Interview with Eddie Thoneick ahead of Kinky Malinki @ Proud2

Hot on the heels of their July bash at Proud2, Kinky Malinki are back with yet another storming line-up.

With Funkerman, Eddie Thoneick, Olav Basoski, Ridney and Kid Massive appearing together on one unique line-up,  the August shindig is the biggest and boldest yet – roping in some of the finest headliners ever to grace Kinky Malinki’s dancefloor.

We caught up with headliner Edddie Thoneick, the man responsible for making that golden uplifting house sound in the mid noughties who has been snapped up by Erick Morillo for a string of collaborations. 

How have you evolved musically recently?
I´ve been really busy studio-wise and tried to find new inputs for fresh productions. Right now I´m combining a lot of different genres from rock and indie with dance which is really exciting.  I´ve started to work with different musicians and singers recently which is turning out great. Also Erick Morillo and I are doing a great new track with an indie artist.

What’s your own record you are most proud of?
Definitly last year’s "Live Your Life" with Erick! We had so much great feedback on that track. I think the combination of soulful vocals, old school house pianos and modern elements made this track very special.

What are your goals when writing music? Is there always something you want to achieve?
For now I´m planning to release a couple of more tracks with Erick, which we´re finalising at the moment.  And as mentioned above I´m working on a lot of crossover music now. I grew up with indie music and play a lot of instruments from piano and guitar to drums and bass. So I´ll be working on some indie music as well, which is something I wanted to do since I was a kid.

Same question when DJing…
DJ-wise I´m always trying to stay on my top level. So half of my weeks are focused on doing new bootleg and edits. Now that the possibilities during DJing are evolving due to the new DJ equipment from Pioneer there are barely any boundaries. So I´m in a constant progress, keeping everything on the top level.

What makes a great DJ and what makes you, you?
The most important thing in my opinion is that you as a DJ can take people on a journey with your music and simply giving them a good time and get them to forget the everyday things for a couple of hours. For me it´s important to get a connection with the crowd. You have to read the crowd, which sometimes is easy, sometimes hard. There´s never a night like the other which keeps me excited every weekend.

Tell us about your label, why you started it and what music you aim to release on it…
Tonik Recordings is my label, which I started in early 2009. It´s more like a homebase of my releases from where I license them. All tracks I do are at least licensed to the label for my territory. It´s also a label which releases tracks by close friends and fellow producers. Check it out here.

How did you hook up with Erick Morillo and what’s it like working with him?
It´s been a fantastic thing getting together with Erick at the end of 2009. He was always a big supporter of my music and someday I ran into him and we said: "Hey we should work together"! I´ve been looking for a collaboration over the last years that has that special energy when getting together. With Erick it has been a true pleasure working together and if we do get together there´s a flood of inspiration. Although there´s the big distance between USA where Erick lives and Germany where I live we somehow found a way to work together. In the process of production we send our arrangements way and back and we talk nearly every day. He has a really good feeling for music, so he tells me what to change.

Are you still learning things in the studio or are you happy with your skill set?
Of course I learn everyday. It´s a never ending process which keeps it very interesting. So many new products are released every week. I´m happy with my skills which I have so far but you never stop learning new things. Right now I´m getiing my hands on Logic. I used to work with Cubase and Ableton but it´s good knowing all sequencer programmes.

What can people expect from you at Kinky?
It will be unique as my set will be like a big mashup filled with new bootlegs and edits.

Thanks Eddie, see you there!

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