The legendary Exit Festival stage that promotes independent electronic music and contemporary culture, No Sleep Novi Sad will welcome Berlin’s leading techno institution Tresor on Friday, 8 July. The tour celebrating a quarter of a century for one of Europe’s leading clubs and an extremely influential record label, after Amsterdam, London, Detroit, and Sydney, is arriving to the Petrovaradin Fortress. The lineup will be led by the icon of electronic music and founder of Berlin’s contemporary sound, Mortiz van Oswald, joined by the leaders of the new European techno scene Zadig, Dasha Rush, as well as Psyk who we had the pleasure of doing the interview with.
Arriving from Madrid with an exquisite attitude, Psyk stands for one of the most talented producers that have emerged in the last several years. His tracks found place among the greatest electronic record labels such are Minus (before he even turned 19!), Drumcode, CLR and Mote-Evolver, which inspired legendary artists Oscar Mulero and Robert Hood to name Psyk as the most interesting techno producer today. Talent and hard work brought him success with releases such as “Lowdown” and “Eclipse”, as well as “Arcade” which reached the top of Resident Advisor’s prestigious chart! Nowadays, Psyk’s furious sets can be heard at the major European clubs Fabric, Tresor and Concrete. His most extensive world tour yet awaits Psyk this summer, leading him to the very top of today’s techno scene. We talked to the young maestro and found out how his road to success looked like.
Hello Manuel. In the past few years, you’ve taken the electronic world by storm with your powerful techno sound. What influenced you to be so raw and energetic?
Hi. There are a lot of influences in my music and my sound. If you look into my record collection you can find stuff from Hip Hop to Post-punk, from Jazz to IDM… but for my productions and sets I’ve been mostly influenced by techno from the 90s and early 2000s. Music made by artists like Rachmad, Hood, Mills, Hawtin, Ruskin, Luke Slater or Basic Channel back then.
For a while now you’ve been on the radar of two techno titans, Robert Hood and Oscar Mulero, as their most interesting producer. How did your journey look like until you got this far?
Well it has been a long walk and sometimes harder than people could think. But it’s definitely worth it as there is nothing I like more than music. I love making music, djing, traveling, running my label… Everything is interesting and exciting. You have to work very hard and never stop learning. Listening to new music, be up to date about the latest gear… I never thought I could live off of the one thing I love the most. And thats something for being grateful.
As a big Plastikman fan, you managed to publish for M_nus at the age of 19! How did that happen?
Yes. It was my first ever track published. And it was for a compilation he did back in 2008. As you can imagine it was a very big deal. His productions had a big impact on my music by then.
You will be playing EXIT’s notorious No Sleep Novi Sad stage as a part of Tresor club night headlined by the legendary Moritz van Oswald. How does it feel being a big part of a techno institution?
I had always good relation with Tresor, since 2011 probably. I’ve played a lot for them, in the club and at some showcases in different countries around Europe. Last year I released my first EP with them (Works) and I feel very honored for being part of this institution. By far one of the most influential labels and brands in Techno music.
Techno is becoming more and more mainstream and people are starting to abuse it on a large scale. What are your thoughts on the future of techno?
Well… I wouldn’t say mainstream. But probably yes, It’s true that techno has become one of the most popular genres in electronic music lately. I think it’s not that bad.
Most of these people listen to commercial stuff I guess, but some of them end up in our field, listening underground techno and I think it is always interesting to have more people listening to what we do. I think is good, if we keep our feet on the ground.
Tell me about your imprint, Non Series. You’ve released prominent techno heads like Marcel Dettmann and Steve Rachmad, as well as relative newcomer bangers like Happa. What’s the story behind the label?
Those are actually only remixers of the label. But yes, we do have a great roster of artists like Chevel, Architectural, Tadeo, Mark Broom, Eduardo De La Calle… I like to release stuff that I would play in the club. That’s the main idea behind the label. But it is becoming something else I guess…
We are having our 5 year anniversary in December (2016) and we will release a big compilation in 3 different EPs with tracks of producers and friends involved in the label somehow. We will make also a tour from October to January for the anniversary. It’s going to be fun.
Having the label is one of the greatest things of my career. It’s always very exciting to put out a record, pushing out records of artists you like or discovering new ones.
Can you name some of your favorite experiences during tours?
Well I had quite a few. But I always tell about that one hell of a trip I had when touring the USA (or tried to tour) in 2013. Basically I had some huge issues with the visa in Atlanta and I had to sleep in a jail there for almost 30 hours, with actually just orange juice and a snack for eat… Then they kick me out and I had to cancel my tour in the US and Colombia. That was pretty nice.
Our readers would like to know your secret to becoming an outstanding producer with a unique sound. Can you share some tips on creating your own sound?
I really dont have any… I just jam a bit with some drums and from there I just do what I feel, adding sounds, pads or whatever… Sometimes I can get something I like and sometimes something I dont like at all… So is all about a moment of inspiration I guess.
What kind of set can we expect from you at Exit?
I will play what I use to play normally in my sets, but I will put all my heart behind the decks, thats for sure.
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