Searching for our dancefloor love
Welcome to DMCWORLD Oliver, a big star of Miami – how was your week?
“I´m actually still in Miami for another couple of weeks to detox, lol. Seriously I had a great time. It was a very good networking period for me better than in the past years. We had a couple of own events that went down great. All in all it was a sleepless week with too many drinks and parties but hey, that´s what we´re here for once a year. The only concern I have is that everything became a bit to supersized meaning that with the permanent battle between the Miami clubs, Ultra Music Festival, WMC & MMW, the genuine spirit and feeling will get lost for the sake of profit. It would be a shame but maybe these are the signs of a more and more growing million Dollar industry.”
What were the big tunes of the week?
“My own single “Searching For Love” received a great feedback, Tocadisco´s “That Miami Track” and Nari & Milani´s “Atom” and many great Tech House tunes.”
What were the finest parties you rocked?
“I mainly played our own events and the MYAM.AM & KKC label rooftop Pool Party at Dream had an amazing atmosphere along with Stonebridge and Ron Carroll, my gig with Paul Oakenfold, another with Harry Choo Choo Romero at Nikki Beach and privately as a guest the Refune Party at Amnesia, but this is another story (still not sure how I got home).”
Who from the music industry REALLY looked like they were enjoying themselves a bit too much out there?
“From what I heard from my manager it must have been me, but I won’t officially confirm that. And from what I’ve seen, a music channel’s programme director, don’t ask for names please. Whatever happens @ WMC… stays for the upcoming WMC.”
You shot the video for your latest single ‘Searching For Love’ in South Beach Miami, tell us about this brilliant track…
“First of all thank you for calling it a brilliant track. Who doesn’t love to hear this?! I discovered Philippe Heithier via a common friend, Maurizio Inzaghi and they played the song to me. I immediately fell in love with Phil´s voice and asked them if I could have the vocals and re-produce it for my next single. Both were happy, so was I. For the video, I wanted a cute story in a nice environment such as Miami as the song has a very positive vibe so my manager who used to screenwrite and I wrote the storyboard and directed it ourselves. A DJ leaving the club after his gig with the idea to surprise his girlfriend, at home sleeping, with a little breakfast, we chose croissants as they reflect the romantic flair of France for breakfast. The girlfriend has the same idea, to surprise him with a breakfast when he comes home. On their way, they both see all these couples and are surrounded by love. At the end, they bump into each other at their doorstep.”
Do you think Miami has re-established itself as the most important week on the club calendar?
“I still think that the ADE in Amsterdam has a bigger impact. Miami is definitely great, but in terms of business ADE is more important. Miami is more of a party week where the business focus is a bit behind the party factor even though you have great networking options. I simply feel that the battle between Ultra Music Festival requesting exclusivity for all the DJs, Miami Music Week and the original Miami WMC in addition to the battle between the clubs fighting for the biggest names is silly. It´s jeopardizing the original spirit of what used to be the WMC. But being the #2 week on the club calendar is still a great reason to come back next year.”
You began this musical journey early, you were twelve years old when you started collecting vinyl after hearing your uncle presenting on the radio. What sort of artists were you buying back then and what sort of a presenter was your uncle?
“My uncle DJ’d and worked for the Ameircan Forces Network. His father, originally born in Jamaica was based in Germany. He always played me the newest soul and funk music and even electronic music. So my first heroes where James Brown, Gap Band, Kraftwerk, Liasions Dangereuse, The O´Jays, Bar Keys and many many more from that era. Until today James Brown is my all time favorite artist and I think there is no original album I don’t have, starting from his first album Please Please Please from 1956.”
You started putting on your own private parties where you DJ’d at – had the dance music bug caught you by then?
“I was around 15 years old when I organized my first “house” parties at home and I will always be thankful to my mom for never complaining. The Soul and Funk was dance music back in the day. While labels such as West End Records released amazing house tracks, they slowly sneaked into my playlists and I was a dance music maniac by the age of 16.”
