Huge new tune from the on fire production duo. They have the world in their hands…
Dan Prince gets an exclusive chat with Sugarstarr, one half of this dynamic duo ahead of their new release on Erick Morillo’s mighty Subliminal Records…
Welcome to DMCWORLD Magazine – another huge tune you have brought to the world’s dancefloors with Denis The Menace ‘World In Your Hands’ swinging our way on Subliminal – talk us through the history of the track…
“My partner Serhat (aka SESA) and I have been friends with Denis for many years now and we have been talking about a possible collab for a while. Back in 2010 we finally started off then, but due to our massive touring and lack of time it took some months until we finished off with the playback. A couple of months later we did the vocal recording with Mara Kim and directly sent the result to Erick Morillo. He was straightly infected by what we sent and wanted to sign the tune from the very start. As we all wanted to make the track sound perfect and find the best timing to schedule the release it took even longer… Now … after months of waiting we finally made it… and it looks perfect so far, as we have already big big support by all the big names and huge chart entries in all relevant dance-charts worldwide. A big start with the new record. Thanks to Erick and the entire Subliminal Team!”
Your DJ sets are stuff of legend – funky, electronic, vocal, soul masterclasses – who were your early influences that helped you created your sound?
“I started DJing in the mid 80s…and that was actually the best kind of education I could get through. During that time I soaked up all those music-styles, and learnt how to bring them in one mix perfectly. Back in 1988 I had my first resident DJ slot in a big room-club in Hamburg where I hammered rare grooves, R&B and some funky stuff. But – that was also that spot I firstly got in touch with house music in the early 90s. Something like a magic moment for me from that moment as house music was changing my whole DJ life. So all influences definitely come from a wide range of dance music. And that makes the versatile sound of Syke’n’Sugarstarr as well. A touch of everything. Sometimes funky…sometimes pumping…sometimes rocking…the other day maybe soulful…always surprising ourselves…”
Sugarstarr – what is the current top 10 you are spinning?
1. Denis The Menace & Syke’n’Sugarstarr – World In Your Hands (Dub Mix) – Subliminal Rec.
2. COMON – Da Da Da (Original Mix) – Toolroom Rec.
3. SESA – Kick It (Original Mix) – Do The Hip! Rec.
4. The Cube Guys – Patanegra (Original Mix) – Cube Recordings
5. Syke’n’Sugarstarr vs Fat Boy Slim vs Cazzette – Danz Right Here (Booty) – cd-r
6. Asaf Avidan – One Day (S’n’S Secret Booty) – cd-r
7. Superskank – Good Time (Olivier Giacomotto Remix) – 1605 Rec.
8. Syke’n’Sugarstarr & Rasmus Faber – We Go Oh (Club Goes Oh!) – cd-r
9. Sabb & Zenbi feat. Born I Music – Nasty Girl (Sonny Wharton Remix) – Great Stuff
10. Amine Edge – Going To Heaven With The Goodie-Goodies (S’n’S Edit) – 2DIY4
Who brings what to the studio when producing – who excels where?
“It’s definitely Serhat who’s mainly tweaking the knobs and playing the keys while I’m more into arranging and delivering basic and final ideas to make our productions playable in the clubs. Due to the fact that I recently moved to Vienna our way of producing has changed a bit. Now Skype & Face-Time are our best friends. We’re also producing on several projects at the same time while swapping them through our server, which is actually not a bad way of working together. But it’s surely not a battle we have production-wise. We’ve been working so close for 15 years now and it’s undoubtedly a strong togetherness. We’re sharing everything…except the girls…lol.”
What is coming next from you studio wise?
“We currently have a kind of a luxury problem as we never had so many productions in our career waiting for it’s release. There are plenty of new collaborations we recently started with, but the most promising we think is the next one with Rasmus Faber. The first release will be called “We Go Oh” and it’s not just another simple big room dance track. It is more a kind of a sophisticated stadium-sing-along-anthem. More songish orientated with a real strong melody. We just handed it out to John Dahlbäck, Bob Sinclar, Kaskade, Thomas Gold and The Digitalism… and they all love the track…. watch out for the release on Farplane Rec. this Autumn. Hey – and the video release is already next week…! Beside a handful of new Syke’n’Sugarstarr singles we have also some SESA singles scheduled to be released until the end of the year. One of them is a 2013 version of the legendary “In My Life”. We can’t wait to put this out again as this is still one of our highlight productions from a musical perspective. What we definitely plan to do in the near future is to push our own label Do The Hip! Rec. which has not seen so much output until today. The reason:? Nearly all Syke’n’Sugarstarr releases have always been picked by big labels, which is generally not bad at all. But now all the deals have run out and it’s finally time for some Do The Hip! action!!”
