The new sound of Frankfurt hits Ministry of Sound with the Noon main man
Interview by Dan Prince
Frank welcome back to DMCWORLD…a big week in Miami under your belt, where in the world are you right now?
Hoooome! Back at my house in Frankfurt now after the Miami madness. It feels so good to come home after a trip like this and sleep in your own bed again. First thing we did was a family BBQ!
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after rolling out of bed?
That was Mark Barott`s – Island Life from the latest Soul Clap Podcast, mixed by our friend Melon. A fantastic set to start your day.
So let’s kick off with Miami Music Week, you bad 4 big parties last week in 4 different venues, how did the Noon Showcase go down at Steam? Melanie Ribbe and Todd Terry killed it right?
First of all, I need to say thanks to my wonderful team and to everybody at LOT14 / STEAM for making this special one happening. All the work and passion that each and everyone did put into this project was off da hook! The venue was the most amazing that I have seen in Miami so far. So laid back and relaxed, with an amazing underground vibe and a monster sound system. Every artist that played this day was just exceptional and Todd Terry gave us a little lesson in deep house classics. Everybody killed it! All in all it was simply a wonderful day. Friends, great BBQ and finest music – all that we need!
Where else was off the Richter Scale in Miami, what other parties rocked?
For me, that was the party at Treehouse. I played there with Shlomi Aber and the Be As One crew. I must confess that I was a bit worried before my show as the room where I had to play was closed until I started. The other room was jam packed already and I thought ‘oh shit, I`m gonna play for my friends and myself’. But as soon as the opened the door, the room filled up within 3 minutes and we got a great party going on! After Steam, that was for sure one of my MMW highlights. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to see many of the other parties that were going on, as my schedule was pretty packed.
What were some of the big tunes of the week?
That was for sure a edit of Klint – Diamond, made by my homeboy Romano Alfieri. Also Shades In Creation by Phil Weeks or Emmanuel Satie – Ask George. All in all there was so much great music out just in time for Miami, that I could go on and on and on…
You once said that Miami Week is like squashing the whole Ibiza season into 2 weeks!! This year’s Miami was the best for years we think…?
It pretty much is! There is such a high rate of quality party`s with festival size line-up`s within this 2 weeks that it seems like a Iron Man marathon to even visit half of the jams that you wanna see. I doubt that it is the healthiest choice to even try! For my team and myself it was a very special and important one this year, as we got the chance to finally present the first showcase of our baby NOON. So yes, best one for years!
A big night for London town is round the corner with the mighty Ministry of Sound bringing us Nightowl and a great night of underground music. It must always be a pleasure to play at MOS towers?
Actually, this is my first time I play for MOS and I am super excited about it. The brand itself is legendary in dance music / clubbing, so I feel blessed to get the chance for being part of it. And what I’ve heard so far, it must be a smashing party. Also I am playing alongside our very close friend Michel Cleis. I didn`t have the chance to meet up with him in quiet a while, that makes the whole thing even sweeter. I can`t wait for this one.
I heard a rumour that this is your first UK show in over a year? Is that right? Have you fallen out of love with us all??!??
Well, rumors…haha! No! I could never fall out of love with playing UK. I had so many amazing times over there that this is impossible to happen. But true is, that this is my first UK show in quiet a while. We had some shows planned for 2014 but for the one or other reason, they didn’t happen. We are working on changing that, promised!
What are the 5 big tunes in your box this weekend…
First of all, I am going to reboot my playlist, as Miami is over and we all need some fresh sound. But these ones will remain in my set for sure:
– Markus Fix – Dayrun
Of course, our latest release on Noon Records is on heavy rotation, everyone that gives it a listen, knows why!
– Simon Baker – Turmoil
The latest EP of Simon Baker is pure dance floor dynamite. raw and groovy, but always with a little smile.
– Raumakustik – Raider
A true killer tune that will be out on Jamie Jones Hot Trax imprint. Reminds me of Green Velvet – Destinations Unknown. TECHNO!
– Klint – Diamond (Romano Alfieri Edit)
A track that will be in my playlist for a long time. Romano takes the original to another level!
– Lewis Boardman – Work on me (Luke Solomon`s Body Edit)
Acid, Vocals and a funky ass Bass – I love this type of bouncy, percussive Trax!
Loving ‘Oh Year’ on the label dude, Markus Fix on fire and who else could you ask than DJ Sneak to step and rework that mutha! Happy with the release…?
More than that! Markus is one of my closest friend and I love him like a brother. Besides that, he is one of the most talented musicians i know. When he gave us some music for the label, my partner Carol and I knew straight away, that this three tracks are exactly what we want to release. The diversity of this EP represents us in a perfect way and the Sneak remix is the cherry on top. When I go to a record-store, this is what I personally would spent my money in!
Markus was infamously given a Behringer 3 canal mixer as a gift by his brother in 1992 which set him on his DJing and producing way. What was the first gift you were given that helped you on your way?
Hahaha, well, lets call it a gift…I basically hijacked my Mum`s first PC in 1990 and abused it to produce first things on MS-DOS based Tracker programs. And of course my first Mixer, a Soundcraft Disco Mixer, that my Dad gave me as a birthday present, also around that time.
What is coming out next from the label…?
The next EP is coming from our youngest member of the Noon Artists family – Matteo Spedicati. This one is gonna go in a different direction than the last releases. It pleases our love for deep, soulful and a little bit darker soundscapes. Bringing some beautiful vocals and trippy journeys to our catalogue. The EP will include remixes of our pal Cesar Merveille and one by myself. After that we have a devilish good EP by Faust Messina, including a massive Leon rework. And we have a lot more goodies to follow that.
A big festival that has you excited this summer…?
We are really looking forward to Barcelona during Sonar, as we are going to present our Noon family to Europe for the first time.
Your best ever 10 seconds at a festival ever…?
First time ‘Caminando’ at Timewarp Festival 2007! I will never forget the moment when everybody sat down during the break. The energy when the beat came back was out of this world. Unbelievable.
An up and coming producer to watch out for this year…
We have a lot of great and talented young producers out there and of course we believe in the talent of the artists that joined our little Noon family. So keep an eye on Romano Alfieri, Matteo Spedicati and Melanie Ribbe!
What are your plans for Ibiza this summer?
I can`t tell you too much by now, but be sure that we will be there and come up with some nice surprises!
3 bucket list adventures you wanna do in your lifetime?
Have children
Build a house
BBQ a whole cow!
And finally, what is coming out next from the mighty Reboot studio…?
My new EP ‘The French Thing’ was just released a couple of weeks ago on Defected. Then I have another EP on Dubfire`s SCI-TECH imprint that should be out in the next weeks. I finished a couple of remixes for our label Noon, Electronique and other Artists like Francesco Tristano for example. I am also working on a very special project with a non-elektronic musician. And I am putting together new Album for the end of 2015. So loads of projects and music to look out for.
*****
NIGHTOWL PRESENTS REBOOT
SATURDAY 11TH APRIL
MINISTRY OF SOUND, LONDON
STARRING REBOOT, MICHAEL CLEIS, KRANKBROTHER & ANEK
Ticket link:
http://www.ministryofsound.com/events/calendar/club/2015/02/20/14/04/150411-nightowl
