Larse Interview: I really like Manchester

It’s a cliché, but the Teutonic precision that Germany retains in knocking out DJs remains undimmed. With a number of cities pushing the scene forward alongside the capital Berlin, the country has developed a nuanced sound which calls upon a wide ranging variety of influences and regional heartbeats. Sven Vath’s Cocoon and Frankfurt, the rolling house grooves of Nick Curly and Mannheim, and Kompakt’s melodic poppier techno from Cologne – just a few of the geographical individualities the nation can call upon.

Dortmund, much like its resurgent football team, has also laid a claim in recent years for its own vibe on electronic music. Repping for the city is Larse, whose signature balance of disco informed house has seen him earmarked as one of the hottest starlets within the deep house genre. Whether knocking out grooves on Defected and Noir Music, or setting alight dancefloors from Ibiza to Indonesia, he’s name that has been at the forefront of an ever expanding range of DJs and ravers across Europe.

He returns to Manchester next month for Underground and Friends, following an eye-catching debut in the city last year for Sankeys. Ahead of the show we had a quick catch up with the DJ to find out what to expect when he touches down at Gorilla on Saturday August 10^th.

Hey Larse, thanks for speaking to us. To those of our readers who might not have heard of you, can you tell us about your style and what you’re about?

Hey, I’m a producer and DJ based in Dortmund/Germany trying to force my sound! I try to mash up the feel of the disco era with the production and vibe of House Music these days...

You’re set to play in Manchester soon, how is your relationship with the city? Have you played there before?

I really like Manchester, I have great memories of playing at Sankeys last year. I also went to see Manchester United once and also my team Borussia Dortmund playing Manchester City in the Champions League. It was quite a tough game, ended 1-1 with Balotelli scoring in the last minute sadly!

You’ve featured quite heavily on Defected in recent years as the label has reconnected with its underground roots. How do you feel being part of the Family at the imprint?

It’s great. For the label I did a remix for Candi Staton, she is one of my favourite Vocalists on the Planet, so I´m thankful for this opportunity Defected gave me. The project proved to be very successful as well, going top ten in South Africa and also gold in Belgium.

What other labels have you developed a special relationship with?

I definitely have a special relationship with Noir Music. Rene (Noir) was the first who pushed me on another level. He wanted to re -release my track ‘The More I Want’ on his label and when he did it, after that a lot of things changed! The follow up ‘So Long’ went No.1 on Beatport- so I will always have a special relationship with Noir Music.

You host a five hour radio show every week in Germany. How much of a commitment is that and is it something you intend to continue for a long time?

It’s pretty hard as a lot of booking requests are for Fridays, so I can´t do proper touring and have to refuse mainly all of them. But the radio show has been running for 13 years now on Germany’s main station 1LIVE and it is still lot of fun. I’m hosting the show with my friend Mike Litt, which is great. It´s hanging out with a friend and playing some music for the people out there.

You also promote your own party in Dortmund. Can you tell us some more about what that is about?

It’s a party which we started only for the love of music. There are no boundaries of sound, but the base is black music, from Soul, R’nB, Disco to House or Hip Hop - everything we like to play. So no hype or themes, just the basics.

Where else can we expect to see you playing in the upcoming months?

The next gigs outside of Germany are in the UK, Sweden, Turkey, Lithuania. As I told you, it´s kinda difficult to set up a tour, but we are working on it so hopefully I will be doing shows in South Africa, Australia and the USA very soon.

And there are some new projects on their way which might open doors too. I´m very excited about that as it broadens my musical output. There’s an E.P. coming on True Romance, which is Tensnake’s new baby/label. I am very proud that Tensnake, whom I really admire for his great work, was that much into the tracks as they are quite different and quite a challenging sound.

I teamed up with L.A. vocalist Charlie Sputnik and we did some catchy tunes...somewhere between Prince and Wham. Also a collaboration with Sneaky Sound System is coming later this year.

And finally, dream situation time. You can go back to any period in clubland history, and play at any club. Who would you have playing alongside you and what tune would you drop that would define the evening?

I think I would love to go back to New York in the 70’s/ 80’s, not playing but feeling the vibe in Clubs like Paradise Garage, Danceteria or Studio54.

Listening and dancing to the maestros like Larry Levan, Nicky Siano or Arthur Baker. All of those guys, back in the days, that would be really special!

 J 

Tickets are no longer available for this event