You have to imagine everything he says in a German accent for the full effect of this interview.
NL: So on your twitter I saw that you had problems coming into Australia because your VISA got stuffed up? How did this happen?
(Girlfriend comes in) New Zealand too.
DDY: The travel agency mixed it up, they wrote the wrong passport number inside the VISA.
NL: How was the Adelaide show last night?
DDY: Really funny. A lot of people, really nice club, it was fun.
NL: Have you heard much about Australian music at all?
DDY: Yes.
NL: Any names?
DDY: I think just Indie-Dance acts. Like Cut Copy and stuff.
NL: The music scene around here is not very strong and this is a real issue. Where do you think the best supporting music scene is?
DDY: It’s hard to tell, I mean, for example the best parties are in Asia but they don’t know much about the music, they just like the hype. They don’t know the music but they enjoy the parties.
NL: Have you been to Australia before?
DDY: No this is the first time.
NL: How are you liking it?
DDY: It’s really nice, especially Gold Coast, it is really good.
NL: How did you get involved in live production? Did you always want to be a producer as a kid?
DDY: Yes always wanted to be a Music Producer.
NL: Who influenced you to do this?
DDY: I started to produce really early. When I was a little child I liked a specific type of music, then when I started producing, my taste in music developed. So first you like the stuff you hear on the radio, then you develop more. For me it was stuff like Beastie Boys so that is how I came to electronic music.
NL: So with your label “Oh My God It’s Techno Music” what’s next? What are you looking to do with this?
DDY: My next release will be on “Oh My God It’s Techno Music,” I am not with Dim Mak anymore because I want to push my own brand. Dim Mak was good for this one release and gave me everything I needed for this one. So for the next one I need something new and it makes a lot of sense to put it out on my own Record Label because it’s really big now and known everywhere and the kids are really happy about it.
NL: So your LP is due to be released at the end of the year. What can we expect from this?
DDY: Well, don’t expect it at the end of the year, expect it at the beginning of next year because it’s not at the stage that I would say I can release it this year, I mean you only have one first album in your life and I want it to be really good.
NL: What kind of sound do you want out of this record? Do you want a heavier, dirtier sound?
DDY: More like my signature sound but more songs with a lot of well knowns and stuff, really an album you can buy and listen to at home. It will not be twelve club bangers in a row. I think it does make a lot of sense. My next EP, “OFF” will be released in October. We have shot the video already and stuff, it’s going to be really big and it’s more club-oriented but you can get a bit of a hint what structure of my new album is going to be. But the album as I say, yes, it’s a lot of songs.
NL: Where is the best show you have ever played?
DDY: Definitely in Korea, it was amazing there were so many people, I read on Wikipaedia that there were 100,000 people.
NL: That’s mental. What’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on tour?
DDY: There was never something that was strange. Everything worked out really well. I think it is all going to plan.
NL: How does playing to small crowds compare to playing to huge crowds like the 100,000 people in Korea?
DDY: Yeah, it’s two completely different things, so, if you have an immense crowd, the feeling is crazy, you can control so many people you know, you put a build up on and 100,000 hands go in the air, it’s crazy. But on the other hand you don’t have any real contact to the audience. But basically for most of the audience they only really saw me on the really big screens behind them and maybe a little small man on the stage. (Shows me with his fingers what he would have looked like on the stage)
NL: So clubs like Neverland are more intimate?
DDY: Yes, it’s more intimate, it can be really hard. The hardest ones are always the really small ones.
NL: Do you prefer the smaller ones, or the bigger ones?
DDY: I don’t prefer any kind, I like both types. A small club can be really good, really shitty, or a big crowd can be the same.
NL: Your music can get ridiculously heavy at times and very cruisy. What kind of music do you like playing the most?
DDY: Everything basically. I like playing everything that is good, because I don’t like sets that are too straight or too hard because I think that gets kind of boring. I want to go up and down. Soft and hard because if you are hard all the time, at some level you can’t get higher, if you go down again then you can push it again. Like on a roller coaster.
NL: What is your set up? What program do you use in production, and what do you use live?
DDY: Basically I’m producing everything in Ableton Live and I’m performing through Ableton Live too. So for me it is the ultimate program. I have used it since I was 13 years old so I am really into it. If I would estimate how many hours I have spent on Ableton it would be close to a year now in total work time.
NL: What about your gear when you’re actually playing?
DDY: I used to take the APC40 Controller with me which is perfectly designed for Ableton, it is really an amazing tool, but it’s really big and I like to travel hand luggage only most times. If you have two shows one week it works out very well. But there is always the problem that you can lose your luggage. When I came here I lost my luggage for example, so I had no clothes on the first day, but it all came together in the end. So if you travel hand luggage only the APC40 is a bit big so I introduced a Novation Launch Pad and a fader control.
NL: There is talk arising in Australia about DJs promoting themselves far greater than their music and most of the times the public only hear about the DJ rather than their music. Being in the business yourself, what do you think when DJs are blanketed under this general statement?
DDY: I think marketing is the most important thing about being a DJ because in the end that is what makes you successful but on the other side the balance between quality and just promoting yourself has to be right because if not it will not work out in the long run.
NL: While you’re touring Australia and New Zealand do you have any off time? What are you going to do?
DDY: New Zealand tomorrow, I will have some time and I will ask the promoters what is best to do, I haven’t prepared anything so far because promoters, mostly because they live here know what to do best. Then next week in Sydney I have five days before I go for the second part of the Australian tour. Or four days maybe, but some time. Then it’s off to Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra.
NL: You are still only 19 years old, has any problems arisen from this?
DDY: No. It was a problem, because I started quite early trying to DJ and stuff when I was 15, then it’s definitely a problem. But if you’re 18 everything is good. The big hype started when I was 18 so this is when I started to really travel a lot. So I never had problems.
NL: Are you going to come back to Australia after this tour?
DDY: Definitely. Yes.
NL: When? Do you know?
DDY: I don’t know, maybe for the festivals, but we have to see because it is really long travel. I would not come for just one show only. But this time I travel for three weeks because after Australia I go to Asia, some days off in Bangkok, then a sold out show in Bangkok, and then back home.
NL: So are you looking forward to the Asian shows because you said before this is where your favourite show was?
DDY: Yes very much.
NL: Just lastly, what can we expect from you tonight? What are you going to be playing for us?
DDY: I don’t know. (Laughs) I don’t know what to expect from the crowd so far. But I will try my best (Laughs).
NL: Thank you. Play well. I want to lose my brain.
DDY: Thank you.
