German artist Basti Grub whose live sets have been sanctimonious with quality for quite a while now. He is an artist whose productions are also always perfectly produced and follow a very unique style. With a release on Italian label Digital Traffik just dropped, we grabbed 15 with the man and found out more…
Interview by Ian Fleming
How was summer for you, what were the highlights?
This year in general had something up its sleeve. I have been number one on Beatport for two months all over the main charts. I had lots of new releases on great labels and a project I have been working on for quite sometime is really coming alive now.
You have been in this game nearly 10 years now – what are you most proud of in that time? What sticks out?
Well, I am proud that I am in the game for ten years and that I am playing all over the globe.
What are the good and bad bits about running your own label would you say?
The good bits obviously are that you can release whenever you want and the bad ones are that doing everything on your own is a hell of a lot of work that requires great organizing abilities.
You play piano and hang drum, right? Is it important to have formal playing skills to make dance music you think?
Yes, I do. I wouldn’t say it is essential to have formal playing skills but it definitely helps.
What is your writing process like – do you have the tracks in your head before you start or is it more trial and error?
When I start producing a track and one of the audio tracks (baseline, melody, synth) really gets me going then I know where the journey´s heading and the track is almost ready in my mind.
Your latest is on Digital Traffik – tell us about that EP, where is it written for – do you imagine clubs and dance floors when you are in the studio?
Like many of my tracks the release is inspired by the tunes and sound of Africa. Tingog is made for open airs & poemuffin is more for the club. As for my imagination when I am in the studio I don´t necessarily think of clubs. Each release is a journey of its own – a mood or a concept that I follow through.
Do your own DJ experiences inform your productions? Are they interlinked?
No, since I only play live and not as a DJ it doesn’t, but even if I would I don´t think they would inform my productions much.
What’s next for you, what else have you got coming up?
There will be a few new releases on deeperfect, this and that and be one as well as a couple of new remixes with different labels and I am working on my fourth album that I might finish by the end of the year.
What was the last record you bought that really made you go wow and why?
Matthew Herbert ”The Recording“ because it´s genius, outlandish and perfectly produced and Björk ”Vulnicura” also a terrific record.
Basti Grub’s ‘Tingog + Poemuffin is out now on Digital Traffik
Grab it now –
