Interview by Ian Fleming
Ninetoes is a German DJ/Producer who has made a huge name for himself over the last 3 years. His track ‘Finder’ in the summer of 2013 lit the blowtorch on his career, and it has just gone from strength to strength since. Now with recent track ‘Desda’ as part of the Moon Harbour Inhouse Vol.7 compilation, we caught 15 with the guy to see how it came about….
Growing up in Germany’s Motor City – was dance music all around you? Did you got to clubs from a young age? What was it like?
I grew up in Stuttgart / home of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche & Bosch (to name some of the biggest companies we have). The city was and still is a hip hop dominated city. I started to go out 1994-95 and went mostly to hip hop clubs. The scene back then was massive and almost in every club you could find hip hop parties..
You have been on the scene for three years now – what have you learnt in that time? What do you know now you didn’t before?
HYPE! This is the most important thing in this industry. When you have for example a record label and a team / tribe / gang then you will get more attention and bookings etc. Whilst you’re a lone warrior out there you may still be a DJ who gets booked here and there but your impact and influence will be much lower.
And what are you most proud of so far, what have been your finest moments do you think?
There are so many great moments that I experienced over the last 3 years.. I’d say one of the highlights was when my mom showed her friends my track on her phone and told them “my son made this one!” Haha..
Tell us about your latest for Moon Harbour – how did you hook with that label? Whats it like working with them?
I’ve known Matthias, Dan and Sven from Moon Harbour for 2 years now. We became good friends and I’ve grown to really like them, so it was kinda easy to link up with the label.
And did you make the tune just for them and tailor it to their sound, or do you just make music and decide where it will go later?
No.. I would never produce music with the thought that it must fit a label’s sound. I’m just making music that I’m feeling at that particular time. For me the vibe and the flow is the most important thing while producing music.
You have had some big hits already, including one of the most Shazamed on Ibiza one year – what was that like? how did it feel? Did you know it was a biggie?
When Kling Klong and I released “Finder“ we had zero expectations. We just released the single and it turned out to be perfect timing 🙂 However after the release once the track was played everywhere and by everyone we realized “ok.. this one is a huge hit!” It was a crazy and great feeling to witness all these big names playing my track and everybody loving it!
Do you try and make big anthemic tunes, is that your aim? Does it fit with your DJ style?
No. Like i told you.. I just go with the flow. There is no concept when i make music..
What made you switch from hip hop to house? Can you remember the moment? And how has it been since then?
I was DJing somewhere in a hip hop club and grew bored of the same old sounds and boring raps. Back in 2000 I begun buying house and techno records for myself… so i was always open minded to electronic music. Looking back I think the switch was the best decision I’ve ever made!
Does your hip hop background inform your house music? Are there any similarities, can you transfer ideas from one to the other?
Sure.. I’ve always used hip hop samples or grooves in my productions. The good thing is that I have so much hip hop music from the 90’s till now which all the young cats don’t know and have.. so its a huge sample bank only for me 🙂
What else have you personally got coming up/are you looking forward to?
For this year I have confirmed a new EP on Saved (July 23rd) and a new EP on Play it Down as well. Other than that my team and I are working on getting more great stuff signed to great labels.
Stay tuned!
Ninetoes track ‘Desda’ is part of the Moon Harbour Inhouse Vol.7 Various Artists Compilation
