House heavyweight Detlef has amassed a worldwide following a career spanning nearly a decade. A previous Beatport Number 1 record holder for Swagon, this year marked a particularly special milestone with the launch of his own label, Issues. Such a feat simply adds to the Greek-natives illustrious reputation, having cemented his place in electronic music with stunning releases on the likes of Hot Creations, Repopulate Mars, Relief and Moon Harbour to name a few. DMCWORLD checks in with the main man as he releases his mighty ‘Thunder & Lighting’ collab…
Thank you for taking the time out to speak with us today Detlef, it’s great to have you with us! First off how are you doing and whereabouts are you based at the moment?
Thank you for having me DMCWORLD. I’m doing pretty well, thank you! Just a bit bored. I’m back home in Thessaloniki in Greece and happy that at least the weather is good.
How have things been for you so far this year given the current global circumstances? What have you been doing with the time that usually would have been spent on the road?
Well, it’s been great to be honest. Before lockdown I was travelling heavily and during that time making music was really stressful as I’d only have a short amount of studio time before I had to travel again. It’s been great to have some time off to relax and then slowly I’ve naturally felt the urge to want to make music again without time pressure and be creatively free to make whatever I feel like.
So Thunder and Lightning from yourself, Lee Foss and Anabel Englund has just dropped on Hot Creations (20th November). A coming together of three Hot Creations heavy weights and it’s a huge release! Can you tell us a bit about how this release came about and what it was like creating it?
I had been talking to Lee about doing a collaboration together for such a long time and because we weren’t busy gigging anymore we finally had to the time to make it happen. I sent him a few ideas and he chose two and added to it and then we went back and forth on the arrangement. The tracks came together seamlessly – it felt really natural and the result was amazing especially with Anabel’s vocal. You can’t plan records like these. Buy link – https://lnk.to/HOTC163
This summer you began a new journey with the launch of your label, Issues. Congrats on that, there’s been some super releases so far from the likes of yourself, Alvaro AM and Joseph Edmund and more. Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration behind the label?
Thank you very much! I’ve always wanted to start a label but I wanted to wait for the right moment to do it properly so I could give the very best support to the artists and ensure that the music was top quality. I noticed a gap in the market as many labels simply release club bangers to get as much support by as many DJs as possible at gigs but my goal is to release underground music that still works in a club environment but is also equally tasteful.
Can you tell us a bit about your studio set up? What bits of gear of software have been inspiring you recently?
I’ve been collecting and experimenting with synths lately and so far, I have the Moog Minimoog, Roland SH101, Roland Juno 106, Moog Prodigy, Oberheim OB8, Roland TR-808 and TR-909 as well as newer models such as Behringer TD3, Native Instruments Machine, Launchpad, UAD Apollo Twin and Focal Solo6. As for VSTS, I use EQuality a lot which is a great EQ, Soundtoyz, Fabfilter, the Arturia collection, Predator and Subboombass. There are so many plugins that you can be inspired by. I always try new ones and sometimes I create something crazy that sounds great and then I’ll use it in a track.
It seems there is a lot of great music coming out at the moment which is great to see, both from existing and new artists alike. Are there any upcoming artists that have caught your attention over the last few months?
I’ve heard that producers are delaying their releases until the pandemic is over which is pretty sad because life goes on and you have to give people new music regardless of sales. I believe that the artists who are releasing music during this time when the sales aren’t great deserve attention from the public because these artists are here for the music and not for the fame.
New talent that I believe will breakthrough next year are Kabbina, Just Jake and B3ATS to name a few. There is so much budding talent out there at the moment – it’s great.
Favourite track to listen to at the moment in your downtime?
Oh, that’s an easy one – DJ Khalid ft. Drake ‘Popstar’. Banger!
What’s on the way next from your new label Issues?
Chicks Luv Us’ release on Issues was an amazing EP! The next release is by George Smeddles with incredible tracks as well. I’ve been playing them for over the past year and they work like a charm in the clubs. We also have a VA coming up that includes tracks from producers around the world which I believe will be the strongest release on the label so far. I honestly can’t wait for people to hear what I have lined up.
Detlef thanks again for chatting with us today! To round things off, is there anything coming up from yourself that we should keep an eye out for?
I have a few collaborations with some amazing artists – the tracks are a real mixture of both our sounds. I also have solo releases on Issues and other labels which I can’t announce yet but 2021 will be an exciting year that’s for sure! Thank you for the having me and hope to party with you all soon.
Lee Foss, Detlef & Anabel Englund – Thunder & Lightning. Out now on Hot Creations.
