Interview w/ Emmanuel

First off all, thank you for your time!

– Thank you guys. Looking forward to come over there.

Can you tell us something more about ARTS label, how was it founded, momentum in which the label is now and some future plans?

– The ARTS label was founded in 2013, it was based on my own music, i started it with ARTS001 which luckily got the attention of the whole scene from House to Techno to Harder Techno, people like DJ Deep played it for an entire year i think, and many others supported it a lot, that record sold a lot (Fortunately), and that helped me to shape the label. The label today is in one of the best shapes ever, we are doing literally pushing boundaries and not only having very strong artists in the rooster, but we are creating new platforms for totally unknown artists, that in few month becomes pretty solid, that works in part because when we decide to sign someone we are going to create something bigger than one record, there is way more than that. In the future, the idea is to expand this place and create a bigger wider and wiser platform where we will have solid sides of the label running as today, but also other more intricate sides to it. Label nights in key spots in the World and more Art based concepts of course, and move as one.

We know that you probably look at all ARTS releases as your “children” in a way, but can you please give us your personal favorite ones, let’s say three of them?

– Is a nice way to describe what i do and what i love, but more than a Child i see this as a big Garden that one day can become an entire Jungle, indeed is hard to say my “ favorites”, i also have to say that i worked equally hard and dropped blood night and day to build every single release you see in the catalog, i am not exaggerating, is the clean truth…but i will use this question to say which is the records that created a permanent mark in the scene, at least imo.

001 Emmanuel – This record was the first ever release, and this shaped everything that came afterward, basically without this record we would not have this label today as it is.

020 I Hate Models – This beautiful human being came to my life first as a person than an artist, and this record signed a permanent mark in our scene, I am not saying that he revolutionized something, he simply changed the cards on the table, and today there are probably hundreds of artist that are doing records and playing in clubs inspired by this single record. I am very proud of this, and i am very proud of him as a friend.

CCV017 Introversion – This is one, in particular, was something that will always stick in my mind as well, in this case, i find brilliant how we managed to take someone that was totally unknown  and very very young (as IHM) to the big playground with a brilliant record that i still play today and influence people, or make them dream during the night and make them go back home with a big smile in their  face and their soul.

What was your first studio like? How and for what reasons has your setup evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear for you?

– My studio is a home studio i always used to be poor, and never had many tools to work with, but i always tried to use my gears at the best, in the past i used to have only a 909 and a computer, today i evolved a bit, and i use almost all analog machines, currently i have an Octatrack, an OB6 synth and a Waldorf XT and ZED14 Mixer. I have other little gears, but these are the ones i use in every single record i produce.

How do you make use of technology? In terms of the feedback mechanism between technology and creativity, what do humans excel at, what do machines excel at?

– Machines are simply an extensions of the human brain in my opinion, I am a big nerd, and always being fascinated in new things always, but i am always attached alot to the roots, the raw way of making techno, is all about having fun, study, learn, and experiment until you reach new levels of knowledge musically and technically, knowing your gears is key, but know and not knowing where you are doing is also very important for me. I don’t do things systematically, and i am not a perfectionist, i tend to try and learn and find new ways to make sounds and this is why i will always do music in my life i believe.

When you’re not touring, DJ-ing or producing music, how do you like to spend your free time?

– I spend lot of time working for the label, one of the most important things i do is to be connected to the artists, talk to them, be a human, and be also friends with them, i know is hard to believe  that, as everyone is an artist when comes to music and a label, but for me the human part is key, is very important to be a person before running a label, so that is what i do most of the time even in my free time, and of course literally work every day of the week to close records, plan them, study how to make them better and so on on the top. I don’t have much free time, and this is why i am talking probably about this topic, in my real free time i spend my time with my private life, playing Football, Video games, Raving (I still do it) and the best one is to learn with other friends that know much more than me about technical aspects, and of course learn about life in general.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

– I don’t think there are main strategies to enter into this state of mind, creativity is something that you have, you can’t create it, or even emulate it, for instance in my mind i always think about how to make something better, a record, a graphic, how you want to show something to the people, and specially how you want to evoke a certain sentiment to that creation you have done, For me personally be creative means be me, i am a guy that when i hear other people doing music or whatever, is building in his mind how that should be, or how might be if i change something, i can’t help it, my brain is unstoppable, i always think and i always create in my mind even when i sleep i think. I am pretty weird, but i think that many like me will understand what i mean.

We asked Anetha this question and would like to get an answer from you as well…Which tracks for you describe some of the strongest feelings like happiness, anger, melancholia? Can you try and give us one for every feeling?

Happiness: Bob James – Nautilus

Anger: Surgeon – Radiance

Melancholia: Jamie Woon – Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Mix)

These are the firs 3 that came up to my mind.

What can people in Belgrade  expect from you on Saturday?

– Pretty much something that reflects a lot my state of Rave. I am now around 10 years figuring out what is the Rave Culture to me, and this comes out totally in my sets, I don’t have an order, i don’t have a straight style, i just try to represent what i have in my mind, and try very hard to connect this with the people i have around me, and as always i will try to do my very best to connect with the mind and the body of the people in Belgrade, i am looking forward, because i never been there, and i don’t know many people from Serbia, aside a very good friend of mine that was always a cool dude since my childhood, we understand each other very well.