Eastern Electrics - Detlef Exclusive Interview

Interview | 16.08.2016

Let’s start with the summer. How has it been and what sort of things have you been up to’

The summer has been amazing so far. I’ve been playing solid grooves, twice per month, which has just been incredible. Each time I’ve played, the room has been full, which is great to see. Solid Grooves have been completely smashing it this summer and Ibiza season. It’s their first year on the island and they’ve been doing some really neat stuff. PAWSA, Michael Bibi, Niki and Ami, have all been doing such amazing jobs. Solid Grooves takes place each Thursday at the Vista Club, so everyone should head down.

Can we see material being released on the label’

Yes, course we will, but not yet. In the near future, we will most definitely be working with the Solid Grooves family. The label is completely full at the moment, but we have arranged with Attilio to release stuff next year. It’s going to be around the beginning of the year, I shall be doing some remixes and stuff. Solid Grooves are really good promoters.

At the moment, you are definitely surrounding yourself with the right people, having released material on Hot Creations and Moon Harbor. This is there any parties you are getting excited about’

I’ve really enjoyed the summer so far. I’ve been lucky enough to play some really big gigs. However, the summer has not finished yet and I have the Paradise party on the 21st September to get excited about. This will be my first Paradise party and it’s going to be big. I cannot wait. I have never played at DC10, although I have been a few times. If you get the opportunity to play at DC10, it’s always nice, especially Hot Creations’ Paradise party.

We had the chance to listen to your set earlier and we have to say it was one of the best. You had a set change with Denny’ How is the travelling for a touring DJ’

I love to travel, I love going places, meeting people, I couldn’t ask for a better job. I was running a bit late today. I had just come from Greece. I flew straight in from the airport to be here today. I was late maybe 10mins, something’s you just can’t control. However, I love to travel, I really like the the Basque Country a lot.

The Basque people are really heavy. They say, if a Basque person likes you, he will like you forever and if he hates you, he’ll hate you forever. Basque people are really warm people, so it’s really nice to visit. I also Love the UK, I love the culture of the people here and they have some amazing clubs.

Talk to us about the UK and London’

I’ve played every where in London and parts of the UK. The Fire, Studio 338 and I’ve played at the EGG. The garden has to be my favourite. O my god, the garden was amazing. I wish, I was British. However, I was playing in Wales a few weeks ago, it was at a roof party in the capital; it was amazing. I felt awesome coming off the back of that gig. Furthermore, the club promoter was speaking to me for about two hours and I couldn’t understand anything. I was sitting next to him, I was laughing and he was laughing and he asking me why are you laughing, and I had no idea. Sometimes the accents can be hard to understand but that’s all part of the fun touring.

Let’s talk the Kinky Tail EP. Are we allowed to talk about kinky Tail’

Haha, course we can, ‘Kinky Tail’ is our friend. ‘Kinky Tail’ was such a simple track for me, it came naturally. I just used a few synths, samples, what ever sounded nice and chopped them to fit the style I wanted to project. I did it in one hour, ‘Oh Oh’ as well, when I do something quick, I know people are going to enjoy it because it won’t sound forced. I was really pleased with the amount of radio exposure it got and Pete Tong made it his essential new tune. It also did well in the clubs, with Jamie Jones and Matthias Tanzmann both supporting the EP.

The EP has definitely got a unique style to it, like a thuggish element running through it. Can you explain that’

I was talking with Kevin Knapp the other day, and he told me my music sounded hoodish, like it was from the hood or something. But to tell you the truth, I have no idea. I’m from Greece we don’t have hoods or anything.

What would you say has been your best track’

Haha, I have no idea, because I don’t like my music. I did a track, that was not even played by any one, it was called ‘Standing by’; it got released on ‘Circle Music’. Really cool and melodic. However, ‘Oh Oh’ on the Kinky Tail EP, didn’t get the recognition it deserved. It didn’t even do as well as ‘Beat Don’t Stop’, which I have to say, I prefer more.

We absolutely loved the remix you done for Lee Foss’s and Jamie Jones’s Emerald City label. How did that come about’ You must have been pleased with the results.

Lee Foss’s ‘The Gift’ was released on Emerald City as part of the remix package. Emerald City is a really cool label. When I got the original sent through to me, I was like this is so cool. Lee Foss produces some amazing stuff. I’ve heard his forthcoming album and it’s amazing. It’s got some really nice musical elements and vocals in there. You know, it’s in his style, he reminds me of Daft Punk’s earlier days. Trust me, it’s so good. I think Lee Foss is one of the best artists out there at the moment; he’s got that funk vibe going on.

Are there any other artists you have been enjoying and supporting lately’

I’m really enjoying Patrick Topping at the moment. His brand new remix ‘Dem A Pree’, which is going to be released on Emerald City is huge. Patrick Topping is an amazing artist and a real talent. I like his simplistic style and he only releases tracks’ that matter. Less is always more.

What’s next, in terms of productions and releases’

Each November, I spend around two weeks in the studio, working on and finishing tracks that I can send to labels and artists like Richy Ahmed, Eats Everything and Lee Foss. This enables me to sign everything for the whole year and concentrate on touring throughout the summer months.

Forthcoming, I have an EP on Lee Foss’s Repopulate Mars, which is called ‘Swag On’. The label is really unique, so I’m really excited to be doing something with Lee and the label. ‘Swag On’ is getting played every where at the moment and everyone’s asking me about it. I think, ‘Swag On’ is going to do really well when it gets a full release. I also have material coming out on Eats Everything’s label Edible, called Jay Dee. That’s getting great response already to. Later on in the year, I have a track on Hot Traxx, which I’m really excited about.

I’m currently doing stuff that comes naturally to me, which is nice, I’m not forcing anything and releasing stuff that doesn’t feel right. Everything is sounding great at the moment, so I’m looking forward to the next couple of months. I’ve been producing music for 20 years, and I’m still learning every day.