Interview- Markus Schulz

We talked to the legendary Markus Schulz before his upcoming Indian tour. Markus tells us about his latest album, Dakota, DJ Mag and more!

What guides your musical journey and the kind of sounds that you bring out?

Instinct and preference is what guides me both of those aspects.

You went on to play over a hundred and fifty gigs recently. Where’s the energy and drive coming from for that kind of madness?

Madness – ha! I like the adjective you’ve chosen! The energy comes from the crowd, from the fans and from the music.

What was your favorite of those?

No favourites. It’s sort of a rule of mine. I’ve found in the past that if you come with anything other than a long-considered answer to ‘favourite’ questions you can fall foul of yourself. You can look back and think ‘now why did I say that then when I’ve been to so many other incredible places? Was that really fair? The answer more often than not is ‘no’! You can have ones which have a much longer lasting impression, for any number of reasons. But an out-and-out favourite, that’s a no-no!

Tell us something about how Prague 11 came into being, and what’s next on your globetrotting compilation frenzy?

Any city that becomes one of the city compilations in the series has to have fully inspired me. I’m not just talking about having had an amazing time there, or ‘being blown away by one aspect or the other’, but like I said before really made a lasting impression. I’ve played Prague twice a year, every year for the last five years. To witness the path it’s taken collectively with the type of music I play has been just that - inspirational. If you had to sum up in one word what’s happened over there it’d be evolution. Not just in how the dance population have embraced the music, but of its rise on all fronts. The clubs, events and festivals that have sprung up around it and the frequency with which really awesome, world-beating event productions are pulled off by the promoters over there. In many respects though it represents just one example of what’s happened, and has been happening across Central and Eastern Europe since 2006. Every time I’ve gone back to a dozen or so cities across the Czech Republic, The Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States, I think the scene can’t have got any bigger/better and boom, it always has! In terms of a next one, well I’ve currently got 3 possible ones in my head, but to mention those with the last album only just out would be rash!

Any upcoming DJs/ producers who you are tipping at the moment?

Rex Mundi is one of my guys who has made himself a hero in the past couple of years due to his releases on Coldharbour. He is so talented and every production sounds so different and fresh. I’d definitely love to spend lots of time in the studio collaborating on ideas with him. Another one would be M.I.K.E. - his productions have been of such a high standard for many years now, and is responsible for creating some of the most memorable melodies in electronic music history. And then a lot of the Coldharbour guys, Phynn, Skyform, Mr Pit and others.

What’s the progress on the Dakota album?

Progress is the new album is finished… just! I passed the masters over to my label a fortnight ago and it’s scheduled for release on the 1st of July. It’s called ‘Thoughts Become Things II’ and I see it as just that – a direct continuation of where the first album left off. It’s got quite a range on there. There’s a track called ‘Terrace 5AM’ which kinda recalibrates the bassline
from Moroder’s ‘I Feel Love’ – really discofied and pumped up. Then there’s techy bits on there too like ‘Red Star’ and ‘Where It Went Wrong’ as well as some tough, clubby lower tempo trance like ‘Sleepwalkers’. Oh and it’s entirely instrumental!

What’s your opinion on polls like DJ Mag and the like?

When you start out you don’t really think too much about these things – they just happen. It is very nice though that what I do throughout each working year is reflected in some way. The polls do help DJs, I guess in the same way as say pop charts help mainstream artists. The give you at least an indication of how the many different things you do throughout the year are being perceived by the public. That is a very useful thing for anyone, regardless of what you do in life.

The last time you came to Mumbai, it was mental. How big is this round of Coldharbour sounds going to be?

Would I be tempting fate to say much, MUCH bigger?!

What can fans expect from this mini tour?

What to expect… well musically, Do You Dream Remixes, exclusive mash-ups, some big room audio and Dakota baby, DAKOTA!

Are you looking forward to playing India again? Any expectations from this upcoming tour?

I’d never go anywhere I wasn’t looking forward to playing. That is what it’s all about. It’s been a while since I’ve been there. Every year for the last 4 or 5 it’s just got bigger and better, so my expectations at pretty much sky high!

Finally, out of all the music you’ve put out there, what tune/ album/ compilation is closest to your heart and why?

That’s a clever way of asking that favourite question again isn’t it?! Ah, you can’t catch old Markus out that easily – lol!

Markus Schulz will be touring India starting 12th May. Thanks to Submerge for the interview. For more, log on to: www.submerge.in