Features

Exclusive interviews with DJs and electronic music artists.

2019 Rewind: DJ Deep

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

DJ Deep

How was 2019 for you?
DJ Deep: Quite busy! A lot of nice DJ gigs, and I feel this year I managed to combine house and techno gigs in a nice and inspiring way. I think in an era where things sometimes need to be clearly “labelled” it is my strength to be open-minded as any true music lover is! Maybe my Open Library show on Worldwide FM helps communicate better on this topic. The fact we could combine both our Sergie Rezza remix (with Roman Poncet) and my solo remix of Point G on the same twelve-inch made me really happy, as it also helped feature the different styles and flavors that I try and produce.

I’ve also been quite productive in the studio for Raw Cuts Vol. 1 and 2 on Deeply Rooted, which received a nice welcome on both on vinyl and digital formats.

Highlights?
Playing all night long with Jeff Mills for Tsugi’s anniversary back in March; playing all night long with Kerri Chandler at Rex Club in August; and talking about loving house and techno. I couldn’t be happier!

Lowlights?
I try [to use] the lowlights as strength to come back with stronger and more inspiring projects. Therefore, when I have extra free time, I try and use it for being as productive as possible in the studio!

Song of the year? 
Moodymann’s “Sinner.” Loving the music and attitude of this whole new album by Mr. Kenny Dixon Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozK7IMLBfyA

What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Start trusting my instinct more! I am always inspired by my friends’ advice, and I follow them often, but I think it is also important I keep following my instinct, as it’s been guiding me for 30 years in this music world!

Image by Keffer

2019 Rewind: Ralf GUM

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Ralf GUM

How was 2019 for you?
Ralf GUM: It was one of the best years in my career and as well a very good one privately.

Highlights?
Performing with 14 people as the Ralf GUM All Stars at the DSTV Delicious Festival in South Africa. It was my wish for a long time to perform my music live, and I finally got the opportunity to do it the way I wanted to, including a five-piece band and nine vocalists, amongst them Monique Bingham, Mafikizolo, Portia Monique, Kafele Bandele and more.

Lowlights?
Having an ear infection while touring for the Progression album launches in March and April. It did not want to leave for weeks and took away some of the fun.

Song of the year?
Maybe not an obvious choice but Antonio Ocasio’s “That Something.” It stayed quite constantly in my sets since January.

http://classic.beatport.com/track/that-something-original-mix/11933471

What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Release singles. I have worked constantly on albums in the past years, which is something I still love to do. But in 2020 I’d like to just release the music one by one once it is finished, all that while maybe smoking a bit less cigarettes.

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2019 Rewind: Juliet Sikora

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Juliet Sikora

How was 2019 for you?
Juliet Sikora: In one word, amazing! So many great gigs and memories. I met so many new people and many of those have become close friends.

Highlights?
My gig at Sisyphos in Berlin. If you ever come to Berlin, you need to go there. The atmosphere is absolutely amazing. My gig for Elrow was also really great. I was super nervous to play this gig because they are one of the biggest event promoters in the world right now! If you play for them you will know why; the production itself and the crew is one of a kind. Not to forget, I had the chance to work on a remix for Claptone earlier this year. What an honor! Plus, my release on Flashmob Records; the success of “Beat Dancer” surprised all of us. And one last thing, we released the third edition of our charity project It Began in Africa on the 12th of December. This project is very important to me. It does cost me a lot of energy, but seeing what the money can achieve for the kids in Uganda, it makes all the hard work completely worth it.

Lowlights?
It‘s hard to see that legendary clubs have had to close their doors in the past few months because of increasing costs and less guests.

Song of the year?
That is hard, as there were so many good releases. But for me an outstanding track was Andrew Meller & Raumakustik with their track “The Funk.” Massive dance floor weapon!

What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Spend more time in the studio and quit smoking (again).

No paywalls, free to all. Help us remain 100% independent and unbiased. Please give to Big Shot by making a secure one-time donation to help us continue covering DJ culture and electronic music like we’ve done since 2003.



2019: Kevin Saunderson

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Kevin-Saunderson

How was 2019 for you?
Kevin Saunderson: 2019 was excellent. I did a revamp of Inner City, added a different highlight and it was a very exciting time.

Highlights?
Playing a show in London for Inner City and also Glastonbury. The feedback and vibe was just amazing.

Lowlights?
None I can remember. It was all good!

Song of the year?
“Chuuch” by Scan 7

What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Stay healthy, become healthier and share love with my family.