The thrilling young producer from Poland going all the way to the top
Interview by Dan Prince
Bastian welcome to DMCWORLD – where are you today?
“Hi there. Actually I’m at home. To be more specific – in my studio.”
What is last piece of music you heard today?
“Koven – ‘Miracle’ (Drum & Bass Mix). Lovely track. I recommend it to begin your day with a proper kick off. But also I’ve listened to Scooter – ‘Aiii Shot The DJ’…haha. Shame? Nope? It’s good to get back to those times from time to time.”
A massive new tune that has the world rocking at the moment, the wonderful ‘Kill Me For The Thrill’…a tune that is on all of the trance big players’ lists. Please talk us through the sound and history of the track…
“I produced this track back in January this year. We had hoped to release it sooner, somewhere next to the ‘Can People Fly EP’. However at some point we figured that it would be cool to try to arrange a vocal line for this one, I was working on new material while looking looking for vocalists keen to come on board.”
https://soundcloud.com/bastiansalbart/kmftt
How did the whole High Contrast connection happen?
“There’s no real rocket science behind this. I sent High Contrast three of my tracks – ‘One More Day’, ‘The End Is Near’ and ‘Run!’. After a few days their response arrived that they like all of them! The entire Be Yourself Music crew is a gang of really nice people with really good backgrounds and experience in the industry, so I’m happy to be part of this.”
You hail from Słupsk in northern Poland, how old were you when you first started listening to electronic music – your brother got you started right?
“I find difficult to say exactly how old I was when I have started to listening to electronic music. I think I was around 9 years old. My brother listened to lot of tracks from Westbam, Scooter, Brooklyn Bounce, Darude and many many more so it just naturally influenced me. Also a lot of my friends were fans of this kind of music and I did not want to be different.”
When did the whole production side of things begin?
“When I was 13 years old I started to mess around with those blocks in Dance eJay 2 (anyone remember this ‘DAW’? hehehe!). Later I discovered Magix Music Maker (which was pretty much the same as eJay), then, during computer classes in my school I came across the Fruity Loops 3 demo, tried it and have kept using it till this day. Newer versions of course.”
What did your family think of your career choice?
“They are proud…however, not entirely convinced that this is a good way to live your life. Opinions on this subject vary, but they are supporting me and I thank them for this.”
Dude, up until now the most famous person who was born in Słupsk was Kamila Augustyn – a badminton player!!! Are you the most famous person there now?
“Not necessarily! To be honest only my friends know what I do, I feel no need to be famous amongst the community here.”
Early producer influences?
“Of course! Loved the old Above & Beyond’s tracks, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Deadmau5 (‘Faxing Berlin’ times) and many more! I know that throwing all the big names here might sounds like a cliché but each of them had his moment or certain releases that influenced me some way. Also classics from Anjunabeats, High Contrast and Black Hole.”
Your first real break into the music industry?
“After release of one of my older singles (‘With Me’) I lost some of my enthusiasm so I started to look for something new and eventually decided to change my style (I think every artist has this kind of moments when doesn’t know where to do). Fortunatelly, I was still motivated enough to prepare new material. Everything has bound together again with the new releases which I also consider as the real break into the music industry as everything went better from that point on.”
A producer today you would like to have some studio time with…
“Hmmm…Maybe with one of the outstanding vocalists like Chris Martin from Coldplay or Alana Watson from Nero. As for electronic music producers with whom I’d like to spend some studio time with, I’d like to tweak some knobs with Arty or the guys from Above & Beyond.”
Tell us all about your remix for Richard Durand…massive news! Coming out soon yeah?
“I do not know the exact release date yet but I believe it will be released in a few weeks. I really enjoyed the original mix by Richard with great vocals by Fishe and was really happy when my manager told me out of nowhere that I will be remixing this one. I decided to do something strictly dancefloor oriented but also to be respectful to the original vibe (and Fisher’s vocal of course). My remix contains a lot groove and electro house elements while the breakdowns are still atmoshperic. Hope I managed to combine all the elements properly. Stay tuned for the preview very soon.”
What are the 5 big tunes in your box this weekend?
1.Koven – Miracle (Drum & Bass Mix)
2.Above & Beyond feat. Alex Vargas – Blue Sky Action (EDX Remix)
3.Richard Durand feat. Fisher – In Your Hands (Bastian Salbart Remix)
4.Grabbitz – Here With You Now
5.London Grammar – If You Wait (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Not many people know this, but Bastian Salbart is really good at…
“Really good at cooking. This is not a joke, I really like to cook and I believe I’m good at it.”
What is the record that…
…you wish you would have made?
Apex – Inner Space
…always gets you dancing?
Above & Beyond – Alone Tonight
…reminds you of your girlfriend?
Sia – Breathe Me
Tell us about your studio set up?
“My studio setup is:
Audio Interface: NI Audio Kontrol 1 and NI Audio DJ 8,
Midi Keyboard: M-Audio Axiom Air 32 Mini
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro
2x Speakers: KRK RP5 G3
+ PC
Who is the first person you play your new music to?
“If my cat is asleep my manager listens to the music first. Otherwise it’s always a cat.”
What is coming out next from you studio wise?
“Two new instrumental are already finished. Still thinking about the final shapes of those (talking to vocalists) but I’m very happy about the instrumental side of them. Aside of that, I’m working on something new. I wish to experiment but need to keep everything balanced to not exaggerate. So it will not be a dubstep track! This is what I’m doing at the moment studio wise.”
You wake up in the morning…the first thing you do is turn your computer on/kiss your girlfriend or head to the toilet?
“Unfortunately I do not live with my girlfriend yet!! So it’s always in that order: Computer? Toilet? Breakfast? Shower? Work…”
Your tune of the summer?
“Seven Lions with Myon & Shane 54 – ‘Strangers’ (feat. Tove Lo).”
DJ show of the summer?
“Electrocity Festival 9 in Poland alongside BT, Emma Hewitt, Erick Prydz, etc.”
And finally gotta ask, your brother first introduced you to dance music. What does he think of your success now, does he come to your gigs and party?
“He never imagined that I would take it all so seriously and would be doing what I do now. He also tried something of this nature but dropped off quickly. However, he wishes me all the best.”
www.facebook.com/BastianSalbart
www.twitter.com/BastianSalbart
www.soundcloud.com/BastianSalbart
www.youtube.com/BastianSalbart
