Tapesh is a very successful German music producer and DJ. He started his affair with music in his father’s clubs during the early 80s, where he had no choice but to listen to things like Kraftwerk and proper funk music. Today Tapesh has become very much in demand around the world, preforming in clubs like Cocoon in Frankfurt, Warung in Brazil and Studio 80 in the Netherlands.
We want to hear about your beginnings in the industry. How long have you been working on producing and DJing, and what made you want to pursue this as a career?
Producing I’ve been doing since 12 years and DJ’ing has been over 20 years. I always had gigs when I was not producing, I never had a big break. I know the nightlife very well.
Tell us about your workflow when you’re building a song. What part do you start with?
I start with the kickdrum, then I do the beats. The sample follows after that and the hihat. Then the bassline. All of my ideas for a track are like 3 to 4 minutes, when my idea is done I go arranging and lengthen the track. It is finished when it sounds round to me.
When we think of the German electronic music scene, our minds immediately think of Cologne. How’s the nightlife in Düsseldorf for this style of music?
I think the style of Düsseldorf is really weak at the moment. I think that in Cologne is much more going on. A lot of my friends from Dusseldorf go to Holland or cologne to go out. It died a little bit here.
Your music creates such a funky and deep atmosphere for the listener. What genres or artists have inspired you most?
I like all Chicago stuff, Chicago house people back in the days. That influenced me a lot. An artist that definitely influenced me is Derrick Carter.
Are there any current producers you’d love to work with?
Hendrick Schwartz and Kink.
Whenever vocals are featured in your songs, they seem to be placed there to complement the instrumental rather than being placed at the forefront of the track. What do you think of vocal-heavy electronic dance music?
I like it when a vocal isn’t doing all work. Sometimes the music is more important than the vocals. I use a lot of samples, sometimes the vocals aren’t really touching me and the music is. Then I still use it. EDM is not my stuff, is that enough said? Haha.
What’s your favourite part about being a DJ/producer? Could you have seen yourself pursuing anything else?
Playing with the croud. Seeing how they’re going through the journey with me. As a producer my favourite part is to create a sound, that is my passion. I have a good nose for new talent, I think I would be a good talent scout if I wasn’t a DJ.
You frequent Ushaïa’s ANTS, which we’ve heard much about. Tell us about the music, the vibe, and the crowd at the weekly event?
The whole thing is like a big show. The mainstage has a lot of fireworks and dancers. You can really tell that there is always an EDM going on there. The vibe is really good.
What have you been up to this past year, and what do you have planned for the rest of it?
Working on your Hot creation EP, I’ve also been working on the EP for Kompakt. I really have a fulltime job as a DJ, producer and daddy. For the next year: I’m always trying to get to the next level. So I’ll definitely continue doing that.
Where do you see your sound going next?
As it’s very difficult to create a new genre, it will always be electronic music for me.
Tapesh will play Audio Rehab at Ministry of Sound on September 5th – Tickets & Info – http://smarturl.it/AUDIOREHABSEP
Tapesh Mixes the ANTS Summer compilation..
Its out NOW – iTunes: http://po.st/ANTS2015
Link up with Tapesh:
https://www.facebook.com/tapesh.official
https://instagram.com/djtapesh/
http://dj.beatport.com/tapesh
http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/tapesh
