Project Description
Interview with
UMEK
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
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UMEK is one of the best-selling producers on Beatport, having multiple number ones in their techno chart. He’s been releasing tirelessly in the last couple of months. According to Beatstats he’s on number 3 among best selling producers in all genres: STATS HERE and number 1 in the techno genre: STATS HERE
UMEK is one of the three co-founders of a music-tech start-up Viberate.com, a live music platform, joining millions of artists, venues, events and festivals under one roof. Viberate is one of the hottest music startups in Europe, employing 110 people and analysing over 1 billion data points per month and to date the company raised $12M in funding.
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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you start writing music?
Sometime at the beginning of high school, I got excited about electronic music and the role of DJ in it. Not long after that I realized being just a raver won’t do it for me. The turning point was when I’ve seen Carl Cox play at some rave in Munich in the early 90s and I’ve even managed to sneak backstage to meet him. At that point, I knew I wanted to become an international DJ and I’ve dedicated everything to achieve that goal. I’ve made a deal with my mom, who gave me one year to start taking care of myself, dropped out of high school and basketball just when I was drafted into the national team (my teammates were later two times NBA champion Raso Nesterovic, and Marko Milic, one of the best playmakers of our generation in the Euro League), started working hard day and night and step by step I started to progress and earning money. Focusing on electronic music 24/7 I started wondering how it’s been produced and soon after I was introduced to basics, I knew music production was something I was really interested in. I actually did my international breakthrough faster as a producer than a DJ. I’ve been struggling hard to get booked outside my home region even after I’ve started to release my music regularly on top techno labels at that time. I got into production just by curiosity and producing music with limited tools, information, and guidance I made all the mistakes – which made my sound unique and label A&Rs got attracted to it as it sounded rough, raw and primal. At some point, international DJ bookings also took off and for the last quarter of a century and even more music is my job, hobby and the main preoccupation in my life.
Which music did you grow up listening to? How has it influenced your current style?
I grew up listening to lots of 80s synth pop (Falco, Modern Talking, Eurythmics, Videosex, Denis & Denis), later came Royal House, Westbam and German rave movement and the next step was Birmingham techno with Regis and Surgeon, very minimalistic and industrial sound. I don’t see any influence of that mainstream pop music I listened to as a kid in my sound, but I’ve always kept the passion for electronica of the late 80s and early 90s I was discovering at as a teenage boy although I prefer to look forward rather than backward. In the beginning, I tried to produce music that sounded like some great techno tunes I listened to on my tapes. But I didn’t have the knowledge and equipment to make it. As I’ve said before, I improvised a lot with limited resources I had, and the result was a unique sound with which I’ve made my name and Slovenian Techno Sound became something globally know in the late 90s. Nowadays my goal is just the opposite: I have tools and I’m capable of reproducing any techno record, but I strive to sound as original as possible. If any of my tracks sounds like something you’ve heard before it’s more by mistake that intentionally.
How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
I play and produce music for the dancefloor and inspired by the dancefloor. What I want to build at the party is a connection between me in the DJ booth and people in the arena, based on intense energy that you can actually feel. It’s all about building the right vibe and energy, which I build on a certain ration between bass and kick in my production. And I’m a sucker for a riff – a harmony, melody, rhythm in a track that you remember. Now it’s the time for big tunes that stand on massive riffs. For years there was no place for melody in techno, but slowly this element crawled back into it and we’re now experiencing a new era of big techno records, tunes that people notice and want to hear on the dancefloor. I admit there is a certain romantic element to that. And it sure helped techno gaining popularity once masses got a bit bored with EDM mainstream and started looking for different sounds. We’ll see where this will take us in the future as every trend comes to the point of saturation and then something new and exciting comes along.
Your new single/EP “Cybernetic Implant” has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
As we speak, I’m holding the top position on the Beatport Techno chart with techno rework of Quench’s classic trance track ‘Dreams’ from 1993. I did this one as a bootleg to spice up my DJ sets a bit but it really took off and it got officially released on my own 1605 label. This is my fifth #1 in one year, I was the best-selling techno producer on Beatport in 2019 and third best-selling artist overall. My next EP ‘Cybernetic Implant’ will come out on Valentine’s day, February 14th. It contains two original tracks bearing my signature sound with a solid base and a strong melody. I have big expectations for this one too.