New York came calling where you moved for 6 months and were lucky enough to witness the likes of Frankie Knuckles and Todd Terry at such legendary clubs as The Tunnel and World. What were your impressions of DJs like this for the first time, what are your memories – what tunes can you remember?
“When I first came to NYC and believed I had seen at least something of the world, I was in a state of shock but in a very positive way. I immediately loved it and until today it´s my favorite city in the world. I lived in mid Manhattan and I was walking down to Downtown Records literally every day of the week and bought records. Each day I was delivering dry cleaning just to make the money to buy my daily dose of records. The first night at the Tunnel I remember very well. It was one of the first big gigs of Adeva, I am not sure but I think I remember it was her first big one and Franckie Knuckles DJ’d. When she started singing “In And Out Of My Life” and the whole club went ballistic I simply knew that music will always be my #1 choice no matter what I will do. The laser beams, the location and the soundsystem simply blew me away. Todd Terry presents Royal House “Yeah Buddy” or Black Riot’s “A Day In A Life”, LNR’s “Work It To The Bone”, Inner City´s “Big Fun” or even though already being from 1986 Mr. Fingers’s “Can You Feel It” are the tunes I still love until today.”
When did the love of vocal house music change to a harder sound? 1999 saw you form The Warp Brothers with Jurgen Dohr – one of the biggest hard house and trance production duos of that era….
“Even though I always loved house music, I actually started producing the harder stuff. I had already been DJing for about 12 years when I decided to produce music myself. First it was only a fun try but people liked what I did. I got asked to synchronize fashion shows from world renown designers like Armani, Versace for a Fashion Video series for one of the biggest German fashion magazines. They wanted all styles of music so the production marathon started. Me and a friend came up with 30 tracks in 4 weeks in all kind of genres. A label heard some of the tunes and actually wanted one of the tracks which had a vocal sample that was begging for a 140BPM playback so we came up with a whole new production called Disco Nation – Kick The Nation. At the same time I started to like producing music being a bit faster and harder and did “Drop The Gun” which then became my first signed single release on Kontor Records. Before these releases I had some tracks being compiled and did some remixes here and there but with no general impact. As D.O.N.S. worked really well I got stuck on the sound and produced under the name D.O.N.S. until the day I saw the movie Blade. After I saw the legendary scene where the blood spills down from the ceiling I decided to get the rights to rework the track and the Warp Brothers were born. We had 6 amazing years but at the end I decided to change the sound and go back to my roots and became D.O.N.S. myself as a DJ but this time with house music.”
Six years passed until you decided to form D.O.N.S. and focus on your softer side of dance music. Was this something you had been thinking about for a while, what were the reasons for the introduction of another super power to the dancefloor…?
“I always had that on my mind. As Warp Brothers we played around the globe in so many clubs and on so many festivals that I actually became tired of the banging sound. I lost the inspiration and was missing the soul (maybe James Brown appeared in one of my dreams, lol). We never officially ended Warp Brothers and until today I receive booking requests from time to time (even though mainly for revival parties). I just did a mini-mix for the Australian label we were signed to back then. It includes the biggest hits of the Warpies. On top I was curious to find out if I´d be able to build up something new, new name, new style and sound. It was a bit of a challenge but I love taking challenges and I´m happy it worked out.”
The best day of my life was…
“The day a girl interviewed me for a TV stations here in Miami and later on rides a pink bike in my “Searching For Love” video. I had many many great days in my life but that is definitely amongst the greatest.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
01. D.O.N.S. & Maurizio Inzaghi ft. Philippe Heithier “Searching For Love” (9Five Remix)
02. Peter Gelderblom – Call On Me
03. Analog People In A Digital World, Gramophonedzie & Ben Onono – Brassaholics (On The Floor) (Rogerseventytwo Remix)
04. Tocadisco – That Miami Track
05. D.O.N.S. & Mikael Weermets – The Nighttrain
06. Jorge Montia & Coqui Selection – Funky Feelin (Original Mix)
07. Prok & Fitch – Symphony
08. Mr Root – I Will Not Play Rihanna (Lanfree Remix)
09. D.O.N.S. – Neighborhood (So Called Scumbags Remix)
10. DJ Falk – House Of God (2012 Update) (Phunk Investigation Remix)
What is the bravest thing you have ever done?
