The Slovenian electronic legend having fun on the dancefloor
“It is in any case a date that deejays have to at least take in consideration when planning tour schedules. It’s important to be present in Miami, but on the other hand it’s also important to be active in Ibiza, at the major summer festivals and clubs all around the world. In any case Miami holds the positions of one of the best EDM conferences in the World and it’s also a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet with some friends in person at least once a year.”
As thousands of next generation clubbers descend on the big events, do you feel the spirit of house music is being lost to a crowd looking for that instant anthem hit?
“Interesting question. Commercial sound attracts masses to the dance floors but at the same time house, techno and other more underground oriented genres continue to evolve. This week in Miami showcases the best of both worlds: Ultra Music Festival and all big arenas attract masses and deejays there spin all big anthems as they seek massive response from the crowd. But afterwards, when you go to the clubs, you can enjoy music in more intimate environment and that’s where deejays build their performance more on the groove. There music is more bass driven, deeper and darker. Or in my case: I play a bit faster and aggressive sets at the festivals, but in the club I try to create a bit different, more intimate feeling on the dance floor.”
Have you had to change your musical direction in the last year?
“No, not really. I might sound slightly softer than a year a go, but that’s a natural way in how my own production and sets evolve with the progression of techno and tech-house music. I never do thing differently because I’d have to or because someone expect me to do change. It’s just so that I get bored of things quite fast and I seek new challenges all the time and that may take me to a bit darker or brighter sounds, but in the end I do what I feel and that’s techno even if it doesn’t sound quite the same as couple of years ago. I don’t believe that any of my colleagues can really just decide and shift his sound to something completely different and be successful at the same time if he doesn’t feel the music he produces. People sense when your honest in what you do and when you force it.”
Is Miami losing its trademark cool and sexy house music vibe?
“Before the last big minimal wave Miami was synonymous for quite commercial house and progressive sound. In the last couple of years, clubs opened doors also for deeper, more underground oriented music. In any case, there’s much more techno than ten years ago and if in the past techno nights were weakly attended, and we, techno artists, came to Miami mostly to catch some tan and perform in the small rooms away from the spotlight, now also techno parties in Miami tend to be very good and many clubs packed when good techno artists perform on the main floor.”
What is the big 10 you are currently spinning?
01. Zenbi – Double Trouble (Stefano Noferini Remix) “Great Stuff Recordings”
02. UMEK & Uto Karem – Crossing The Lines “1605”
03. Gianni Ruocco – Stranger “Family Business Records”
04. Mr.Bizz – Bamboo “Beat Theraphy Records”
05. David Kinnard – I Want Techno “76 Recordings”
06. Peter Bailey – Unique Form “Stereo Productions”
07. Gitech – Yeah “Neptuun City”
08. Inverso – Inverso “White Minds Records”
09. Audio Cactus – If I Die Tomorrow “1605”
10. John Aquaviva & Dj Tonio – Da Daddy “Defenitive Recordings”
What are your thoughts on the Dennis Ferrer ‘Mansion’ Miami club story – he was basically kicked off the decks for not playing commercial enough …
“This is so bizarre story that I’d laughed if it wasn’t so sad. I’ve played the same club twice in the past and I’m surprised of hearing this as I know what kind of music Dennis plays and I’m sure the guys who booked him were also aware of his style. And if that’s too underground, then how they didn’t kick me out – twice even! – when my sound is much more underground? After all Dennis plays some vocals even when he plays a bit deeper when I don’t play any vocals at all…weird …”
With clubs and charts being dominated by dance music worldwide, shouldn’t we be rejoicing it’s success rather than being bitter with crossover?
“I’m absolutely satisfied with where things are going in the recent years. I’m not one of those commercial artists that have really conquered the USA market, become pop stars and heavily cashed in overnight, but they have challenged the audience to start discovering the whole range of EDM genres and they also opened door for less commercial music. As a teenager I’ve listened to a lot of commercial music: pop, dance, rave, hardcore … but in time I developed taste for alternative, underground, more inventive sound. And I’m sure a lot of kids that just discovered this pop-dance music will get into more alternative electronic music once they get saturated with this commercial sound. In couple of years they will become much more demanding and for me, that’s great. But that’s just my opinion and I know many colleagues don’t agree with me and they are very annoyed with over-commercialisation of EDM scene, especially in the USA.”
Where are you playing in Miami?
“For now this four parties are confirmed but something else can also be added in next couple of days as usually: Nikki Beach on 21st, Ultra Music Festival & Cameo on 23rd and Chateau Nightclub on 24th. Follow my homepage www.umek.si for latest and full schedule. Oh, and if you are not coming to Miami – I’ll prolong my stay in the States for another week: I’ll play at the Spin Music Festival in Dallas on 30th and Bert’s Warehouse in Detroit the day after – and hopefully that’s good news at least for some of my American fans.”
What are your special Buzz tracks for WMC 2012?
“I’m still looking fro them. J It’s almost a whole week ‘till Miami, which means I still have to check hundreds of new tracks in the meantime and I’m sure I’ll find some gems hidden in all that piles of new crap. In any case I’ll be playing a lot of my own and 1605 related new productions as always, which means we’ll have a lot of fun on and around the dance floor.”
Have you noticed a big dip in industry folk not attending these last couple of years?
“Huh … honestly, I don’t even bother to check what’s happening at the conference anymore, so I can’t really comment on that. But I see there’re so many parties going on, events are growing in size, Ultra Music Festival was sold in no time, all the major players will be in Miami again, so I don’t see that the conference or the whole Miami week is loosing any ground. But I don’t follow the whole project in details and I might be overlooking something.”
What are your thoughts on the IMS in Ibiza? Will you be attending?
“I’d really like to finally go to the IMS as every year something comes along and I have to skip that one. Ibiza is nice, the isle has its charm, for me it’s much closer to home than Miami, just two hours by plane, I hear a lot of good things about the IMS, so maybe this year I’ll finally be able to check this one, too. But if something comes along again, there’s always the next year.”