Do you have any more new music in the works?
Next in line is another EP with two tracks I did with Cosmic Boys and Teenage Mutants, two up and coming duos in techno scene that I really like right now and I play lots of their releases in my sets. This on will be released on 1605 label as well. I should probably also mention three upcoming releases of my electro side project Zeta Reticula on Blind Allies, Electrix and Monotone records.
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“[…] euphoric melodic techno at its finest.”
Preorder now: HERE
UMEK – Cybernetic Implant EP
Release Date: Friday 14 February 2020
Label: 1605 – MUSIC THERAPY
Tracklist:
01. Cybernetic Implant
02. Beat At 4 AM
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You are playing at Ultra Australia this year and it is fast approaching. Have you played it before? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
I’ve done a bunch of gigs at Ultra Miami, Ultra Europe and some other Ultra festivals around the globe but this will be my debut performance at Ultra Australia. I’m really looking forward to it as it’s been a while since my last tour down under. Performing at Ultra festivals is always lots of fun, this is one of the biggest if not the biggest electronic music festival franchises in the world and they offer top of the line program in a spectacular production. I’ll play one of my signature DJ sets, full of my own productions, reworks, edits and bootlegs and I’m sure I’ll even play some fresh tracks for the first time as I was very productive in the studio over the winter and I strongly believe all good music should be tested on party animals.
Does planning your performance and performing at a major event like Ultra differ from your typical venue gig? How?
No, not really. If I ever play a bit harder or softer set it’s not because of the venue, it’s more of an adaptation to the artist who played before me as I want to keep their BPMs. But the sound I play and the energy I create on the dancefloor does not really differ between festival and club gigs.
Which do you prefer and why?
I don’t prefer any of those things, I like to play open air festivals just as much as big indoor events, small underground clubs or super clubs. It’s good to have the opportunity and be able to perform in different environments so that it’s not all the same all the time. I’m sure I’d miss clubs just as much as festivals if I wasn’t playing any of them for a while.
What is the best thing about performing to a live audience?
Well, isn’t that the essence of what we DJs do? I could play in my living room or in front of the camera in a studio, but that’s not it. I need to establish the connection with the dancefloor, get the feedback of the crowd and get energies between us flowing. I’m here to make people dance, and to express their positive feelings, so I need a live audience and to see their reactions to music I produce and play. Probably it’s possible to enjoy my music, especially now that’s very melodic, also in other environments but I’ve always produced music to dance to.
If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Right now I’m quite happy playing solo gigs. I haven’t done any collaborations in the last couple of years even in the studio as I was so focused on developing the sound I’m promoting with my last string of hit releases. Though I’ve just finished two tracks with Cosmic Boys and Teenage Mutants and maybe it would be fun getting into the DJ booth with them. Though I’m not sure there’d be enough room for all of us.
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What’s next for you in the near future?
I’ve spent the last couple of years developing my new sound and now I’m harvesting the fruits of that hard labor. I’ve strengthened my name and also the brand of my 1605 record label that is alive and kicking again and we’ve just started releasing music from other artists after I’ve been releasing my music exclusively on it in the last couple of years. I’ll be touring all over the world most of the year. The new thing is I’m taking one weekend off every month as I got married last year and now it’s even harder to be away from home all the time. Luckily Senka likes nightlife and especially over the winter when she’s not that busy she likes to accompany me to some gigs, which is always fun. I’m still quite involved in my music-tech startup Viberate.com, which is one of the hottest music start-ups in Europe right now, employing 110 people. Our vision is to standardize the global music scene, becoming a kind of IMDb for music, and we are killing it right now. Viberate already features well over a million profiles of musicians, venues, events, and festivals. Personally, I use it to discover new and interesting artists that I want to maybe work with or release their tracks on 1605. Check it out, it’s free to use.
What are your longer-term aspirations?
Right now, I’m in the process of putting myself back on the techno map where I used to be. I’m a very curious person and because of that, I digress to other pastures from time to time to explore certain things. In the last couple of years, I was a bit more occupied with tech-house and now that I’m back in techno I’ve noticed certain things have changed, so I have to adopt a bit to the new situation. Nowadays, the whole electronic scene is much more influenced by the ‘popular vote’ as it used to be. Now algorithms on Facebook are limiting promotion and it’s much more important to have strong numbers on Instagram that Beatport. I’m not that keen on posting photos on Instagram, I can’t compete with my younger, much more attractive colleagues in that, so I’ll focus on producing and playing good music. Obviously, that’s something I‘m very good at.
Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – LFO’s ‘LFO’
Artist – Michael Jordan. I always admired him flying.
Movie – Fight Club
Place to visit – Japan
Venue to play – Gashouder in Amsterdam
Food – sushi
Drink – sparkling mineral water, my favorite brand is Radenska – you should try it!
Person in History – I prefer future than past and I like brave people who go to where others haven’t gone before, so let’s bend the rules a bit for this one: Captain Jean Luc Piccard
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?): Don’t have one, been thinking of getting one for the last 20 years, so maybe I’ll finally get it one of these days.
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Check out UMEK below
Viberate | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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ULTRA AUSTRALIA
announces
Phase 2 lineup
Tickets are on sale now HERE
After announcing their huge lineup of international heavyweights, ULTRA Australia released their epic phase 2 roster of international and local artists that will be joining the festival in March 2020.
Joining the international elite is the highly acclaimed Markus Schulz, the U.S German DJ and three-time winner of DJ Times’ America’s Best DJ crown will be bringing his progressive, trance, house style and club hits to the main stage.
Gammer is a highly sought-after DJ and producer who originally made a name for himself in the UK hardcore scene. In recent years, Gammer has been diversifying his sound and is one of the most prolific DJs in trance and hardstyle. Gammer has received many awards including the coveted ‘Best Hardcore DJ’ award for 6 consecutive years and is expected to be a crowd favourite at the event this year.
DJ, Producer and artist, Tigerlily finds herself among Australia’s elite performers and top tier DJs. A main stay across the biggest festival and club stages in both Australia and around the world, Tigerlily is no stranger to the global music community. After her track “Invisible Children,” was released through dance music mega-label SPINNIN RECORDS, reaching #1 on the Overall Beatport chart for multiple weeks, Tigerlily continues to tour globally covering all bases across USA, EUROPE and AUSTRALASIA.
APRA award winning and multi-platinum selling artist, Joel Fletcher alongside the superstar DJ Duo Sunset Bros, Mashd N Kutcher, Jesabel, Rojdar, Chloe Wilson, Brynny, young guns Tyron Hapi and Firelite, JaySounds, Marcus Santoro, Orkestrated and more (full list below) will also bring their impressive performances to the ULTRA Australia stages.
ULTRA Australia will return to Parramatta Park in Sydney on Saturday, 7 March 2020 and to Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Sunday, 8 March 2020, on the public holiday weekend in Victoria. The festival will once again feature both the mammoth Main Stage, and the hub of underground sounds with the RESISTANCE Stage. Tickets are on sale now at www.ultraaustralia.com
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SYDNEY – SATURDAY, 7 MARCH 2020
PARRAMATTA PARK
MELBOURNE – SUNDAY, 8 MARCH 2020
FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE
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ULTRA AUSTRALIA
2020 LINEUP
HEADLINERS
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
AFROJACK
CIREZ D
THE RETURN OF DASH BERLIN
DJ SNAKE
ERIC PRYDZ
LUCIANO
ZEDD
SUPPORTED BY
DEBORAH DE LUCA
EATS EVERYTHING
UMEK
MARKUS SCHULZ
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
GAMMER
TIGER LILY
SUNSET BROS
ALI & AMINOS
BROOKLYN
BRYNNY
BUTTONS
CHLOE WILSON
DAVID TRAN
DEAN DEE
DIMATIK
DJ DAN
DJ TORA
DJR
FIRELITE
FLUKE
HARD DANCE ALLIANCE
INDIGO STARLIGHT
JAYSOUNDS
JESABEL
JOEL FLETCHER
JORDZ
KINGZWAY
KRUNK
LEEZY
MARCUS SANTORO
MASHD N KUTCHER
NASTYBOYS
NEW WORLD SOUND
ORKESTRATED
PIERO
ROCKAFELLAS
ROJDAR
SCNDL
SCOTT ALERT
SHORT ROUND
SOUL-T
SOUNDCHECK
TALEENA
TAY-G
TYRON HAPI
ZEDX
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