MI: Hi, thanks for taking some time out of your day and sitting with us. Thank you for allowing us this opportunity. What would you be doing today if not for this interview?
DG:Hey there, thanks for having me. I’d be working on something, there is always a lot happening in my life, or I’d finish the second season of ‘You’ on Netflix 😀
MI: Did you go to a music school? if yes, which one was it? How has it panned out for you in shaping your career in this industry?
DG: No music school on my side, I don’t even play an instrument. I learned by doing and get a lot of help from friends and a lot is trial and error, until I reach my goal. My career is still shaping and it’s interesting to see how it’s growing. I think if you work hard enough you’ll reach your goals at some point, don’t force it too much and keep working and don’t stop believing in yourself and what you love - that’s my motto, which guided me where I am at the moment. For me I’m still in my baby shoes, but my feet hurt and i might have to change one size up soon.
MI: What currently keeps you busy these days?
DG: At the moment it’s mostly the Label ‘Radikon’ I created a year ago with my best buddy Jonas Saalbach, we keep pushing it a lot lately and it grows in the direction we want to have it. Own productions keep me busy, as well as Dj sets. I think a lot goes hand in hand right now but everything separately could be a full-time job.
MI: How would you describe your style of music production and DJing to someone unaware of this genre?
DG: That’s a tough question to be honest, I think its a deep and groove based story that I’m telling to my audience, it’s a ride that is a symbiose between the crowd and me, where we both control the destination.
MI: How would you describe your current path in this career you have chosen?
DG: I think I’m in a good position so far. My first releases are pretty recent and I’ve seen places. It’s always good to have things to aim for, to stay hungry, which I am and which makes it easier to force myself to next steps that bring me closer to where I see myself in the future.
MI: Who are the artists who inspire you?
DG: Actually a lot of my good friends inspire me the most, there is Dahu, who I look up to, Jonas Saalbach inspires me always in new creative ways, and the boys from Innellea are pushing it so hard, showing me that everything is possible and you need to have the balls to just do things! The list goes on and on.
MI: Tell us, what does a typical day in the studio means for you? What inspires your productions?
DG: It means meeting friends, exchanging ideas, laughing, discussing and overthinking things. We have several studios at Funkhaus and mostly you're not on your own. We create a think tank in our small community and its great. Every day is different.
MI: How about you naming top 5 industry giants who have inspired you to produce and Dj and top 5 you would like to play alongside?
DG:
- Extrawelt
- Jonas Saalbach
- Gaslamp Killer
- Dj Jazzy Jeff
- D Styles
These were the inspiring ones. I think I’d like to play alongside with Solomun one day. Even though he has his status and so on, he got all my respect for his all night set at Robert Johnson in Offenbach a few years ago.
MI: If you weren't Dj'ing, where would be today?
DG: I don’t know, there are always paths that could have gotten me somewhere else, I studied art education but didn’t feel like doing it for a living. I could be a chef, because I love cooking and think I’m decent at it - but hate the working hours in the gastronomy.
MI: Which is your dream label?
DG: I like Kindisch a lot, even though I can’t play it during my sets for the most part. But to release I think everybody dreams of Afterlife, Diynamic or Innervison. On one side I’d for sure love to release there, but on the other side rather push Radikon to this level and release there without sending demos out 🙂
MI: What is your methodology behind a set you play when you open for artists at clubs? What is the creative process behind your sets?
DG: It all depends on different factors for me. Sometimes I need to plan a lot and find new music and dig deep in the crates to find what I need, in order to give me the secure feeling I sometimes need. If I don’t know the act playing before or after me, I’ll check out what they are doing, not to transform my set into their style but to check out what's happening. It may affect me a little, but mostly not so much and the curiosity is more what’s making me do this. But what’s most important to me is that my set is a little story I’m telling. When I notice them following the path I created, and they’re happy at the end, that’s all I need.
MI: As an upcoming artist with tough competition, what struggles and challenges do you face?
DG: There will always competition, I don't see it as something bad, the struggles and challenges should keep you motivated, aware and hungry. I mean it’s still a job that brings competition, but isn’t it also what makes it a bit more fun, that it ain’t that easy to get to the top easily? I see that creativity can also be part as a way to grow, fight the struggles and solve the challenges that are out there.
MI: Do you have a studio? What’s the current set up like? What equipment you have and what is that you can’t live without?
DG: My Set Up is pretty basic, I use plugins and have my Moog Sub37, but I will add some new things in there soon. I share my studio with Matthias Schuell, we share our gear, so there is more to play with. I usually don’t touch his things in case he didn’t save his presets or some things like that.
MI: Tell us about your productions thus far, your releases.
DG: So far I released on labels like Steyoyoke, Dunkelheit and of course Radikon, on our Various Artist series ‘Reto’ - which is great I think. I did a remix for the Yubik EP, where I teamed up with Jonas Saalbach and we made a pretty nice groovy track at the end. It all started with a release on Underyourskin records back in 2017. Besides these labels I also worked with Wildfang from Switzerland and Overload Records. I’m very thankful for all the labels I worked with, for their trust and their commitment.
MI: What’s coming up for You down the road?
DG: At the moment we are working hard on Radikon and we want to push it to the next level this year. I worked on Remixes lately that will appear soon on your favourite online-platform. For the second half of this year I try to make my first solo EP on Radikon, therefore I will spend a lot of time in the studio in the next weeks. Also I hope for some nice Festivals gigs in summer. Also, hopefully my road guides me to India in 2020.
Well, thank you once again for spending time with us, giving us valuable insight in to your career. We wish you all the very best of luck in your endeavours. See you soon at a club.
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