you 2021 – 2022?
My album which I’m planning to finish by the end of the year and in the meantime I have a few releases coming out, starting with a track on Stil vor Talent and some remixes of my latest single Protection on my label Automatik I’m really excited about. I approached 3 of my favorite producers to remix the track and amazingly they all said yes!
