Interview with Reboot ahead of this weekend's Coloursound Cadenza Party

Reboot is the German tech specialist whose loopy sounds have seen him become one of the most in demand DJs of the day.

Fusing fluttery Latin vibes with tribal beats, he plays all over Europe, the US and Ibiza to adoring fans every time. His close association to Luciano's label means he plays at the special Cadenza Warehouse Party in Leeds for Coloursound this weekend, so we caught up with him for more…

How has your year been? What have been the highs and lows?

Happily there have not been many personal lows so far this year. The touring this summer was a little more quiet than the last one and except my short trip to the USA, I was only playing shows in Europe. The biggest thing this summer was of course our Ibiza recidencies in Pacha and Ushuaia. The whole Cadenza, Pacha and Ushuaia teams brought our Vagabundo shows to another level. The parties we had on the island where just insane. From the openings 'til the closings, the crowd was following our concept and gave us these unforgettable moments. But the absolute highlight for me was seeing my mum and sister in the middle of the dancefloor of the Ushuaia closing, going totally mental!

How has life been since giving up your ‘proper’ job? You miss any aspects of it?

(Laughs) not really! Travelling the whole world, meeting amazing people and making my sugar with partying beats being bossed around, boring office meetings and suits by far. The only thing that you sometimes miss when you are heavily touring, is a little bit of continuity. Especially for your private life, this can be very exhausting. But not exhausting enough to trade back!

How pleased are you with your album now you can look back on it? Was it a process you enjoyed?

A year after the album came out, I can review, that we (me, but also Cadenza records) are really happy with the product. The process of making it was a completely new thing to me, and most of the time, I really enjoyed it. At the end I learned a lot from it. There is work stages, that I will keep up for my productions, for example recording in jam sessions, but there is also things I would approve for a future album. Next time I would definitely spend more time on recordings with other musicians, especially singers and instrumentalists to make the production more diversified.

Have you thought about doing another one at all?

Yes, sure I have. But I will take my time before I start doing any proper plans for it. I guess in 2012 I will start working on it. Also I have album projects with other musicians in mind.

How different are your sets from one night to the other? Do you prepare much?

Every time I play, either live or Dj-Sets, I try my best to present a broad range of music to the audience. And of course that is for every night I play. The music I select goes from old skull house to deep techno tunes. So I prepare myself quite a lot. For me, also as a listener, it's really important to not get bored on the dancefloor. It wouldn't be interesting to just have one and the same type of loop playing for two hours. A good night in the club should be like a trip through the variation of music in time, style and emotion.

And how much do you play off the crowd? Or do you just play your thing and hope they like?

I try to find a balance. It is very important to watch and analyse the crowd in front of you. Especially to see if the people are having a good time. I mean, that’s what they pay for! On the other hand you have to surprise and not limit yourself by only playing certain tracks that are just hyped at the moment.

How have your musical tastes evolved this year? What has got you excited?

There has been a lot of superb young artists I have heard this summer. Especially productions from Terje Bakke, Adam Port, Maximilijan or Koki have been on heavy rotation in my sets. Off the dancefloor, I have been digging deeper into old Blues and Jazz stuff a lot this year. Artist like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King or Robert Johnson for example. This music is inspiring me a lot these days. For my own productions, I get more ideas from non-electronic music.

You play all over the world... are crowds different on every continent? Where are your favourite places to play?

I am happy to recognise that there is no big differences anymore. Our interpretation of dance music finds more and more lovers all over the world. Of course you still have small preferences in the taste of music, but from Australia, Asia over Europe to north and south America, you can find people that enjoy and love the music we make. We still have some white spots on the map but we make great progresses.

My favourite so far is definitely Japan. I love everything about this country. The hospitality and respect the people treat you with, the culture and the architecture. And of course the food! The latest happenings in Japan shocked me to the bones and I  would also like to use this platform, to ask everybody to help the people over there. Besides Japan, I had amazing trips to South America, especially Brazil and Peru. I met great people there and can`t wait to go back.

What can people expect from you at Coloursound?

Some booty shaking house and techno!

What else have you got coming up?

I recently finished Remixes for Mousse T's label Peppermint Jam for their birthday compilation. A classic track called Crusin' by Can 7. Also a remix on Radio Slave's Rekids imprint for Spencer Parker. And another remix… for a Swiss kid named Horatio on Definition:Music. Also there is a EP on Cadenza in the pipeline for November. Currently I am working on new productions and collaborations, so there is quite a lot coming up in the next months. Watch out!

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