Celebrating the ten year anniversary of his label Material…
Interview by Rob Chadwick
Mihalis welcome to DMCWORLD, how has 2016 started for you and what are the year’s goals?
Great to be here at DMCWORLD! It is looking like a great year in all aspects. Music wise with my labels doing great, my events doing even greater and there are a lot of plans and release that I feel proud of. But my next goal is to loose the 7 kilos I gained over Christmas hahaha…
As one of the most celebrated tech house artists in the world, what is tech house to you? What defines it, why do you love the genre so much?
Tech house is a form of dance groovy music, sometimes it fades out too fast and sometimes it is here forever. For me what matters is to keep it updated and at the same time push the boundaries in the genre I love. I admire a bunch of artists but again what is the most important is that I admire the new talents that are pushing the boundaries in an era whre everyone seems to be obsessed with Tech house.
How often do you go in the studio and write music and how long does it take you to finish a track…because you release a lot of music!
It depends. Sometimes you can finish a track off within couple of hours and sometimes it can take weeks. That’s the magic of production!
Do you release every track you make or do you keep some back for yourself? How much music do you have on your computer?
That’s funny…you asked me how much music do I have on my computer and not in my room! So I will reply exact the opposite. I have around 10,000 vinyl in my house, obviously not all my own productions! Regarding my tracks, I produce a lot and release what I think is good for the dancefloor.
Do you write music with certain labels in mind so you can make it fit their style, or do you just write the stuff then send it out? What generally inspires or influences your tracks?
If you check my catalogue you will see that Safras does not have a specific style. I produce club dance music whatever that means. I produce what sounds tasty in my ears!
And do you write music with certain clubs or moments of dance floors in mind? Do you feel certain records work best in certain environments, so like festivals vs basement clubs? Which do you prefer and why?
Off course each has its own magic. I love playing in festivals cause you are more free to test and experiment on things, on the other hand it is great to spin my vinyl in club venues cause it feels warmer. Can’t really select one.
And what is the style that suits your own label – what are you looking for that one and how do you know if something is right for Material?
Material is all about the groove. If it’s dark or summer-ish, all tracks we release are groovy.
What have been some highlights over the years for you?
Definitely a highlight for 2015 was that the boys at Traxsource named me #1 techouse artist of the year..but the real highlight was that Safras Junior came to life.
Whats the best bit and worst bit about running a label? Have you ever been close to giving up?
There are no worst bits in the music bizniz. Even the times you think that something ruins your mood, this gives you a lesson and more power to move on. I love what I do so never been in the place of giving up.
You collaborate with various people and have a new one with Jay Kurmis coming, right? What’s it like working with someone instead of solo, how different do the results sound?
Well I am a fan of collaborations as you can see from my next collabs with Noir and Gene Ferris. 4 ears are better than 2. And yes Jey and I having few up and coming hot tunes. Loving this guy and I love doing stuff together.
What else are you currently working on or are you excited about?
This period I’m finalizing my 3rd album that will come out on Material…plus as I said earlier the project of ‘Safras and I must lose those 7 kilos!!!
Link to Socials:
www.facebook.com/mihalissafras
www.instagram.com/mihalissafras/