“Kicking a guy from a bike he just stole in a very brutal way from a little girl next to her mother.”
Who are the big producers out there you are giving high fives to at the moment?
“Seriously, there are too many to just pick a few but here we go. Some Sonny Wharton, Tocadisco, Mikael Weermets, Peter Gelderblom, So Called Scumbags, David Guetta, Axwell, DJ PP, Umek and Stefano Noferini.”
What has 2012 got in store for us all via your label Kingdom Kome Cuts…
“I just signed a lot of new talent and follow ups from artists like Adrian Bood, Chris Melin, Mat Holtman, Jesse Voorn, Seal De Green, tracks with Philippe Heithier, Maurizio Inzaghi, Mikael Weermets, Kosta Radman, Alim, Peter Gelderblom, just to name a few. Just planing a new online compilation series on to and of course many new singles by D.O.N.S.. So it will be quite a busy year for us.”
You have released some mighty singles over the years, too many to mention. But what track looking back, are you most proudest of?
“Even though it´s my latest single, it´s “Searching For Love”. I always wanted to do a vocal track about love which is positive and I always wanted to write a synopsis for a video myself which I did with the help of a great cameraman and my manager. And when I see we’ve had over 370,000 views in a week, I must say I´m pretty proud of what we’ve done.”
The best thing my parents taught me was…
“Always keep your heart open.”
Tell us about your involvement as international Ambassador for the HIV/AIDS charity Dance4Life, a role you share with Tiesto and Fedde Le Grand amongst others…
“I´m one of the few German ambassadors and I actively try to support their work in any way I can. Starting from helping them organizing events, finding sponsoring partners and even schools where they can conduct their program. It´s a great thing to do and sometimes I wish I had more time for it but I´m grateful to be a part of it.”
Looking back at your career, what clubs and festivals stand out for you that you have rocked?
“Maxima FM Festival in Valencia in front a massive crowd of 350.000 people, Summerdayze Melbourne, Amnesia Miami so much energy and love, M2 Club Seoul, Space Ibiza, Neo Club Moscow, Castle Dance St. Petersburg/Vyborg.”
What are the plans for Ibiza this year?
“Actually I didn’t make any plans, but as in the past years, I always ended up there.”
It’s not good for my image, but I really like…
“Crying while watching “The Notebook”… And answering this question!”
What is the greatest track you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“The craziest response I ever got was when I dropped ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by the Warp Brothers NYE at a festival at Sydney Harbour Bridge 2005/2006. I have never seen anything like this on any festival. This moment I seriously thought to stop DJing as I knew I might never ever witness this in my life again.”
If I can, I always try and avoid…
“Watching the videos in which I appear in.”
And finally, the rest of 2012 looks very exciting. Some massive singles including a collaboration with a very well known DJ and a summer hit with a diva and a surprise legendary MC. Tell us about the next few months…
“I haven’t really released much within the past year, besides some remixes and a collaboration with on Terri B “Deeper Love”. I was very busy in the studio so I now have over 15 singles ready to go. “Searching For Love” is the first one. I simply wanted to have time to finish my second album which is the result of the one year studio work. I wanted to know all my music for the next two years of releases and not to chase down track by track once I have finished one. Now I´m in a very comfortable situation. I can get back on doing remixes, if have a spontanious idea for a new track I have the time, I don’t have to stress with follow up singles and can focus on touring. I love it and more will not be revealed yet.”