You spend A LOT of time together – what are each other’s most annoying habits?
“I definitely know Serhat hates that I’m always a bit impatient which is based on my rampant ambition…and I think Serhat’s habit might be his “Wankelmut”…it’s a German word that means something like changeableness, inconstancy or shilly-shallying…it means his mood changes day by day. But it’s not a big problem…he’s still the best character I have ever met…”
Sugarstarr – tell us about that infamous Uzbekistan plane experience…
“Dan it’s funny that you’ve heard about this story!!! Some years ago I was booked to perform at a club in Tashkent, the capital of UZ. Unfortunately my flight from Moscow was cancelled and I had to fly out to Samarkand, another city in that country. The promoter told me that they’d pick me up there to bring me to Tashkent by car. But the plan changed when I arrived at Samarkand Airport. A non English speaking guy picked me up at the baggage belt. He was taking me to another, backsided exit and then brought me back to the aircraft I just arrived with. I entered it and got the info that they’d now be flying me to Tashkent. Me only, with the pilot and some air hostesses…me alone in a Boeing 767? Wow…that’s Rock’n’Roll. Unfortunately I can’t say more here and now…but everyone reading this and catching me one day at any of my gigs – just hook me up and I’m gonna tell you the rest of the story…”
Matthias – we love the way you chill out and get inspired, simply having some time to yourself and walking around a new city to explore fora few hours. Where are the best cities around the world you enjoy this lovely ritual?
“I think I had the best walks in Australia, especially in Melbourne and Sydney. But I also loved to experience Shanghai and – for sure – NYC and London. All of them providing so much energy and special sights off the usual paths. For me it’s pure inspiration and relaxant.”
Matthias – Bad start to the football season for your beloved Hamburger SV with crushing defeats by Karlsuher SC and FC Nurnberg – plus a tough away game against Werder Bremen coming up. Phew. A tough season ahead?
“Hahaha…sounds like you know every detail of my life… and it seems you also know about my wounds!! Yeah…it looks like HSV could stride through a bitter time this season. But I’m the kind of person who boundlessly loves this club and will still love it if we go down one league. On the other hand – I’m pretty sure we gonna rock it again. The quality of the team, the fans, the club in general – everything is in perfect shape. The only thing that sucks is the press in Hamburg. They blow everything up to a major issue and unsettle to whole team. Btw – if any responsible person from Tottenham Hotspurs reads this – please release Rafael Van Der Vaart – we need him back…!!!”
Some of your anthems such as ‘No Satisfaction’, ‘U Got Me Rockin’, ‘I Believe’ and ‘Like That Sound’ have received huge support from legendary DJs such as Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez and Tiesto. Who are your favourite DJs you like to jump around the dancefloor to?
“All of those names, who I still love to listen to. Especially Erick and Roger who have the musical and technical skills that makes a great DJ. They’re still my faves.”
Sugarstarr – you have toured the world ten times over DJing – what have been some of the stand out clubs for you over the years?
“My top three clubs that I have played at over the last year are:
Revelin (Dubrovnik, Croatia)
Top Hill (Budva, Montenegro)
Family (Brisbane, Australia)
Tell us about the whole clearance issue you received from The Rolling Stones label to enable you to lay your hands on that huge masterpiece?
“I think there’s just one thing to mention: thanks to Kontor Records! They made it happen. I guess without having this record label at our side we never would have the chance to clear this, as the Stones are really really picky with permissions and clearance issues. OK, the licensing conditions have been totally crazy in every detail…but – hey – we officially provided “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” in a modern way. That’s great and makes us proud enough.”
Anthem of the summer?
“I hope it will be our brand new “World In Your Hands”…but I’d also vote for Asaf Avidan’s “One Day” which I think is the biggest smasher this summer.”
Best album ever made?
“Depeche Mode – ‘Black Celebration’.”
Craziest request you have ever received from a clubber whilst performing?
“A girl came to us some months ago who was asking for an autograph. She then showed us her handbag…”Excuse me?” we asked…to which she replied “could you please sign my handbag?”. Without raising an eyebrow we did it…as we do everything for our fans… especially if the handbag is made by Gucci and costs 5k…. lol.”
And finally, who is the best vocalist you have ever worked with?
“We worked with many, but it’s definitely CeCe Rogers…as it’s not only his incredible voice. It’s also his charisma, charm and the professionalism. He’s a good boy!”
Web: www.syke-n-sugarstarr.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SykeNSugarstarr
Youtube: www.youtube.com/sykeandsugarstarr
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/sykensugarstarr
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sugarstarr
