2016 has been a busy year for Solomun, who headed up +LIVE nights at Pacha Ibiza during the summer before heading on a world tour. He’s seen some pretty versatile audiences around the world, but it just goes to show the appeal of his haunting deep house sets that draws everyone in. With a progressive but relentless beats making up his sound, Solomun sets are known for a good time full of chill tunes for grooving.
Solomun’s set on The Boiler Room‘s Youtube page remains as one of the most watched videos on the channel, with over 16,000,000 views. We managed to catch him when he was in Singapore for a quick chat about his current tour and musical influences.
To kick things off, what have you been up to lately?
Just started my Asia Tour, was in Singapore and Bangkok already, now I am in Hong Kong.
How was the experience like playing at Zouk, one of the biggest clubs here in Asia?
Glad to see a busy club with so many house and techno lovers.
You’ve travelled a lot around the world. Is there a noticeable difference in the crowds from different countries?
In South America you find a lot of enthusiasm in every thinkable way, in Asia the people tend to be a little more in control most of the time. But the electronic music scene is so international, that the differences are getting smaller and smaller.
What’s it like being behind the DJ console where all the magic happens?
It’s great. I mean: My job is to make people dance and enjoy themselves. This is the greatest job I can imagine.
What has DJ-ing taught you about the scene that most people don’t know about? Has this in anyway affected your sound and music production/ writing?
I feel like a DJ in the first place and this is influencing my producing a lot. I produce like a DJ, always with the ear on the dancefloor and with the wish to create some suspense.
Your music style has been described as ‘sensual and emotive’. Where do you draw your inspiration and influences from?
That’s not easy to answer. I can only say: at the time when I started to produce my own tracks the predominant sound of that time was Minimal-Techno. And I was not really feeling this sound because I was missing some melodies, some hamonies, some emotions. This was guiding me.
Do you have any advice for any aspiring DJs who are hoping to break out of the Asian EDM scene?
DIY-spirit, Do It Yourself. We founded Diynamic because we didn’t want to send demos to other labels. Of course this cannot work all the time, but you need to have faith in your taste, in your decisions and you should not wait too long for others.
It’s nearing the end of 2016. What was the highlight of the year that will be tough to beat?
Ah, that’s a tough one. Maybe the annual free party at the old Port of Town that I do since 3 years every summer. This is one of my favourite gigs of the year, because I start in front of zero people and at the end there are thousands of people, but nor only party people, there are old people, kids, and they are all dancing and smiling under the moon. That’s hard to beat!
And Fusion Festival in Germany was also on e of my absolute highlights of 2016. This festival is just one of a kind and I am playing there since I guess 13 years, so I feel very close to this festival. And of course my Solomun+1-night at Pacha in Ibiza is a gift and always a constant highlight.
This November the Diynamic boss will be heading to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic, Russia, Ireland, London, and Abu Dhabi, as well as Germany and North America in December.Â
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Thanks to Zouk for the pictures and making this interview possible. Join them for their final weekend at Jiak Kim street on 2 and 3 December 2016, as their past and present resident DJs take over the decks.Â
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